stars, sigma, pi, rho, and omicron.
The last three form a beautiful little triangle. We begin with sigma,
the faintest of the four. The magnitudes of its components are six and
nine, distance 54", p. 177 deg.. In pi the magnitudes are five and nine,
distance 3.4", p. 145 deg.; in rho, magnitudes five and eight, distance
3.8", p. 177 deg. (a third star of magnitude seven and a half is seen at a
distance of 4', p. 150 deg.); in omicron, magnitudes six and seven, distance
22", p. 240 deg..

The star cluster 4608 is small, yet, on a moonless night, worth a glance
with the five-inch.

[Illustration: MAP NO. 14.]

We now pass northward to the region covered by map No. 14, including the
remainder of Ophiuchus and Serpens. Beginning with the head of Serpens,
in the upper right-hand corner of the map, we find that beta, of
magnitude three and a half, has a ninth-magnitude companion, distance
30", p. 265 deg.. The larger star is light blue and the smaller one
yellowish. The little star nu is double, magnitudes five and nine,
distance 50", p. 31 deg., colors contrasted but uncertain. In delta we find
a closer double, magnitudes three and four, distance 3.5", p. 190 deg.. It
is a beautiful object for the three-inch. The leader of the
constellation, alpha, of magnitude two and a half, has a faint companion
of only the twelfth magnitude, distance 60", p. 350 deg.. The small star is
bluish. The variable R has a period about a week short of one year, and
at maximum exceeds the sixth magnitude, although sinking at minimum to
less than the eleventh. Its color is ruddy.

Passing eastward, we turn again into Ophiuchus, and find immediately the
very interesting double, lambda, whose components are of magnitudes four
and six, distance 1", p. 55 deg.. This is a long-period binary, and
notwithstanding the closeness of its stars, our four-inch should
separate them when the seeing is fine. We shall do better, however, to
try with the five-inch. Sigma 2166 consists of two stars of magnitudes
six and seven and a half, distance 27", p. 280 deg.. Sigma 2173 is a double
of quite a different order. The magnitudes of its components are both
six, the distance in 1899 0.98", p. 331 deg.. It is evidently a binary in
rapid motion, as the distance changed from about a quarter of a second
in 1881 to more than a second in 1894. The star tau is a fine triple,
magnitudes five, six, and nine, distances 1.8", p. 254 deg., and 100", p.
127 deg.. The close pai