IVoi.. v.. So. IIB.
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��total ruiinber of iliSHrem stars iu Ibis (Mttnlogiie is less Ih an in ibe other; but that of the ubservuii 0119 is 'greiiliT, Biiice eadi ttar li»s bean ob-wrved many times, as well bs wilb greater precliloti. This cata- logue, too, i!i at last fiulabed, aiid in llie baiidB of llie priuter; and tlius it is thai I am once more at liome witb you, m; cherished friends.
I am hopeful that the data now collected niay throw some additional light upon the great pmblein of the dialribulion of the stare in space. Yet, even should these provd insufficient, there is reason to believe that the new labors already begun by ray successor. Dr. Thome, who has been connected with the observatory from t)ie very lirst, will provide whatever additional Information maybe Jjeedful for tbe purpose. Among the oilier reflearclies which have gone on while the preparation of the xone cata- logue draped its slow length nlong, hna been a study of the nielBorology of the country. The absolute lach of Inronnation on the subject had forced itself unpleasantly upon my notice when endeavoring lo select the most auitable place for the observatory; and, as it would have been disgraceful for any scien- tific inquirer to reside in the country without trying to supply the want in some degree, 1 succeeded in en- listing the aid of various educated men and women In different parts of the country and adjacent ones. The government and congress acceded to my rec- ommendHlion that a modest sum sboidd lie annually appropriated for the purchase of barometer.'!, ther- mometers, rain-gauges, etc., to be lent lo volunteer observers, and for arranging, com puling, and publisli- ing the results. In this way was organized, in 1872, the Argentine meieoro logical office, wblcta has estab- lished nil less than fifty-lwo station)!, scattered from the Andes to the Ailantic, and from Bolivia to Terra del Fuego. At the end of llie year 18S4 there were already tweniy-tbrec points at which the observa- tions had been continuously made, three limes a day, for at least Tour years, and sixteen others at wblcli Ihey had already Iteen continued for more than two yean. These have provided the necessary data for const meting the isothermal lines with tolerable pre- cision for all of South America, from the torrid zone to Cape Horn. Some Utile has also been accom- plished In deteiTuining local cimstnnts of terrestrial magnetism; and our lietprmlualions of geographical position have nearly kept pace with the exten'lnn of the telegraph-wiree. The beats of the Cordoba clock bave been heard, and automatically recorded, amid the plash both of Atlantic and Pacilic waves. And the series of longitude dclenninatlons made by tlio U-S, navy eipediibms between Buenos Aires and Europe on the one side under CapL Green, and between the United States and Valparaiso under CapL Davis on the other, give, when combined iviLh ihe two South- American measurements, values for the longitude of Cordoba which differ only by one-sixth of a second; this being the total amount o( ihe aigregate errors of the several determinations In a series which, pass- ing through Brazil, the Cape Terde Islands, MaileIra, Portugal, Enslaiid, Ireland, yewfuundland, the Unit- ed St.lles, Central America, and down the coasts of
��Ecuador, Peru, and f'bile, completes the full circuit at Cordoba again.
But I will not descant upon collateral matters, nor convert this gathering of friends into an astronomi- cal Iccture-rooin. There are but two points more that I wish to mention. One is, that 1 cherish a hope that our sojourn at Cordoba may hereafter be con- sidered aa marking an epoch in a new method of astronomical observation, namely, llie photographic. Tbe inception and introduction of this method be- longs to our countryman, Mr Ruthcrfurd ; and it was only through his friendly aid in several ways that 1 WHS enabled to give it a larger scope, in t-pite of many obstacles. Now, I can report that every Important cluster of stare in the southern hemisphere has been repeatedly photograpbe<l at Cordoha, with a precision of deBnliion in the stellar Images which permits ac- curate microscopic measurement; that these meas- urements are now actively going on; and that the Argeiulne government lias undertaken to provide the means fur their contlnnance under my tttpervlsion. It may be that 1 over-estimate the importance of lliis new method; but I confess thnt my expectations are very high. Another year ought to »how us whether tUey are exaggerated or not.
Tlic other point is that a very large share of the merit which you so liberally attribute to me belongs to the faithful staff of fellow- workers with whose assistance I have been Binguiariy favored. This un- selBsli devotion lo the great undertakings in which they took part, their loyalty, trustworthiuess, and ability, have, in the great majority of cases, been be- yond all praise. Uappily, their faithful and Inestima- ble services to science are placed on durable record; and yet unborn astronomers will know, at least in part, bow great have been Iheir deserts. The senior of tbem. Dr. Jolin M. Thome, whose services began In I87I1, before we started southward, is now director of the observatory, wl)ere he has begun a new and Im- portant work, which will do lionor to bim and to the institution. Another, Mr. Walter G. Davis, who has labored moat earnestly and efficiently (or eight years and a half, is now director of the meteorological office, which is assuming large proportions, and under which he is now organizing a meteorologit^l station of the highest class. One noble young moit. Hr. Stevens, was summoned, without an Instant'i warning, to a higher reward than earth could give, leaving no memories behind him other than of affec- tion, admiration, and reiipecl. It was a sore loss for us, and fur the bereaved parents In New Hampshire, to whom be was their only earthly slay and slaO. Had he lived, his friends and country would have had abundant cause for pride In him. As It is, the nnmber of those who Jove and honor his memory may perhaps be smaller, but their pride and admi- ration are no Ui^ than had they seen the full harvest instead of the rich proml-e only. Mr. Bacbmann, a native of Austria, who labored with us for more tiMn ten years, is now at the head of the Argentine naval academy in Buenos Aires, with more than three hundred pupils, and an elegant little observatory, where be finds repose fi-om ndmiiiistra'
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