142 



NATURE 



\ytine 9, 1887 



French Acalemyof Sjiences, at w'.iic'i fifty-six representative 

 astrononers from all parts of the world were present, a schema 

 has been approvel for the formxtion of a photographic map of 

 the heaven; by the concerted action of a number of Obiervatories 

 in both hemispheres. This scheme provides for two series of 

 photographs, the one intended to contain all stars down to the 

 fourteenth magnitude inclusive, and the other, taken with short 

 exposure, specially designed to give accurate positions of brighter 

 stars down to the eleventh magnitude, so that it may be possible 

 to form an extensive Catalogue of reference-stars fjr the first 

 series, and thus to give the mean^ of accurately determining the 

 position of any star on the photographic map down to the four- 

 teenth magnitude. The instruments with which this work is to be 

 jointly carried out are to be photographic refractors of o-33m. 

 (13 inches) aperture and 3 •43m. (11 feet 3 inches) focal length, 

 and the Directors of the following ten Obiervatories hive already 

 announced that they are prepared to take part in the enterprise : 

 Algiers, Bordeaux, Paris, Toulouse, and Vienna in the northern 

 hemisphere ; La Plata, Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago 

 da Ciiile, and Sydney in the southern hemisphere. It seems 

 fitting that Greenwich should take its share in a scheme which 

 will in a few years so greatly extend our knowledge of the 

 places of the fixed stirs, and thus serve to carry out one of 

 the principal objects for which the Astronomer-Royal was 

 appointed. 



" Oa a review of the work of the past twelve months, it will be 

 found that the activity of the Observatory has increased in 

 various directions. The number of meridian observations is 

 much larger than usual ; additions have been made to the work 

 of the magnetical and meteorological branch ; there have been 

 continuous trials of chronometers and deck-watches (requiring 

 special arrangements in each case), which have made large 

 demands on my own time, as well as on that of Mr. Turner and 

 of Mr. Lewis. Extraneous work in connexion with the Navy 

 has also absorbed a good deal of time that would otherwise have 

 been free for scientific investigations. Question; connected 

 with gun-directors, mirrors for electric search-lights, and bin- 

 oculars for the Navy, have continued to engage our attention, 

 and since the date of the last Report 510 telescopes and 35 

 binoculars for the Navy have been sent to the Observatory for 

 examination, whilst it is to be presumed that a further sapply of 

 500 binoculars, now on order, will be f jrwarded here to be 

 tested in due course. 



"Whilst it seems desirable that such directly utilitarian work 

 should be undertaken at the Observatory, as being the only exist- 

 ing Government establishment where it can be done efhciently, 

 I feel it nece sary to point out that the existing staff is inadequate 

 for these extraneous duties in addition to the well-defined work 

 for which the Observatory is primarily maintained. By great 

 efforts, which can hardly be sustained for an indefinite period, 

 the current reductions have been kept up, notwithstanding the 

 large number of observations obtained in the last twelve months, 

 but the ulterior discussions which are required to maintain the 

 character of the Observatory as a scientific institution are falling 

 further and further behind. Amongst other matters which I 

 should wish to take up, if leisure could be found, I may mention 

 the determination of proper motions of stars from the observa- 

 tions made at Greenwich since Sir G. B. Airy's appointment in 

 1835, an investigation which appears to come within the terms 

 of the Royal Warrant directing the Astronomer Royal 'to 

 rectify the tables of the motions of the heavens and the places 

 of the fixed stars.' 



' ' The appointment of a clerk, which has presumably received 

 the sanction of the Admiralty, will, when it is maie, provide for 

 the increase of office- work which has taken place of late years in 

 regard to chronometers, accounts, stores, stationery, printing, &c., 

 and if the maintenance of the telegraph-wire;, batteries, &c., for 

 communication of time-signals were undertaken by the Post Office 

 Telegraphs as part of the distribution of time to the public, 

 there would be some further relief. But to enable me to give 

 time to extraneous questions referred to the Astronomer- Royal by 

 the Government, it appears necessary that the Chief Asssistant 

 and I should be relieved of certain mechanical work which might 

 be intrusted to computers, ani that further responsibility should 

 be delegated to the Assistants. Proceeding on the lines which 

 have been laid down by my predecessor, I believe that the 

 maximum of efficiency at the minimum of cost would be attained 

 if an increase of work were met by an increase in the staff of 

 computers, with due recognition of the position of two or three 

 senior computers, and of the increased responsibility of the 

 Assistants." 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



Oxford. —In Convocation on Tuesday, a grant of ^4800, 

 applied for by Prof. Clifton, for the extension of the Clarendon 

 Laboratory by the erection of buildings for an Electrical 

 Department, was refused by a large majority. 



