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....
It sends galvanic signals every day along all the
principal railways diverging from London. It drops
the Greenwich Ball, and the Ball on the Offices of
the Electric Telegraph Company in the Strand;...
All these various effects are produced without sensible
error of time; and I cannot but feel a satisfaction
in thinking that the Royal Observatory is thus quietly
contributing to the punctuality of business through
a large portion of this busy country. I have the
satisfaction of stating to the Visitors that the Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty have decided on the
erection of a Time-Signal Ball at Deal, for the use
of the shipping in the Downs, to be dropped every
day by a galvanic current from the Royal Observatory.
The construction of the apparatus is entrusted to
me. Probably there is no roadstead in the world
in which the knowledge of true time is so important.’—The
Report includes an account of the determination of
the Longitude of Cambridge Observatory by means of
galvanic signals, which appear to have been perfectly
successful.—Under the head of General Remarks
the following passage appears: ’The system
of combining the labour of unattached computers with
that of attached Assistants tends materially to strengthen
our powers in everything relating to computation.
We find also, among the young persons who are engaged
merely to serve as computers, a most laudable ambition
to distinguish themselves as observers; and thus we
are always prepared to undertake any observations
which may be required, although necessarily by an
expenditure of strength which would usually be employed
on some other work.’—Considerable
work was undertaken in preparing a new set of maps
of our buildings and grounds.—On Apr. 23rd
there was a small fire in the magnetic observatory,
which did little mischief.—In December
I wrote my description of the Transit Circle.—Lieut.
Stratford, the Editor of the Nautical Almanac, died,
and there was some competition for the office.
I was willing to take it at a low rate, for the addition
to my salary: Mr Main—and I think
Mr Glaisher—were desirous of exchanging
to it: Prof. Adams was anxious for it.
The Admiralty made the excellent choice of Mr Hind.—In
October Faraday and I, at Lothbury, witnessed some
remarkable experiments by Mr Latimer Clark on a galvanic
current carried four times to and from Manchester
by subterranean wires (more than 2000 miles) shewing
the retardation of visible currents (at their maximum