Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-11-29
GIFTS FROM FAR-OFF LANDS.
| Received by Washington Astronomer From
| Foreign Societies and Governments.

Received by a Washington Astronomer From
| Foreign Societies and Governments.
Prof. Simon Newcomb, the distinguished as
tronomer Of Washington, has recently been
made the recipient Of several very remarkable
| and aattering testimonials from foreign gov
| ernments and institutions.
A STAR reporter learned that the University
Of Toxic has sent him two superb bronze vases,
about two and half feet high, ornamented in
the highest style of modern Japanese art. This
beautiful gift is partly in recognition of the
| professors services when, not long ago, the
great educational institution referred to desired
to obtain photo-hehograph wherewith to take
ten to on the subject and selected the best man
| to construct the instrument Accordingly he
arranged contract for it, and the satisfaction
| felt by the university with the result inspired
the compliment which the pair of vases is in
| tended to express.
Another present now on its way to Prof.
Newcomb from Russia, sent by order Of the
car, ID y large jasper vase on a marble base.
Inc Gratlfied recipient has already seen the
| bill OF iading for it. but he feels some uncer-
tainty as to whether it will be in his power to
accept it. If it is the gift of the government
the law In this country will prevent him from
| taking it. Very likely. however. it will not be
offered IN this gTise, inasmuch as it Is in
reality compliment bestowed by the great
| observatory at Pulkowa, for which Prof. New
comb has rendered important services. Last
year the observatory celebrated its fiftieth
anniversary, the ceremonies incidental to
which were attended by the car, and among
other things it was determined on the occasion
that such a vase should be sent to the man who
was SO largely instrumental in procuring for
the observatory the finest telescope, with one
exception, at present existing in the world.
HOW THE TELESCOPE WAS SECURED
To make this understood it is necessary to
explain that in the year 1879 the authority Of
the car was obtained for setting up in the OBJ
servatory at Pulkowa larger refracting tele-
scope than at that time existed in the world.
The astronomer in charge Of the institution
went on journey in search Of the parts that
were necessary to compose the instrument, and
finally landed in Cambridge, Mass, where he
went to see Prof. Pickering of Harvard Uni
versIty. Prof. Newcomb CHANGED to be sum-
merinS In the neighborhood and had an oppor-
tunlty OF meeting the Russian astronomer
who was Prof. Otto Strive, brother of the
present Russian minister to this country. Mr..
Newcomb recommended the firm he considered
the best makers of telescope lenses in the
world. and on the strength of his Endorsement
largely meeting was arranged between Prof.
Strive and the firm, the result of which was
contract for the two lenses required. Mr..
strive had previously been negotiating with
certain makers abroad, but they wanted the
observatory to take all the risk and insisted
upon what he considered an unreasonable time
for the completion of the lenses. The Ameri-
can firm guaranteed their work and agreed to
deliver 1t within much shorter period.
FOR THE LENSES.
The head of the firm went abroad to get the
glass for the lenses in the rough. He managed
to procure the crown glass for one Of the lenses
at Birmingham, England, and o year later he
obtained in France the flint glass for the other
lens. The reason for the delay in the latter
case was that the manufacture of such a big
piece of glass as was required for this huge
telescope is a very difficult matter. Tos begin
with. the silica and other ingredients necessary
to the composition of the finest glass are put
into an earthen pot and melted. Next the pot
with Its contents Is slowed away in an oven to
gradually cool down for weeks. Then the mass
OF glass. that is to be, is melted and cooled once
more. after which it is poured out and pressed
into the shape of a disc. All over the surface
of this disc, when it is Cold, impurities
are to be discovered, and these are
sawed off carefully with wires and
otherwise, because it is obviously impossible to
attack the mass with chisels, lest it be cracked.
Following this are many subsequent MEETINGS
and removals of impurities, until the material
Is freed as far as possible from bubbles and
foreign PARTICLES. ANY part of a melting may be
taken away from the mass as long as hole is not
made through it, which would destroy its con-
OF Its particles. In the process of purifying
the glass by these successive operations its
bulk is necessarily much diminished, 80 that q
chunk of the material designed for big lens
may be so reduced as to be unavailable for the
purpose intended. Eventually however, il
success is achieved, the mass Of glass is turned
out In the shape of a disc ready for working.
DIFFICULT DETAILS.
This was only the beginning. All that was
got in Europe, as the result of years work,
was two cart wheels Of fine glass in the rough.
They were shipped to this country, where they
had to be put through processes that required
three years more for their completion. The
contractor paid 5000 a piece for the cart
wheels, and inasmuch as he had contracted to
supply the lenses for $4,000, he had S22, 900
left for his expenses and profit on the contract
First the big discs had to be ground OFF into
approximate shape with coarse emery and after
ward with fine emery. Then they were laid in
basins shaped according to the lines of the
lenses desired and turned round and round,
rOuge-red oxide Of iron-being smeared over
the inside OF the basin to accomplish the fine
grinding required. The final touches to bring
the surface of the lenses precisely to
the curvature required by the mathe-
with the hand. In this way were
the great Pulkowa glasses finished for the tele-
scope. which is now only surpassed by that of
the Lick observatory in California. Even such
carefully uiaut lenses cannot De maze free from
bubbles. II you will look at the object glass of
the telescope at the National observatory in
Washington you will observe that there are
bubbles all through it. No way has as yet been
found of avoiding them. And yet the National
observatory telescope is the finest and biggest
in the United States, with the exception Of the
Lick. The celebrated telescope Of Lord Rose
Is six feet across but it is only rejecting tele-
scope, which means that the object viewed is
not seen directly, but by reflection. There are
plenty OF moderate-sized refracting telescopes
that are as effective for seeing purposes as Lord
Roses. The one at the National observatory
here is ever so much more serviceable.
Prof. Newcomb has also received recently
from the Royal Society Of Great Britain the
Copley medal for his researches as to the rela-
ton Of gravity to the movements of the planets.
Fathers Way.
ITO WILSON BARRErr1
My father no pessimist; he loved the thin0s of