part of the world, were earnestly recommended to us by the learned men of England. Active and ' extensive co-operation, they say, will be the only mode of setting at rest the conflicting theories of this most important branch of science. Simultaneous observations over three-fourths of the glote may be taken as satisfactory evidence that the whole world would present similar results. At some of the observatories it is intended to continue the observations uninterruptedly as in astronomy; but in others they probably will not be continued beyond 1846, when their results will be given to the world.

Whatever these results may be, the Navy is deeply interested in them,-more so than any other branch of society; and shall it be said that we have appropriated the hard-earned labors of others to benefit our Navy, without compelling it to bear its portion?

"Deeming an establishment of this description essential to the welfare of the Navy, the committee report the accompanying bill."

The bill was identical with the one which subsequently became a law. It was read twice, and disposed of in the House by reference to the "Committee of the Whole on the State of the Union." On the 23d June, a bill identical with the one thus laid to rest in the House, was introduced in the Senate by the Naval Committee of that body. It passed through the several stages of legislation in due order, without hindrance or objection; went to the House on the 30th July; was referred to the same committee as before; but as a Senate bill was treated with courtesy. It was reported back without discussion, passed by the House without debate, and on the 31st August, 1842, became a law, as follows:

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled: That the Secretary of the Navy be and he is hereby authorized to contract for the building of a suitable house for a depot of charts and instruments of the Navy of the United States, on a plan not exceeding in cost the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars.

And be it further enacted, That the sum of ten thousand dollars be and is hereby appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated towards carrying this law into effect.

And be it further enacted, That the said establishment may be located on any portion of the public land in the District of Columbia which the President of the United States may deem suited to the purpose."

On the 9th September, nine days after the passage of the law, the Secretary of the Navy, "taking the report of the Naval Committee, which accompanied the [House] bill as the exponent of the will of Congress," confided the preparation of the plans to Lieutenant Gilliss, the present Superintendent. After consulting those Americans most conversant with astronomical subjects, he visited Europe to obtain the counsel of foreign astronomers, and to make himself acquainted by personal inspection with the latest improvements in the construction of astronomical and magnetic implements. In March, 1843, he returned home, having ordered the instruments under authority from the Secretary of the Navy, and began the erection of the Observatory. The building was completed, the instruments mounted and essentially adjusted, and a library procured within eighteen months.

On the 7th February, 1845, Lieutenant Gilliss

presented a very detailed report of his labors,taking due care, of course, to designate the insti tution by the name which Congress had seen fit to confer upon it. This report is published as Senate Document No. 114, 28th Congress, Second Session. It contains a careful description, with minute drawings, of the instruments, which are in the main the same that, atter the lapse of eighteen years, are still in active and successful employment. Indeed, we make use of the report for our present description of the institution."

In the letter accompanying the report, Lieutenant Gilliss says,

"I have the honor to transmit herewith a report detailing the plan and construction of the Depot of Charts and Instruments, with an outline of its astronomical instruments, library, &c.

"In preparing this account I have been influ enced by a paragraph in a report from the Council to the members of the Royal Astronomical Society, in which they state:

"The Council are of opinion that it would tend materially to the advancement of astronomy if an accurate description of every principal Observatory could be obtained, accompanied with a ground-plan and elevation of the building; together with a description of the instruments employed, and drawings of such as are remarkable either for their novelty or peculiar interest." And in the report itself lie continues:

"It being evident, from the report of the committee of Congress before named, that it was intended to establish a Naval Observatory in connection with the Depot of Charts and Instruments, it became an object of great importance to obtain instruments of such character in the various departments of astronomy, terrestrial magnetism, and meteorology (designated by them to be pursued) as would render the most efficient service during the longest portion of time. To this end, eminent advice was sought, and a list prepared for the approval of the honorable Secretary, which, regarding their ultimate usefulness as paramount, still kept economy in view. The list embraced,1st. Achromatic refractor. 2d. Meridian transit. 3d. Prime-vertical transit. 4th. Mural circle.

5th. Comet-searcher.

6th. Magnetic instruments.

7th. Meteorological instruments.
8th. Books.

"In addition to these to be purchased, there belong to the Navy a portable forty-two inches transit instrument and two clocks purchased by Lieutenant Wilkes for the Exploring Expedition, and a thirty-inches transit circle and two clocks ordered for the Depot by myself, all which, with a number of mathematical, astronomical, and other scientific books, could be rendered useful in the new establishment."

The site selected for the building is on a hillthen known as Camp Hill-in the southwestern part of the city, on the north bank of the Potomac, and ninety-five feet above high-water mark, having a horizontal range of a mile and a quarter to the north and of eight miles southward. This hill is of gravel formation, covered with a stratum of dry, brittle, clayey soil, through which water filters freely; and the grounds assigned comprise about seventeen acres.

