Proceedings, v 



The following additions to the Library were announced : 



Journal of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History, Vol. XIX., 

 No. 3. 



Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. Zoology, 

 Third Series, Vol. L, No. 4. Geology, Third Series, Vol. L, 

 No. 2. 



Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences, V., 

 1897. 



The American Anthropologist, Vol. X., Nos. 5, 8-10, 1897. 



Bulletin of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Vol. VIII. , No. 81. 



Bulletin de la Societe Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscou, No. 2, 

 1897. 



La Feuille des Jeunes Naturalistes, No. 328, February, 1898. 



Annals of the Cape Observatory, Vol. III. Cape Photographic 

 Durchmusterung, Vol. I. ; Vol. VI. Solar parallax from Helio- 

 meter observations of new planets, Vol. I. ; Vol. VII. Solar 

 parallax from observations of Victoria and Sappho. 



Dr. Gill, in calling attention to Vols. III., VI., and VII., of the 

 Annals of the Cape Observatory, presented by the Lords Commis- 

 sioners of the Admiralty, said that perhaps a few words in con- 

 nection with them would not be without interest to the Members 

 of the Society. 



Vol. III. represents the first volume of a work entitled the " Cape 

 Photographic Durchmusterung," and contains the places and 

 magnitudes of 152,000 stars between Declinations 19° S. and 37° S. 

 Vols. IV. and V. of the Cape Annals will contain the positions and 

 magnitudes of all stars to about the 10th magnitude from 37° of S. 



Declination to the South Pole, and the three volumes together 

 will contain the places of 450,000 stars, thus completing for the 

 whole heavens the work begun by Argelander at Bonn, in 1852 ; and 

 carried by his successor Schonfeld to 23° South Declination. The 

 work has been thus arranged to overlap the work of Schonfeld for 

 the sake of comparison. Vol. IV. has been passed through the press, 

 but is not yet issued. Vol. V. is in the hands of the printer. The 

 history of this work is perhaps familiar to many of the Members. 

 When the Great Comet of 1882 appeared, the observatory was 

 entirely unprovided with photographic appliances. Dr. Gill obtained 

 the aid of Mr. Allis, of Mowbray, and by attaching his camera to 

 one of the equatorials so as to follow the diurnal motion, very sharp 

 pictures of the comet and the neighbouring stars were obtained. 

 Interesting as the pictures of the comet were, the point which 

 riveted Dr. Gill's attention was the large number of star images 



