146 Wisconsin Aademij of Sciences^ Arts and Lettirs. 



same time the most perfect and the most regardful of all 

 these matters. 



At present star-catalogues are many; but complete dis- 

 cussions of their results are very scanty in comparison. 



Three elements must then be considered in the present 

 paper. 



First, what old catalogues need re-reduction? 



Second, what new observations need to be added to those 

 now in progress. 



Third, what discussions of stellar motion by the help of 

 these materials are timely and needful. 



Bradley's observations, as I have said before, have been 

 re-reduced by Auwers; and his work is partly published; he 

 has also taken care that new observations be made upon, 

 such of the stars as needed them; the resulting new cata- 

 logue by Dr. Becker of the Berlin observatory has been 

 published, with proper motions discussed by Auwers; and 

 Bradley's stars need not be observed any more for the 

 present, except for purposes of the most refined accuracy. 

 It will be an economy in by far the most cases simply to 

 drop all Bradley stars from our working lists. 



Flamsteed and Lacaille, from their want of precision, 

 need hardly be considered in this connection; Lacaille's ob- 

 servations were, it is true, partly of some accuracy for his 

 time; but these cases will mostly come up under other cir- 

 cumstances, as repetitions of Bradley; or else will be in- 

 cluded in the Cape of Good Hope observations. Lacaille's 

 far southern stars, whether well or ill observed by himself, 

 are all continued in the new Cape catalogue. 



T. Mayer (1756) observed zodiacal stars mainly. These 

 are now in process of reobservation at Berlin. 



Prof. Newcomb has lately prepared a catalogue of standard 

 and zodiacal stars; so that the observer or computer who 

 wishes to economize his labor had best avoid all stars within 

 6 degrees of the ecliptic; especially as the Greenwich observ- 

 atory, and also that at Wilhelmshaven, so far as its means 

 allow, are especially careful about stars near the moon's 

 path from year to year. 



The Lalande zones, including Fedorenko and D'Agelet, 



