152 PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON: 
value of y for every # — b’ from that for #0’, to multiply the 
remainders by 0’, to find 2 (b’ay) and divide it by 2 5 (b”), when 
the quotient will be B. If A should be wanted also—as is very 
AY 
often not the case—then 2y must also be found, and A = = — 6B, 
where n equals the number of equations. 
If. In all cases we may obtain the required values by taking the 
difference of 6 and of y from the mean of the column, multiplying 
the residual by the former difference, thus forming columns of 
2b\?2 rb » 
(0 _ =) and (0 _ =) (y _ a4 adding these and dividing 
the second sum by the first. That is, 
210-FZ)0-2)} 
SY y 
|e ea iS Ue te 1 Wheit"A co =o) 
y (0 idl =) 1 ie 
{(@-= 
Ninto MEETING. DECEMBER 19, 1883. 
The Chairman presided. 
Sixteen members and guests present. 
Mr. H. Farquuar furnished a 
NOTE ON THE PROBLEM DISCUSSED BY MR. ALVORD, 
in which he showed that the volume of a spherical segment of 
height h, zi? (Rk — zh), being real for all values of h, both positive 
and negative, was to be interpreted for h<0 or h>2H as the vol- 
ume of the segment of the equilateral hyperboloid of two sheets 
whose axes equal #; this volume being taken with a negative sign. 
It was positive for negative values of hf, since it must become zero 
when h = 0 by negative increments; hence the minimum of the 
function when A = 0 in such problems as the ene discussed. 
Mr. Doo.itrLE read a communication on 
THE REJECTION OF DOUBTFUL OBSERVATIONS. ° 
[ Abstract. ] 
For the purposes of this discussion we may divide errors into 
ee, ee a 
