24 15 Mr. Herschel on the 
denly to pafs over from one extreme to the other, the gages 
were reduced to other forms, fuch as tiie border-gage, the 
ftiftance-gage, &c. which terms, and the life of fuch gages, 
I (hall hereafter find an opportunity of explaining. And none 
of thofe kinds of gages have been admitted in this table, which 
eonfifts only of fuch as have been taken in places where the 
ftars apparently feemed to be, in general, pretty evenly flut- 
tered ; and to increale and decreafe in number by a certain gra- 
dual progreftion. Nor has any part of the heavens containing 
a clufter of ftars been put in the gages ; and here I muft ob- 
ferve, that the difference between a crowded place and a clufter 
may eafily be perceived by the arrangement us well as the fize 
and mutual diftance of the ftars : for in a clufter they are 
generally not only refembling each other pretty nearly in fize, 
but a certain uniformity of diftance alfo takes place ; they are 
more and more accumulated towards the center, and put on all 
the appearances which we fhould naturally exped from a num- 
ber of them colleded into a group at a certain diftance from 
us. On the other hand, the rich parts of the milky way, as 
well as thofe in the diftant broad part of the ftratum, confift 
of a mixture of ftars of all pofiible fizes, that are feemingly 
placed without any particular apparent order. Perhaps we might 
recoiled, that a greater condenfation towards the center of our 
fyftem than towards the borders of it fhould be taken into con- 
fideration; but, with a nebula of the third form, containing 
fuch various and extenfive combinations, as I have found to 
take place in ours, this circumftance, which in one of the firft 
form would be of confiderable moment, may, I think, be 
fafely neglected. However, I would not be underftood to lay 
a greater ftrefs on thefe and the following calculations than- the 
principles on which they are founded will permit ; and if here- 
after 
