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Excerpt from A Laboratory Manual in Astronomy The laboratory method of instruction is growing in favor so rapidly with astronomical teachers that there is little occasion for any plea in its behalf. It is a recognized fact that the direct investigation of celestial phenomena gives a vividness and reality to the subject and arouses interest and enthusiasm difficult to obtain by any other means. Indeed, to require the study of the heavenly bodies and provide no means for observing them is somewhat like restricting the student of botany to text-books and to pictures of plants. It cannot be urged as a valid objection to this method that large mathematical attainments and expensive equipment are prerequisites. Laborious investigations necessitating telescopes and observatories are not the ones which should engage the attention of our students at the beginning; but rather the simple observations which teach them how to see and enable them to gather at first hand a store of pleasant astronomical information. Whether the study of astronomy is taken up first in secondary schools or colleges, years of experience have convinced me that it is best to devote at least one term to general astronomy and naked-eye observation. An unobstructed place for watching the heavens, a few home-made instruments, and evening hours of laboratory instruction will, I believe, do more to foster a genuine interest in astronomy or prepare for the use of instruments of precision than any amount of text-book study which is supplemented only by desultory star-gazing. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the