,,history ,,of ,,the ,,harvard ,,college ,,observatory ,,during ,,the ,,period #ahdj-ahij4 ,,by ,,daniel ,w4 ,,baker4 ,reprinted from the ,boston ,evening ,traveller4 ,,cambridge4 #ahij4 ,,preface4 ,a careful study of the early history of the ,harvard ,college ,observatory has been made by ,mr4 ,,daniel ,w4 ,,baker4 ,many facts were thus brought to light which had not appeared in print4 ,a series of newspaper articles was accordingly prepared1 which were published in the ,boston 8,evening ,traveller0 on six successive ,saturdays1 beginning ,august #b1 #ahij4 ,much of this material appearing to be of sufficient value for preservation in a more permanent form1 it has been reprinted in the present pamphlet1 with slight alterations1 and with the addition of the illustrations given on page #be4 ,the parts numbered ,,iv4 and ,v4 originally appeared together as a single article4 ,reproductions have been made of some of the illustrations4 ,the articles were originally addressed1 not to professional astronomers1 but to the general public1 and are to be regarded as a popular description of the work accomplished at the ,harvard ,college ,observatory during the first fifty years of its existence4 ,,edward ,c4 ,,pickering4 ,,harvard ,,college ,,observatory1 ,september #ac1 #ahij4 ,,history ,,of ,,the ,,harvard ,,college ,,observatory4 #ahdj-ahij4 ,the present is the semi-centennial year of the ,harvard ,college ,observatory4 ,a precise date cannot be named for the beginning1 but in the early months of the year #ahdj the institution was gradually organized1 and before midsummer became a tangible fact and a working adjunct of the college4 ,while the first astronomical observation is of record ,dec4 #ca1 #ahci1 it is well known that the observatory had not then an official staff1 the appointment of the first director being of date ,feb4 #ab1 #ahdj1 and the confirmation by the ,board of ,overseers somewhat later4 ,moreover1 this particular observation and others immediately following were made in continuation of work begun elsewhere and not identified with the college affairs4 ,the advance made in astronomical science during the #ej years past is among the wonderful facts comprised in the record of the #aith century1 and it is true that since it became fairly organized and equipped1 ,harvard ,college ,observatory has been in the front rank in the march4 ,a review of this progress so far as pertaining to the institution at ,cambridge1 is1 therefore1 timely4 ,a history of #ej years1 embodying so many facts of the first importance and interest as does this1 cannot1 even with the most resolute purpose as respects brevity1 be disposed of in a single chapter4 ,this1 accordingly1 will be the first of a series4 ,the reader may be assured at the outset that the topics to be touched upon are various and in themselves attractive1 and that1 so far as possible1 technicalities will be shunned4 ,regarding the period of beginning just referred to as the blossoming1 whence has followed abundant fruitage1 it may be remarked that a long time passed between the budding and the blossoming1 and that indications of the flow of a vital current are recognizable at as remote a date as #agfa4 ,in that year the sloop owned by the province of ,massachusetts was fitted out at public cost to convey ,prof4 ,john ,winthrop and others connected with the college1 provided with instruments belonging to the college1 to ,newfoundland1 for observation of a transit of ,venus4 ,in #aghj1 notwithstanding the financial straits incident to the war1 the commonwealth provided a small vessel of war1 called a 8galley10 to take ,prof4 ,samuel ,williams1 of the college1 and party to ,penobscot to observe a total eclipse of the sun4 ,the first definite record pointing to a college observatory is of date #ahje1 when ,john ,lowell1 the uncle of that ,john ,lowell who founded the ,lowell ,institute1 being in ,paris1 consulted with ,delambre1 an astronomer of note1 and procured from him written instructions as to suitable buildings and instruments for an observatory4 ,this document was sent to the college authorities at ,cambridge4 ,no official action followed4 ,the next of record is that the college authorities in #ahae appointed a committee to consider and report upon an eligible plan for an observatory4 ,this is supposed to have been the first corporate action taken in the ,united ,states1 having such an object in view4 ,the doings of this committee are notable in two particulars1 at least4 ,they brought into official relations with the college for the first time1 the man who was destined to be the builder and organizer of the observatory1 #be years later1 ,william ,cranch ,bond4 ,he was about to visit ,europe and was appointed the agent of the college to obtain information as to the construction and instrumental equipment of the observatory at ,greenwich1 and to make such plans1 drawings1 etc41 as would enable him or another to construct an astronomical observatory at ,cambridge2 also to ascertain from the makers the cost of certain principal instruments like those at ,greenwich4 ,he performed the service and reported in detail in the following year4 ,that nothing practical came of it for a quarter of a century was not owing to the will1 but comparatively speaking1 to the poverty of the college4 ,this result followed1 however1--and it may be reckoned the second notable circumstance--that1 upon his return1 ,mr4 ,bond constructed the model of an astronomical dome1 the operative plan of which was the same as that of the great dome1 built in #ahdd1 and which has been in satisfactory use at ,cambridge to the present time4 ,the chief peculiarity of its mechanism is in the method of rotation by means of smoothly-turned spheres of iron4 ,the dome rests on these at equi-distant points1 and1 being set in motion by suitable gearing1 the iron balls sustaining its weight roll along a level circular track of iron1 the circumference of which is equal to that of the dome4 ,the method was unlike that previously in use4 ,it appears to have been original with ,mr4 ,bond1 as is perhaps evinced by a remark in his report for #ahdh referring to the matter3 8,if carefully examined1 it will be found that this arrangement is as perfect in theory as it is appropriate and convenient in practice40 ,experience has shown that spheres of hard bronze are more serviceable than those of iron1 and bronze is now used4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,dana ,,house4 ,the record indicates that an observatory did not cease to be a coveted object at any time during the #be years prior to #ahdj4 ,two antecedent events1 in themselves of importance1 combined to bring the long cherished project to a happy issue1--the accession of ,josiah ,quincy to the presidency of the college and the action of ,congress in authorizing what came to be popularly known as the 8,wilkes ,exploring ,expedition40 ,the purpose of the expedition in part was to establish the latitudes and longitudes of uncharted places in distant parts of the world where ,american commerce was extending1 and in part to investigate natural phenomena1 including the facts of terrestrial magnetism4 ,having1 after much delay1 got an adequate appropriation1 the naval department employed the best available talent of the country for the conduct of the enterprise4 ,mr4 ,bond was engaged to make at his private observatory in ,dorchester1 ,mass41 investigations to fix a zero of longitude1 whence final reference to ,greenwich might be had1 and to make a continuous record of magnetic observations at ,dorchester for comparison with like records obtained at distant points by the expedition itself4 ,as preliminary to the latter work1 ,mr4 ,bond tested in an isolated observatory in ,dorchester the magnetic instruments with which the expedition was to be equipped4 ,mr4 ,bond's talents were as well known at ,cambridge as at ,washington4 ,what ,mr4 ,quincy did in the premises can best be stated in his own words3 8,early in the year #ahci1 the exploring expedition then being in the ,southern ocean1 it occurred to the president of the university that if ,mr4 ,bond could be induced to transfer his residence and apparatus to ,cambridge and pursue his observations there1 under the auspices of the university1 it would have an important influence in clearing the way for an establishment of an efficient observatory in connection with that seminary1 by the increase of the apparatus at its command1 by the interest which the observations making by ,mr4 ,bond were calculated to excite1 and1 by drawing the attention of the citizens of ,boston and its vicinity to the great inadequacy of the means possessed by the university for efficient astronomical observations1 create a desire and a disposition to supply them40 ,this proposition1 ,mr4 ,quincy says in another connection1 he made without having consulted with the corporation4 ,that body sanctioned his action by making a formal contract with ,mr4 ,bond1 of date ,nov4 #cj1 #ahci1 the agreement on ,mr4 ,bond's part being to make the transfer as proposed4 ,steps were at once taken by the college authorities to secure a subscription of #ajj each from #cj different gentlemen1 which sum was applied1 under ,mr4 ,bond's direction1 in alterations and additions to a dwelling house owned by the college and known as the 8,dana house40 ,it still stands upon its original site at the junction of ,quincy and ,harvard streets1 the lot being the southeast corner of what are distinctively called 8the college grounds40 ,the cupola which crowns the roof is a reminder and proof of a part of these alterations3 for within it was set up one of the telescopes of the first college observatory1 the cupola when constructed being suitably domed for the purpose4 ,something practical in astronomy had always been taught in the college course4 ,in this way1 or possibly by ,mr4 ,bond himself1 the position of ,harvard ,hall on the college grounds had been determined4 ,thus1 in a paper published by him in #ahcc in the ,memoirs of the ,american ,academy1 he gives the position of his observatory in ,dorchester as 8#j-c-ae east of ,harvard ,hall in ,cambridge40 ,that the astronomical equipment possessed by the college before ,mr4 ,bond's coming did not amount to the beginning of a proper observatory1 sufficiently appears by a contemporary letter of ,prof4 ,joseph ,lovering1 written in response to an official inquiry4 ,he says that the college had at the time 8no instrument of much value for determining either time or position1 and no place more convenient for using instruments than an open field1 or a window which might accidentally open in the right direction40 ,he gives the inventory1 comprising an astronomical clock1 which1 he says1 cannot be relied on for accurate time2 a small transit instrument1 which at one time was loaned to ,dr4 ,bowditch1 but returned1 he having found it of little value2 two reflecting telescopes of three feet and two feet focal length2 and a refractor of three feet focal1 which three1 he says1 8answered decently well for showing the moon1 ,jupiter's satellites1 ,saturn's ring1 etc41 to the students1 but were very imperfect for any nice observation40 ,these1 with an astronomical quadrant and a common quadrant1 complete the list4 ,the list of instruments brought by ,mr4 ,bond does not appear in the printed records1 but in the paper above referred to he names his instruments used at ,dorchester as a ,gregorian reflector of #cj inches focus1 equatorially mounted1 an achromatic telescope of #dj inches focus1 a ,borda's circle1 a ,ramsden's sextant1 and two transit clocks4 ,the clocks he describes as 8excellent10 and says that they had mercurial pendulums4 ,in the early observations of ,mr4 ,bond at ,cambridge1 priority was given to the work begun at ,dorchester for the naval department4 ,in the college record a considerable part of the routine is classed as meteorology1 with reference1 chiefly1 to the earth's magnetism4 ,the scheme of observation in this department was1 however1 much broadened1 and in this the observatory appears to have performed its first notable service to pure science and to have assumed a place that gave it international recognition4 ,for these observations the best known apparatus was procured and put into service in a building on the college grounds set at a distance from the ,dana house1 but connected therewith by a covered way4 ,it was known as the 8,lloyd apparatus40 ,it consisted chiefly of three magnetometers1 one for indicating declination1 one for horizontal force and the third for vertical force4 ,it was the product of the same firm in ,england which had made like instruments for the ,british government for use at meteorological