Astronomical Society. 297 



shall thus have an accurate representation of the Comet's track, de- 

 rived from good approximate elements, and corrected for perturba- 

 tions; together with the most ample means of rectifying the orbit, as 

 soon as astronomers shall be prepared with their reduced observations. 

 " There are many observers who are either unaccustomed to, or 

 have a distaste for, the labour of reducing observations ; and very 

 few persons, I apprehend, who will undertake the task of resolving 

 the final equations of condition. I therefore take this opportunity of 

 inviting observers to transmit their observations to me, with a full 

 statement of all particulars necessary to an accurate estimate of their 

 value; and of making known my intention, as soon as the observa- 

 tions can be collected, to get out the best orbit that they are capable 

 of yielding, 



" Yours, very truly, 



" W. S. Stratford." 

 "A. De Morgan, Esq., Sec. Royal Ast. Soc." 



III. Extract of a Letter from Captain Smyth to the President, con- 

 taining the translation of a notice from M. Cacciatore : 



" One important thing 1 must communicate to you. In the month 

 of May I was observing the stars that have proper motion; a labour 

 that has employed me several years. Near the 17th star, 12th hour, 

 of Piazzi's Catalogue, I saw another, also of the 7-8th magnitude, and 

 noted the approximate distance between them. The weather not hav- 

 ing permitted me to observe on the two following nights, it was not 

 till the third night that I saw it again, when it had advanced a good 

 deal, having gone further to the eastward and towards the equator. 

 But clouds obliged me to trust to the following night. Then, up to 

 the end of May, the weather was horrible; it seemed in Palermo as if 

 winter had returned : heavy rains and impetuous winds succeeded each 

 other, so as to leave no opportunity of attempting anything. When 

 at last the weather permitted observations at the end 'of a fortnight, 

 the star was already in the evening twilight, and all my attempts to 

 recover it were fruitless : stars of that magnitude being no longer 

 visible. Meanwhile the estimated movement, in three days, was 10" 

 in M, and about a minute, or rather less, towards the north. So 

 slow a motion would make me suspect the situation to be beyond 

 Uranus. I was exceedingly grieved at not being able to follow up so 

 important an examination." 



IV. Report on the new Standard Scale of this Society, drawn up 

 at the request of the Council, by Mr. Daily. 



The commencement only of this Report, which is very long, was 

 read ; the remainder of it being deferred till the next meeting of 

 the Society. An abstract of the whole will be given in our next 

 Number. 



V. Observations of Moon-culminating Stars, made at the Obser- 

 vatories of Greenwich, Edinburgh, and Cambridge, during the month 

 of November, 1835. 



Third Series. Vol.9. No. 54. Oct. 1836. 2 M 



