Skip to main content

Full text of "Knowledge. v. 1-40; Nov. 1881-Dec. 1917"

See other formats 


wmmi--m'mm-'^' 


W&B- 


WM^ 


mmmmm 


i 


a-^ 


I^ARSWELLCo   Lumwdj 
I  BookbjDtSerA, 

lT^SS'e^,       i  TORONTO 

|PrBt.is3ES3,etc  0       o  N  T 


SIMPLY    WORPHD-HXACTLY    PHSrRll^l^:P. 


IITERATUR 


Founded     by     RICHARD     A.     PROCTOR. 


h   lA/  J- 


"Let  Knowledge  grow  from  more  to  more.  " 

— TENNVSON. 


VOLUME    XXIII. 


JANUARY    TO     DECEMBER,     1900. 


KNOWLEDGE     OFFICE,     326,     HIGH     HOLBORN,     W.C. 

[A//  Rights  Reserved.] 


l.ONI'OV  ; 
PUINTEI'    AT    KX0WLFIU;K    OFFICE,   ^2V>,    HHiH    I|t>I.HOHN.    W.T. 


I 

k-7 


KNOWLEDGE 


ui. 


INDEX 


Academy,  The  Royal,  Exhibition 

Acids  in  Soil- 
Letter  on  ;  by  W.  A.  Smith  ., 

Alps,  The  Buried  — 

By  Grenville  A.  J.  Cole 


VIH 


IG 


11 


Anderson,  Wm. — 

Letters  on  Is  the  Stellar  Universe  Finite?     H,  36 

Antoniadi,  Eugene,  F.R.A.S.— 

The  Photography  of  Clouds 79,107 

The  Great  Telescope  of  Paris,  1900 '240 

Astbury,  T.  H  — 

Letter  on  A  Cloud  of  Dried  Beech  Leaves    ...     100 

Astrology- 
Letters  on ;  by  B.  CnATLEY    ...         ...         205,227 

Letters  on ;  by  Alan  Leo       ...         ...         228,255 

Astrology  or  Astronomy,  Ancient  Hindu,  and 
the  Nine  Planets — 

Letter  on  ;  by  C.  G.  Stuart-Menteath        ..      255 

Astronomy     and    Astrology :     A    Question    of 
Primogeniture — 

By  E.  W.ALTER  Maunder         35 

Astronomy  without  a  Telescope — 
By  E.  Walter  Maunder — 

L  Introductory     ...          ...         ...         ...  9 

II.  The  Zodiacal  Light     61 

III.  The  Northern  Stars 81 

IV.  A  Total  Solar  Eclipse 104 

V.  Observations  of  the  Sun         132 

VI.  The  Milky  Way           158 

VII.  Meteors— The  Perseids         174 

Vin.  Four  Variable  Stars 199 

IX.  Aurorfc            223 

X.  The  Meteors  of  November 251 

Australia,  The   Natives  of,  and  their  Origin  — 

By  Pi.  Lydekkep.  ...  ..  ...  ...         (j 

Bacon,  Rev.  John  M.,  F.R.A.S.— 

Mid-air  Observations  ...         ...         1 


l'.tGK 

Bastides,  The  Land  of  the— 

By  Grenvili.e  A.  J.  Cole  ...  ...     187 

Bavaria,  Contrasts  in — 

By  Grenville  A.  .1.  Cole       ...  ...  ...     121 

Bayley,  R.  Child— 

Lotter  on  Wireless-Telegraph  Keeeiver        ...     195 

Birds,  The  Mud-nest  Building,  of  Australia— 

By  D.  Le  Souef  ...  92 

Black  Rain,  The,  of  August  6th,  1899  — 

By  Major  L.  A.  Eddie  ...  ...  ...        10 

Books,  Reviews  of — 

Africa,    .S])ort   in    Kast   Central.     By    F.    Vaugliari 

K'irby  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  ]^j 

America,  Impressions  of.     B.y  T.  C.  Porter           ...  .10 

Animal  Biology.     By  C.  Lloyd  Morgan   ...              ...  5,s 

Animals,  Kxperiments  on.     By  Stephen  Paget       ...  59 

Animals  in  .Motion.     By  Eauwcavd  Muy bridge      ...  Ill 

Arnold,  Dr.,  Life  and  Correspondence  of.     By  Dean 

Stanley       ...              ...              ...              ...              ...  210 

Art-Enamelling  upon  Jletals,  On  the   Theory  and 

Practice  of .  By  Henry  Cunynghame  ...  "  ...  (io 
Astronomical  and  Pliysical  Researches  made  at  Mr. 