stations at ,greenwich1 ,eng41 ,toronto1 ,can41 ,st4 ,helena1 ,cape of ,good ,hope1 ,bombay1 ,madras1 ,singapore and ,van ,diemen's ,land4 ,the magnetic observations at ,cambridge were conducted according to the same formula as that in use at these ,british stations1 with a purpose of co-operation4 ,in this cosmical investigation the ,german ,meteorological ,association1 having many observatories under its direction1 and the ,russian government1 having magnetic stations at various points between the borders of ,china and the ,arctic ,circle1 joined4 ,this ,lloyd apparatus was the gift of the ,american ,academy of ,arts and ,sciences1 by vote of ,april #bb1 #ahdj1 and was of the value of #ajjj4 ,illustration3 ,,main ,,observatory ,,building1 ,,showing ,,the ,,director',s ,,residence ,,and ,,the ,,great ,,dome4 ,many interesting particulars of the early days of ,harvard ,college observatory are given in the first volume of printed annals of the institution4 ,in the reading an essential fact is to be kept in mind1 the difference of the pecuniary standards of that and the present time4 ,the writer of an official document of #ahdc1 was1 in view of that difference1 neither inexact nor ironical when he characterized a conditional offer of #ejjj for the observatory1 made that year by ,hon4 ,david ,sears1 as 8a munificent proposal40 ,it was soon found that the ,dana house site would serve only temporarily1 and on ,sept4 #d1 #ahda1 action was taken for the building of a permanent observatory4 ,soon afterwards the present observatory grounds1 then known as 8,summer ,house hill10 were bought4 ,up to this time astronomical work had been carried on at the ,dana house to the extent possible with the few instruments of precision at command1 much of it by ,mr4 ,w4 ,c4 ,bond1 ,jr41 whose decease1 in #ahdb1 was regarded a loss to science4 ,the contract of the senior ,mr4 ,bond with the ,united ,states government ended in #ahdb1 and in ,july of that year a movement was made having in view the purchase of a first-class telescope1 but it was a matter of inquiry as to cost1 etc41 only4 ,under ordinary circumstances what was thus sought for1 a proper observatory building and a telescope equal to the more difficult problems of astronomy1 would have been slowly arrived at4 ,but early in ,march1 #ahdc1 the great comet of that year suddenly appeared in the evening sky1 near to the sun4 ,it was an astonishing phenomenon1 and wrought the popular as well as the scientific mind into a state of excitement4 ,the comet had passed perihelion on ,feb4 #bg1 and was seen at one place in ,new ,england on the #bhth1 close to the sun4 ,during its brightest period it was visible in the daytime at one place in this section of the country from #g4cj ,a4,m4 to #c ,p4,m41 when clouds intervened2 and in ,mexico from #i ,a4,m4 till sunset4 ,it passed but about #ij1jjj miles from the sun's surface and through more than #cjj1jjj miles of the sun's corona1 its velocity then being #cej miles per second4 ,its head was small1 but its tail large and brilliant4 ,the total light emitted by the meteor is stated by ,prof4 ,loomis to have been equal to that of the moon at midnight in a clear sky4 ,by the telescope its tail could be traced over a computed distance of #ajh1jjj1jjj miles1 so that had it been pointed towards the earth it would have passed through the planet's atmosphere and #ae1jjj1jjj miles beyond4 ,the professor names as its notable characteristics 8its small perihelion distance1 nearly as small as is physically possible1 and its prodigious length of tail40 ,it continued visible into the following month4 ,it is known in the books as 8the great comet of #ahdc10 but for reasons which will appear1 it might well be called 8the ,harvard comet40 ,the friends of the young institution at ,cambridge perceived that the moment was opportune for an appeal to the moneyed public4 ,the prevalent curiosity as to the visitor could not be gratified by the observers at the ,dana house4 ,they had no instruments fit for the occasion4 ,an altitude-and-azimuth instrument1 which had been used in the state survey of #ahca1 was borrowed and mounted in the cupola1 and thus1 on ,march #i1 an observation was first made2 but nothing came of the endeavor1 it being found impossible to secure permanent adjustments4 ,the next thing done was to call a meeting of citizens in ,boston4 ,the chairman was ,hon4 ,abbot ,lawrence4 ,addresses were made by ,hon4 ,john ,pickering1 ,prof4 ,benjamin ,peirce1 ,hon4 ,william ,appleton and ,hon4 ,s4 ,a4 ,eliot4 ,a financial committee was appointed1 and subscriptions to the amount of #be1jjj were obtained in ,boston1 ,salem1 ,new ,bedford and ,nantucket4 ,thus encouraged1 the official board of the college negotiated for the purchase of the best telescope that could be produced in ,europe1 a refractor of #ae inches aperture1 equatorially mounted1 the makers being ,merz ,mahler of ,munich4 ,the spot for building a massive stone supporting pier on ,summer ,house hill was fixed ,aug4 #ab1 #ahdc1 and ground was broken for the work on ,aug4 #ae4 ,these were the experiences which ,prof4 ,benjamin ,peirce had in mind when in later years he spoke in eulogy of ,prof4 ,bond1 then deceased1 in phrase which is both of historical and biographical interest4 ,having mentioned some of the early difficulties1 he said3 8,when1 in #ahci1 ,mr4 ,bond was drawn to ,cambridge by the strong hand of ,president ,quincy1 when the cause of the observatory was undertaken by the unflinching and irresistible vigor of our friend ,j4 ,ingersoll ,bowditch1 when even the heavens came to our assistance1 and that wonderful comet of #ahdc excited most opportunely a universal interest in celestial phenomena1--it was then apparent that the affection for ,mr4 ,bond was the chief strength of the occasion1 and to that we were mainly indebted for the successful attempt to obtain the unrivalled equatorial and to lay the foundations of the observatory40 ,no proper biography of ,mr4 ,bond1 whose career was an honor to his country1 has ever been published4 ,a sketch1 the facts for which have largely been derived from original sources1 may fittingly be given as the next number in this series4 ,,ii4 ,a casual glance at the circumstances of the beginning of the famous observatory in the neighboring city of ,cambridge will show that a most important contribution to the success of that enterprise was made by the first director of the observatory1 ,prof4 ,w4 ,c4 ,bond4 ,the more diligently those circumstances are studied1 the stronger will be the conviction that his work1 while it was that of designer and organizer1 was also somewhat better in the sense of being more rare in quality2 that his presence and enthusiasm gave the institution vitality4 ,the record of his life gives him title to rank among eminent ,americans4 ,william ,cranch ,bond was born in ,portland1 ,me41 ,sept4 #i1 #aghi4 ,he was the youngest son of ,william and ,hannah 7,cranch7 ,bond1 who were natives of ,england4 ,the family was of distinction there1 and is genealogically traceable to the time of ,william the ,conqueror1 or earlier4 ,the ,brandon manor is said to have been granted by that monarch to the ancestor of this line1 and to have been held by the family through many generations4 ,william ,bond was born ,in ,plymouth1 ,eng4 ,richard ,cranch1 an uncle of ,hannah1 settled in ,braintree1 ,mass1 in #agea4 ,the name1 in himself and his descendants1 became distinguished in the annals of the province and commonwealth4 ,from him ,william ,bond received information which induced him to emigrate to this country4 ,he located for business purposes at ,portland1 then ,falmouth1 and engaged in cutting ship-timber at ,frenchman's bay1 sending the commodity to ,england4 ,he made a voyage thence to ,england1 returning with his wife and elder children4 ,the timber business proved in the end unprofitable and he removed to ,boston in #agic1 where he established himself in his vocation of clockmaker and silversmith1 his stand being at the corner of ,milk and ,marlboro1 now ,washington street4 ,the youth of ,william ,c4 ,bond was1 accordingly1 spent in ,boston1 where he had such education as the common schools afforded4 ,indeed1 that he did not have fully that privilege1 may be inferred from his remark quoted by ,josiah ,quincy1 that pecuniary restrictions 8obliged me to become an apprentice to my father before ,i had learned the multiplication table40 ,mainly he was self-taught1 though doubtless he derived instruction from his father1 who was a well-informed man1 and from some of the ,cranch relatives1 who were of good education4 ,the traditions of the family and the facts of his career1 indicate his mental quality to have been that of genius1 one trait of which is that it absorbs congenial knowledge from unpromising materials and amidst adverse conditions4 ,illustration3 ,,prof4 ,w4 ,c4 ,,bond4 ,his eldest sister wrote of him as having been1 at the age of #ad1 8a slender boy with soft gray eyes and silky1 brown hair1 quick to observe1 yet shrinking from notice1 and sensitive to excess40 ,she adds1 in reference to his early-developed tastes3 8,the first that ,i remember1 was his intense anxiety about the expected total eclipse of the sun of ,june #af1 #ahjf4 ,he had then no instrument of his own1 but watched the event from a house-top on ,summer street through a telescope belonging to ,mr4 ,francis ,gray1 to which1 somehow1 he got access4 ,in so doing he injured his eyes and for a long time was troubled in his vision40 ,an elder brother writes ,of him at this early period3 8,he was the mildest and best-tempered boy ,i ever knew1 and his remarkable mechanical genius showed itself very early40 ,he adds that in devising and making bits of apparatus that boys use in their sports1 ,william was chief among his comrades4 ,his early apprenticeship in the clockmaking business undoubtedly gave a fortunate discipline to this natural ingenuity1 by confining his experiments pretty closely to the facilities of his father's workshop as to tools and materials4 ,he found or made 8idle time0 enough before he was #ae years old to construct a reliable shop chronometer4 ,it had to be a fixture1 for lacking a suitable spring he contrived to run it by weights4 ,when he was about #af years of age he made a good working quadrant out of ebony and boxwood1 the only materials he had4 ,his son1 ,g4 ,p4 ,bond1 wrote of this instrument1 years afterwards3 8,it is no rude affair1 but every part1 especially the graduation1 the most difficult of all1 shows the neatness1 patience1 and accuracy of a practised artist4 ,a better witness to the progress he had already made in astronomy could not be desired4 ,it is all that the materials would admit of1 and proves that he must have been1 even then1 irrevocably devoted to astronomy40 ,how these 8eccentricities of genius0 were looked upon by the senior ,mr4 ,bond does not appear1 but1 at any rate1 ,william was made a member of the firm about the date of his majority1 and forthwith the clockmaking business was expanded to include the rating1 repairing and making of chronometers4 ,astronomy could now go hand in hand with 8business40 ,he must have had the means of ascertaining the true local time before he was himself owner of an instrument suited to that purpose4 ,he made his first seagoing chronometer in #ahab1 and it was the first made in ,america4 ,its engraved trade mark was 8,wm4 ,c4 ,bond1 #ahab40 ,it at once went into service1 and satisfactorily stood the test of a voyage to and from the ,east ,indies4 ,for making this he had a working model2 the stationary or shop chronometer of #ahjd was made according to a description he found in an old ,french book of a chronometer used by ,la ,perouse1 the navigator4 ,in #ahaj the business of the ,bonds was removed to ,congress street4 ,about the same time the family removed to ,dorchester where for a while they occupied1 as tenants1 different houses4 ,mr4 ,bond himself said in his later years that what first gave him a determination for astronomy was his experience of the total eclipse of #ahjf4 ,once aroused1 the feeling never ceased to have sway1 and it modified all his business ambitions as a chronometer maker4 ,but as such an artisan he had excuse in the eyes of the practical minded for his loved explorations into the starry depths4 ,in the lack of proper instruments his earliest observations were made by crude methods1 which yet gave proof of his originality and of the fascination which the study had for him4 ,it was soon after #ahaa that he first gained recognition from any one competent to pass judgment upon his essential mental qualities4 ,on ,sept4 #d1 #ahaa1 ,prof4 ,john ,farrar of ,harvard ,college