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KANSAS CIT\ REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 
extend itself to the most insignificant citizen of Auckland. The New Zealanders 
seemed to feel that the honor of New Zealand was involved in the matter, and 
that if a clear day was not forthcoming the fair name of the colony would suffer. 
Large numbers of people visited the station to express their interest in our suc- 
cess and their firm confidence in Auckland weather. Among the visitors were 
some who asked some very curious questions. One of the most common ones 
was this, "Will the transit occur at night or in the daytime ?" On the night 
preceding the day of transit half the population of Auckland sat up to look out 
for the weather, and the American Transit- of- Venus party did very little sleeping. 
Every instrument had been put in perfect adjustment, instrumental errors deter- 
mined most accurately and everything was in perfect readiness. At 12 o'clock it 
was perfectly clear, with every indication of a fine morning. 
At 4 o'clock in the mornting the party was at the station ready for work, 
and their feelings may be better imagined than described when it is stated that 
a heavy bank of clouds covered the entire eastern sky, and apparently all the 
labor and expense of the past few months were to be thrown away. By 5 o'clock 
necessary adjustments were made and each man was at his post ready for work. 
The look of silent despair on the countenances of the various members of the 
party was said by the citizens of Auckland to have been the most heartrending 
spectacle ever seen in New Zealand. 
At half past five the clouds broke away and photographing was commenced. 
Seventy-five photographs were obtained when the clouds again closed down and 
stopped work. Some of these photographs were taken while slight clouds cov- 
ered the Sun, and these are too thin for measurement, but the most of them pre- 
sent sharp, round images of the Sun and Venus, and can be measured with great 
accuracy. Unfortunately one of the astronomers of the party was sick and una- 
ble to take part in the work, so that the observations of third contact, which was 
the only one of value, which we could see, depended on my own observations 
alone. My observations of third contact were much more satisfactory than I 
had anticipated. The phenomenon was much sharper and much more capable of 
accurate observations than I had expected from experience in observing the 
transit of Mercury. Thin clouds covered the Sun at the time so that a shade- 
glass was not necessary, and Venus came up to the limb presenting a perfectly 
sharp black disc. The contact took place without any distortion or any appear- 
ance of the various phenomena included under the name of " black drop." I 
felt sure of the time to within one or two seconds. The images were exceed- 
ingly steady and sharp. 
It is hardly possible to give any definite statement as to the results of the 
work of the entire eight parties. A large number of photographs were obtained 
and satisfactory observations of contacts at most of the stations. It is altogether 
probable that the photographs will give a good determination of the solar paral- 
lax. It is stated that the images of the Sun in many of the pictures obtained by 
