ASTRONOMY. 427 



in any former year, since the mapping of the skies approaching the 

 Milky Way requires a greater number of fundamental positions. A 

 new glass scale, which we owe to the kindness of Prof. W. A. Rogers, 

 of Cambridge, as it is ruled so that one scale division in the focus of 

 our refractor exactly equals 10 seconds of arc, has saved much time in 

 the reduction. In all, we have now 87,982 zone star observations, which 

 should be arranged in a catalogue. Twenty of the celestial charts, for 

 which the zone stars form the skeleton, have been published during the 

 year (at my private expense), and distributed gratuitously from the 

 Litchfield Observatory to other observatories, learned societies, and 

 private individuals to reciprocate favors received by our institution. 



" At the request of Mr. Gill, royal astronomer at the Cape of Good 

 Hope, a number of observatories in the northern and in the southern 

 hemispheres united to make corresponding observations upon two of the 

 minor planets, in order to determine by this method the solar parallax. 

 The Litchfield Observatory was the only one co operating in the United 

 States, and I. have been successful in obtaining some good sets of ob- 

 servations upon Victoria, but none upon Sappho, the opposition of which 

 fell into the later part of autumn, when the sky was unfavorable, as 

 usual, while a complete set, as demanded by the programme, each time 

 required an uninterrupted clear sky of about four hours. Of the re- 

 markable naked eye comet that showed itself last September and in 

 the following months some positions have been determined which have 

 peculiar value, as I believe, because the real, very small nucleus was 

 discovered, for which most of the observers measured by mistake what 

 was only an agglomeration of light in the narrow and very long bright 

 jet. The hope of observing the Transit of Venus of last 6th of Decem- 

 ber from this place made me decline the offer to go with one of the ex- 

 peditions sent out by the Navy Department. But inexorable clouds 

 brought sad disappointment here at home. Positions of minor planets 

 have been determined only in cases where either the orbit seemed to 

 need considerable correction or where the apparent smallness of the 

 planetoid might be an obstacle to its beiug observed elsewhere. The 

 variables here detected have been followed up at intervals in order to 

 ascertain their periods. Meridian transit of stars have been taken as 

 often as it seemed necessary to keep the rates of clocks and chronome- 

 ters under control. 



"The instruments, on the whole, are in good condition, but I must re- 

 port what I have said in former years, that it is desirable to have the 

 object-glass of the Spencer refractor repolished, and perhaps even re- 

 figured. I have mentioned, also, before the deteriorated state of the 

 filar micrometer which, as is natural after so many thousands of meas- 

 urements, is sensibly wearing out, so that soon it will be almost im- 

 possible to get creditable results by it. Meanwhile the filar micrometer 

 is one of the most essential apparatus for utilizing the great refractor. 



" The observatory building has stood now about thirty yea is. An ex- 

 amination in the basement has revealed the unpleasant fact that the 



