The solar spots may be contemplated with advantage by magnifying powers varying from 60 to 180 times; about 90 times is a good medium power, though they may sometimes be distinguished with very low powers, such as those usually adapted to a one-foot telescope, or even by means of a common opera-glass. The common astronomical eye-pieces given along with achromatic telescopes, and the sun-glasses connected with them, are generally ill-adapted for taking a pleasant and comprehensive view of the solar spots. In the higher magnifying powers, the first eye-glass is generally at too great a distance from the eye, and the sun-glass which is screwed over it, removes it to a still greater distance from the point to which the eye is applied, so that not above one third of the field of view can be taken in. This circumstance renders it difficult to point the instrument to any particular small spot on the solar disk which we wish minutely to inspect; and besides, it prevents us from taking a comprehensive view of the _relative positions_ of all the spots that may at any time be traversing the disk. To obviate this inconvenience, the sun-glass would require to be placed so near to the glass next the eye as almost to touch it. But this is sometimes difficult to be attained, and, in high powers, even the thickness of the sun-glass itself is sufficient to prevent the eye from taking in the whole field of view. For preventing the inconveniences to which I now allude, I generally make use of a _terrestrial_ eye-piece of a considerable power, with a large field, the sun-glass is fixed at the end of a short tube which slides on the eye-piece, and permits the coloured glass to approach within a line or two of the lens next the eye, so that the whole field of the telescope is completely secured. The eye-piece alluded to carries a magnifying power of 95 times for a 46-inch telescope, and takes in about three fourths of the surface of the sun, so that the relative positions of all the spots may generally be perceived at one view. Such a power is, in most cases, quite sufficient for ordinary observations; and I have seldom found any good effect to arise from attempting very high powers, when minutely examining the solar spots.