ASTRONOMY. 17 'J 



two BlisH break-circuit cbronoineters, several mean time clironoiiieters, 

 aud a fillet clirouograpb. The director lias also uiuler his charge the 

 geodetic, topograpliic, and astronoini(;nl instruments of tlie department 

 of public works. Position of the observatory: Latitnde,-fl9'^2r/ 1"..3; 

 longitude, G'> 3G"» 3L^^); altitude, 2,1285'"'.'J: (7,500 feet). Directors: Sr. 

 Ingeneiro Geografo Bon Francisco Jitninez from 1878 till his death, 

 November 4, 1881, when lie was succeeded by Sr. Don Leandro Fer- 

 nandez. 



jMilan. — A new 18-inch refractor, objective by Merz, mounting by 

 Eepsold, was i)ut in place in 188(5, and has been devoted principally to 

 the measurement of double stars. The smaller (8 inch) equatoiial has 

 been used for observations of comets and of double stars in rai)id 

 orbital motion. The markings on Mars were examined with both in- 

 struments. 



Morrison observatory was establishe<l in 1875 through the efforts 

 of the present director, Prof. C. W. Pritchett, aided by the liberality 

 of Miss Berenice Morrison, whose name the institution bears. The 

 principal instruments are a lli;^inch Clark equatorial and an excellent 

 O-inch Troughton & Simms meridian circle, similar in plan to the me- 

 ridian circle of the Harvard Observatory. The first number of the 

 publications is a well printed volume of 111 pages, giving an account 

 of the founding of the observatory, a full description of the building 

 and instruments, and the observations in detail. The latter consist 

 mainly of measures of double stars, observations of planets, comets, 

 occultatious by the moon, etc. A full discussion is given of the geo- 

 graphi<-al co-ordinntes of the meridian ]>ier, the longitude being deter- 

 mined by an exchange of signals with Washington in 1880. There are 

 several drawings of the observatory, and sketches of Saturn and of 

 comets. The work is now much restricted owing to the inadeiiuacy of 

 funds. 



Munich. — The zone observations with the m»^ridian circle are con- 

 tinued, and a"new Munich catalogue is going tiirough the press. The 

 10^ inch refractor has been used for obsi^rvations of comets, measures 

 of stars in the cluster h Persei, and observations for stellar parallax. 

 Some photometric observations have also been made. 



Natal. — liecent work has been largely in meteorology. The obser- 

 vatory has been seriously crippled by the lack of funds. 



Nice. — The first volume of the annals is to contain a description of 

 the observatory aud instruments, and is expected shortly; the second 

 volume has already been published, and the third volume, also in 

 preparation, will contain Thollon's study of the solar si)ectrum. Vol* 

 2 is devoted mainly to the determination of the coordi nates of tbe ob- 

 servatory and to measures of double stars. There are also observations 

 of comets and planets, and notes on solar spectroscopy and the red- 

 glows. The position of the observatory at present adopted is: Latitude, 

 + 430 43' 1G".1); longitude, 0»' 19"' 5K2'J east of Paris. 