Twenty-seven men have entered for the final schools in Natural 

 Science this year, of whom sixteen offer chemistry, four physio- 

 logy, three animal morphology and physics, and one botany. 



A course of medical teaching, including cl nical demonstra- 

 tions and elementary surgery, is to be given at the Radcliffe 

 Infirmary daring the first half of the Lon^ Vacation. 



Besides the lectures which we announced at the beginning 

 of term, Mr. Arthur Evans, the Keeper of the Ashmolean 

 Museum, is giving a course of lectures on "The Early Iron 

 Age." 



Cambridge. — The twenty-first Annual Report of the Museums 

 and Lecture Rooms Syndicate states that during the year 1886 

 considerable progress has been made in arranging the various 

 collections, but additional accommodation in the form of cases 

 and cabinets is required in various departments, especially for 

 botany and ornithology. Additional accommodation is urgently 

 demanded for the teaching of physiology, pathology, and botany. 

 It is also desirable that permanent arrangements for human 

 anatomy and medicine should be taken into consideration 

 without further delay, and that the work should be commenced 

 as soon as possible after the present chemical laboratory is 

 vacated. 



Mr. J. W. L. Glaisher, F.R.S., and Mr. J. S. Nicholson, 

 Profess )r of Political Economy in the University of Edinburgh, 

 have been approved for the degree of Doctor in Science. 



The University having been applied to by the Association for 

 the Improve nent of Geometrical Teaching to take some steps to 

 give improved methods of teaching geometry fair play in their 

 examinations, and the Association having sent a deputation to 

 Cambridge to confer with the Board of Mathematical Studies, 

 the latter Board have recommended that other proofs than 

 Euclid's be accepted in the Previous Examination, no proof of 

 any proposition occurring in Euclid being admitted in which 

 use is male of any proposition which in Euclid's order occurs 

 subsequently. They do not at present propose modifications 

 in thesyllabis of geometry for the Mathematical Tripos, because 

 they are about to revise the schedule of Part I. as a whole. 



The recent report on the local lectures scheme shows that a 

 fair share of attention has been devoted to natural science — 

 namely, thirty-five out of one hundred cour -es of lectures. The 

 courses on " Work and Energy" by Mr. A. Berry, delivered at 

 five centres in the Northumberland mining district, were very 

 successful. There is distinct progress in the systematization of 

 work, and the development of local centres ; but there are 

 many difficulties owing to lack of endowments. Attempts 

 are being made to connect practical courses of instruction with 

 the scientific lectures, bu'. here again the lack of apparatus 

 and laboratories is a serious disadvantage. An endowment 

 fund of ^1136 has been contributed, of which more than half 

 is given by the Local Lectures and Examinations Syndicate. 

 The chief purpose contemplated is the retention of the services 

 of practised lecturers. 



The class list of the Natural Sciences Tripos, Part I., just 

 issued, contains the following names in Class I. : Anderson, 

 Cai. ; Barber, Chr. ; Colbeck, Cai. ; D'Albuquerque, Joh. ; 

 Dufton, S. F., Trin. ; Dufton, A., non-collegiate; Elliott, 

 Chr. ; Francis, King's ; Fry, Ki ig's ; Grabham, Joh. ; Groom, 

 Joh. ; Richardson, King's ; Tennant, Cai. ; Turner, F. M., 

 Trin. ; Waggett, Pemb. ; Wagstaff, Sid. ; Williams, Cai. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



London. 



Physical Society, May 28. — Prof. W. E. Ayrton, Vice- 

 President, in the chair. — Dr. S. P. Thompson read a note on 

 transformers for electric distribution. In the simple algebraic 

 treatment of the dynamo several assumptions approximately true 

 for well-made machines are made use of. The author finds that 

 a similar set of assumptions for transformers greatly simplifies the 

 algebraic theory:— (i) The iron, copper, and insulation are 

 assumed good. (2) The reaction of the sec jndary on the primary 

 (other than that desired) is small ; thus, if the primary be 



