New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-09-12
TILE LICK nENEAIlIOnr.

When Mr.. James Lick died, some four years
ago and certain alleged heirs To his millions
stood ready To swear that he was insane. It
looked rs if science would receive small profit
from his eccentric generosity. At that time
the Lick Trust Fund" amounted to some
$4,000, 900, bat one of trustees had
already resigned and the donor had been in
hot controversy with another set. Highly con-
fusing legal complications were threatened,
and the great telescope the technical schools,
the monument to the author of the Star
Spangled Banner, and all the other re-
suits made possible by successful ventures
in zeal estate and Spanish hides were likely
to be- lost in endless litigation.
II will encourage Opulcnt gentlemen who
feel inclined to make sensible disposition of
their money to know that many OF these pciils
have been safely weathercd by the Fund =;
that the Lick Observatory viii be put in COM
plete working order without further delay
that the smaller equatorial VIII he in
position carly next year; and that the
great telescope and other Instruments will be
contracted for at once. The summit Of Mt.
Hamilton, a peak OF trap rock in Santa Clara
County. Cal, towering 4,250 feet above the
level of the sea, has been selected as the site OF
the Observatory. At the request OF the trustees,
Nh 5. ". Durham, the sharp-eyed astronomer
of Chicago, who is recognized the world over
as among the first living authorities on binary
or multiple stars, set out ii year ago tor Cali
fornia, taking with him the siX-irch re-
tractor, made by Alyan Clark & Sons,
with which he has made 80 many dis
coveries. Mr.. Durham spent sixty days
upon Mt. Hamilton, and his report amply justi-
fies the selection Of this peak as a suitable
home for the great instrument which is to be
superior to and more powerful than any
telescope ever yet made" The view from
this point is unobstructed in every direction
there being no higher ground within a radius
of 100 miles. The Pacific Ocean can be seen
shining on the western horizon beyond the
lofty summit of the Coast Range. The snow
capped Lasson Butte is visible 40 miles to
the north, and the ridge of the great
Sierra Nevada, 100 miles away, Is oat-
lined clearly against the eastern sky
at sunrise OF course the singular
transparency of the California atm O.
sphere, through which a sunnash from the
fve-inch mirror of hcliotrope has been seen
with the naked eve at a distance of 17j
miles, Is great duNdHldS', ana MI.
Burnham's experience proves that the
conditions for the best seeing" are
remarkably uniform. Whether the stead
mess of the air is due to the lack of
moisture, or TO other causes, certain 1t is that
one night was very much like another,
and the conditions for best work were
permanent the whole night through,
which is rarely the case III Eastern local
ties Every evening. after sunset. the
ocean fog rolls in through the Golden Gate
and fills the valley like a great white sea.
But its surface. with the SUBMITS of the
lower hills standing up through it like islands,
is =. 600 feet below the Observatory, aud all
above is pure Transparency. The same clear
sky and dry air prevail from March to Octo-
Der. and during the rainy season there are
frequent intervals of fine weather, when the
atmospheric conditions for observation are
at their best
The geographical position OF Mt Hamil-
ton is another important advantage. The
peak stands nearer the equator than any
of the great European or American
obseryatones. This position. IN connection