The building consists of a central portion fifty feet square, which contains a basement and two

stories, each with four rooms, and is surmounted by a revolving dome, twenty-three feet in diameter, for the Equatorial. On the east, west, and Bouth are wings twenty-one feet wide and eighteen feet high, the two former being twenty-six and a half feet long, and the latter originally twentyone feet, but extended twenty feet more in 1846 by the addition of another apartment. In these the other instruments are situated, leaving the central building for official purposes. To guard against changes of temperature arising from the influence of its heated rooms upon the observing apartments in the east and west wings, thick double walls are interposed with a space of six inches between them. The south wing is insulated by a passage-way.

The astronomical instruments provided by Lieutenant Gilliss are still in use. They have been already enumerated, and we will shortly describe them in detail. In addition to the astronomical observatory, a subterraneous magnetic observatory was constructed on the most approved principles, and furnished with the best instruments which could be procured.

At the close of September, 1844, Lieutenant Gilliss reported the Observatory ready for occupa tion. The instruments had been mounted and adjusted, and an excellent library provided.

On the 1st of October, Lieutenant M. F. Maury was assigned to the charge of the institution, and directed to remove to it the nautical books, charts, and instruments of the then existing depot. A corps of three lieutenants, six midshipmen, and a machinist, was assigned him; and soon after, four more lieutenants were ordered to the Observatory. Among their names may be recognized some which have already become national, and associated with memories of a nation's gratitude earned by gallant naval service in the present struggle for the preservation of our country and her liberties.

Within the year, three professors were added to the corps, and the all-important assistance of Mr. Sears C. Walker secured, doubtless at that time by far the most eminent practical astronomer whom our country had produced. To the ability and high attainments of Mr. Walker, in connection with Professors Coffin, Keith, and the lamented Hubbard,-all of whom soon took high rank among astronomers, and whose patriotism and love of science led them to regard no personal sacrifices as too great,-astronomy owes far more than will probably ever be put on record. In the following year Mr. Ferguson was added to the astronomical corps, and the zeal and ability with which he has employed the Equatorial are well known. It is probably far within bounds to say that more careful observations have been made by him with this instrument, than have been ever made with all the other equatorial telescopes in the country combined.

Mr. Walker remained but fourteen months at the Observatory. Circumstances which it is needless to recount, but which can easily be imagined by any one, at all conversant with astronomy, who will read the introduction and appendix to either of the two earlier volumes of Washington Observations, made his continuance at the Observatory impossible, and in March, 1847, he resigned his position. But his teachings and influence remained; and an increased number of able professors and astronomical assistants promised great cientific progress.

A large scheme of operations had been planned

for the institution. Continual observations of the sun, moon, and fundamental stars were to be kept up by each of the three meridian instruments, and observations of all the moon-culminating stars of the Nautical Almanac by the Transit Instrument. The Prime-Vertical instrument was to be constantly employed in observations of certain special stars; for the measurement of parallax if possible; to observe as many stars of the first and second magnitude as might be; and to form a catalogue of declinations of stars passing near the zenith. The Equatorial was to furnish full observations of the relative positions, color, and magnitude of double stars, as Struve had already done in a much less favorable geographical position; of clusters and nebulas; of occultations; of comets and newly-discovered planetary bodies. And, besides these, the three Meridian Instruments were to be actively engaged in zone observations, systematically organized, and extending as far as 45° S., at which parallel the observations were to begin.

At the close of 1845 the first volume of Washington Observations was published, bearing the date September 1, and under the name "Astronomical Observations made at the U.S. Naval Observatory." It was on the whole a very creditable work for American astronomy. Besides a fair amount of observations with the two transit instruments, in the meridian and the prime vertical and with the Mural Circle, it contained various important investigations of the errors and corrections peculiar to the several instruments,-investigations which must necessarily be made as preliminary to the successful employment of astronomical instruments, but which-especially the discussion of the various peculiarities of the Mural Circle-were carried out with remarkable ability. Mr. Walker's investigation of the latitude (which he fixed as 38° 53′ 39′′.25 for the centre of the dome, a value which there has thus far seemed no occasion for modifying);-Professor Coffin's masterly discussion of the adjustments of the Mural Circle, a model dissertation of its kind; his expansion of Bessel's Refraction tables;-Mr. Walker's Comparison of the Standard Thermometers,are all of great value. The instruments are redescribed and refigured; but all this material was 80 extraordinarily combined, was cemented with such unscientific phraseology, and interspersed with such unscientific ideas, that the volume seems not to have received the credit, nor its results the confidence, to which they are fairly entitled.

In 1851, the second volume of Observations appeared, the name of the institution being changed upon the title-page to "National Observatory." This volume comprised all the observations of the year 1846, excepting the zones, and contained numerous observations of sun, moon, planets, and comets, together with the observed positions of nearly six hundred stars. The volume for 1847, which was published in 1853, contains nearly the same amount of results as its predecessor, but, like that, omits the zone observations. The vol ume for 1848 was issued in 1856, the name of the institution being again changed to "U.S.N. Observatory,"-the Secretary of the Navy having in 1854 directed the discontinuance of the word "National," inasmuch as it was in no strict sense a national institution, though pre-eminently a naval one,-the expenses being defrayed entirely through the Navy Department, and a clause appended by Congress to one of the annual appro

priations having provided that its Superintendent shall be an officer of the Navy, not below the grade of lieutenant. This volume contained none but astronomical matter, and not far from the same amount as the other. Finally, the fifth volume was issued in 1859, and contains the observations of 1849 and 1850 combined; in which years, besides observations of the wandering bodies, the places of four hundred and four fixed stars were determined.