first caught sight of a comet in the western sky4 ,he appears to have at once notified ,dr4 ,nathaniel ,bowditch of ,salem1 and they two1 and a few others in ,new ,england who had telescopes1 traced its subsequent progress4 ,each of the two published an account of his observations in the ,memoirs of the ,american ,academy4 ,prof4 ,farrar having given in his introductory paragraph the date of his first observation1 adds that the comet had been seen earlier by ,mr4 ,bond of ,dorchester1 whom he calls 8,william ,bond1 ,jr410 and says that ,mr4 ,bond had 8obligingly favored0 him with the following notices3 ,i remarked on the #bast of ,april a faint1 whitish light near the constellation ,canis ,major1 projecting a tail about one degree in length1 and set down its place as follows3 ,right ascension1 #ajf2 declination1 #i ,s4 ,april #bd1 right ascension1 #ajh2 declination1 #g or #h ,s4 ,its motion and the situation of its tail convinced me that it was a comet4 ,i noticed it several times in ,may1 and supposed that its motion was toward the western part of the constellation ,leo4 ,by messages coming in sailing ships it was learned subsequently to ,september that the comet had been seen in ,europe on ,march #be4 ,its perihelion passage was ,september #ab1 #ahaa4 ,the elder brother already quoted says of these early days3 8,i suppose it would cause the astronomer royal to laugh could he see the first transit instrument used by us at ,dorchester1 a strip of brass nailed to the east end of the house1 with a hole in it to see a fixed star and note its transit2 this in #ahac4 ,when we moved into the ,hawes house1 he procured a good granite block2 we dug a deep hole and placed it at the west end of the house and got ,mr4 ,alger to cast a stand for the transit instrument1 a small one1 which ,i think belonged to ,harvard ,college4 ,from this time he began to live among the stars40 ,the facts thus recorded of the beginning of ,mr4 ,bond's career show his zeal and watchfulness as an amateur in astronomy1 and that up to the date of the comet's appearance1 and later1 he had no personal acquaintance with men of science in the vicinity1 since he informed none of them of what he had seen4 ,when1 months afterwards1 ,prof4 ,farrar inquired about it1 the young discoverer was able to report from his memoranda no more than the degrees of position1 without the minutes and seconds1 and to say that he 8supposed0 the comet to be moving towards the constellation ,leo1 circumstances indicating that a strip of brass with a hole in it and a home-made boxwood quadrant were all that was astronomically in use at ,dorchester as late as #ahaa4 ,that this experience with the comet was a fortunate turning point in ,mr4 ,bond's career is evinced by ,prof4 ,farrar's genial recognition in the paper published in the organ of ,american ,science1 where he might excusably have ignored so crude a record as that which was the best ,mr4 ,bond could supply1 and by the appearance not long afterwards1 at the west end of the ,hawes house in ,dorchester1 of a loaned telescope belonging to ,harvard ,college4 ,there is no doubt that whatever previously had been lacking of opportunity to gain knowledge of the technics of astronomical science was now fully within his reach and that henceforth he had the best possible of instructors and counsellors so far as he had occasion for any4 ,mr4 ,george ,p4 ,bond writes of his father3 8,he has mentioned the names of ,dr4 ,nathaniel ,bowditch1 ,prof4 ,farrar and ,tutor ,clapp as those from whom he received most encouragement to continue the cultivation of astronomy4 ,upon his friendly intercourse with the eminent mathematician and astronomer first named he often dwelt with peculiar pleasure and warmth of feeling40 ,the name of one other of the godfathers of the young scientist is entitled to be mentioned1 that of ,josiah ,quincy4 ,the lady above quoted gives an account of the setting up of the first telescope at ,dorchester by her brother1 and says that through it could be seen the satellites of ,jupiter and the rings of ,saturn4 ,she adds that in the pursuit of astronomy up to this period 8he had had no assistance whatever except from the genial kindness of ,hon4 ,josiah ,quincy1 who had early recognized the future astronomer in the unpretending boy in the watchmaker's shop on ,congress street1 and whose kindness and encouragement never failed throughout the subsequent years40 ,that these men found their patronage to have been well bestowed is manifest from the action taken four years after the date of the comet by the college in making ,mr4 ,bond its delegate and agent4 ,the board of that year consisted of ,president ,kirkland1 ,john ,lathrop1 ,d4,d41 ,christopher ,gore1 ,,ll4,d41 ,john ,davis1 ,,ll4,d41 ,john ,lowell1 ,,ll4,d41 and ,john ,phillips4 ,it is of record that the moving spirits in the matter were ,prof4 ,farrar and ,dr4 ,bowditch1 and they were appointed a committee to prepare technical written instructions to the agent as to the general scope of his inquiry4 ,during his visit abroad1 ,mr4 ,bond married his cousin1 ,selina ,cranch1 of ,kingsbridge1 in ,devonshire1 the date being ,july #ah1 #ahai4 ,soon after his return he purchased a house near to his father's residence in ,dorchester1 and erected on the premises a small wooden building1 which he carefully equipped as an astronomical observatory4 ,its position is that meant in the official references to the observatory at ,dorchester1 and is about #de feet southerly of the present south line of ,cottage street1 and #cfj feet southeasterly of the centre of the ,new ,york ,new ,england railroad bridge1 over that street4 ,here1 as one of his brief biographers remarks1 8no eclipse or occultation escaped him1 though occupied in business during the day in ,boston10 and here ,mr4 ,quincy found him in #ahci1 busy in his work for the ,navy ,department4 ,the period which had elapsed since the setting of the granite block and the poising upon it of the borrowed telescope had been for ,mr4 ,bond one of constant and rapid advance in the astronomer's art4 ,the ,cottage street observatory was built about the year #ahbc4 ,referring to the period between #ahbc1 or a little earlier1 and #ahci1 ,mr4 ,g4 ,p4 ,bond writes of his father3 8,as soon as his circumstances permitted1 he imported more perfect apparatus from ,europe and continued to add to his collection until it was the best in the country40 ,and he adds this statement1 which is highly suggestive as respects the enthusiasm with which the accomplished and successful chronometer maker entered upon the broader and loftier mission which destiny had in reserve for him3 8,when appointed by the ,navy ,department to the charge of astronomical and other observations1 he forthwith laid out a sum of money on instruments and buildings more than ten times greater than the annual salary 7to continue but four years71 which he had himself proposed as an adequate compensation for all necessary expenses1 and his own time1 besides40 ,during a few years prior to #ahcj1 he gathered materials for investigating the comparative rates of chronometers at sea and on shore4 ,subsequently he communicated to the ,american ,academy the results reached1 and in this paper effectually disposed of the scientific question involved1 so far as it related to the interests of navigation4 ,the authority for this statement is ,mr4 ,g4 ,p4 ,bond1 who also says that about the same time his father conducted a series of experiments to ascertain the influence of changes of temperature in the presence of large surfaces of iron upon the performance of chronometers2 and adds that 8although the conclusions arrived at were at variance with the opinions of men high in authority in such matters1 they are now known to be correct40 ,president ,quincy1 in making his overture1 was dealing with no novice1 and1 certainly1 no stranger4 ,some intimation of what ,mr4 ,bond had attained to is contained in the remarks of ,prof4 ,benjamin ,peirce spoken in the obituary proceedings of the ,american ,academy in #ahei1 consequent upon ,mr4 ,bond's decease1 though the reference is to a longer period4 ,the instrument alluded to is the great equatorial at ,cambridge4 ,prof4 ,peirce said3 8,in his original investigations he naturally restrained himself to those forms of observation which were fully within the reach of his own resources4 ,he did not1 therefore1 seek those inquiries which could only be accomplished by long1 intricate1 and profound mathematical computations1 but preferred those which were purely dependent upon the thorough discipline of the senses4 ,he consequently availed himself less of the remarkable capacity of his instrument for delicate and refined measurements than of its exquisite optical qualities4 ,but when observations were required which must be passed over to the computer1 his skill was not wanting to the occasion4 ,thus1 in conjunction with ,major ,graham1 he made that choice series of observations from which the latitude of the observatory was determined40 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,bond ,,house1 ,,dorchester4 ,view looking to the southwest4 ,the ,observatory stood contiguous to the west end4 ,to this testimony as to ,prof4 ,bond's skill as an observer maybe added that of ,mr4 ,g4 ,p4 ,bond as to his diligence and zeal3 8,there is something to my mind appalling in the contemplation of my father's labors1 from the time when he was first enabled to indulge freely his passion for observation4 ,the accumulated volumes filled with manuscript records give me a shudder at the thought of the weary frame and straining eye1 the exposure1 and the long1 sleepless nights that they suggest40 ,ex-,president ,quincy1 upon the obituary occasion referred to1 made this interesting statement as to the initiation of his project for ,mr4 ,bond's removal to ,cambridge3 8,this proposal1 so in unison with his pursuits and talents1 ,i expected would be received with pleasure4 ,but it was far otherwise4 ,in the spirit of that innate modesty which predominated in his character1 and apparently cast a shadow over all his excellent qualities and attainments1 ,mr4 ,bond hesitated1 doubted his qualifications for the position4 ,he said his habits were not adapted to public station2 that our combined apparatus would be small1 and that something great might be expected2 that he preferred independence in obscurity to responsibility in an elevated position4 ,he raised many other objections1 which need not here be repeated1 as they were overcome40 ,at the date of this interview the president found ,mr4 ,bond well established in a profitable manufacturing business1 happily situated in his domestic and neighborhood surroundings1 with an avocation fascinating enough to occupy all his leisure and a fame extensive enough to satisfy his own modest estimate of his abilities4 ,there was no pecuniary betterment for ,mr4 ,bond in the suggested change4 ,mr4 ,quincy could only offer him what he had already1 a family domicile2 so that the proposal might warrant an adaptation of ,sidney ,smith's famous phrase and be described as an invitation to come to ,cambridge and 8cultivate astronomy upon a little oatmeal40 ,in so phrasing it there is no disparagement of the college2 it was the day of small things1 of pennies1 not dollars1 in the college treasury4 ,but the event speaks the praises of ,mr4 ,quincy1 whose sagacity was unfailing and before whose persuasiveness and energy difficulties in administration were wont to give way1 and of ,mr4 ,bond1 whose unselfishness and loyalty to science were proof against pecuniary considerations4 ,in mental traits each was in many respects the complement of the other1 and it is not too much to say that these two were pre-eminently the founders and builders of the observatory4 ,the official report for #ahdf states that up to that time the labors of ,mr4 ,bond had been 8entirely unrequited1 except by the gratification of his love of science and of home10 and suggests that this devotion to the institution at ,cambridge was the more marked in that during the preceding spring he had declined 8the almost unlimited offers made to him by the administration at ,washington to induce him to take charge of the observatory there40 ,it is known1 also1 that frequent expenditures of his own money were made during this period for current expenses and for things convenient in conducting the observatory1 sums small severally1 no doubt1 but considerable in the total4 ,in #ahdf a sum equal to the proposed salaries for the next two years was subscribed by citizens of ,boston1 and in #ahdi the official board was able to report that 8through a bequest of #ajj1jjj made by ,edward ,bromfield ,phillips