1840-50] ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY 
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eclipse would be total for a brief space at an accessible point near 
Tellicherry, on the coast, he proceeded there with his instruments, 
ascended a river to its source and partly surveyed it. He obtained 
his observations. 
In the case of comets, especially the great comet of 1843, 
observations of varied rank and value flowed in by correspondence 
from all quarters of the world, and were recorded by the Society. 
Foreign Astronomers .—Foreign astronomers made hardly less 
use of the Society for announcements. Schumacher, in particular, 
was indefatigable in sending ephemerides and other news of interest. 
And in return, when the troubles of 1848 brought Schumacher’s 
position at Altona into jeopardy, arising from a rebellion in the 
Duchies of Slesvig and Holstein against the King of Denmark, 
all the astronomers of Europe used what influence they had to 
support him ; the Society sent a deputation to Lord Palmerston, 
by whom it was sympathetically received, and the case immedi 
ately represented to the Danish Government. 
Instrumental Advances .—The interest of the Society in instru 
mental advances was keen, and with few exceptions the lines 
approved have stood the test of experience. In 1843, Simms 
described his new dividing engine, which was self-acting. Airy 
successively described his plans for the new transit circle, the reflex 
zenith tube, and the chronograph. He also described with care and 
fulness the methods of casting and grinding specula, of Lord Rosse 
and of Lassell. Lord Rosse contributes some interesting remarks on 
the mounting of a great mirror, which are still to the point. Lassell 
was a frequent contributor as well as an indefatigable observer, and 
his 24-inch speculum, with its equatoreal mounting, must have 
been an unusually fine piece of work, as evidenced by the discovery 
of Hyperion, of two of the lost satellites of Uranus, and of the 
satellite of Neptune. Some of the subjects talked about seem to 
us strangely familiar, though at the time they were mere talk ; 
for example, “ The advantage of large specula and elevated posi 
tions,” by Piazzi Smyth. The Neilgherry Hills was the site he 
suggested, that is to say, not so far from the site of Kodaikânal. 
Equally assiduous were Fellows in studying improvements in 
methods of using the instruments and the minutiae of reading upon 
which refinements depend. Sheepshanks was one of the most 
expert. The many entries regarding the standard yard offer an 
illustration. The Society possessed, and still possesses, a copy of 
the national standard. The original was destroyed in the con 
flagration at the Houses of Parliament in 1834, and at the request 
of the Government the Society’s copy was lent for the purpose of 
constructing by comparison a new standard. The work went 
on slowly ; all the difficulties of this branch of metrology had to