332 | B. A. Gould—Number and Distribution 
brighter than these, the discordances, although relatively enor- 
. 
mous, are intrinsically small. The total number of all stars to 
bright as the 9th inclusive thus appears less improbable, if we 
may suppose some 360 additional stars to be situated in our 
immediate vicinity. 
Tn this connection I desire to mention a fact which early at- 
Way approaches most nearly to the poles. The inclination of 
to the Milky Way is about 25°, the Pleiades occu- 
ying a position midway between the nodes, : 
_ A considerable portion of the bright stars of our firmament 1s 
this zone or stream, or in its immediate vicinity- 
