212 B. A. Gould— Use of the Sine-formula for the 
ArT. XX VII.—On the Use of the Sine-formula oe the diurnal 
Variation of Temperature ; by B. A. GOULD 
In the “ Jahresbericht des epee Wid tie Centralobservato- 
riums fiir 1877 und 1878,” Dr. H. Wild, the eminent director 
of that institution, has "recently published some deservedly 
severe remarks upon the large amount of time and labor which 
is unprofitably spent in making observations with inaccurate 
instruments, and calculations with inaccurate or insufficient 
data. Probably there is no physicist who has occupied himself 
with meteorological studies to any extent without finding his 
attention forcibly attracted to the same considerations; and it 
would be needless to add any testimony in support ‘of the 
general tendency of Dr. Wild’s remarks. 
But to my surprise I find a foot-note appended to them, 
which I transcribe in the original, lest I do it injustice in the 
en to transiate : 
“Tech kannte damals noch nicht den eben erst erschienenen 
Band mit den physikalischen Beobachtungen der amerikani- 
schen Expedition der “ Polaris,” wo Herr E. Bessels das Ab- 
schreckendste in ganz unniitzen Berechnungen aller meteorolo- 
gischen Elemente nach der Bessel’schen Formel geleistet hat. 
Schade um die Zeit, die so fiir eine bessere ee der 
schonen Beobachtungen verloren ging. Die Palme der Leis- 
tungen in dieser Richtung, gebiihrt freilich ent Gould, der es 
in dem erst erschienenen, im iibrigen sehr werthvollen ersten 
Bande der ‘ Anales de la Oficina Meteordlogica Argentina’ zu 
Stande geome hat, fiir Buenos Aires, aus bloss 8 Beobacht- 
to one or two considerations which he has overlooked in in t 
sarcastic intimation that I had undertaken to determine four 
unknown quantities from three equations. 
As answer, I might, it is true, cite the Supple since the series: 
of observations made for many years at 8 A. M., 2p. Mm. and 8 
¥. a part of which is printed on pages ‘gid to 859 of the 
volume referred to,—were incorporated i a the comp as 
well as the series rent at Tas M2 ©. mM. One 
hour being common to both systems, it ree easy 6 “determine 
the small constant Aetieetee needed for making the two sys 
