1800.] 
and to return to his ancient habitation, 
_ which is more convenient for the fearching 
out comets. 
To render this fearch more fuccefsful, 
I have propofed to mount a Newtonian 
telefcope in fuch a manner as to be move- 
able around the eye-glafs, by means of a 
handle, without changing the place of the 
eye. M.Von Zach has caufed this-ma- 
chine to be engraved, and I hope that, at a 
more favourable period, it will be exe- 
cuted, and be the means of difcovering 
new comets. If, in the courfe of forty- 
three years, the fame number has been dif- 
covered by fearching for them with plain 
telefcopes without any fupport, how ma- 
ny ought we not to find by the method I 
propofe, which will not fuffer the leaft 
portion of the heavens to efcape obfer- 
vation ? ‘ 
Pictet, profeffor of natural philofophy 
at Geneva, and direétor of the obfervatory, 
has fent us the drawing of an Englifh te- 
lefcope, which, with a hingeand {mall arch 
of copper, becomes parallattic, and proper 
for following the ftars, and for making 
the greater part of aftronomical obferva- 
tions. T hope opticians, who make ftands 
for telefcopes will take advantage of this 
hint, fince mere amateurs, with an achro- 
matic tele{cope, will thus be enabled, with- 
out farther expence, to find out and to 
follow ftars in the open day, and to fearch 
for comets. 
The great work on the ftars, which I 
began in 1789, has been carried by C. 
Lefrangais to nearly 50,000, notwithftand- 
ing the unfavourablenefs of the feafons, 
which has rendered this. year one of the 
moft difagreeable and unfruitful feen at 
Paris. Thefe ftars have been already 
printed in my Hiffoire Céleffe, the firft vo-. 
lume of which, as well as my Bibliograpbie 
Afiroxomique, will appear as foon as the 
ftate of the finances will admit of funds 
‘being applied to the printing-houle of the 
republic. Burckhardt has continued to 
make, with Lefrangais, a great number of 
important obfervations on the planets and 
flars ; for, as there are two excellent in- 
ftruments at the Maifon du Champ de 
Mars, thefe are fufficient to employ thofe 
two able aftronomers. 
Citoyenne Lefrangais has made for the 
Connaiffance des Tems of the year io, 
which has juft appeared, and that of the 
year 11, now printing, catalogues of 3,000 
fiars reduced and calculated: fhe has 
therefore given us in the whole 10,000. 
~ But Burckhardt has made tables of a new 
form, which will enable him to calculate 
Eiftory of Aftronomy, for 1799, by Lalande. 
O5t 
with eafe the whole of the 50,000 ftars 
which have been obferved. p 
The obliquity of the ecliptic being one 
of the fundamental objects of aftronomy; 
we have continued to obferve it at the two 
folftices of this year. We found it in the 
month of June 5” more than what is 
given in my Table; but Mechain, in the 
month of December, found it 8” lefs than 
in my Table. This difference arifes pro- 
bably from the refraction in winter, which 
is not yet fufficiently known. This‘ quef- 
tion we hope to refolve in the prefent 
year, by comparing better the two ‘fol- 
{tices. 
The obfervatory wanted good inftru- 
ments, and we have at length been able to 
obtain fome. The large mural quadrant 
of Lemonnier, which General Bonaparte 
procured for us, has been erected, as well 
as that of five feet, which Lemonnier lent 
me in 1751 to obferve the moon with at 
Berlin, and an excellent meridian telefcope 
executed by Lenoir, with an object- piafe 
by Caroché. ‘The latter made alfo the 
large fpeculum of the twenty-two feet te- 
lefcope which was at La Muette, an 
which was equal to that of Herfchel of 
the fame length. ‘The telefcope of pla: 
tina, which they wifhed to take from us, 
has been fecured to the obfervatory, by a 
decifion of the Minifter of the Interior. 
Thus nothing is wanting to the° mot 
beautiful obfervatory in the world, to ren 
der it at the fame time the moft uleful.’ _ 
We hope at the peace to have ‘a télet 
{cope of forty feet, with {pecula of platina, 
On the 7th of Augult, 7th year, a decree 
was made-by the Inftitute thatthe platina 
we have fhould’ be-referved for the large 
telefcope, until we obtain from Spain a 
greater quantity. We have alréady 200 
pounds, but we mutt procure, at Jeaft, 
2,000 for the fpeculum, which the inti- 
mate connection between France and 
Spain gives us reafon to hope will be the 
cafe. ff 4 
Mr. Brown, an able optician of London’, 
has made-telefcopes, the tubes’ of which 
always remain horizontal, and in’ which 
the image of ‘the objest is thrown on the 
eye-glafs by means of a plain {peculum. 
The Minifter cf tle Marine has aug 
mented the falary of the Aftronomiers of 
the Marine at Marfeilles, and’ Thulis has 
refumed his obfervations withenew zeal. 
The obferyatories of Darquier at Tou- 
Joufe, Duc-la-Chapelle at Montauban, and 
Flaugergues at Viviers, have furnifhed us 
with many ufeful obfervations. 
The grand and important work of La- 
Kk2 place. 


