This, if perfectly
secured, would be a very great convenience, but I am not very sanguine
on that point.'--A change had been made in the Electrometer-apparatus:
'A wire for the collection of atmospheric electricity is now stretched
from a chimney on the north-west angle of the leads of the Octagon
Room to the Electrometer pole.... There appears to be no doubt that a
greater amount of electricity is collected by this apparatus than by
that formerly in use.'--As regards the Magnetical Observations: 'The
Visitors at their last Meeting, expressed a wish that some attempt
should be made to proceed further in the reduction or digest of the
magnetical results, if any satisfactory plan could be devised. I
cannot say that I have yet satisfied myself on the propriety of any
special plan that I have examined.... I must, however, confess that,
in viewing the capricious forms of the photographic curves, my mind is
entirely bewildered, and I sometimes doubt the possibility of
extracting from them anything whatever which can be considered
trustworthy.'--Great progress had been made with the distribution of
time. 'The same Normal Clock maintains in sympathetic movement the
large clock at the entrance gate, two other clocks in the Observatory,
and a clock at the London Bridge Terminus of the South-Eastern
Railway.
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