Wilson's  Observatory,  Daramona,  Wcstmeatli     ...  278 

Astronomische  Instrumentenkuudo,  Handbiicli  der. 

By  Dr.  L.  Ambronn...  ...  ...  ...  17 

Babylonians  and   Assyrians,   Life   and  Customs    of. 

By  Rev.  A.  H.  Sayce  ...  ...  ...  fiO 

Bacteria.     By  George  Newman...  ...  ...  17 

Berzelius  and  Schonbein,  The  Letters  of.     Edited 

by  George  W.  A.  Kahlbaum       ...         257 

Bird-land   with    Field-glass    and    Camera,  In.     By 

Oliver  G.  Pike  ...  ...  ...  ...         258 

Bird-Life,  The  Story  of.     My  W.  P.  Pycraft  ...         258 

Birds  of  Ireland,  The.     By  Richard  J.  Ussher  and 

Robert  Warren         ...  ...  ...  ...         277 

Botan.y,  Object  Lessons  in.     By  E.  Snelgrove        ...         21u 

Brain,  The  Structure  of  tlie.     By  Albert  Wilson  ...         157 

British  People,  The  Origin  and  Cliaracter  of.     By 

Nottidge  C.  Mucnamara  ...  ...  .'..         258 

Chemistry,  The  Scientific  Foundations  of  Analytical. 
ByW.  Ostwald         ...  ...  ...  ...         278 

Colour  :  A  Uautibook  on  the  Theory  of  Colour.    By 

George  H.  11  urst      ...  ...  ...  ...  18 

Constellations,  An  Easy  Guide  to  the,  witli  a  Star 

Atlas.     By  Rev.  James  Gall   ...  ...  ...  58 

Constellations  of  the  Greeks,  Phienicians,  and 
Babylonians,  Reaearches  into  tlic  Origin  of  the 
Primitive.     By  Robert  Brown,  Junior  ...  ...         i':{l 

Crystallography,  A  Treatise  on.     By  W.  J.  Lewis  1 57 

Darwinism  and  Lamarckism.     By  P.  W.  Hutton   ...  lU 

Dictionary  of  the  English  Language,  The  Standard 

Intermediate  School...  ...  ...  ...         13(i 


IV. 


KNOWLEDGE 


Books,  Reviews  of- 


By 


Dimorpliisin,  Sexual,  in  the  Animal  Kingdom. 

J.  T.  Cunuinghani    ... 
Dragon-Flies,  JJritish.     By  W.  J.  Liiciis  ... 

EchinodcTiiis,   The  Niitural   Hiatory  of.     By  F.  A. 
Bather 

Eclipses,   Keeent   ami    Coming.      By    Sir    Noriiian 
Lookjer 

Egyptian  Magic.     By  E.  A.  Wallis  Budge 

Electricity  and  Magnetism,  Elementary  Lessons  in. 

By  S.  P.  Thomjison  ... 
Electric  Lighting.     By  A.  C.  Swinton     ... 
Empire,  The  Struggle  for.     By  Robt.  W.  Cole       ... 
Ethics,  A  System  of.     By  Fricdrich  Paulsen 
Evolution  by  Atrophy.     By  Dcraoor,  Massart,  and 

Vandervelde 
Evolution,    Inorganic,    as    Studied    by     Spectrum 

Analysis.     By  Sir  Normau  Lockyer 
Evolution,   Organic,  A   First  Book   of.     By  D.  K. 

Shute 
Faraday  and  Schtinbein,  The  Letters  of.     Edited  by 

Gcorg  W.  A.   Kahlbaum  and  Francis  V.  Darbi- 

shire 
Fermentation    and    Mici'o-orgauisms.       By   Alfred 

Jorgensen   ... 
Ferric  and  Heliographic  Processes.     By   George  E. 

