46 Presidents Address. [Feb. 



A second edition of the Map of Turkistan containing much new infor- 

 mation of the Geography of Central Asia has been published. 



The special Trans- Himalayan explorations by native agents are being 

 carried on into the regions beyond the Hindii Kush Range, into that part 

 of Thibet which lies beyond the northern water-shed of the Brahmaputra 

 River at the Desert of Gobi and Great Tibet. 



This time last year Dr. Oldham from this chair called your attention 

 to the arrangements for observing the Transit of Venus. 



The Government of India early in 1873 expressed their intention of 

 confiding the arrangements for these important observations to Lieutenant- 

 Colonel Tennant, R. E. Some time has unfortunately been lost, when there 

 was little to spare, owing to the Secretary of State for India having at first 

 declined to sanction any instrument except a Photoheliograph, but at the 

 request of the Government of India the necessary supply was ordered in 

 July last. Colonel Tennant has received information that the Photohelio- 

 graph will be despatched from England in February and that the very 

 valuable addition of M. Janssen's apparatus for observing the contacts pho- 

 tographically will follow next month. Of the other instruments nothing 

 has been heard. Meanwhile the Government have sanctioned the funds 

 necessary for building an observatory, and Col. Tennant is proceeding with 

 the arrangements at Roorkee. Col. Walker, Superintendant of the G. T. 

 Survey, has been enabled by changes in his Department to make some in- 

 struments available, which will partially fill the place of what were ordered 

 from England, and Col. Douglas, R. A. has also contributed some time- 

 keepers. 



Col. Tennant proposes to observe at Roorkee where he will be assisted 

 by Captain Campbell, R. E. of the G. T. Survey. He has been authorized 

 to send an Officer (probably Captain G. Strahan R. E.) as far up into the 

 Panjab as possible to get eye observations of the last contact of Venus 

 and the Sun. If, however, the instruments ordered by the Secretary of 

 State should not arrive, it will be necessary to divert those intended to be 

 sent to the Panjab. 



It is understood that observations will be made at Madras by the Astro- 

 nomer and at Bombay by the Superintendent of the Kolaba Observatory 

 who, however, has few appliances, and at the Head Quarters of the G. T. 

 Survey Dehra Dun. 



Having thus stated what is being done in India, it will be interesting 

 to mention what is in progress elsewhere. The British Government have 

 been long preparing under the superintendence of the Astronomer-Royal to 

 send expeditions to various parts of the world. The stations selected are 

 Alexandria, the island of Rodrigues and Kerguelen's Land in the West and 

 Waahoo, Auckland, N. Z. in the East. A second station near Waahoo will 



