Total Solar Eclipse of 1900 (May 28). 347 



PART I. 



1. Origin of the Expedition. This expedition was one of those 

 organised by the Joint Permanent Eclipse Committee of the Royal 

 Society and Royal Astronomical Society, funds being provided from a 

 grant made by the Government Grant Committee. 



The expedition was most cordially and hospitably assisted by 

 M. Trepied, the Director of the Algiers Observatory, and the observers 

 are indebted to him in numberless ways for his kindness. He assigned 

 good positions for the instruments in the Observatory grounds, and had 

 brick piers built beforehand according to plans supplied to him by the 

 observers. He made the arrangements for conveying the instruments 

 to and from Algiers ; and put at the disposal of the observers a 

 capacious dark room (which we believe he had specially arranged for 

 the purpose) and the services of a carpenter. 



2. Mr. Wesleijs Observations. It may be here mentioned, although it 

 does not come strictly within the scope of this report, that M. Trepied 

 allowed Mr. W. H. Wesley, the Assistant Secretary of the Royal 

 Astronomical Society, who has had great experience in drawing the 

 corona from photographs, to use the equatorial coude of the Algiers 

 Observatory during this eclipse ; and Mr. Wesley was thus enabled to 

 make his first eye observations on the corona itself under most favour- 

 able conditions. He joined the present expedition, but as he was the 

 emissary of the Royal Astronomical Society and not of the Joint 

 Committee, the report of his observations is not included here. That 

 M. Trepied should have placed the finest instrument in the Observatory 

 at the disposal of a foreigner is a striking instance of his scientific 

 liberality ; and the observers call attention to it because it will indicate 

 more clearly than any enumeration of details the kind of assistance for 

 which they have to thank him. 



3. Personnel. The following persons took part in the expedition : 



H. H. Turner, M.A., F.R.S., Savilian Professor of Astronomy at 



Oxford. 

 H. F. Newall, M.A., Sec. R.A.S., Observatory, University of 



Cambridge. 



4. Itinerary. The observers left Charing Cross at 11 A.M. on Satur- 

 day, May 12. They spent one day in Marseilles, and arrived at Algiers 

 on Tuesday, May 15, proceeding in the evening of the same day to the 

 little village of Bouzareah, which they made their headquarters, about 

 a mile from the Algiers Observatory. The instruments had been sent 

 round by sea (through the Papayanni Steamship Company), and should 

 have arrived on May 10, but for some reason they did not arrive until 

 May 17, and were delivered at the Observatory on the evening of 

 May 18. Three whole Avorking days of the eleven which had been 



