ZONE OF PLANETS BETWEEN MARS AND JUPITER. 79 



Among all the astronomers of the present or any former 

 age, Mr. Hind stands pre-eminent for his success in the 

 discovery of new planetary bodies. These discoveries 

 were all made at the private observatory of George 

 Bishop, Esq., which was erected in the year 1836, in 

 Regent's Park, London. The principal instrument of 

 this observatory is an equatorial telescope, constructed 

 by Mr. Dollond, of London, and equipped on the plan 

 known as the English mounting. The solar focus of the 

 telescope is ten feet ten inches, and the clear aperture of 

 the object-glass seven inches. The circles are three feet 

 in diameter ; the hour circle reading by verniers to single 

 soconds of time, and the declination circle to ten seconds 

 of arc. This instrument is driven by clock-work; this 

 part of the machinery in particular being very elaborately 

 worked. The telescope is provided with a series of mag- 

 nifying powers up to 1200. 



In the year 1844, Mr. Bishop secured the services of J. 

 R. Hind, Esq., then an assistant in the magnetical depart- 

 ment of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, where he 

 had already distinguished himself by the zeal and ability 

 with which, in addition to his ordinary duties, which 

 were severe, he devoted himself to the labor of ob- 

 serving comets, and calculating the elements of their 

 orbits. 



Almost from the time of Mr. Hind's appointment, the 

 observations took that character for which his talents 

 peculiarly fitted him, viz., the search of the heavens for 

 new comets, planets, etc. His labors were almost im- 



