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272 has been interrupted; as, from the competent staff of observers, some valuable results might be expected. It is to be hoped that peace will soon be restored, and that astronomical science will be cultivated with renewed ardour.

Besides the observatories above mentioned there are others at Yale College, Hudson, Ohio, Philadelphia, West Point, Georgetown, Cincinnati, Tuscaloosa (Alabama), Dartmouth College, Amherst College, and Chicago. Most of these, however, are of no service to science, as no provision has been made for the regular working of them. The popular interest is apt to exhaust itself in the purchase of instruments, which are soon entirely neglected, if a staff of observers is not appointed. Where proper provision has been made for observers, an abundant harvest of discovery and scientific fame has been reaped. The Observatory of Cambridge, alone, has entitled the United States to take rank, in astronomical science, with any European nation. The credit is all the greater, that the whole is due to private liberality and a generous appreciation of the wants of science. This institution was long contemplated, but some popular impulse was needed, and this was furnished by the great comet of 1843. As the sudden apparition of a bright star decided the astronomical career of Tycho Brahe, so this comet laid the foundation of Cambridge Observatory. In the case of the other observatories also, a comet or eclipse was generally required to stimulate