352 



Report of the Kew Committee. 



With a view of checking the values given by means of the Cooke 

 Collimators, a series of angles subtended by various distant well- 

 defined objects at a point at the Observatory, have been carefully 

 determined. 



The number of surveying instruments tested has satisfactorily 

 increased during the past year. 



Standard Barometers. — From time to time comparisons have been 

 made between the two Welsh Standard Barometers and Newman 

 No. 34, the working Standard of the Observatory, and their relative 

 values have been found to remain unchanged. 



Standard Thermometers. — Dr. Waldo, Director of the Thermometric 

 Bureau of the Winchester Observatory, United States of America, has 

 visited the Observatory, and selected several standard thermometers 

 for use in that establishment in the verification of American thermo- 

 meters, and for comparison with other instruments purchased of 

 Continental makers. 



Experiments have been made, but hitherto without complete success, 

 for the direct comparison of chemical thermometers at high tempera- 

 tures, an operation for which a demand has recently arisen amongst 

 those who supply these instruments in commerce. 



VI. Aid to Observatories. 



Waxed Papers, 8fc, supplied. — Waxed paper has been supplied to the 

 following Observatories : — 



Coimbra, Vienna, Valencia, Colaba, Batavia, and to the Meteoro- 

 logical Office. 



Photographic Material, &c, has been also procured for, and trans- 

 mitted to, the Coimbra Observatory. 



Anemograph Sheets have been sent to the Coimbra Observatory, and 

 Blank Magnetic Observation Forms have been supplied to 



Mr. W. N. Shaw, Cavendish Laboratory ; 



Professor Mohn, Christiania ; 



Dr. Lodge, Liverpool Science College ; 



Captain Dawson, R.A., Circumpolar Expedition ; 



The Toronto Observatory ; 



and to Messrs. Casella, Elliott Brothers, and Negretti and Zambra. 



At the request of the Crown Agents for the Colonies, a copy of the 

 apparatus used at Kew for measuring the areas of sun-spots has been 

 procured for the Mauritius Observatory. 



A Standard Barometer has also been obtained for the same 

 Observatory. 



A request has been received from the Director of the Lisbon Obser- 

 vatory for an Electrograph similar to that employed in the Observa- 

 tory. The instrument is now in course of construction. 



