392 Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. [Sess. 
In the Astronomische Nachriclden , No. 4291, M. Beljawsky determines 
the apex and vertex according to the ellipsoidal hypothesis of the dis- 
tribution of proper motions which has been put forward and developed by 
Professor Schwarzschild in the Nachrichten der k. Gesellschaft der Wissen- 
schciften zu Gottingen, 1907 and 1908. As M. Beljawsky uses the proper 
motions given by Professor Porter (Cine. Publ. 12), the material he uses 
largely coincides with what I have used. He finds the following positions : — 
(Apex) R.A. 281° Dec. +36°. 
(Vertex) R.A. 266° Dec. - 24°. 
It is of interest to notice that the two-stream hypothesis of Kapteyn 
and Eddington agrees with the ellipsoidal hypothesis of Schwarzschild both 
when applied to the Groombridge stars and to the stars of large proper 
motion ; and that the differences found by using different stars are more 
than those found by using different methods. It is hardly possible to say 
which representation accords most closely with the facts. 
( Issued separately May 15, 1909.) 