they should thereafter be relieved from anxiety as to the payment of salaries and current expenses40 ,various official documents evince that during the first eight years ,mr4 ,bond is to be regarded not in the character of an employee1 but a benefactor of the college2 that his labors were deemed by those most familiar with them to be indispensable and invaluable1 and that his friendship for the college1 manifested in all ways1 and especially in his declination of the liberal offers coming from ,washington1 was appreciated and honored4 ,the date of ,mr4 ,bond's appointment as director of the observatory was ,feb4 #ab1 #ahdj1 though the confirmation by the corporation was later4 ,he was given the honorary degree of ,a4,m41 by ,harvard in #ahdb4 ,,iii4 ,in resuming consecutively the story of the half-century's progress of ,harvard ,college ,observatory1 which was interrupted in the preceding number to give place to a biographical notice of ,prof4 ,w4 ,c4 ,bond1 it may be remarked that the period of his official term1 which covered #ai years1 was fruitful in great discoveries and events in the astronomical department of science4 ,harvard ,observatory contributed its full share1 though the greatest of all was that which gave fame to ,le ,verrier1 the ,french astronomer1 the discovery of the planet ,neptune4 ,in ,september1 #ahdd1 the observatory building on ,summer ,house hill had been completed to the extent proposed at that time1 and the instruments were transferred from the ,dana house4 ,a new transit instrument1 imported by the ,united ,states government for the use of the ,northeastern ,boundary ,commission1 was set up in ,december1 and used during the winter in observations for ascertaining the latitude1 as previously described in the quotation from ,prof4 ,peirce4 ,the results were collated and discussed by ,prof4 ,peirce in the memoirs of the ,american ,academy4 ,these were the first notable observations of precision at the new observatory4 ,the longitude was also determined by the most accurate method then known1 observation of occultations and moon culminations and comparison of a considerable number of chronometers transported to and from ,greenwich by ocean steamers4 ,in the ultimate determination the record made by several hundred chronometers thus sent to and fro1 and observations of occultations1 etc41 in ,dorchester1 ,cambridge1 ,brooklyn1 ,philadelphia and ,washington1 ranging through many years1 were brought into the account4 ,the earliest were observations made in ,philadelphia in #agfi4 ,after the laying of the ,atlantic cable still closer comparisons with the zero of ,greenwich were possible4 ,the position of the observatory as finally determined and now officially of record is3 ,longitude1 #ga #g #dd4he1 west2 latitude1 #db #bb #dg4f1 north4 ,as showing the error of the best attainable results by use of chronometers it may be remarked that by that method the central tower of the observatory was located at a point on the lawn half way between the front door of the director's dwelling house and ,garden street4 ,the discrepancy is about #cbj feet4 ,about the time of the first determination ,commodore ,owen of the ,british ,navy was making an official survey of the coast of ,new ,brunswick and ,nova ,scotia4 ,having confidence in what had been done at ,cambridge he took that station for his zero in preparing his official report1 ultimate reference being made to ,greenwich4 ,the first importation of chronometers appears to have been made jointly by ,prof4 ,bond and ,commodore ,owen4 ,when the report was submitted it was challenged by some of the ,british ,board of ,admiralty1 who believed that the longitude of ,halifax was better known4 ,in due course ,prof4 ,bond was inquired of1 and his letter addressed to the board of admiralty1 in explanation of the technicalities1 proved convincing and its conclusions were cordially accepted1 with thanks by ,admiral ,beaufort on behalf of the board4 ,the officers-in-chief of the ,united ,states ,coast ,survey1 and of the exploring expedition severally adopted the ,cambridge meridian as the zero in preparing their official reports4 ,a new instrument purchased by the observatory1 a #b-;inch equatorial1 permitted accurate observations to be made of the solar eclipses of #ahde and #ahdf1 the comets of the same years1 the transit of ,mercury in #ahde and of the newly discovered planet ,neptune4 ,the #ae-;inch equatorial was set up on ,june #bc and #bd1 #ahdg4 ,certain nebul and the planet ,saturn were the first subjects of study4 ,discoveries of importance were made in each field of investigation4 ,the report of the visiting committee for #ahdh notes the discovery by ,prof4 ,bond on ,sept4 #ai of that year of the eighth satellite of ,saturn1 and speaks of it as 8the only addition to the solar system ever made on the continent of ,america40 ,the few years immediately following the date of the great telescope may be called the romantic period in the history of the observatory4 ,there was no instrument on this continent to be compared to it1 and it had but one equal in ,europe4 ,while the director of the observatory kept cool enough to utilize it to the utmost1 he manifestly shared in the enthusiasm4 ,one of the earliest to inquire what could be seen by it was ,edward ,everett1 president of the college from #ahdf4 ,prof4 ,bond responded by letter on ,july #bf1 #ahdg1 named several matters and ended by saying3 8,but ,i must recollect that you require of me only a brief account of our telescope4 ,the objects revealed to us by this excellent instrument are so numerous and interesting that it is difficult to know where to stop40 ,on ,sept4 #bb following ,prof4 ,bond wrote to the president3 8,you will rejoice with me that the great nebula in ,orion has yielded to the powers of our incomparable telescope40 ,he explains the reason for his rejoicing by saying that this nebula and that of ,andromeda had hitherto been the strongholds of the 8nebular theory10 or the theory that the nebul are masses of matter in process of condensation into systems4 ,now1 the mass in ,orion which1 he said1 had defied the telescopes of both the ,herschels1 and1 at first1 that of ,lord ,rosse1 had been resolved into innumerable distinct points of light1 or separate stars1 by the ,cambridge refractor1 whose only competitor in the search was ,lord ,rosse's instrument1 8the largest reflector in the world40 ,the phrase 8incomparable telescope0 was warranted4 ,nor does the didactic suggestion of the proverb about the new broom apply2 for more than #cj years afterwards the present director of the observatory had occasion to say3 8,in #ahgg besides the photometric measures of the satellites of ,mars1 a series of measures for their positions was also made4 ,the number of these observations was second only to that obtained with the great telescope at ,washington40 ,of the work done two years later1 he says3 8,of the satellites of ,mars #acdh measurements were made1 ,deimos being last seen at this observatory as it gradually receded from the earth4 ,this is remarkable1 as our telescope has entered into competition with the largest telescopes of the world1 some of which admitted two or three times as much light40 ,on ,nov4 #g1 #ahdh1 a transit circle was set up and it completed the set of new instruments at first proposed for the observatory4 ,previous to this date two new 8comet seekers0 had been received1 the gifts respectively of ,president ,quincy and ,mr4 ,j4 ,i4 ,bowditch4 ,with these in the six years beginning with #ahde the original discovery of ten comets was made by ,mr4 ,g4 ,p4 ,bond4 ,in his report for #ahdf ,prof4 ,bond says that during that year stellar and lunar observations had been made in co-operation with like work done by observers of the ,united ,states ,coast ,survey at ,west ,point1 ,philadelphia and ,nantucket1 to determine longitudes for the purposes of the coast survey4 ,illustration3 ,w4 ,c4 ,,bond',s ,,observatory ,,chair4 ,but visions of the sky were not the only matters of interest at the observatory in this early period4 ,the great telescope was poised at a height of #ac feet from the floor of the dome1 and its sweep was from three degrees beyond the zenith to as many below the horizon4 ,the visual end of the instrument therefore might need to be set at any point along an arc of #ij degrees1 and an observer would have to be something of an acrobat in successfully using it unless a suitable chair could be obtained4 ,there was none in the world that filled all the requirements1 and ,prof4 ,bond invented and made one4 ,it is in use1 unchanged1 to this day1 and by means of its ingeniously combined wheels1 cogs and pulleys the observer can quickly and easily place himself anywhere along the vertical quarter circle and horizontal full circle traversed by the eye-piece of the telescope4 ,prior to #ahde a transfer of #ab chronometers to and from ,greenwich1 ,eng41 had been made by ,prof4 ,bond and ,commodore ,owen1 for the determination of the longitude of the observatory4 ,other chronometer expeditions were conducted subsequently in co-operation with the ,united ,states ,coast ,survey1 the final one being in #ahee4 ,in the summing up of results1 #gbc independent chronometer records were used4 ,the magnitude of this undertaking1 as a whole1 surpassed anything ever attempted in any other country4 ,in his report1 reviewing the year #ahdh1 the director says2 8,some experiments made with the daguerreotype and talbotype processes for obtaining impressions of the sun's image formed by the telescope have not been attended with complete success2 however1 we do not despair of ultimate success40 ,in the report for #ahej he is able to say3 8,with the assistance of ,mr4 ,j4 ,a4 ,whipple1 daguerreotypist1 we have obtained several impressions of the star ,vega4 ,we have reason to believe this to be the first successful experiment ever made either in this country or abroad4 ,from the facility with which these were executed with the aid of the great equatorial1 we were encouraged to hope for further progress40 ,in the report of the following year he speaks of pictures of the moon and stars obtained by this process1 and adds with reference to his son's official visit to ,europe that year3 8,some of these daguerreotypes taken by the aid of our great object glass excited the admiration of eminent men in ,europe1 to whom ,mr4 ,g4 ,p4 ,bond gave specimens40 ,in an official letter he says of his son's visit to ,paris3 8,he attended in ,may a meeting of the ,french ,academy1 and there presented a daguerreotype of the moon taken with our large telescope40 ,other specimens were placed in the great exhibition of ,london1 or ,world's fair1 of that year1 and a council medal was awarded for them4 ,this tour in ,europe by the younger ,mr4 ,bond makes an interesting episode in the general record4 ,he was everywhere cordially received by men of science1 a fact attributable in part1 no doubt1 to his own reputation1 but more especially to his being the representative of the new observatory1 already of fame1 established in the distant ,west4 ,on arriving at ,cronstadt he was surprised at meeting an officer of the ,russian government who had instructions to conduct him to the imperial observatory at ,pulkova1 where1 during his stay in ,russia1 he was made the guest of the director of the observatory and given all possible attentions and facilities1 including the 8great privilege0 of practically manipulating the instruments4 ,among these was the great telescope1 the rival of the ,harvard equatorial4 ,during the tour he visited ,sweden and saw a total eclipse of the sun4 ,among those from whom he had friendly receptions were ,baron ,humboldt1 ,sir ,john ,herschel1 ,sir ,david ,brewster1 ,sir ,g4 ,b4 ,airy1 ,le ,verrier1 ,biot ,argelander1 ,gauss and ,hansen2 also ,lord ,rosse1 whose great telescope he had opportunity to use4 ,in ,july1 #ahdh1 the wires of the magnetic telegraph were connected with the observatory at the expense of the coast survey1 for determining by instant communication the longitude of certain principal cities in the ,united ,states4 ,there are suggestions of both the modern and the antique world in the statement that in this first experience the electrical apparatus of a department of the institution founded by ,john ,harvard1 was connected with like apparatus in an observatory in the garden of ,peter ,stuyvesant in ,new ,york city4 ,these electrical experiments of the coast survey were begun as early as #ahdd1 between ,washington and ,baltimore4 ,various improvements of method had been made1 and that most approved was followed on this first occasion at ,cambridge4 ,the coast survey officer in charge had for his