The late Mr. Proctor in 1871 laid down on a chart two feet diameter all the stars down to magnitude 9-1/2 given in Agrelander's forty large charts of the stars visible in the northern hemisphere. They were 324,198 in number, and they distinctly showed by their greater density not only the whole course of the Milky Way but also its more luminous portions and many of the curious dark rifts and vacuities, which latter are almost wholly avoided by these stars. Later on Professor Seeliger of Munich made an investigation of the relation of more than 135,000 stars down to the ninth magnitude to the Milky Way, by dividing the whole of the heavens into nine regions, one and nine being circles of 20° wide (equal to 40° diameter) at the two poles of the Galaxy; the middle region, five, is a zone 20° wide including the Milky Way itself, and the other six intermediate zones are each 20° wide. The following table shows the results as given by Professor Newcomb, who has made some alterations in the last column of 'Density of Stars' in order to correct differences in the estimate of magnitudes by the different authorities. Regions. Area in Degree. Number of Stars. Density. I. 1,398.7 4,277 2.78 II. 3,146.9 10,185 3.03 III. 5,126.6 19,488 3.54 IV. 4,589.8 24,492 5.32 V. 4,519.5 33,267 8.17 VI. 3,971.5 23,580 6.07 VII. 2,954.4 11,790 3.71 VIII. 1,796.6 6,375 3.21 IX. 468.2 1,644 3.14 _N.B._--The inequality of the N. and S. areas is because the enumeration of the stars only went as far as 24° S. Decl., and therefore included only a part of Regions VII., VIII., and IX. [Illustration: DIAGRAM OF STAR-DENSITY From Herschel's Gauges (as given by Professor Newcomb, p. 251).] Upon this table of densities Professor Newcomb remarks as follows:--'The star-density in the several regions increases continuously from each pole (regions I. and IX.) to the Galaxy itself (region V.). IF THE LATTER WERE A SIMPLE RING OF STARS SURROUNDING A SPHERICAL SYSTEM OF STARS, THE STAR-DENSITY WOULD BE ABOUT THE SAME IN REGIONS I., II., and III., and also in VII., VIII., and IX., but would suddenly increase in IV. and VI. as the boundary of the ring was approached. Instead of such being the case, the numbers 2.78, 3.03, and 3.54 in the north, and 3.14, 3.21, and 3.71 in the south, show a progressive increase from the galactic pole to the Galaxy itself. The conclusion to be drawn is a fundamental one. The universe, or at least the denser portion of it, is really flattened between the galactic poles, as supposed by Herschel and Struve.'