Brown 
Flowerland,  Sylvia  in.     By  Linda  Gardiner 
Flowers,  The  Romance  of  Wild.     By  Edward  Step 
Free     Will     and     Criminal     Responsibility,     The 

Universal  Illusion  of.     By  A.  Hamon  ... 
Gases,  The  Rise  and   Development   of   the    Lique- 
faction of.     By  Dr.  WiUett  L.  Hardin 
Geography,  The  Teaching  of,  in  Switzerland   and 

North  Italy.     By  Joan  Berenice  Reynolds 
Hampshire   Highlands,  Wild  Life   in.     By  George 

A.  D.  Dewar 
Health  Reform,  Connmon  Sense.     By  T.  Thatcher 
Horns  of  Honour,  and  other  Studies  in  the  Bye- 
ways    of    Archceology,      By   Frederick   Thomas 

Elwonhy   ... 
Huxley,  Life  and   Letters  of  Thomas  Henry.     By 

his  Son,  Leonard  Huxley 
Interpolation,   The   Theory   and  Practice    of.      By 

Herbert  L.  Rice 
Italy,  Modern,  1748—1898.     By  Pietro  Orsi 
Joiu'nal  of  Researches.     By  Charles  Darwin 
Knowledge,  The  Advance  of.      By   Lieut. -Col.  W. 

Sedgwick     ... 
Light   and    Sight,    Curiosities    of.       By     Shelford 

Bidwell       ...  ...  ...  ...         _     ... 

Living  Pictures.     By  Henry  V.  Hopwood 

Local  Colour,  A  Romancer's.     By  S.  R.  Crockett  ... 

Malay  Magic.     By  W.  W.  Skeat 

Man  and  his  Ancestors.     By  Charles  Morris 

Man,  The  Races  of.     By  J.  Deniker 

Materials,  The  Strength  of.     By  J,  A.  Ewing 

Matter,  Ether  and  Motion.     By  Prof.  A.  E.  Dolbear 

Mechanical  and  Physical  Subjects,  Papers  on.     By 

Osborne  Reynolds    ... 
Mechanics,  The  Principles  of.     By  Heiurich   Hertz 

Mechanism,  The  Wonders  of  Modern.     By  Charles 

H.  Cochrane 
Mental  Culture,  An  Essay  on.     By  G.  A.  Hight  ... 

Meteorology,   Practical   Exercises   in    Elementary. 

By  Robert  de  Courcy  Ward  ... 
Microscope,  Chats  about  the.     By  Henry  C,  Shelley 

Microscope,  Common  Objects  of  the.     By  Rev.  J.  G. 
Wood 


PAGE 


157 
112 

136 

112 
59 

258 

257 

210 

39 

157 

231 

135 

87 

181 

210 
59 
40 

40 

59 

137 

18 
19 

156 

279 

210 
156 
137 

59 

18 

40 
278 
112 
182 

80 
157 

40 

257 
182 

59 

210 

135 

19 

59 


Nation,   The    Mind  of    the.      By   Marcus    R.    P. 

Dorman       ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  87 

Naturalist,  Tlie  Boyhood  of  a.     By  Fred  Smith     ...         135 

Nature  Knowledge,  Chatty  Object  Lessons  in.     By 

F.  W.  Hackwood      ...  "  ...  ...  ...         210 

Nature,  Views  on  Sonic  of  the  Phenomena  of.     By 

James  Walker  ...  ...  ...  ...  18 

Negritos,  Tlie  Distribution  of  the,  in  the  Philippine 

Islands  and  Elsewhere.     Ey  A.  B.  Meyer  ...         181 

Newton's  Laws  of  Motion.     By  Prof.  P.  G.  Tait  ...  59 

North  Polar  Expedition,  The  Norwegian.     Scientific 

Results,  Vol.  I.     Edited  by  Fridtjof  Nansen      ...         208 

Oldest  Books  in  the  World.     By  Isaac  Myer         ...  279 

Optics.  A  Manual  for  Students.  By  A.  S.  Percival  58 
Optics,    Handbook    of,   for   Students    of    Ophthal- 

mology.     By  W.  N.  Suter      ...              ...               ...  58 

Palaeontology,  Text-book  of.       By  K.  A.  von   Zittel         135 

Photography  in  Colours,  A  Handbook  of.  By 
Thomas  Bolas,  Alex.  A.  K.  Tallent  and  Edgar 
Senior  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...         278 

Physics,  Experimental.     By  Eugene  Lommel         ...  88 

Physiology,  Practical.     By   M.   Foster   and   J.    N 

Langley      ...              ...              ...              ...              ...  182 

Plant,  The  Flowering.     By  J.  R.  Ainsworth    Da\is  210 

Prehistoric  Times.     By  Lord  Avebury    ...              ...  181 

Prose,  The  Makers  of  Modern.     By  W.  G.  Dawson  136 

Railways  of  England,  The.  By  W.  M.  Ackworth  112 
Reliquary     and     Illustrated      Arehseologist,     The. 