assistants ,prof4 ,bond at ,cambridge and ,prof4 ,loomis in ,new ,york4 ,an official letter of the electrician of the ,coast ,survey ,department says3 8,during these experiments ,prof4 ,bond conceived the idea of using an automatic circuit interrupter40 ,some question of priority as to this suggestion arose in later years4 ,it was doubtless a spontaneous and original thought with ,prof4 ,bond1 though the suggestion appears to have been made earlier elsewhere1 but it had not been acted upon 8from apprehension of injury to the performance of an astronomical clock which must be used for the purpose40 ,experience proved eventually the apprehension to have been groundless2 but ,prof4 ,bond's suggestion avoided any liability of the kind by proposing that an astronomical clock be made for the purpose4 ,in ,august1 #ahdh1 he received authority to have such a clock made at the expense of the coast survey4 ,reverting to the matter in a subsequent annual report1 ,prof4 ,bond says3 8,i caused such a clock to be made1 and it is found to answer perfectly the intended purpose4 ,but another and far more serious difficulty presented itself in the accurate registry of the beats of the clock after being transmitted by the galvanic circuit2 and it was at this point that further progress in the application of this method to astronomical observing was arrested40 ,illustration3 ,,david ,,sears4 ,the ,first ,donor to the ,observatory4 ,experimenters were busy at ,philadelphia1 ,cincinnati1 and elsewhere1 during the two years' interval in attempts to solve this concomitant problem1 and with very considerable success4 ,that none of these devices quite filled the requirements is manifest by the fact that they did not go into general use4 ,but the perfected apparatus submitted to the officer of the coast survey by ,prof4 ,bond1 ,april #ab1 #ahej1 did go into such use4 ,this instrument ,prof4 ,bond stated to be the joint invention of himself and his two sons1 ,george ,p4 and ,richard ,f4 ,bond4 ,it was named at first from one of its peculiar parts1 the 8spring-governor10 but the more comprehensive title of 8chronograph0 was later applied to it4 ,while as a piece of mechanism1 it was distinct from the 8circuit interrupter10 the two were used conjointly1 and thus acting in combination their operation in recording became known soon afterwards in ,england as 8the ,american method40 ,by this method the errors suggested by the term 8personal equation0 are greatly diminished1 and a definiteness of record is attained1 which permits the recording sheet to be read by the eye to tenths and by scale and lens to hundredths of a second4 ,the successive sheets are the primary official record1 and being bound into volumes1 become a part of the permanent archives4 ,the apparatus was at once put to use in the several telegraphic stations of the coast survey2 and one of the circumstances which made ,mr4 ,g4 ,p4 ,bond's tour in ,europe a notable one was its exhibition for the first time there4 ,it was shown in operation and explained in a lecture by him before the ,royal ,astronomical ,society1 and also at the annual meeting of the ,british ,association for the ,advancement of ,science4 ,through the urgency of ,sir ,david ,brewster and others it was set up in the great exhibition at ,london in #ahea1 where a medal was awarded for it4 ,it had the highest award of the ,massachusetts ,mechanic ,association1 a gold medal4 ,it was adopted at the ,greenwich observatory soon after ,mr4 ,bond's exhibition of his model1 and speedily throughout ,europe4 ,soon after the electrical experiments of #ahdh at the observatory the wire was put into use to transmit to ,boston and different railway points1 signals giving the true local time1 these signals being electrically responsive to the movement of an astronomical clock in the observatory1 the method of transmission being that of the 8circuit interrupter40 ,this system was at once adopted in ,england1 wire connections being made with a clock in ,greenwich ,observatory4 ,this time service of the ,harvard ,observatory1 though continued during the intermediate period1 was not organized as at present until #ahgb4 ,in #aheb the officers of ,harvard ,observatory co-operated with ,captain ,charles ,wilkes in experiments for ascertaining the velocity of sound under different atmospheric conditions4 ,in these tests cannon were fired near the observatory1 at the arsenal in ,watertown1 at the navy yard in ,charlestown and at ,fort ,independence in the harbor1 the central observing point being the cupola of the ,state ,house in ,boston1 where ,captain ,wilkes took his station4 ,these experiments had immediate reference to a reduction into proper form of data obtained by the exploring expedition1 wherein ,captain ,wilkes had caused surveys of islands and groups in remote seas to be made by sound4 ,in these surveys1 distances between points whence angles were projected were determined by the firing of cannon at those points4 ,in #ahee an endowment of #aj1jjj was made by ex-,president ,quincy as a memorial of his father1 ,josiah ,quincy1 a patriot of the revolution4 ,this fund was specifically applied to the publication of annals of the observatory4 ,the first volume was issued in #ahef and comprised a review of the work of the preceding years1 so that the series of which it is the initial number makes a continuous record from the beginning4 ,the series now numbers nearly #be volumes4 ,the decease of ,prof4 ,w4 ,c4 ,bond occurred ,jan4 #bi1 #ahei4 ,,iv4 ,george ,phillips ,bond was the second director of ,harvard ,college observatory1 being the successor of his father1 ,prof4 ,w4 ,c4 ,bond4 ,the date of his appointment was #ahei4 ,he was born in ,dorchester1 ,mass41 ,may #bj1 #ahbe1 and graduated at ,harvard in #ahde4 ,thenceforth until his decease ,feb4 #ag1 #ahfe1 he was in the constant service of the observatory4 ,prior to his taking the chief office his labors as assistant had gained for him a professional reputation2 he had shared with his father the heavy task of organizing the observatory and carrying it on with slender means2 he was familiar with its routine1 and both by academical and practical training was peculiarly qualified for the position4 ,his professional record therefore is not to be limited to his own term as director4 ,the computations required in the preparation of the three early volumes of the annals were to a great extent his work1 and those pertaining to the chronometric expeditions between ,boston and ,liverpool1 were wholly by him4 ,he was the discoverer of the dark interior ring of ,saturn1 one of the first revelations of the great telescope1 and discoverer also1 as already stated1 of ten comets within a brief period of years4 ,in this cometary work it was his practice to sweep the whole visible heavens once every month4 ,his observations of ,saturn led to the adoption of a new theory as to the constitution of the rings4 ,during his term systematic observations were made of certain nebul1 particularly that in ,orion4 ,he conducted a series of zone observations of faint stars near the equator1 prepared a plan of observation and reduction1 and with his own hand graduated the mica scales used in the work4 ,in #ahfj he made an investigation of the brightness of certain celestial objects1 including the moon and the planets1 the results of which have a special value but are not identified with the ,harvard photometrical series of later years1 which relates to fixed stars only4 ,during his term the formation of a star catalogue was begun1 the observations being made with the meridian circle and in right ascension only1 and much progress was made in picturing celestial objects by the camera1 the process having1 with the disuse of ,daguerre's particular method1 gained the generic name of photography4 ,the prestige of the beginning and early successes of astronomical photography attaches to the administration of the senior ,bond2 but his son shared fully in the labors of thought1 contrivance and manipulation by which the original experiments were conducted1 and in appreciation of the future possibilities to science in this new method of observation4 ,one evidence of this appears in a paper read by the younger ,mr4 ,bond before the ,american ,academy on ,may #ab1 #aheg1 the immediate occasion for its presentation being a most significant discovery made at the observatory a few days earlier4 ,the paper says3 8,daguerreotype images of the star ,vega were obtained at the observatory of ,harvard ,college on ,july #ag1 #ahej1 and subsequently impressions were taken from the double star ,castor1 exhibiting an elongated disc1 but no separation of its two components4 8,these were the first1 and until very recently1 the only known instances of the application of photography to the delineation of fixed stars4 ,a serious difficulty was interposed to further progress by the want of suitable apparatus for communicating uniform sidereal motion to the telescope4 8,this has been supplied by replacing the original clock of the great equatorial of the observatory by a new one1 operating on the principle of the spring-governor4 ,immediately upon its completion1 a new series of experiments was commenced4 ,these have been successful in transferring to the plate by the collodian process1 images of fixed stars to the fifth magnitude1 inclusive1 with singular and unexpected precision4 ,the most remarkable instances of success are the simultaneous impressions of the group of stars composed of ,mizar of the second magnitude1 its companion of the fourth and ,alcor of the fifth magnitude4 ,the following measurements of the angular distance of the companion from ,mizar were taken from the plates40 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,gold ,,medal2 ,,reverse ,,showing ,,sir ,,william ,,herschel',s #dj-;,,foot ,,telescope4 ,a tabulated statement follows in the paper1 giving dates from ,april #bg to ,may #h1 with measurements from #ac photographic negatives produced on the respective dates4 ,the mean for distance is #ad4di seconds1 and for angle of position1 #adg4hj4 ,for the same stars observed in the usual way1 ,struve's mean of six observations is1 for distance1 #ad4dj seconds2 for positions1 #adg4dj4 ,mr4 ,bond's comments are3 8,the photographic method has thus in its first efforts attained the limit of accuracy1 beyond which it is not expected the other can ever be sensibly advanced4 8,should photographic impressions be obtained from stars between the sixth and eleventh magnitudes as has already been done for those between the first and fifth1 the extension given to our present means of observation would be an advance in the science of stellar astronomy of which it would scarcely be possible to exaggerate the importance40 ,mr4 ,bond made important contributions to the literature of the science both in its mathematical and practical departments4 ,among the more notable of the former was a paper on cometary calculations and the method of mechanical quadratures1 valuable in various respects1 and notable in having anticipated an important improvement afterward given independently by ,encke2 also a paper on the use of equivalent factors in the method of least squares4 ,he wrote a monograph covering observations of ,donati's comet of #aheh1 for which he was awarded the gold medal of the ,royal ,astronomical ,society and was the first of his countrymen to obtain that distinction4 ,he began a paper on the nebula in ,orion1 which he did not live to complete1 though during his prolonged last illness he continued his labors upon it1 and dictated to an amanuensis long after strength to write had gone from him4 ,this paper was afterwards finished by ,prof4 ,t4 ,h4 ,safford1 then of ,harvard1 now of ,williams ,college observatory4 ,a biographer says of ,mr4 ,bond3 8,science to him was not a pastime but a serious calling1 to be pursued with the utmost conscientiousness and singleness of purpose4 ,that he did so much and did it so well1 during the few years allotted to him1 must have been partly owing to an extreme reluctance to dissipate his powers by beginning new works while the old were still unfinished40 ,he received the honorary degree of ,a4,m4 from ,harvard in #ahec4 ,illustration3 ,,president ,,josiah ,,quincy4 ,v4 ,joseph ,winlock was the third director of ,harvard ,college observatory1 being appointed in #ahff4 ,he was born in ,shelby county1 ,ky41 ,feb4 #f1 #ahbf2 he graduated at ,shelby ,college in #ahde1 and was professor of mathematics and astronomy there until #aheb4 ,he was subsequently in the service of the ,naval ,observatory at ,washington1 and1 still later1 instructor in mathematics at the ,naval ,academy at ,annapolis4 ,at different