262 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [mAY 17, 



tion, Gj'lden's "Astronomy," and the papers of Tisserand, Nel- 

 son, Darwin, Adams, Hull, and Newcomb, on numerous subjects. 

 Among the popular books on general astronomy, we have New- 

 comb's '-'Popular Astronomy," Ball's "Story of the Heavens," 

 Kaiser's " Sterrenhemel," Fayes' " Origine de la Monde," and Miss 

 Gierke's admirable " History of Astronomy in tiie Nineteenth 

 Century." More special popular treatises are Nasmytli's and 

 Nelson's books upon the moon, Lockyer's "Solar Physics," and 

 my own little book upon the sun, Ledger's " Sun, Moon, and 

 Planets," Gledhill's and Flanimarion's books on double and biiuiry 

 stars, and Terby's " Areograi)hie." Of course, it is possible to 

 mention only a few, and I name those which, in one way or an- 

 other, have attracted for some reason my special attention, 

 leaving doubtless many others just as valuable unreferrcd to. 



A few new astronomical i)eriodicaIs have sprung up. In Eng- 

 land, The Observatory was founded in ISTT, and has become an 

 established and very valuable publication. 



Ccqjeruicus was a still more important and elevated journal, 

 but did not appeal to so large a circle of readers, and, I am 

 sorry to say, died only three years old. 



In France, the Bulletin de VAstronomie, recently established, 

 is extremely valuable, and I trust will be able to maintain itself. 

 Less importance attaches to Flanimarion's L'Astroiiomie, which, 

 however, I presume, has many more readers, del et Terre is a 

 new astronomical magazine published at Brussels. 



In the United States, we have but one distinctively astrono- 

 mical journal, the Sidereal Messenger, published by the ener- 

 getic young director of the Carleton College Observatory in 

 Minnesota. It is interesting and, in many ways, excellent, but 

 in some respects not yet quite up to the standard of American 

 astronomy. There is room and need among us for an astrono- 

 mical journal of high mathematical character; but its financial 

 success would be questionable. 



Necrology. 



The ten years have stricken from the roll of astronomers a few 

 illustrious names, and many of honorable rank. Leverrier, the 

 greatest of them all, died in 1877, and Secchi in 1878; Lamont 

 and Maclear in 1879; Peters, the veteran editor of the Astrono- 

 mische Nachrichten, Lassel, Dembowski, Peirce, and Watson 

 were taken in 1880, Brulins died in 1881. In 1882, we lost 

 Zoellner, Plantamour, Challis, and Henry Draper. Villarceau 

 died in 1883, Klinkerfues and Schmidt in 1S8-4, and hist year 

 "Webb, the author of that vade mecwn of all amateur astrono- 

 mers, the "Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes." 



It would probably be invidious and unwise to attempt to 



