A Visit to Mount Hamition. iyg 



is now nearly completed, but the staging so obscures the view, 

 that one cannot fully grasp its wonderful proportions. When com- 

 pleted, however, a sight of this immense room and the stupendous 

 instrument for which it was built, will amply repay any one for a 

 very long journey to this distant mountain top. 



To avoid the necessity for an observer's chair between thirty and 

 forty feet in height, the whole floor of the observatory is made 

 movable, so that it can be raised or lowered at the observer's will. 

 To this end it is counterprised by four huge weights of five thou- 

 sand pounds each, and by a system of hydraulic elevators it can 

 be moved up or down by the simple turn of a wheel. By a simi- 

 lar arrangement, the dome can be revolved and the great shutters 

 opened or closed. 



Among the most interesting departments of the observatory 

 work, is that pertaining to the time system. The clock-room con- 

 tains several of the best clocks which can be made, only one of 

 which, however, is set to beat standard time. But this one has a 

 most important duty to perform, for its ticks are conveyed down 

 the telegraph wire to San Jose, and from that city they spread on 

 through the w^hole system of wires as far as Ogden. Just before 

 noon, operators all over "the Pacific Slope pause for a few minutes 

 from their accustomed work, and listen to the measured click of 

 their instruments as they mark the swinging of that one pendulum, 

 far away on Mt, Hamilton, and as it comes to the last second of 

 the forenoon, a given signal is sent, which is heard at the same in- 

 stant from the Rockies to the Pacific. 



Among the many instruments to be seen in the various parts of 

 the building, is one for recording the time, direction, and intensity 

 of earthquake waves ; four earthquakes have already been observ- 

 ed. , Various devices are also seen for recording meteorological 

 phenomena, such as the height of the barometer, the velocity of 

 the wind, and the fall of rains. Outside of the main building are 

 the transit-room, the photographic's-room, and other adjuncts of 

 the observatory. 



After the apparatus had been explained by the obliging astron- 

 omer in charge, Prof Keeler, and we had looked at Venus and 

 Arcturus through the twelve-inch glass, we started down the 

 mountain. At Smith Creek we passed a camp of students belong- 

 ing to the University of California, who were engaged in finding 

 the exact elevation of the great observatory above the level of the 

 sea. 



The whole ride down the mountain is full of interest, and one 

 feels on his return to the valley the small sum of three dollars was 

 never spent in a more satisfactory way than in paying for the 

 round trip up and down Mt. Hamilton. The mountain drive and 

 the beautiful and inspiring scenery, amply repay one for the jour- 

 ney, while an inspection of the Lick Observatory at the summit 

 gives the day a charm which will never be forgotten. If the rare 



