OF THE EXPEDITION. XXV 



an instrument refused to accept the order. Just when I had made arrangements to borrow, on 

 my own account, the sum charged by Messrs. Merz, and import an equatorial from them, Prof. 

 Henry authorized me to increase the offer to Mr. Young, of Philadelphia, and eventually a con- 

 tract was concluded with him, on behalf of the Smithsonian Institution the right being re- 

 served to me to procure the object-glass and micrometer from such artists as might be preferred. 



About this time, notice was published in Sittiman'a Journal, by Mr. Rutherford, of the per- 

 formance of an object-glass made from imported materials by Mr. Henry Fitz, an optician at 

 New York. Learning that several other lenses had been perfected by the same artist, I deter- 

 mined to examine them all, and then confer with Messrs. Bache, Peirce, and Walker. To be 

 brief, the examination and conference resulted in an order to Fitz to grind a lens from Guinand's 

 glass, to be of the same diameter (six French inches) as that of the telescope at the High School 

 observatory, in Philadelphia, and to forward it to Prof. Kendall. If he, and other competent 

 and impartial judges, should pronounce it as good, in every respect, as the High School lens, it 

 would be purchased at the Munich price S500. If inferior, we should have the right to retain 

 and use it, free of cost, until another could be imported from Bavaria. 



Between the date of the order, November 27, and the time that the tube was ready, April 15, 

 1849, Mr. Fitz prepared three lenses of that size. Veins developed themselves in one only after 

 it had been polished, and a second proved scarcely less objectionable in its crystallization. Of 

 the third submitted for trial, Prof. Kendall wrote me, May 1 : "I had the pleasure of making 

 trial of the Fitz object-glass last evening, and was highly gratified with the result. I compared 

 it with ours upon the moon, Jupiter, several double stars, and the bright star Vega, with its 

 companion, using a variety of powers, and it is my opinion that Mr. Fitz has fully accomplished 

 all that he undertook to perform. From this trial I am unable to pronounce which is the better 

 glass. The Frauenhofer did nothing which was not as well done by the Fitz glass. There 

 was only one point about which there arose a doubt, viz : color. On first looking at Jupiter, 

 through the new glass, I. thought there was rather too much violet about the edge ; but on 

 applying the other object-glass, with the same eye-piece, I could not discover any improvement 

 but that which might justly be attributed to an improved state of the atmosphere. Mr. Fitz, 

 Mr. Longstreth, and Mr. Young, with one or two other competent persons, made a comparison 

 of the two glasses on Sunday evening also. I was not aware of their intention until yesterday 

 morning. Mr. Young was with me last evening, and perfectly coincided with me in what I 

 have said above. I called to see Mr. Longstreth and one of the other gentlemen this morning, 

 and found that each had arrived at the same conclusion as myself in regard to the merits of Mr. 

 Fitz. Indeed, we are all delighted with his success; and I am fully persuaded that between 

 this and one you might order from Merz, the chances would be decidedly in favor of the former." 



Gratification is a feeble word to express my pleasure at the success of the American optician, 

 for I could not but think this first Yankee telescope of considerable size marked an era in the 

 progress of mechanical science in our country, for which I hoped future astronomers would 

 render due credit to the Expedition. That Mr. Fitz was thoroughly competent to figure and 

 polish, I was fully convinced, on examining the object-glasses previously made, and ray only 

 regret was, that he could not forthwith undertake the whole task, and begin by manufacturing 

 his own glass. But he had genius, and nothing would be more likely to stimulate him to 

 undertake it than the success just met with. 



Thus, through the assistance of others, the Expedition would be most efficiently equipped, 

 and the support of the Smithsonian Institution, at a very trying period, will always be remem- 

 bered with the sincerest gratitude. But this very assistance placed us in a difficult position. 

 The Expedition was national ; the mass of means (instruments) furnished to obtain its ends had 

 been by a corporation founded by individual munificence to perpetuate his own name, whilst in- 

 creasing and diffusing knowlege among men. Whose should be the credit of our results? 

 Were the observations with one portion of the instruments to be submitted to Congress, and 

 those with the other to the Board of Regents, to be issued as "Smithsonian Contributions: 1 " 



