110 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1926 
that the greatest cloudiness comes in the months of February and 
March, rather than December and January, as is the case in the two 
American stations. Good months may be expected in Africa when 
the poorest observing weather occurs in America. The clearness of 
the sky in that part of South West Africa is extraordinary, and the 
wind velocity is usually very low. 
New station at Table Mountain, Calif—Actual experience over — 
five years at Mount Harqua Hala, Ariz., has proved less satisfactory 
than was expected. Although the number of days when it was possi- 
ble to observe averaged above 70 per cent, there were many months 
when most of the days were extremely hazy. Especially is this apt 
to occur in June, July, August, and early September, months when 
in former years we were accustomed to obtain excellent conditions at 
Mount Wilson. These unfortunate conditions required the discard- 
ing of many observations made at Harqua Hala. Though recently 
means have been found, as will be explained below, to minimize this 
disadvantage, yet it was very unfavorable to the morale of the ob- 
servers to be required to stay in so extremely isolated a spot, and yet 
to know that the results in some parts of the year were not as good 
as might have been obtained in very much more agreeable living 
conditions. 
After consulting all available records, and after having special 
observations made during the autumn, winter, and spring months, 
it was decided that Table Mountain in California (long. 117° 41’ W., 
lat. 84° 23’ N., alt. 7,500 feet) would be preferable at all times of 
the year from the point of view of the sky conditions. Its excellent 
status for summer was well known already, because it lies only 30 
miles away and almost in sight from Mount Wilson, where the sum- 
mer observations of Messrs. Abbot and Aldrich for many years were 
reliable guides. As for comfort of the observers, Table Mountain is 
remarkable, for it lies near a good auto road, only four hours from 
Los Angeles, and is in a grove of great pine trees, forming part of 
the Los Angeles County Park. A store and amusement hall are with- 
in a mile, and many cottages are still nearer. 
Mr. John A. Roebling added to his generous gifts a sufficient sum 
to defray costs of construction of road, tunnel-shaped observatory, a 
cottage for director, a second cottage for assistant, a shop, garage, and 
other accessories. The members of the board of supervisors of Los 
Angeles County were exceedingly helpful and cordial, especially in 
their approval of the sole occupancy of a site within the park for 
the observatory, in constructing an auto road and water service to 
connect with existing roads and reservoirs at Camp McClellan, and 
in cooperating with the Smithsonian Institution in erecting a tele- 
phone line to connect with the outside world. 