No other observations than these were published during the Superintendency of Commander Maury; but the zones observed by the Meridian Circle in 1846 were reduced under the direction of Mr. Ferguson, and published at the close of 1860.

During the memorable days of April, 1861, Commander Maury fled from the Observatory under the mistaken apprehension that sundry treasonable acts of his had already been discovered. Only two hours previous to his flight he had waited upon the Secretary of the Navy at his office, and given no intimation of any desire to resign, or of any disloyal sentiment. It was subsequently found that the preparations for his departure had been for some time going on; but at the last his haste was so great that sundry documents were left behind which completely disclosed the fact that, although an officer of the U.S. Navy, he had been engaged in treasonable correspondence with the enemy. As soon as the facts became known to the Department, he was by order of the Presi dent formally dismissed from the service of the United States, and Commander (now Captain) J. M. Gilliss, the original builder of the Observatory, was appointed to his place.

During the sixteen and a half years of Commander Maury's superintendence, very large sums were annually voted to the Observatory, for various purposes connected with its hydrographical and astronomical operations, and for the reduction of observations. A large corps of assistants, both naval and astronomical, were constantly on duty, and much hard work was unquestionably done. The series of admirable observations made with the Mural Circle by Professor Coffin, until his eyesight failed under the labor; his able discussions of results and management of reductions until his separation from the Observatory in 1856; the elegant investigations and refined methods of Professor Hubbard, until his health, too, gave way under the task; and the sound judgment and learning with which he enriched and assisted the Observatory, until his death in the summer of 1865 deprived American science of a bright ornament; the very extensive series of observations of planets and comets which Mr. Ferguson carried on with the Equatorial, with remarkable skill and rare assiduity, for some fifteen years; the ingenuity of Professor Keith; the unwearying devotion and accurate observation of Professor Yarnall;-these, and the exertions of other able and zealous men, contributed towards the value of the results. Bat interspersed with these were the observations of many others, who had neither taste for astroway, knowledge of its simplest laws, nor actance with the nature of instruments. When Stered to the Observatory by the Navy DepartBent, they obeyed the order; when directed by the Superintendent to observe, they observed as well as they could; nor are they to be blamed if fr observations are not of high value. Only the mode of administration can be censured, which called on those neither fitted for the task by taste or education, to perform duties entirely

out of the line of their profession, and which by its total lack of system failed to provide the requisite instruction, or even so to arrange the work that its value should not be entirely dependent on the ability and conscientiousness of the observer. And it is, moreover, a flagrant ground for censure that the observations of an institution claiming to rank in the first class should remain unreduced for ten, twelve, and even fifteen years, while hundreds of thousands of dollars appropriated by Congress and available for the purpose were expended in performing work of very questionable value and of very certain inaccuracy.

The present Superintendent of the Observatory took charge of the institution at the close of April, 1861, and in February, 1862, the volume of observations for the year 1861 was sent to the printer. In the prefatory notice, Captain Gillies says:

"On taking charge of this establishment at the close of April last, I found that the following observations, made prior to the 1st of January, 1861, had not been prepared for the press, though considerable progress had been made in the reduction of the Mural Circle and Equatorial Observations:

Zone Observations, 1846-1851. Magnetical Observations with Declinometer, Vertical Force, Instrument and Dip Circle, from July, 1842, to October, 1844. Meteorological Observations, from July, 1842, to December, 1860.

"The zone and magnetical observations were discontinued at the dates last named for each, and the Magnetical Instruments were never mounted after their removal from the building formerly occupied near Georgetown.

"It being physically impossible for the small corps of observers to compute their current observations and prepare this mass of work for printing within any reasonable period, a proposition was submitted to Hon. Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, for authority to place the astronomical portion in charge of a competent astronomer not connected with the Observatory. Appreciating the fact that early publication measurably enhances the value of observations, the honorable Secretary recommended the measure to the favorable consideration of Congress; and, the necessary authority having been granted by that honorable body, a corps of copyists was at once employed to transcribe on properly ruled forms all the obser vations contained in the record-books.

"The progress already made in the computations secures the publication of a volume immediately after the present one can be passed through the press. After the copyists shall have completed the zone sheets, they will be employed in reducing the magnetical and meteorological observations; and should no unforeseen event occur to cause delay, the whole of the observations will be presented to the public within three years.

"Commencing with the year 1861, it is designed that the meteorological observations shall constitute part of each annual volume."

The zone observations here referred to were made with each of three meridian instruments; and only those made with one instrument-the Meridian Circle, in the year 1846-had been re