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NATURE 
[FEBRUARY 15, I917 
THE NEW CANADIAN OBSERVATORY AT 
VICTORIA, B.C. 
HE erection of the new Canadian Government | 
Observatory on Saanich Hill 
32 ft.), near Victoria, B.C., is progressing very 
Fic, 1.—The Canadian Observatory at Victoria, B.C., on July 15, 1916. 
satisfactorily, as the accompanying’ illustrations 
show. 
The dome, which 
is 66 ft. in dia- a 
meter and weighs 
r20 tons (of 
2000 lb.), was com- 
pleted by the 
Warner and 
Swasey Co. in 
March . last, and, 
after being put, to- 
gether and tested 
at Cleveland, was 
shipped on March 
28. It reached 
Victoria about 
April 15, and the 
structural work 
was finished about 
July x. Both the 
building and the 
dome have double 
walls of sheet-iron, 
with at 
the foot the 
walls and louvres 
at the top of the 
dome. Being en- 
tirely. of 
building quickly as- Fic. 
sumes the tempera- 
ture of the surrounding 
freely between 
openings 
ot 
al, the 
circulates 
Though 
which 
walls. 
air, 
the double 
NO. 2468, VoL. 98] 
(elevation, | 
| ing in horizontal circles about the dome. 
so massive, the dome _ revolves 
ease. 
The mounting of the teleseope was complete in 
May, and on May 25 its operation was shown to 
a number of invited guests. After the inspection 
a luncheon was given by Messrs. Warner and 
Swasey, the guest of honour being Dr. J. S&S. 
Plaskett, who will be director of the new observa- 
tory. The instrument was then taken down, and 
after a few slight additions was finally shipped 
from Cleveland on July 29. It reached Victoria 
on August 15. The erection began on September 5, 
and the heavier parts were in place in ten days. 
However, considerable time was required for the 
wiring, as seven motors are used to produce the 
various motions. Fifty wires pass through the 
with great 
| polar axis, thirty-four of them being led along 
the declination axis. 
Fig. 1 shows the condition of the building on 
July 15. The walls are covered with sheet metal, 
and the dome is ready to receive its sheathing, 
which was fastened to the lighter iron strips pass- 
In Fig. 2- 
is shown the way in which the 9}-ton polar axis 
was transported from Victoria to the summit, a 
distance of 9} miles, over the new road built by 
the British Columbia Government. The great 
mass of iron left Victoria at 5.30 a.m., August 28, 
and was at its destination at 1 p.m. The observa- 
tory and an observer’s house (the only one yet 
built) are seen in the background. In Fig. 3 the 
telescope is shown. As will be seen, the mounting 
is of the English type. The polar axis is nearly 
2.—Transporting the o}-ton polar axis to the Observatory, August 28, 1916. 
23 ft. long, and consists of two conical tubular 
portions 
bolted to a central cubical section. 
