PROVISIONAL REPORTS AND NOTICES. 205 



PROVISIONAL REPORTS, AND NOTICES OF PROGRESS IN 

 SPECIAL RESEARCHES ENTRUSTED TO COMMITTEES 

 AND INDIVIDUALS. 



Report of the Committee for the Reduction of Lacaille's Stars. 



Collingwood, June 3, 1842: 

 A Committee having been appointed, consisting of myself, Mr. Henderson, 

 and Mr. Airy, for the purpose of effecting the reduction of Lacaille's stars, I 

 have the pleasure to report, that under the superintendence of Mr. Hender- 

 son, the whole of that work is now completed, and the resulting catalogue, 

 being arranged in order of right ascension, is fairly written out and ready for 

 the press. The total number of stars reduced and catalogued is about 10,000, 

 — the sum of 105/. remaining of the original grant unappropriated; which the 

 Committee recommend to be applied (with such additional grant as may be 

 needed) to the printing and publication of the catalogue, without which, it is 

 evident, that little or no benefit can result to Astronomical Science from the 

 work so accomplished. With the catalogue, and forming an introduction to 

 it, an account of the process pursued in the reductions, the constants used, 

 and all other matter needful for a complete understanding of the work, ought 

 also to be printed, and should it be the pleasure of the Association to order 

 the publication, will be furnished by Mr. Henderson. The estimated cost of 

 the publication so recommended, may be roughly stated at about 250/. for 

 printing, paper, &c. of 500 copies of the catalogue and introduction. 



J. F. W. Herschel. 



Report of the Committee for the Reduction of the Stars in the Histoire 



Celeste. 



June 16, 1842. 

 I have the satisfaction of reporting that the whole of the stars in the ' His- 

 toire Celeste ' have been reduced, agreeably to the method proposed : those 

 only being omitted for which there are no tables of reduction; and that there 

 is now remaining, of the grant for this purpose, the sum of £9, which will 

 not be required in the further prosecution of this portion of the work. But 

 the main object of this undertaking will be defeated, if the catalogue be not 

 printed for general use and information. The number of stars reduced is up- 

 wards of 47,000 ; and I have caused' an estimate to be made of the expense 

 of printing 500 copies in an octavo form. And it appears that the cost of 

 paper and printing will be about £415, but that 1000 copies will cost £100 

 more. There is, however, another expense which must be taken into the ac- 

 count, which is the copying of the catalogue, in a proper order for the press, 

 and the correction of the press during the printing, which I apprehend will 

 be £60 or £70 more. Taking the whole of those estimates together, it would 

 appear that 500 copies would cost about £500, and that 1000 copies would 

 cost about £600. Should the British Association decide on the printing of 

 the catalogue, I would draw up a statement of the method pursued in making 

 the reductions, together with such other remarks as might be requisite. This 

 probably would not add another sheet to the work. 



Francis Baily. 



