10 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CALIFORNIA 
discontinue on account of the smallness of the party and the continued hard 
labor to be done. 
Incidentally we have determined the magnetic declination, magnetic dip, 
and horizontal intensity. 
Of course all our work looked to only one object—the Transit of Venus. 
And in order to be properly prepared for work thereon, I had erected ona 
hill, 900 feet high, three miles to the north of our station, an artificial Venus 
under four different phases. First, when the planet was about four-fifths or 
more on the disc of the sun; this was for practice in measuring the distance 
apart of the cusps by means of the double-image micrometer of the equatorial. 
Then when she was 40 seconds on the disc. This was to study her appear- 
ance and to measure with the micrometer the distance of the limb of the 
planet on the sun’s disc. A third phase wos when Venus was 40 seconds 
wholly within the sun’s limb. This was for measuring the distance apart of 
the limbs of the planet and of the sun. Another phase was to study her ap- 
pearance when only 10 seconds on the sun’s disc; and this was one of the 
most instructive studies, as convincing one that, with instruments the size of 
our equatorial, that is, 5-inch objective, it is next to impossible to observe the 
contact with the eye alone, until she has entered fully five seconds. Another 
practice was to measure the diameter of the artificial planet. As these phases 
of Venus were drawn to appear of the same size as I should see her, the prac- 
tice of measuring upon them, under all circumstances, of clear and cloudy 
weather, steady and unsteady atmosphere, gave me confidence in what I 
should be sure to see ina week or more. 
Before the day of the transit we were ready and anxious for the event; the 
weather was gathering for the worse and the prospect was decidedly bad. On 
the morning of the 9th, at 4 a:m., when we observed star transits, the sky 
was as clear as a bell; at 5 a. m. densely clouded. The clouds broke partially 
at about half past 8 a. m., and we obtained our preparatory photographs and 
had all the final adjustments made by 9:15, when the clouds thickened, and 
the prospects were dark as the lower stratum of clouds touched the mountain 
top four miles south of us and only 2,000 feet high. There were two strata 
of clouds—the upper one, moving very slowly, was a curtain of cirrus and 
cirro-stratus; the lower gathering heavily and slowly from the southwest, was 
cumulo-stratus. Ten minutes before the first contact a break in the lower 
stratum occurred, and near the first. Iwas sure of it, but a thicker mass 
deadened the image so that I could not be sure of the contact; and when the 
light increased, the planet was certainly ten seconds on the sun’s limb, 
Then the clouds increased, and no measures for cusps could be undertaken 
until the planet was half way on, when it became bright, and I observed the 
second contact as well as such an event can be noted by eye alone. There 
was no ligament joining the limbs of Venus and the sun; no black band or 
black drop. There was a slight unsteadiness ot limbs, such as we see in our 
regular groedetic work, but no hanging together, no distortion of outline of 
either. The separation might have been much sharper, but the result conld 
not raise a doubt of more than two seconds in my mind. 
Then I commenced measuring with the double-image micrometer the sep- 
aration of the limbs until Venus was on one diameter; then made measures 