Volume  v.,  1899       ...              ...              ...              ...  40 

Science  and  Faith.     By  Paul  Topinard     ...             ...  58 

Science,  The  Grammar  of.     By  Karl  Pearson         ...  88 

Scotland,   The    Social    Life   of,   in   the   Eighteenth 

Century.     By  Rev.  Henry  Grey  Graham  ...  18 

Selborne,  The  Natural  History  of.     By  GUbert  T. 

White.     Edited  by  Grant  Allen  ...  ...  17 

Signalling    through     Space    without    Wires.      By 

Prof.  Lodge  ...  ...  ...  ...         210 

Slime-Moulds,  The  North  American.      By  Thomas 

H.  Maebride  ...  ...  ...  ...  87 

Smithsonian   Institution:    Annual    Report  of    the 

Board  of  Regents  of  the         ...  ...  ...         136 

Star-land.     By  Sir  Robert  Stawell  Ball    ...  ...  18 

Stars,  Star-Clusters,   and   Nebuhe,   Photographs  of. 

By  Isaac  Roberts       ...  ...  ...  ...  110 

Stellar  Spectra,   An  Atlas    of   Representative.     By 

Sir  AVilliam  Huggins  ...  ...  ...         256 

Telephotography.  An  Elementary  Treatise  on  the 
Construction  and  Application  of  the  Telephoto- 
graphic  Lens.     By  Thomas  R.  Dallmeyer  ...  60 

Whales,  A  Book  of.     By  F.  E.  Beddard  ...  ...         Ill 

Wireless   Telegraphy   and    Hertzian    Waves.       By 

S.  K.  Bottone  ...  ...  ...  ...         210 

Zoology,  A  Manual  of.     By  T.  Jeffery   Parker  and 

William  A.  Haswell  ...  ...  ...  59 

Zoology,  An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of.     By  B. 

Lindsay      ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  40 

Zoology,  A  Text-book  of.     By  Dr.  0.  Schmeil        ...         257 

Zoology,  A  Treatise  on.    Edited  by  E.  Ray  Lankester. 

Part  II.— The  Porifera  and  Cadentera  ...         277 

Zoology,    Introduction    to.      By   C.  B.   and  G.  C. 

Davenport  ...  ...  ...  ...         257 

Zoology,  Practical.     By  the  late  T.   J.  Parker  and 

W.N.Parker  ...  ...  ...  ...         136 

Bottone,  S.— 

Letter  on  Wireless  Telegraphy  and  Hertzian 
Waves  254 


KNOWLEDGE 


Bristowe.  Lindsay   W.,  and   H.   P.  Fitz-Gerald 
Marriott  — 
Stone  Implements  on  the  Gold  Coast  ...     241 

Brook,  Charles  L. — 

Letter  on  Lunar  Rainbow      ...         ...  ..     27G 

Brown.  S.  R.  Stawell 

Letter  on  Kaiubow  Phenomena  ..         ...     270 

Buss.  Albert  Alfred— 

Letter  on  Artificial  Facuhp,  Spots  and  Photo- 
spheric  Reticulation  ...     252 

Cattle,  The  Smallest  of  the  Wild— 

By  H.  LvDKKKF.n  ...         ...         ...     217 

Chatley,  B.~ 

Letters  on  Astrology    ...         ...         ...        '205,  227 

Chemical  Evolution  -  A  Chapter  of  History — 

By  G.  Cecil  Fry  im 


Chess  Column — 

Bv  C.  D.  LococK 


...     23,  47,  "1,  95,  119,  143, 
167,  191,  215,  239,  203,  287 


Clay-Stones — 

Letter  on  ;  by  S.  H.  Wright  ... 

Clouds,  The  Photography  of— 

By  Eugene  Antoxiadi  ... 

Cole,  Grenville  A.  J  ,  M.R.LA.,  F.G.S 
The  Buried  Alps 
Across  the  Downs 
Contrasts  in  Bavaria   ... 
The  Land  of  the  Bastides 
The  Borders  of  the  Karst 
The  Ueart  of  Dauphinc 

Colour  Effects,  Production   of     ... 


