Royal Society. 473 



perihelia and ascending nodes as in my previously published work, 

 the result was — 



L. P.'s between 45 and 135 = 



135 and 225=5 



225 and 315 = 6 



315 and 45 = 

 ft between 45 and 135 = 



135 and 225 = 9 "1 



225 and 315=4 / 



315 and 45= 2 J 



The suspicion of some yet undiscovered law became strengthened 

 by this further investigation ; and it occurred to me to ascertain if 

 any other heliocentric semicircles would mark the effect of such law 

 more clearly. Let me be permitted to extract the concluding pass- 

 age from the note as it is printed in the Royal Astronomical Society's 

 Notices : — 



"But if, instead of the semicircles 315° to 135° and 135° to 315°, 

 we adopt those from 45° to 225° and 225° to 45°, we see that of the 

 ascending nodes of thirty-four planets, twenty-eight are found in the 

 first semicircle and only six in the second. Again, the semicircles 

 that contain the greatest number of L. P.'s of planets are between 0° 

 and 180°, or 10° and 190°. That which contains the greatest num- 

 ber of nodes is between 35° and 215°. In the first case there are 

 twenty-six, and in the latter twenty-nine. The quadrant containing 

 the largest number of L. P.'s of planets is that between 1 1° and 101°, 

 of which there are sixteen. That containing the largest of nodes is 

 from 35^° to 125|-°, of which there are twenty." 



At the present moment (January 1 855) we have orbits, more or 

 less accurate, of forty-one planets. It cannot be altogether unin- 

 teresting to pursue once more the traces of a law still unknown, if 

 it have existence. Our position now stands thus — 



L. P.'s between 45 and 135= 161 



135 and 225= 6\ 10 I 9Q 

 225 and 315= 6/ " [ 

 315 and 45= 13 J 



ft between 45 and 135= 19"| 



135 and 225 = 111 .- l„ 



225 and 315= 5/ "' 



315 and 45= 5 



But, be it remembered, that in 1853 of the then known planets 



the greatest number of L. P.'s were found to be situated in the 



heliocentric semicircles 0° to 180° or 10° to 190°. At present we 



shall find the perihelia of thirty out of the forty-one planets in either 



of these semicircles. The greatest number of nodes were then (1853) 



between 35° and 315°=29 ; and 45° and 225°=28. At present, of 



forty planets there are thirty nodes in either of these heliocentric 



semicircles. These facts are at least very singular. I may tabulate 



them — 



