364 



SCIENTIFIC NE\ArS. 



[April 20, li 



legal obstacles and suits brought by his relatives. These 

 delayed the carrying out of his plans, but eventually a 

 settlement was reached. On June 30th, 1883, the 

 corner-stone of the observatory to which this article is 

 devoted was laid, and to-day the work is practically com- 

 plete. When Mount Hamilton was selected as the site 

 for the Lick Observatory, in order to test its atmospheric 

 conditions, Professor S. W. Burnham, the discoverer of 

 many double stars, was invited to observe there in 1879. 

 Owing to the dryness of the air, and its excellent quality 

 for astronomical work, his six-inch telescope divided 

 many stars, catalogued by Professor Otto Struve as 

 double, into triple stars. Mr. Lick died in 1876, and the 

 original plans for the observatory were determined by 

 Captain Richard S. Floyd, president of the trustees, and 

 Mr. T. E. Fraser, superintendent of construction, acting 

 under the advice of Professor Edward S. Holden and 

 Professor Simon Newcomb, of the Naval Observatory in 

 Washington. Many noted astronomers have been inte- 

 rested in the work, and this will probably be the most 

 famous observatory in the world. It owns about 1,550 

 acres of land, a portion of which will eventually be 

 made into a public park, and the graded road of twenty- 

 six miles leading to the summit of Mount Hamilton from 

 San Jose may, perhaps, become a direct route to the 

 Yosemite Valley. Since 1880, when the work was first 

 begun, 7,000 tons of rock and earth have been removed 

 to level a plateau upon which the buildings stand. They 

 are constructed of solid masonry, and are of simple but 

 effective architecture, and include the main building — 

 287 feet long — containing the directors' and secretary's 

 offices, the library, clock-rooms, etc., with the large dome 

 at its southern end for the large telescope, and a smaller 

 dome for the twelve-inch equatorial at the north-west 

 corner, the meridian circle house, the transit house, the 

 photographic laboratory, and several temporary wooden 

 workshops. The dwelling-house of the astronomers, 

 63 ft. by 60 ft., stands below the summit, and is con- 

 nected with the plateau by a bridge. The surround- 

 ing peaks have been named from several famous as- 

 tronomers. 



The large dome, built by the Union Iron Works, of 

 San Francisco, is 75 feet in diameter, and its moving 

 part weigh 100 tons. It revolves upon wheels which 

 run on hardened steel balls. A man merely pushing 

 against it can move the entire dome. The usual motive 

 power is obtained from a water-engine, which can rotate 

 the dome 360° in less than nine minutes. Its diameter 

 changes half an inch in the extreme change of tempera- 

 ture, and its track is given a smooth and oiled surface to 

 slide upon. The observing slit is 9^ feet wide, and the 

 pintle of the shutter is placed eccentrically. A prac- 

 tical device for carrying the observer to the eyepiece of 

 the telescope, which at times is far above the base of 

 the dome, was planned by Sir Howard Grubb, of Dub- 

 lin. This is an elevating floor 6ii^ feet in diameter, 

 weighing 50,000 pounds, movable up and down 

 through a space of 16 feet. It is highly piobable that 

 the present system will not be sufficiently powerful to 

 raise the flooring rapidly enough, but in this event the 

 hydraulic system can be altered, or steam or electricity 

 substituted. The actual speed required can only be 

 determined after a series of experiments have been 

 made. 



The dome for the 12-inch equatorial is 25 feet wide, 

 weighs eight tons, and its observing slit, which extends 

 beyond the zenith, is three feet wide. The meridian 



circle house measures 43 by 38 feet. Its walls are double — 

 the outer frame of galvanized iron, the inner one of Cali- 

 fornia redwood. Between these is an air space 24 

 inches wide, which encircles the buildings. There is 

 also an air space above the ceiling, which communicates 

 with the room and with the air spaces of the walls, and 

 on the west there is a ventilating tower two stories 

 in height, which connects with the room of the meridian 

 transit instrument. By these means the temperature of 

 the building is kept the same as that of the external air. 

 The transit house adjoining the meridian circle house is 

 built of iron, with a wooden lining, and is arched by a 

 curved shutter, which is controlled by levers, planned 

 by Sir Howard Grubb. The photographic observatory, 

 north of the transit house, is a small wooden building 

 with brick foundation. The tube of the photoheliograph 

 telescope enters this house, and a brick pier supports the 

 photoheliograph. A room in the second floor of the 

 main building is also fitted for photography. 



The large telescope, which embodies the expressed 

 object of the 700,000 dols. donation, was mounted by 

 Warner and Swasey, of Cleveland. The tube is nearly 

 cylindrical, and is 60 feet in length. There are three 

 finders, 6, 4, and 3 inches in aperture, and in addition to 

 these the 12-inch equatorial can be quickly attached, as 

 a pointer, for photographic work, if the controlled driving 

 clock does not work satisfactorily. The lens has a clear 

 aperture of 36 inches, is the largest object-glass in the 

 world,and has a focal length of 678 inches. The flint disk 

 was obtained from Feil, in April, 1882, and after nineteen 

 failures the crown-glass disk was cast successfully in 

 September, 1885. The third photographic crown lens 

 was purchased from Feil in '1886, and broke while in 

 the hands of the Clarks. The trustees of Yale University 

 then offered their 27-inch flint-glass to the Lick Observa- 

 tory, but this was too yellow, and in 1887 Mr. Alvan 

 G. Clark bought in Paris, from Feil, the crown-glass, 

 which is worked into a third lens. In addition to its 

 magnifying power and its perfect definition — i.e., neatness, 

 accuracy, etc. — this telescope has great light-gathering 

 power, and stars may be seen through it which are 30,000 

 times fainter than the faintest seen by the naked eye, 

 and the moon will appear under the same conditions as if 

 it were seen by the naked eye at about 200 miles from 

 the earth. 



{To be continued.) 



Development of the Resources of the West 

 Indies. — We are glad to learn that the Colonial Secre- 

 tary is inviting the local authorities to co-operate in a 

 systematic attempt to develop the resources of the 

 British West Indies, and that his suggestions are meet- 

 ing with a cordial response. The increasing export 

 trade of Jamaica in fruits and dye-woods shows what 

 may be done by a well-considered scheme of improve- 

 ment based upon scientific principles. It is intended 

 to have a botanic station in every island in connection 

 with the two chief stations in Jamaica and Trinidad. 

 Those persons who carefully examined the productions 

 of the West Indies at the Colonial Exhibition will be 

 well aware that these islands have still a future 

 before them, despite the present collapse of the sugar 

 trade. 



New Natural History Museum. — In the Zoological 

 Gardens at Munster, a natural history museum for the 

 province of Westphalia is in the course of erection. 



