823 
them. From this curve were read off the values given below in 
Table Hl under the heading “Obs.” If these are compared with 
the computed perturbation, of which the periodic part is also given 
in the table under the heading /;, there appears at first sight to be 
aioe. TE 
i ’ Obs. Obs. 02. ae 4 Obs: | 
ear. Obs. ds a 4s | Year | Obs. hs 2 4s | Year ! Obs. ds +s 
500 500 ~ 500 
+ 60|-+3°7] 1892 |—2”8 | —340 | — 
tho 
1829 —0"3 + 20 —0 3] 1865 +3'8 
35 | - 0.8; —550|+40.3 68 +2.4/—500! 3.4 95 3.1 4300 —3.7 
0 
8 
41 |—0.5)| | 60; —0.6 71 0.0} - 630, +1.3 98 —2.0| +380 —2.8 
47 | +1.3;'+ 10 +1.3 14 | —1.8 | —350 1.1] 190i +4+0.5 + 40 40.4 
50 | +1.1)—440/ +2.0 TI | —2.5! + 230 | —3.0 04 |+1.4| —560 | + 2.5 
53 | +1.1|—550| 42.3] 80 |—1.4| 3 330/—2.1]° 07 | + 2.1| —640| 44.0 
4 
56 |+2.0)—330'42.7| 83 |—1.4| 4 50;—1.5] 10/+44.4|—350/45.1 
Beel 1.3.01 -4170|-+2.71- 86 |—2.2|—580|—=1,0] 12 | « 5.1} 4-701 35.0 
62 |+43.8/+270/+3.3| 89 |—3.0|—630|—1.7 
a certain similarity in the course of the two curves. Mr. BOTTLINGER, 
whose results on the whole agree with mine, has been led by this 
similarity to consider the existence of an absorption of gravitation 
as being established “mit guter Wabhrscheinlichkeit”. In fact, from 
about 1840 to 1868 the observed deviations can be very satisfactorily 
1 
represented by about poa smooth curve, which latter then 
must either be ascribed to the non-periodic part, or remain unexplained. 
After 1868, however, the agreemeut is lost. We have again a partial 
parallelism between 1886 and 1891, and also the increase after 1908 
coincides with an increase of 2,, but it is impossible so to represent 
the observed values over the whole interval 1829 to 1912 by As 
multiplied by a constant coefficient, that the remaining differences 
form a smooth curve. Still I think we cannot consider the probability 
of the existence of an absorption of gravitation as established unless 
the residuals remaining after applying the perturbation produced by 
this absorption (and which then remain unexplained), are small and 
form a smooth curve, or at least are less irregular than the original 
fluctuations. The values of Obs. — 42, however, whatever value we 
adopt for 4, always are considerably more irregular than the observed 
values themselves. The sudden fall between 1868 and 1874 coincides 
54* 
