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X. Notices of some Parts of the Surface of the Moon By John Phillips, M.A.,D.C.L., 
F.B.S., F.G.S., Professor of Geology in the University of Oxford. 
Received January 9, — Read January 16, 1868. 
My first serious attempts to portray the aspect of the moon were made with the 
noblest instrument of modern times, the great telescope of Lord Rosse, in 1852. The 
mirror was not in adjustment, so that the axes of the incident and convergent pencils 
of light were inclined at a very sensible angle. This being met by a large reduction of 
the working area of the mirror, the performance was found to be excellent. I have 
never seen some parts of the moon so well as on that occasion. But when I came to 
represent what was seen, the difficulty of transferring from the blaze of the picture to 
the dimly lighted paper, on a high exposed station, with little power of arranging the 
drawing-apparatus, was found to be insuperable, and the effect was altogether disheart- 
ening. It was like setting down things ex memoria , to give the rude general meaning, 
not like an accurate and critical copy. I present as a specimen of this memorial a sketch 
of the great crater of Gassendi, marked No. 1. (See p. 344.) 
I next mounted, in my garden at York, a small but fine telescope of Cooke, only 2*4 
inches in the aperture ; and, aware of the nature of the difficulty which beset me at 
Birr Castle, I gave it an equatorial mounting, without, however, a clock movement. 
The whole was adapted to a large solid stone pillar in the open air. It was not possible 
with -ffe of the (reduced) light of the Rosse mirror to see so well ; but it was easy to 
represent far better what one saw. A conveniently placed board to hold the drawing- 
paper, a well-arranged light, no necessity of changing position, — I made in this manner 
the drawing of Gassendi which is marked No. 2. 
My next attempt was made in the same situation with a fine telescope by Cooke, of 
6^-inch aperture and 11 feet sidereal focus, mounted equatorially, in the old English 
mode, and carried by clockwork. With this excellent arrangement I was enabled to 
use photography very successfully, and to obtain selenographs 2 inches across in 5 s of 
time. The drawing of Gassendi (Plate XV. fig. 1) was made with this instrument (1853). 
From these experiments the conclusion was obvious — that for obtaining good drawings 
of the moon convenient mounting was actually more important than great optical power ; 
and that for such a purpose it was desirable to increase in every way the comfort of the 
observer, and furnish him with special arrangements for his own position and the placing 
of his drawing-board and light. 
Having been called to reside in Oxford (1853-54), my plan for continual work on 
the moon was entirely cut through ; it was impossible to mount a large instrument near 