dates1 he was superintendent of the work of preparation of the ,nautical ,almanac4 ,he continued in office as director of the observatory until his decease1 ,june #aa1 #ahge4 ,his administration appears by the record to have been one of various activity4 ,a large amount of improved apparatus was added to the resources of the observatory1 partly by purchase and partly by invention and making on the spot4 ,he kept up the reputation of the observatory1 which has never failed from the start1 for originality and ingenuity in mechanical devices4 ,it was during his term that the transmission by electricity of the true solar time to railroad centres and business points in all parts of ,new ,england became a regular part of the observatory work1 and1 by the system which he organized1 compensation was made by corporations and individuals whose clocks were put into electrical connection with that at the observatory4 ,a considerable revenue has thus annually been derived4 ,other electrical apparatus of the observatory was modified and improved4 ,a 8switch-board10 the device of his predecessor was much elaborated in its mechanism1 whereby the electrical current was made more available and all the principal instruments were connected at will with the chronographs4 ,in #ahfh when he visited ,europe he procured the apparatus of a meridian circle of the latest device1 the lenses being made in ,cambridge4 ,in setting up the instrument he saw opportunity to introduce various improvements in mechanism4 ,these were approved by experience and went into general use elsewhere4 ,another of his devices was 8for the determination of absolute personal equation by mechanical means40 ,other contrivances1 either wholly original or ingenious modifications of known apparatus1 were an attachment to the spectroscope for automatic recording1 being a modification of the chronograph3 a combination of a stationary plane mirror with a fixed lens of great focal length--from #cj to #dj feet--for photographing the sun2 a later improvement of this1 by which the telescope was reduced to a single fixed lens of long focus and small aperture1 chromatic aberration was avoided and the image on the plate could be made as large as was convenient for measuring2 and a change of method by which the sun's image could be taken at the principal focus of the object glass and not beyond an eye-piece used to enlarge the image4 ,in ,february1 #ahff1 when he took charge of the observatory1 the great equatorial was applied to a series of observations of double1 and especially binary stars4 ,this investigation was continued as steadily as circumstances would permit till #ahgb1 and the results appear in the annals4 ,in #ahfg the first spectroscope owned by the observatory was imported1 and in #ahfi another4 ,two small direct vision spectroscopes were also procured during ,prof4 ,winlock's term4 ,in #ahgj the new meridian circle1 a superior instrument1 was set up1 and on ,nov4 #aj of that year was begun the series of observations for position of stars in the 8,cambridge zone10 so called1 or that between #ej north and #ee north and overlapping #aj upon each contiguous zone4 ,this survey was a joint enterprise conducted by certain of the great observatories of the world1 that of ,harvard being one of the two in this country having a share in the work4 ,on ,july #d1 #ahgj1 was begun a series of photographs of the sun1 and the work was continued nearly or quite to the end of ,prof4 ,winlock's term1 many hundred photographs being comprised in the list4 ,illustration3 ,,harvard ,,observatory ,,station ,,in ,,spain4 ,in ,september1 #ahga1 was begun an elaborate investigation of lunar phenomena1 which continued a year4 ,in #ahga an arrangement was made with the coast survey by which a series of photometric observations was carried through1 and for this a ,zllner astro-photometer was imported4 ,the work was continued three years1 though not all of it at ,cambridge4 ,the results are in the annals in #ahgh4 ,the standard in using this instrument was an artificial star produced by lamplight4 ,during this term two expeditions were made with apparatus for observing total eclipses of the sun1 and in both satisfactory results were obtained4 ,on the first occasion1 of date ,aug4 #g1 #ahfi1 the station was at ,shelbyville1 ,ky41 and on the second1 of date ,dec4 #bb1 #ahgj1 at ,jerez de la ,frontera1 in ,spain4 ,in #ahfg daily observations in terrestrial magnetism were made at the observatory for the purposes of the coast survey4 ,in ,march1 #ahfi1 experiments for determination of longitudes were conducted on a continental scale1 wire connection by relays being made with ,san ,francisco4 ,in these experiments apparatus which had been modified by ,prof4 ,winlock was used and by this method1 and also by another which was applied1 it proved that the time of passage of a signal from ,cambridge to ,san ,francisco through the wire and six relays was very nearly three-quarters of a second4 ,between ,dec4 #ac1 #ahfi1 and the summer of #ahgb1 electric signals were sent by the ,atlantic cable to and from ,brest in ,france1 via ,duxbury1 ,mass4 ,the purpose of these tests was to establish with precision the difference of longitude between ,america and ,europe4 ,prof4 ,winlock supervised the work of preparing and engraving a series of plates illustrating remarkable celestial objects4 ,these gave special value to the volume of annals in which they appeared1 causing an unprecedented demand for copies1 so that it is now a rare book4 ,his publications were not numerous1 but there is no doubt that his scholarship1 versatility and wide experience would have yielded valuable additions to the literature of science had his life been prolonged4 ,the means at command during his term did not warrant the publication of many volumes of annals4 ,though for nearly #aj years in office he did not live to see any of his own observations published or even to complete the work of his predecessors4 ,illustration3 ,,prof4 ,,joseph ,,winlock4 ,during the term the permanent funds of the observatory were increased by the bequest of ,james ,hayward #bj1jjj1 and that of ,james ,savage #bj1jjj4 ,in #ahgj a subscription of #ab1dej was completed for purchase of a new meridian circle4 ,in the preceding term a gift of #aj1jjj was made by ,william ,sturgis for the publication fund4 ,prof4 ,winlock had the honorary degree of ,a4,m4 from ,harvard in #ahfh4 ,,vi4 ,edward ,charles ,pickering1 the present director of the observatory1 was appointed in #ahgf4 ,he was born in ,boston and is of the ,essex family of the name1 ,colonel ,timothy ,pickering being his great-grandfather4 ,he is a graduate of the ,lawrence ,scientific ,school of the class of #ahfe4 ,during the next two years he was a teacher of mathematics in that department of ,harvard ,university4 ,later and up to the time of his appointment as director1 he was professor of physics at the ,massachusetts ,institute of ,technology4 ,a system of teaching physics called the 8laboratory method0 was introduced by him there1 and his text book illustrative of the method has to a great extent been adopted by like institutes4 ,astronomy1 as a department of physics1 came into the general course1 and the attention necessarily given1 for the purposes of instruction in the institute1 to the technics of that subject1 and to demonstration1 served as preparation and discipline for the official responsibilities which he afterwards assumed4 ,he was a member of the ,nautical ,almanac party for observing in ,iowa the total solar eclipse of #ahfi1 and was in like service in the following year as a member of the ,united ,states ,coast ,survey party which observed in ,spain a recurrence of that event4 ,when he came to the directorship he found the observatory to be well equipped as to instruments and its small working force efficiently employed4 ,their number was but five or six1 which was all the means of the institution permitted of4 ,like pecuniary restrictions continued until #ahgi1 when a subscription was completed providing for the institution1 #ejjj annually for five years4 ,since then much larger gifts have been bestowed and the instrumental equipment1 in recent years especially1 has been whatever the latest demands or suggestions of science called for2 the observatory staff has been augmented from time to time1 till it now numbers about #dj persons1 and the field of observation has been extended to include the southern hemisphere of stars4 ,upon the premises at ,cambridge where in #ahgf stood only the main observatory and a lesser adjunct structure are now eight or ten others1 a cluster of small wooden buildings1 domed or otherwise adapted for astronomical uses1 each containing a costly instrument of the most approved device2 and besides these a dwelling house has been transformed into a hall1 or rather a workshop of photography1 and makes the northernmost structure of the little city of science which has been set upon ,summer ,house hill4 ,upon ,mt4 ,wilson1 in ,california1 in north latitude1 and ,mt4 ,harvard1 in ,peru1 in south latitude1 stand other unpretentious buildings1 from within which observers of the ,harvard corps nightly search through the translucent upper atmosphere of those regions to the respective poles4 ,this aggregation of means has yielded ample returns2 to say which is to signify that during the period under consideration the institution has made a noteworthy record1 and that its affairs have been guided with befitting skill and judgment4 ,the total permanent funds at the beginning of the present term amounted to about #agj1jjj4 ,the subscription for five years was intended for immediate expenditure4 ,at the end of that period a permanent fund of #ej1jjj was obtained in like manner4 ,in #ahhe was added to the permanent funds the bequest of ,robert ,treat ,paine of his whole estate1 of which #afd1aih became at once available4 ,in #ahhf was made the first of a series of annual gifts of large sums of money by ,mrs4 ,anna ,p4 ,draper of ,new ,york as a memorial of her husband1 the late ,prof4 ,henry ,draper4 ,these gifts have constantly been applied in furtherance of photographical observation1 especially in that line of investigation which ,dr4 ,draper himself began in his lifetime4 ,in #ahhg the bequest of ,uriah ,a4 ,boyden1 amounting to #bch1jjj1 became available4 ,this bequest has conditions providing for astronomical work at considerable elevations as free as possible from disturbing or obstructing conditions of atmosphere4 ,the income of the ,paine fund may be applied generally4 ,in pursuing the inquiries thus suggested1 and others1 the observatory has adhered to its traditions1 wherein original investigation has been directed to the physical rather than the mathematical side of astronomical science4 ,in his first annual report the present director outlined the immediate policy1 in the then restricted state of the finances1 to be to keep employed chiefly the two most costly and effective instruments1 the great equatorial and the meridian circle4 ,the latter was already in constant use in the work of the ,cambridge zone4 ,with reference to the former1 the report having named the several specialties which the great observatories of this country had taken1 each to itself1 said3 8,photometry offers a field almost wholly unexplored with large telescopes either in this country or abroad4 ,it has therefore been selected as that to which the greater portion of the time of our telescope will be devoted40 ,the investigation thus entered upon1 together with the zone observations just mentioned1 and the continuation by ampler and in some particulars radically different methods of investigations in spectroscopy and photography1 have given the institution a wide renown4 ,but hardly less conspicuous are certain other achievements in the long list which makes the complete record4 ,without attempting to give any of these rank1 still less to repeat the list1 a few may here be mentioned upon the ground of their presumed popular interest4 ,in #ahgh the utility of the time signal service was increased by causing a time ball to be dropped every day at exact noon from a conspicuous point in ,boston within view of the shipping of the harbor4 ,the time was that of the meridian of the ,state ,house in ,boston4 ,when the standard or #geth meridian time went into general use the practice was conformed thereto4 ,indeed1 the terms of the proposition might be reversed so as to indicate that1 in the final determination1 the responsibility was put upon the observatory to lead off in the matter4 ,there had been some discussion in the public prints and elsewhere of the advisability of adopting a common meridian time for large