255 


79,  107 


41 
89 
121 
187 
218 
271 


Comets  and  Meteors.  Notes  on — 

By  W.  F.  Dexm.m;  ...  22,  40,  70,94,  118,  142,  160, 

190,  214,  238,  262,  285 

Connell,  R.  J.— 

Letter  on  Is  the  Stellar  Universe  Finite  '.'    .. 


Cook,  J.  Alexandre— 

Letter  on  Liclien  growing  on  Quartz 

Cooke.  John  H.,  F.L.S..  F.G.S. 

Microscopy 


15 


183 


...  21,  45,  69,  94,  117, 
141,  105,  189,  214,  238,  202,  284 


Corona,  Solar,  Dark  Markings  in  the- 

By  W.  II.  Wesley        

Letter  on;  by  H.  W 


Coues,  Dr.  Elliott — 

Obituary  Notice  of 

Cygni,  S.  S.  &  S.  U.— 

Letter  on;  by  D.wid  Flaxery 
Letter  on  ;  by  David  Flaxery 

Cygnus,  The  Milky  Way  in— 

By  Mrs.  Walter  Mai-ndek     ... 

Dauphine,  The  Heart  of— 

By  Grexville  a.  J.  Cole       

Davison,  Charles,  Sc.D.,  F.G  S.— 

Eartb(  I  uake- Sounds 

The  Great  Indian  Earthquake  of  1897 

Dawson,  Sir  J.  William — 

Obituary  Notice  of 

Day  Changes,   Where  the 

By  Dr.  A.  M.  \V.  Downing 


89 


39 
184 


273 


271 


...       83 
147,  169 


10 


100 


Denning,  W.  F.,  F.R.A.S.— 

Letter  on  Search  ibr  an  Intra-Mercurial  Planet  131 

•Jupiter  and  hi^  Markings        ...  200 

Notes  on  Comets  and  Meteors    22,  40,  70,  94,  118, 
1  !2,  100,  190,  214,  238,  262,  285 

de  Tunzelmann.  G.  W  ,  B.Sc— 

Wireless  Telegraphy    ...         25,  113,  184,  232,  2bl 


Downing,  Dr.  A.  M.  W.— 

Where  the  Day  Changes  

Downs,  Across  the — 

By  Geexvili.e  A.  -J.  Colk 

Dragon-Fly    Nymphs,   On    the    Respiration    of 
Certain — 

By  Rev.  Ap.thir  East... 


207      Drops  and  their  Splashes... 


Earp,  W.— 

Letter  on  A  Large  Meteor     

Earthquake-Sounds— 

By  Charles  Davison    ... 

Earthquake,  The  Great  Indian,  of  1897- 
By  Chari.iis  Davison    ... 

Earwig,  The,  as  a  Benefactor- 
Letter  on ;  by  Walter  Wesciie 


100 
89 

..       220 
..       115 

155 

...       83 

147,  109 


64 


225 
275 


East,  Rev.  Arthur- 
Artificial  "  Rt'seau  Photospherique  "             ...     129 
On    the   Respiration   of    certain    Dragon-fly 
Nymphs         220 


VI. 


KNOWLEDGE. 


Eclipse,   Crescent    Images   of  the   Sun   during 
the- 

Letter  on  ;  by  E.  Pierce        204 

Eclipse  of  the  Sun,  The  Comiog— 

By  E.  Walter  Mavndek  4'.> 

Eclipse,  The  Total  Solar,  of  May  28th,  1900- 

]5y  E.  Walter  Maunder  ...  ...         145,  J  75 

Eddie.  Major  L.  A.,  F.R.A.S.— 

The  Black  Kain  of  August  (i,  18!)!)  ...       I'J 

Editorial         265 

Electric  Auto-Portraits— 

By  Ale.\.  Thurburn     ...  ...       51 

Elvins,  A. — 

Letter  on  Lunar  Seas 38 

Eros  and  the  Astrographic  Conference—       ...     207 

Explosions  in  Coal  Mines — 

By  John   Mills  ...  ...  4 

Faculse,  Spots  and   Photospheric   Reticulation. 
Artificial — 

Letter  on  ;  by  A.  A.  Buss       252 


Fermentation,  Some  Early  Theories  on— 

1 5y  W.  St.^nley  SmIth  ... 

Flanery,  David — 

Letter  on  S.  S.  Cygni 

Letter  on  Observations  of  Variable  Stars 
Letter  on  S.  U.  Cygni... 
Letter  on  Mira  Ceti 


154,  17!) 


