[Letter to George F. FitzGerald from J. E. Cullum],
Title
[Letter to George F. FitzGerald from J. E. Cullum],
Creator
Date
Identifier
GFF 19/39
Description
Handwritten letter from John Edward Cullum, Valencia Observatory, Cahirciveen, County Kerry, to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 10 May 1890. Cullum describes his experiments with a declinometer, including initial struggles and variables. 1p.
Transcription:
"My dear Sir,
If I have not written I have not been idle. My first attempts with the Declinometer were failures, and there was no use proclaiming them. The wire you sent me proved to be too weak, and broke in less than twenty four hours. I then applied to the Mechanism [?] at the Telegraph Station, and obtained from Line some fine copper coil wire, but that proved too soft, stretched and broke, and finally he gave one ounce thin brass wire, which I think will do very well. I have now commenced observing, hourly at present, from 8am until 11pm. until I can form some idea of the movements to expect. There is a decided Maximum and Minimum, with a range of ten divisions.
I was at first very much bothered with the changes of light, sometimes getting a glare, and then not sufficient illumination. That I think I have now overcome, and have set up a lamp for night work.
I think a series of these hourly readings will prove very interesting, if I can only keep them up a sufficient time to be of any use.
I hope you have been able to send in the paper on last year’s observations. You will I am sure be very busy with the May Examinations, and I do not intend to trouble you with correspondence, but you may rest assured I am working away steadily, and am very interested in the the Subject.
Mrs. Cullum has not been well after her return, suffering from Rheumatism but I am happy to say is much better now, and joins me in kind regards.
Believe Me,
Yours Sincerely,
J. E. Cullum"
Transcription:
"My dear Sir,
If I have not written I have not been idle. My first attempts with the Declinometer were failures, and there was no use proclaiming them. The wire you sent me proved to be too weak, and broke in less than twenty four hours. I then applied to the Mechanism [?] at the Telegraph Station, and obtained from Line some fine copper coil wire, but that proved too soft, stretched and broke, and finally he gave one ounce thin brass wire, which I think will do very well. I have now commenced observing, hourly at present, from 8am until 11pm. until I can form some idea of the movements to expect. There is a decided Maximum and Minimum, with a range of ten divisions.
I was at first very much bothered with the changes of light, sometimes getting a glare, and then not sufficient illumination. That I think I have now overcome, and have set up a lamp for night work.
I think a series of these hourly readings will prove very interesting, if I can only keep them up a sufficient time to be of any use.
I hope you have been able to send in the paper on last year’s observations. You will I am sure be very busy with the May Examinations, and I do not intend to trouble you with correspondence, but you may rest assured I am working away steadily, and am very interested in the the Subject.
Mrs. Cullum has not been well after her return, suffering from Rheumatism but I am happy to say is much better now, and joins me in kind regards.
Believe Me,
Yours Sincerely,
J. E. Cullum"
Source
RDS Library & Archives GFF collection of letters
Rights
Copyright RDS Library & Archives. Publication, transmission or display is prohibited without formal written approval of the RDS Library & Archives.
Relation
RDS Science Archive
Format
Manuscript
Language
English
Type
Coverage
1870-1901
Collection
Citation
Cullum, John Edward, “[Letter to George F. FitzGerald from J. E. Cullum],,” RDS Digital Archive, accessed May 20, 2025, https://digitalarchive.rds.ie/items/show/1216.