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LX. Notices respecting New Books ~ 



The Seientifie Papers of John Couch Ada.ms, M.A., ScD., D.G.L. r 

 LL.D., F.H.S., late Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and Geometry 

 in the University of Cambridge. Vol. II. (Cambridge : at the 

 University Press, 1900.) 



r PHE former volume of Prof .Adams's Scientific Papers was issued 

 -*- in 1896, and noticed in our vol. xliiLp. 71. It comprised 

 all those which were published by that distinguished astronomer 

 during his lifetime, from 1844, when he was- 23 years of age, to- 

 1890, which was two years before his death. But besides these,. 

 a large number of papers (as was remarked in our notice) on 

 different branches or astronomy were left in an incomplete state 

 amongst his manuscripts. These have been prepared for publi- 

 cation by Prof. Sampson, of the University of Durham, and form,, 

 together with abstracts of a number of lectures, the first part of 

 the volume now before us. The Preface describes the labour in- 

 volved in the preparation of the manuscripts for press. They 

 consisted of an accumulation of notes, studies, and rough work ;. 

 and though, to use Prof. Sampson's words s " very few probably 

 have written their studies in a form so finished as Adams," and 

 though his manner of treating subjects of which he had the- 

 absolute mastery seemed "to symbolize as well as to calculate the- 

 motions of the stars," yet it was impossible to reproduce his own 

 words and order, and was necessary in fact to re-write the papers. 

 The most important are on numerical developments in the lunar 

 theory, the secular acceleration of the moon's mean motion, the 

 theory of Jupiter's satellites, the perturbation of the orbit of the 

 November meteors, and the figure of the earth. With regard to 

 the lectures, the editor followed the guidance of notes taken 

 by Mr. A. Graham of the Cambridge Observatory, by the- late 

 Kev. A. Preeman (who at one time acted as deputy to Prof.. 

 Challis, Airy's successor in the Plumian chair), and by himself. 

 The first indeed, as here given, is substantially from Prof. Sampson's 

 own notes : it contains an historical sketch of the lunar theory, 

 which commenced with Newton. The others are on various points 

 in that theory, the original aim being to illustrate geometrically 

 the analytical processes, and thereby render them more compre- 

 hensible ; hut others being added and. several re-written, so that 

 the whole fabric was gradually changed into the form in which it 

 is here presented. 



The Second Part of the present volume is on the theory of 

 terrestrial magnetism, and is edited (like the first volume) by the 

 author's brother, Prof. W. Grylls Adams, of King's College, 

 London. The work of the determination of the Gaussian 

 magnetic constants was first taken in hand fifty years ago, not 

 long after the discovery of the planet Neptune, and was suggested 

 by Gauss's psiper, a translation of which was published in Taylor's 

 'Scientific Memoirs' in 1841; Gauss's own work having been 

 founded on the publication of Sabine's map of the total intensity 



Phil llag. S. 5. Vol. 50. No. 307.. Bee. 1900. 2 X 