39 

65 

134 

20(i 


Fowler,  A.,  F.R.A.S.— 

The  Constituents  of  the  Sun ,.        11 

The  Face  of  the  Sky  23,  47,  71,  95,  118,  143, 

1C7,  191,  215,  289,  263,  286 

Fry,  G.  Cecil- 
Chemical  Evolution 


Garland,  Chas.  H.— 

High-speed  Telegraphy 


18!) 


193 


Geographical    Society,  The    Annual   Awards  of 
the  Royal  .  .  ...  181 


Godden,  William — 

Letter  on  The  Phase  of  Venus  seen  with  the 
Naked  Eye 275 

Gore,  J    E  ,  F.R.A.S.— 

The  Hundred  Brightest  Stars  202 

Green,  Jos.  F.,  F.Z.S.— 

Letter  on  Seal  in  Suttolk        ...         ...  ''7 

Haddon,  Prof.  Alfred  C,  M.A.,  D.Sc,  F.R.S.— 

The  Evolution  of  Simple  Societies  ; 

L  The  Hunters     29 

IL  The  Pastors  of  the  Steppes    76 

in.  The  Pastoral  Societies            100 

IV.  The  Beginning  of  Agriculture  171 

V.  The  Metamorphosis    of  Herders  into 

Tillers  221 

VI.  The  Eevolution  effected  by  Corn        ...     269 

Hill,  George  H.— 

Letter  on  Is  the  Stellar  Universe  Finite?   ...       15 

Holmes,  Edwin — 

Letter  on  The  Collins'  Monoplane  Telescope      275 

Indian  Tribes,  Some  Wild — 

By  K.  Lydekker  ...  ...         .  .       67 

Indians,  American — 

By  R.  Lydekker  .  ...  ...  ...     150 

Inglis,  Charles  E.,  B.A — 

Letter  on  Is  the  Stellar  Universe  Finite  ?  . . .       65 

Jupiter  and  His  Markings — 

By  W.  F.  Denninc,       200 

Letter  on  ;  by  W.  F.  Denning  ...  ...     229 

Karkinokosm,  The,  or  World  of  Crustacea— 

By  Rev.  T.  R.  R.  Stebbing. 

Little  Wonders  and  Queer  Blunders  73 

Fish  Bears  and  their  Kindred        162 

The  Many-Twinkling  Feet              211 

Crustacean  Nurseries            . .         ...          .  266 

Karst,  The  Borders  of  the— 

By  Grenville  A.J.Cole       ...         ...         ...     218 

Kaulbars,  Baron  N.  (Lt.  Gen.) — 

Letter  on  The  Nature  of  Sun-Spots  ...         ..      2.)4 
Letter  on    High-Speed  Telegraphy    ..  ...     254 


KNOWLEDGE. 


vu. 


