Total Solar Eclipse of 1900 (May 28). 349 



Professor Turner's hut was designed for general requirements, and 

 has now been used, not only in this expedition, but as a transit hut in 

 the determination of the longitude of Killorglin by the staff of the 

 Koyal Observatory, Greenwich, in 1898. As it appears to satisfy the 

 conditions, the following notes of its structure may be useful to 

 others : 



It is a skeleton wooden framework filled in by a series of panels, any 

 one of which is removable without disturbing any other by simply 

 taking out two screws. The panels forming the sides drop into a 

 groove running round the base, and two screws are sufficient to hold 

 them at the top. For the roof panels it is the upper edges which push 

 into grooves along the central ridge, and the two fixing screws are near 

 the eaves. 



The panels themselves are rectangular wooden frames with canvas 

 stretched over them. For transport, the sides are unscrewed, and 

 then the canvas is rolled round the ends like a window blind. 



The screws which fix the panels in position in the hut terminate in 

 rings instead of the ordinary screw heads, so that they can be screwed 

 up or unscrewed with the fingers instead of with a screw-driver, which 

 may not be handy at the moment. 



It may be remarked that both the huts were securely fastened 

 down on this particular occasion, as the wind sometimes blew a gale. 



9. Assistance. The observers were assisted in the exposures as 

 follows : 



Mr. H. Wyles, of the Leeds Astronomical Society, counted seconds 

 aloud from a metronome. 



Mr. J. Potter, of Leeds, carried from Mr. Newall's hut the informa- 

 tion of the setting of the Savart prism (which Mr. Newall was to 

 observe during totality) to Major K. 0. Foster, who set the correspond- 

 ing instrument in Professor Turner's hut (see separate report of 

 Mr. Newall). It was originally intended to shout this information, but 

 as it was found in the rehearsals that there was occasionally difficulty 

 in hearing, Mr. Potter undertook this conveyance as a safeguard. As 

 the event proved, his assistance was all important, for at the actual 

 eclipse there was so much noise from other observers in the neighbour- 

 hood that the shout was not heard at all. 



Major K. 0. Foster, F.R.A.S., set Mr. Newall's savart between the 

 second and third exposures, and at the same time changed the slit of 

 Professor Turner's polariscope. He also uncovered the plates for long 

 exposure soon after the beginning of totality and covered them before 

 the end. 



Mr. F. L. Lucas, of Berkhamsted, made the exposures for Professor 

 Turner at the objective. 



Master Eric Henn handed the plates. 



Mr. F. L. Crawford, of the Indian Civil Service (who had seen the 