areas4 ,in the report of the observatory for #ahgh the theoretical presentation of the case which had been made by those advocating the change was sanctioned1 and the new time was recommended as sure to be of public convenience if generally accepted4 ,general consent was somewhat slow in its manifestation1 but eventually the managers of all the principal railroads of ,new ,england agreed to adopt the plan if the time-signalling system of the observatory should be made to correspond in respect to clock connections1 time ball1 etc4 ,this was instantly agreed to1 and with due prior public notice the new time went into use ,nov4 #ah1 #ahhc1 and the ,boston noon ball was first dropped on that day at exactly five hours later than the noon of ,greenwich4 ,illustration3 ,,harvard ,,college ,,observatory4 ,illustration3 ,,harvard ,,station ,,in ,,california4 ,in #ahhj the full routine of meteorological observation was abandoned1 as several institutions were doing like work4 ,the record of the observatory in meteorology1 which had continuously been kept up for #dj years1 was reduced to proper form for printing1 and was published in #ahhi4 ,certain observations of this kind have1 however1 been continued in the record to the present date4 ,in #ahhh a plan of co-operation was agreed upon with the ,n4 ,e4 ,meteorological ,society and ,mr4 ,a4 ,l4 ,rotch of the ,blue ,hill1 ,mass41 ,observatory1 by which their results1 which are of a comprehensive character1 have since been published in the annals of the ,harvard ,observatory4 ,in #ahgg1 in co-operation with ,miss ,mitchell of ,vassar ,college ,observatory and her assistants1 observations were made at ,cambridge for determining the longitude of the ,vassar ,observatory4 ,between ,feb4 #ae1 #ahgi1 and ,jan4 #c1 #ahhj1 like observations were made in co-operation with officers of the ,winchester ,observatory of ,yale ,college to ascertain the longitude of that institution4 ,between ,june #b and ,june #bc1 #ahhc1 similar work was done to fix the longitude of ,mc,gill ,observatory in ,montreal4 ,in the summer of #ahhh ten evenings were given for observations for the longitude of ,smith ,college in ,northampton4 ,the observers were ,miss ,byrd1 teacher of astronomy at that college1 and ,miss ,whitney1 professor of astronomy at ,vassar ,college4 ,harvard's contribution in the affair consisted in providing facilities on the spot1 including the use of a transit instrument4 ,these are instances1 which among others go to show that because of infinite painstaking at ,harvard in the earlier years it has become the ,mecca to which all on this continent who wish to be perfectly assured in the matter of longitude may prudently make a pilgrimage4 ,in #ahha an arrangement was entered into for prompt communication as to unusual celestial phenomena1 discoveries1 etc41 among astronomers in this country and in ,europe4 ,a cipher code1 the invention of ,messrs4 ,s4 ,c4 ,chandler and ,john ,ritchie1 ,jr41 of the observatory staff1 was put into use4 ,it is known as the 8,science ,observer ,code10 and as it is superior in accuracy to former codes has been widely recognized4 ,in #ahhc ,harvard observatory was made the official distributing centre for this class of news1 by consent of the ,smithsonian ,institute1 which had previously performed the service4 ,upon the occasion of the transit of ,mercury across the sun's disk in ,may1 #ahgh1 all the available telescopes of the observatory were put to use4 ,the results1 which included many photographs1 were satisfactory1 considering the unfavorable weather4 ,during the like transit of ,venus1 on ,dec4 #f1 #ahhb1 six telescopes being in use1 large additions were made to the important data which planetary events of this kind may supply4 ,in ,august1 #ahhf1 a small party provided with instruments belonging to the observatory made an expedition to ,grenada1 near the northern coast of ,south ,america1 for observation of the total solar eclipse of that year4 ,the expedition was in charge of ,mr4 ,w4 ,h4 ,pickering1 who afterwards became a member of the observatory corps4 ,on ,jan4 #a1 #ahhi1 a large party1 under the same direction1 observed a recurrence of the event in ,california4 ,the observations were mainly photographical4 ,excellent results were obtained in both cases1 though less in amount in the former1 because of unfavorable weather4 ,much has been done during the term in cometary investigation1 but latterly comets have been observed1 as a rule1 only immediately upon discovery and towards the end of their visible period1 or after they had got beyond the reach of any but the most powerful telescopes4 ,in the summer of #ahhc the director journeyed in ,europe and visited the principal observatories there4 ,in the following annual report he names as an important result of his journey the obtaining of copies of unpublished manuscripts of ,argelander and ,sir ,william ,herschel4 ,the former are memoranda of observations of variable stars and the latter of observations made more than #ajj years ago of the light of all stars of ,flamsteed's catalogue4 ,the work on the ,cambridge zone of stars was completed1 as respects the primary plan of observation1 on ,jan4 #bf1 #ahgi1 and at that stage was regarded as one of the largest astronomical undertakings ever carried through in this country4 ,the reduction of the data was accomplished in #ahhc1 but as was expected1 a necessity for reobservation appeared in certain cases4 ,this work was done between ,oct4 #i1 #ahhc and ,aug4 #i1 #ahhd4 ,the observer from the beginning had been ,prof4 ,william ,a4 ,rogers4 ,he resigned his position as assistant professor in the observatory in #ahhf1 but continued to serve as editor of the published results4 ,the whole series makes half a dozen or more volumes of the annals4 ,the ,european supervisors of the general undertaking1 well pleased1 apparently1 with the early instalments of manuscript returns1 assigned to ,harvard the work of reobservation of another zone1 that between #i #ej south and #ad #aj south4 ,this work is still in progress4 ,each zone comprises about #hjjj stars or nearly #ag1jjj in all4 ,the publications of the observatory during the present term in the form of annals1 and as contributions by members of the corps to various journals of science1 have been numerous and extensive4 ,at the beginning of the term but four volumes of annals had been issued1 though about an equal number were in some stage of progress in the printers' hands1 publication having gone on slowly from lack of means4 ,at the present time the continuous series of #bb volumes has been issued1 excepting the second or supplementary parts in two or three instances4 ,these parts are nearly ready1 and the manuscript for about half a dozen more volumes in regular succession has1 in part or whole1 been given to the printer4 ,a review of what has been done during the present term in the departments of photometry1 spectroscopy and photography will be comprised in the next and closing number of this series4 ,,vii4 ,agreeably to the announcement of the annual report of ,harvard ,college ,observatory for #ahgg1 as to photometry1 a beginning was made by constructing a photometer suitable to be attached to the great telescope4 ,other photometers have been devised at different times for use independently4 ,one of the earliest was applied during the year beginning ,oct4 #ab1 #ahgg1 in measuring the light of all known satellites excepting the two inner ones of ,uranus1 which are too faint to be discerned1 even by the great telescope4 ,the first prolonged observation entered upon was of the eclipses of ,jupiter's satellites4 ,as there are four satellites and as the plane of their orbits is nearly the same as that of the planet itself1 eclipses are frequent4 ,the plan proposed the observation of all these eclipses visible during a revolution of ,jupiter around the sun1 a period of about #ab years4 ,the work was begun ,june #bc1 #ahgh1 and has been regularly pursued4 ,the final result will be of the highest value in that1 among its utilities it will permit a new and independent computation to be made of the earth's distance from the sun1 which distance is a prime factor in theoretical astronomy4 ,computations hitherto made1 based upon data derived from these eclipses1 are not authoritative1 because of disagreements among different observers using different telescopes1 and because of defects in the method of observation4 ,the director's report for #ahgh says3 8,errors of this kind are much lessened by photometric observations of the satellites as they gradually enter or emerge from the shadow of ,jupiter1 using the planet itself or another satellite as a standard4 ,each comparison thus obtained gives an independent determination of the time of the eclipse1 free from the errors due to the condition of the air or the power of the telescope employed and less likely to be affected by personal equation than the observation of a disappearance or a reappearance4 ,by the ordinary method an observation during twilight can have little value1 while good photometric observations may be made as well then as at any other time4 ,it is even possible to make them before sunset40 ,in #ahgi a work of magnitude was begun--the photometric observation of all stars down to those of the sixth magnitude visible in this latitude4 ,for greater facility1 and particularly to avoid loss of time in identifying stars of small magnitude1 it was decided to make a new departure in method and in construction of an instrument4 ,the new instrument was called the meridian photometer1 and stars were observed by it only when near the meridian4 ,the position of any star being well known1 the time of its appearance in the field of the telescope could be foreseen4 ,each that was desired for a particular night had1 therefore1 only to be waited for1 not sought for4 ,the original instrument consisted of a fixed horizontal telescope pointed west and having two objectives4 ,the light of the pole star1 which was taken for the standard or unit of measurement1 was reflected by a prism into one object glass1 and that of the star to be measured into the other4 ,the light of the brighter star was then reduced to exactly that of the fainter by the turning of a screw having a register attached4 ,the indication of the register gave the measure1 which was confirmed by repeated observations4 ,telescopes mounted in the ordinary way continued to be used in other branches of photometric work4 ,illustration3 ,,harvard ,,observing ,,station ,,at ,,willows1 ,,cal41 ,,january #a1 #ahhi4 ,the photometric survey of the sixth magnitude and brighter stars was completed ,aug4 #be1 #ahha4 ,in #ahhb a new and more powerful meridian instrument was constructed and a photometric survey of a list of about #ba1jjj stars1 from the sixth to the ninth magnitude1 was entered upon4 ,this work was finished ,sept4 #bi1 #ahhh1 and soon afterwards the instrument1 with others1 was sent to ,peru in charge of ,mr4 ,s4 ,i4 ,bailey of the observatory corps1 where1 ,may #aa1 #ahhi1 a corresponding survey of the stars1 from the first to the ninth magnitude1 inclusive1 between #cj south and the southern pole1 was begun4 ,thus the facts relating to all the stars in the sky of these classifications will be embodied in the final result4 ,the record1 which will comprise several volumes1 one or more of which have already been published1 will have an identity throughout as respects the method1 the instrument1 and the unit of measurement4 ,it will be authoritative as a text book or series of text books1 and will enhance the value for reference1 and comparison of various records of the light of stars1 both those of modern and ancient date4 ,the successful working of the two meridian photometers led to the construction of one still more powerful1 having an aperture of #ab inches4 ,the first was of #a inch aperture1 and the second of four inches4 ,the three differ somewhat in mechanism1 but are the same in principle4 ,the #ab-;inch is called by distinction the 8horizontal telescope40 ,it will be available in case a photometric survey of stars of fainter magnitudes shall be undertaken1 but its use is not limited to photometry4 ,in #ahgi1 a photometer was devised for measuring the light of nebul1 thus applying to these objects and to stars the same unit and scale4 ,in #ahha1 photometric observations of certain bright parts of the moon1 were made for the ,selenographical ,society of ,england1 the particular parts being selected by that society4 ,it thus was shown that the lunar scale of light in common use may be closely expressed in terms of stellar magnitude1 each degree of the lunar scale answering to six-tenths of a magnitude4 ,photometry