180 The Late Transit of Venus. [April, 
applying Halley’s method. So far back as 186g I called 
special attention to this point. But even so late as 
February, 1873, the Astronomer Royal declined to believe 
that observations would be made there. ‘‘ Nertschinsk,” he 
said, ‘is a station in high latitude, nearly 1000 miles from 
the nearest sea. I presume that its climate is truly conti- 
nental. At St. Petersburg, in the winter, the sun sometimes 
is not seen for several weeks together. I suppose that the 
same may happen at Nertschinsk. I doubt greatly the pro- 
bability that any observations can be made there.” This he 
assigned as the sole reason why England should not occupy 
Southern Halleyan stations. Though four years had passed 
since I pointed to Nertschinsk as a suitable northern station, 
the fact remained still unknown to the person principally 
responsible for the English arrangements that erghty per cent 
of winter days are clear at Nertschinsk. Of course Russia 
occupied this excellent station. Shealso occupied ten others 
in the region extending thence to the Sea of Japan, obtaining 
more or less complete success at six of them. ‘The Ameri- 
cans were successful at Wladiwostock and Possiet, the Ger- 
mans at Chefoo, the French in Japan and at Pekin. The 
duration was not, indeed, secured at all the northern Hal- 
leyan stations, though it was at most of them; but where 
either ingress or egress was missed, the position of the chord of 
transit was effectually secured by mid-transit photographs 
and heliometric measurements. At Roorkee, in the long- 
neglected Indian region, the whole transit was observed and 
photographed under Col. Tennant’s skilful supervision. 
The Germans photographed mid-transit at Ispahan, the 
Russians at Teheran. ‘The whole transit was also observed 
by amateur astronomers at Kurrashee, Indore, and Cal- 
cutta, a fact rather showing what ought to have been done 
by official astronomers in England to strengthen the north 
Indian position, than (in all probability) adding much to the 
value of northern Halleyan operations. 
In the southern hemisphere corresponding successes have 
been already reported, though as yet we have not heard 
from some of the best southern stations, nor have we 
sufficient news of the nature of the success known to have 
been achieved at Kerguelen Island. But the Germans were 
successful in securing mid-transit photographs in the Auck- 
land Isles, and the Americans at Otago and in Tasmania. 
At Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide, the chord of transit 
has been well secured. At Melbourne, in particular, the 
observations may be regarded as presumably most valuable, 
on account of the Government observatory there. I do not 
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