The Crossley dome is about 350 yards from the main Observatory, at the end of a long rocky spur which extends from the Observatory summit toward the south, and on which are two of the houses occupied by members of the Observatory staff. It is below the level of the lowest reservoir, "Huyghens," which receives the discharge from the hydraulic machinery of the 36-inch refractor, and therefore the water engine furnished by Mr. Crossley for turning the dome can not be used, unless a new water system--overflow reservoir, pump and windmill--is provided. In this respect a better site would have been a point on the south slope of "Kepler,"--the middle peak of Mount Hamilton--just above the Huyghens reservoir. No addition to the present water system would then have been needed. The slope of the mountain at this place might cut off the view of the north horizon, but since the telescope can not be turned below the pole, this would be a matter of no consequence. Water-power for the dome is not, however, really necessary. The cylindrical walls of the dome, 36-1/4 feet inside diameter, are double, and provided with ventilators. Opening into the dome, on the left of the entrance, are three small rooms, one of which has been fitted up as a photographic dark room, and another, containing a sidereal clock and a telephone, which communicates with the main Observatory, as a study, while the third is used for tools and storage. There is also a small room for the water engine, in case it should be used. The dome is at present supplied with water from only the middle reservoir, Kepler, which is reserved for domestic purposes and is not allowed to pass through the machinery. The dome itself, 38 feet 9 inches in diameter, is made of sheet-iron plates riveted to iron girders. It also carries the wooden gallery, ladders, and observing platform, which are suspended from it by iron rods. The apparatus for turning the dome consists of a cast-iron circular rack bolted to the lower side of the sole-plate, and a set of gears terminating in a sprocket-wheel, from which hangs an endless rope. As the dome does not turn easily, it has been necessary to multiply the gearing of the mechanism so that one arm's-length pull on the rope moves the dome only about one inch. In some positions of the telescope the dome can not be moved more than six or eight inches at a time without danger of striking the tube, and this slowness of motion is then not disadvantageous. It is only when the dome has to be moved through a considerable angle, as in turning to a fresh object, or in photographing some object which passes nearly through the zenith, that the need for a mechanical means of rotation is felt.