has been very extensively applied at ,harvard in study of variable stars4 ,a history of any department of practical astronomy1 written from the point of view of a mechanician1 could hardly fail to be of interest4 ,among the curious experiences at ,harvard in the line of photometry is one which illustrates this point1 and1 at the same time1 indicates the refinements in observation which are resorted to1 and demonstrates one of the utilities of the photometric method4 ,illustration3 ,,harvard ,,observing ,,station ,,in ,,peru4 ,in #ahgg announcement was made of the discovery at ,washington of two satellites of the planet ,mars4 ,the ,harvard telescope being applied they were after a little effort descried as two faint points of light1 showing no visible disks4 ,to ascertain the diameter of each satellite might therefore seem impossible3 but it was done1 approximately1 by the photometric method4 ,the mechanical problem was to reduce the light of the planet as seen in the telescope to an equality with the light of one of the satellites as thus seen4 ,five or six different mechanics were employed to drill in a piece of metal a hole1 making a true circle1 and small enough to produce the equality sought for by sufficiently diminishing the light of the planet4 ,it may be remarked that one of those who succeeded best had already1 for his own purposes1 managed to drill a hole1 lengthwise1 through a fine cambric needle1 making a steel tube of it4 ,what he made for ,prof4 ,pickering was a hole in a steel plate1 the diameter of which was one eighteen hundredth 7#a-ahjj7 of an inch4 ,it was so nearly circular that the various diameters1 including errors of measurement1 only differed one one hundred thousandth 7#a-ajj1jjj7 of an inch4 ,other mechanical devices were resorted to for corroboration1 and the results reached were that the diameter of one of the satellites is about six miles1 and that of the other about seven miles4 ,they are the smallest known in the solar system4 ,the availability of the spectroscope in astronomy had early been appreciated by the profession4 ,in experiments in this line it had been found that a classification of the nebul might be made upon the basis of their spectra4 ,in #ahhj the study was carried a stage further at ,harvard in ascertaining by the spectroscope that certain faint objects1 which1 by direct vision1 had been judged to be stars1 are in fact nebul4 ,in #ahha1 it was found that the spectroscope is serviceable in the discovery of variable stars4 ,thus incited1 a new instrument was imported from ,london1 but it did not prove satisfactory4 ,nothing of importance appears to have been done in this department thereafter until #ahhf1 when the proposition of ,mrs4 ,draper opened the way to investigation of spectra by aid of photography4 ,for this the #aa-;inch photographic telescope1 which had been used by ,dr4 ,draper1 was loaned by ,mrs4 ,draper1 who also met the expense of a new mounting and a special observatory building4 ,a beginning was made with an eight-inch instrument1 known as the ,bache telescope4 ,it is of the pattern described as the 8doublet10 and offers the advantage of a large field of view4 ,with it the spectra of about #aj1ejj stars of the sixth magnitude and brighter1 between the pole and #be south1 were photographed before the close of the year #ahhh4 ,the instrument was then sent to ,peru1 where a like survey of the ,southern sky is in progress4 ,spectroscopic observations of the brighter stars have been continued at ,cambridge with the #aa-;inch ,draper telescope and of fainter stars with an #h-;inch doublet similar to the ,bache instrument4 ,in this work it was found that by giving a certain chemical stain to the photographic plate the yellow and green portions of the spectrum of even the fainter stars can profitably be studied4 ,furthermore1 what seems incredible at first thought1 it appears to be demonstrated that the components of binary stars whose juxtaposition does not permit them to be separated in any telescope1 may1 by spectroscopic photography1 be shown to be in revolution about each other4 ,two or more such objects have been found in which the changes regularly succeeding in the lines of the spectrum not only prove that the components are in motion1 but permit the period of revolution to be determined4 ,prior to #ahhc photography is mentioned in the annual reports of the present director only as incidental to other work4 ,in that year a systematic investigation was undertaken1 having among other objects in view1 the construction of a photographic map of the whole heavens4 ,an early application of photography in this investigation was in the direction of determining the color of stars1 measuring their brightness by an independent method1 picturing their spectra1 exhibiting the effect of atmospheric absorption of light in a series of plates covering the period of a year1 and ascertaining by images of stars trailed upon the plate1 the clearness and steadiness of the atmosphere4 ,in #ahhg the ,boyden fund being available1 the first step was taken in the important enterprise of giving a continental expansion to the work of the observatory4 ,the aim of the testator in making his bequest could well be furthered in conducting observations simultaneously in photometry1 spectroscopy and photography4 ,in following up the project1 the ,draper memorial funds appear also to have been available to a considerable extent in the two latter methods of observation4 ,experimental stations were established in ,colorado in the summer of #ahhg on mountain peaks of #ad1jjj1 #aa1jjj and #fjjj feet in height1 respectively1 and the meteorological conditions1 including the transparency and steadiness of the upper atmosphere1 were duly tested4 ,this investigation was continued at the expense of the ,boyden fund during the following winter by local observers whose stations were at considerable height4 ,in #ahhi the movement was further extended by establishing an observatory on a peak about #fejj feet high in ,peru1 #be or #cj miles distant from the sea coast and the city of ,lima4 ,local official sanction was given to naming the peak1 8,monte ,harvard40 ,about the same time other observers of the ,harvard corps set up an experimental observatory on ,mt4 ,wilson1 #fjjj feet high1 in ,southern ,california4 ,the station is about #cj miles from the sea coast and somewhat less from the city of ,los ,angeles4 ,the experimental purpose is the same as in ,colorado1 and looks to the ultimate establishment of a permanent observatory as a branch of the ,harvard institution at some favorable point where the superior atmospheric conditions of the ,pacific mountain regions can be had4 ,in the special direction of picturing celestial objects at ,mt4 ,wilson remarkable photographic results are already possessed at ,cambridge in plates showing lunar surfaces1 ,saturn's rings1 ,jupiter's belts and the most brilliant of the nebul4 ,that among them which is of the greatest scientific interest1 as being a novelty1 is the picture on a negative plate of the great spiral nebula of ,orion4 ,it is a ,harvard discovery by the photographic method1 and is quite other than that heretofore known as the great nebula in ,orion4 ,that is an object having a span of about half a degree4 ,the new great nebula has a span of nearly #ag degrees2 its outline includes all the stars of the constellation1 and it is too faint an object to be discerned by the naked eye4 ,it is one of the principal advantages of the photographic method in astronomical work that the sensitive plate will denote objects which the eye reinforced by a telescope of any power cannot detect4 ,the great nebula thus discovered is within reach of the telescope1 but its dimensions are so much larger than the field of the telescope1 and its outline so faint1 that its true character would not thus originally be apprehended4 ,photography at ,cambridge has already produced several series of plates1 each plate covering a section of the northern sky1 the whole of which when perfected and collated will be a self-recorded1 and so1 indisputable atlas1 showing the position of all stars down to those of the #aath magnitude4 ,it will be an atlas in sheets of glass1 and frailer in some respects than if composed of sheets of paper4 ,but for study of the science the glass is better than any product of the engraver's art1 and better than any sun picture printed by the plate itself4 ,indeed1 it is one of the triumphs of the photographic method that a perfect photographic negative discloses more to the student than does a telescopic view of that area of the sky of which the photograph is a copy4 ,astronomical research is now constantly made at the observatory in this manner1 and with results equal to or better than those reached by former methods4 ,celestial objects are thus originally discovered and the positions of familiar objects remeasured or otherwise compared1 and this work might be continued throughout the whole #bd hours were it so desired1 regardless of the glare of the sun by day or of impenetrable clouds by night4 ,the work in progress in ,peru will give other series of plates offering equal facilities for the study at ,cambridge of that part of the sky which is beyond our southern horizon4 ,some of the results which these extensive investigations of the light1 the spectra and the positions of the stars will yield will anticipate the doings of other great observatories of the world4 ,but there is no necessary limit at stars of the magnitudes named2 there will remain other worlds to conquer4 ,a special encouragement to new enterprises at ,harvard is in the munificent gift of #ej1jjj1 made within the year past by ,miss ,catherine ,w4 ,bruce of ,new ,york for the construction of a telescope of #bd inches aperture1 to be used in photography4 ,a contract for this instrument has been made4 ,it is intended that its first use shall be to photograph maps of the fainter stars1 and it is hoped that those as faint as the #afth magnitude can thus be represented4 ,the basis of this sanguine forecast is the fact that with an eight-inch telescope of the pattern of the proposed #bd-;inch1 and an exposure of the plate for one hour1 twice as many stars are photographed as are visible with a telescope of #ae inches aperture4 ,prof4 ,pickering received the honorary degree of ,a4,m4 from ,harvard in #ahhj1 and that of ,,ll4,d4 from the ,university of ,california in #ahhf1 and from the ,university of ,michigan in #ahhg4 ,like his predecessor1 ,prof4 ,g4 ,p4 ,bond1 he has been honored by the ,royal ,astronomical ,society in the bestowal of its gold medal4 ,the several investigations of chief importance which are now in progress at ,harvard ,college ,observatory have already been mentioned as part of the record of the half-century past4 ,they also go into the record with which the second half-century now begins4 ,as such they may be briefly recapitulated1 viz43 ,the survey1 for the purposes of the great ,european standard catalogue known as the 8,astronomische ,gessellschaft10 of the zone between #i #ej south and #ad #aj south2 the photometric1 spectroscopic1 and photographic special surveys making in south latitude to complete like surveys hitherto made at ,cambridge1 extending to about #cj south2 the systematic work in photography1 which includes much classifiable as spectroscopy1 carried on both at ,cambridge and in ,peru as the ,draper ,memorial work3 other systematic work of like importance done under the special restrictions of the ,boyden fund2 and what perhaps may be called the orbital observations of eclipses of ,jupiter's satellites4 ,that planet has now nearly completed its circuit around the sun1 and the last of its satellite eclipses to be observed will occur on ,dec4 #ag ensuing4 ,during the period of #ab years about #dej of these eclipses have been observed and recorded4 ,perhaps as many others for which preparations were made at the observatory1 passed unseen1 because of interposing clouds4 ,except to an expert these figures give no hint of the magnitude of the work4 ,all that need here be said is that in its completed form it will be one of the great achievements of the observatory4 ,the enumeration of these unfinished works and those completed1 which has now been made1 will have fulfilled its purpose if it shall have impressed upon the mind of the general reader the fact1 with which it is presumable everybody is somewhat familiar1 that a great oak has grown from the little acorn planted on ,harvard ,college campus #ej years ago4 ,transcriber's ,notes3 - ,text enclosed by underscores is in italics 7italics74 - ,blank pages have been removed4 - ,silently corrected typographical errors4