Astrono7ny 60 1 



Mr. Ritchie was appointed to take charge of this depart- 

 ment of the Observatory work, and Doctor Chandler cal- 

 culated comet orbits, ephemerides, etc., for quick transmission 

 to other observatories. The transfer of the Bureau of Astro- 

 nomical Telegraphy from the Smithsonian Institution to the 

 Harvard College Observatory was in exact conformity to 

 the settled policy of the former establishment, which is to 

 relinquish its own work to other responsible institutions so 

 soon as the latter are willing and competent to undertake it. 



Under the new arrangement astronomers are sure of re- 

 ceiving early warnings of the appearance of a new comet, 

 etc., and orbits and ephemerides can now be quickly com- 

 puted and distributed. To any one who recollects the state 

 of such matters previous to 1873, ^'^^ improvement is most 

 striking. It is due to the original suggestion of Doctor 

 Peters, to its prompt adoption by the Smithsonian Institution, 

 to the subsequent devices and editorship of Messrs. Chandler 

 and Ritchie, and to the assumption of the necessary expenses 

 by the Harvard College Observatory. 



The present astronomical service of Europe, under Pro- 

 fessors Kriiger and Kreutz, of the Observatory of Kiel, is 

 exceedingly prompt, able, and useful.^ 



EQUATORIAL OF HAMILTON COLLEGE OBSERVATORY 



This telescope, which in 1856 was the largest ever constructed 

 in America — now the land of large telescopes — was made 

 for Hamilton College by Charles A. Spencer. The trustees 

 of the College officially requested the regents of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution to appoint a committee of experts to re- 

 port upon the instrument ; and the reasons alleged by the 



1 Similar European telegrams were for- Professor Karlinski, of Cracow, in 1865. 

 merly distributed by the Vienna Academy {Asfrouomischc-u Xiuhrichteti, Volume LXVi, 

 of Sciences, according to a code devised by column 31 ; Volume LXXV, column 141.) 



39 



