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of which is preserved in the library of the observatory. The list ofhis stars was taken from Baily’s Catalogue, and is the same whichhe had observed at Eome. The result was that in general there is nodifference in color observed in Italy and in our sky. In 1850 he madedrawings of sun-spots from September 20 till November 6, missing only-six days out of forty-eight. The drawings were lithographed and, to-geiher with a journal and preface, published in the appendix of theWashington Astronomical Observations for 1847. A duplicate set ofcopies is still in the library of the observatory.
In 1852 a quarto volume of 215 pages, containing a description of theobservatory, with eight plates and reduction tables for time observa-tions, was published and distributed by the director. That nothingmore has appeared from his pen finds sufficient explanation in thefacts that he considered the observatory mainly as a means of educa-tion, and that he is now in the venerable age of ninety-three years.
As the centennial celebration of the foundation of the college drewnear, the regents of the university placed the observatory in charge ofa younger director and put a liberal allowance at his disposal. Almosta thousand dollars were expended for repairs of the building, dryingand warming the cellar, roofing, painting, and so on, The problem ofrevolving the heavy dome was successfully solved by Mr. Gardner, ofthe Naval Observatory . A spring which allows the vertical shaft ofthe gearing a horizontal play of 1 inch, so as to keep the pinion al-ways in contact with the rack, and a large (vertical) steering wheel, withhandles, enable a strong man to turn the dome half round in two minutes.
Nearly another thousand dollars were spent on old and new instru-ments. The equatorial received a helioscope, one of the 3-inch glasseswas changed into a portable equatorial, with circles, the other into acomet-seeker ■ the clocks were cleaned and mounted in double glasscases on the large equatorial pier, one running on sidereal the other onmean time, both provided with the Gardner spring contact, and a newchronograph by Fautii & Co., of Washington, placed between them.A triple electric-wire system is now being run to the switch-board in theclock-room, one making connection with the U. S. Naval Observatory ,another connecting clocks and observing keys with the chronograph,and a third giving incandescent illumination to the field and readingmicroscopes of the equatorial and transit instruments. The arrange-ment of the switch-board has been made by Mr. William C. Winlocic,assistant observer at the U. S. Naval Observatory , and is the same asin the observatories of Harvard College and Mount Hamilton, Cal.
The transit instrument and meridian circle are still aw-aiting a thor-ough examination, and piers will have to be built for the smaller instru-ments and for collimators.
The equatorial is the only instrument now ready for use, and will bemainly employed for variable star work. All the known variables, fromthe equator down to the horizon, have been put on the observing list,