Lawes.  Sir  John  Bennet,  Bart. — 

Obituary  Notice  of        280 

Le  Souef.  D..  C.M.Z.S.— 

The   Mud-Nest   Building  Birds  of  Australia      92 

Leaves,  A  Cloud  of  Dried  Beech- 
Letter  on  :  by  T.  H.  Astbuuy  109 

Leo.  Alan — 

Letters  on  Astrology    ...         ...         ...         22s,  255 


Lichen  growing  on  Quartz — 

Letter  on  ;  by  J.  A.  Cook 

Lightning,  Trees  Struck  by— 

By  HowARii  B.   Little 

Little.  E,  D.— 

Polarity  in  ^lagic  Squares 

Little,  Howard  B. — 

Trees  Struck  by  Lightning 


183 


13 


31,  53 


13 


Locock,  C.  D..  B.A.— 

Chess  Column 


23,  17,  71,  95,  119,  143,  167, 
191,  215,  239,  263,287 


Lunar  Phenomena,  Some  Curious — 

Letter  on ;  by  Walter  Willums  ...          ...  6-1 

Lunar  Rainbow- 
Letter  on ;  by  J.  Macintosh   ...  ...         ...  255 

Letter  on  ;  by  Charles  L.  Bkook  ...  276 

Lydekker,  R.,  F.R.S.— 

The  Natives  of  Australia  and  their  Origin     .  6 

Some  Wild  Indian  Tribes        ...  67 

Oceanic  Negroes           ...         ...  ...  97 

The   First  Musk  Oxen  in  England  since  the 

Glacial  Epoch           ...          ...  137 

American  Indians         ...         ...  ...         ...  150 

The  Pygmies  of  Asia 196 

The  Smallest  of  the  WUd  Cattle  217 

The  Pygmies  of  the  Great  Forest  ...         ...  259 

MacDowall,  Alex.  B.,  M.A.— 

Long  Waves  of  Winter  Weather  ...         ...  44 

Letter  on  London  Summers   ...  ...          .  110 

Letter  on  Hot  and  Dry  Summers  201 

Macgeorge,  James — 

Letter  on  "  The  '  Seas  ■  of  the  Moon '■         ...  15 


Macintosh,  John 

Letter  on  Lunar  Rainbow       255 

Markwick,  Colonel  E.  E.,  F.R.A.S.— 

Letter  on  The  Constituents  of  the  Snn  61,  8(; 

Marriott,    H.    P.     Fitz-Gerald,    F.R.G  S.,     and 
L.  W.  Bristowe — 

Stone  Implements  ou  the  Gold  Coast            ..  241 

Maunder,  E.  Walter,  F.R.A.S.— 

Astronomy    and    Astrology ;    A    Question   of 

Primogeniture           ...         ...         ...         ...  35 

'I'he  (.'oming  Eclipse  of  the  Sun        49 

The  Total  Solar  Eclipse  of  May  28,  1900     145,  175 

Astronomy  Without  a  Telescope. 

1.  Introductory      ...          ...          ...          ...  9 

IL  The  Zodiacal  Light      61 

III.  The  Northern  Stars     ...  81 

IV.  A  Total  Solar  Eclipse 104 

V.  Observations  of  the  Sun          ...         ...  132 

VI.  The  Milky  Way             158 

VII.  Meteors— The  Perseids           174 

VIII.  Four  Variable  Stars  199 

L\.  Aurorse 223 

X.  The  Meteors  of  November  251 


Maunder,  Mrs.  Walter— 

Thi'  !Milky  Way  in  Cygnus 

Meteor,  A  Large- 
Letter  ou  ;  by  W.  E.\kp 

Meteoric  Dust,  Collecting- 
Note  on  ... 

Microscopy — 


.     273 


155 


16 


By  .loiiN  H.  CooKE       ...     21,  45,  69,  94,  117,  141, 
1G5,  189,  214,  238,  262,  284 

Mid-Air  Observations— 

By  -John  M.  B.\con       ...         ...         ...         ...         1 

Mills,  John,  F.R.A.S.— 

Explosions  in  Coal  Mines       ... 4 

Mira  Ceti— 

Letter  on  ;  by  David  Flaneky  ...  20(! 

Mitchell,  Arthur  Ed.— 

Letter  on  Is  the  Stellar  Universe  Finite  ?  ...     155 

Mivart,  Prof.  St.  George,  F.R.S.,  etc.— 

Obituary  Notice  of       110 


"vau. 


KNOWLEDGE. 


Monck.  W.  H.  S.- 

Letters  on  "  Is  the  Inivci-se  Finite  ■ 

Moon,  The  "  Seas  "  of  the— 

Letter  on  ;  by -Ia.mes  Macgeoroe 
Letter  on  :  bj*  A.  Ei.\  ix^ 

Musl<-Oxen    in   England,  The  First,  since    the 
Glacial  Epoch — 
By  R.  Lyuekker 


38,  S5,  108 


15 

38 


137 


Orioles,  G-olden,  in  Devon — Arnold  D.  Taylor 

Owl,  Long-eared,  in  Barra — W.  L.  Macgillivrav     .  . 

Owl,  Scops,  in  Shetland— W.  Eagle  Clarke 

Pastor,  Rose-coloured,  in  Co.  Mayo — Robert  Warren 

Pheasants,  Late  Brood  of  Wild — W.  B.  Tegetmeier 

Pipit,  Water,  in  Sussex— N.  P.  Tioehurst   ... 

Plover,  An  Observational  Diarj  of  the  Habits  of  the 
Great— Edmund  Selous 


Eed-crested    in    Yorlcliire — T. 
--1.  A.  Harvie-Browu 


U. 


NightinKalc— Cliarh's     .V. 


Musson,  W.  B  — 

Letter    on     A    New    Form    of    Achromatic 
Telescope      252 

Nebula,  Trifid,  I;I  lY.  ii  Saglttarii,  and  of  the 
Region  Surrounding,  Photograph  of— 

By  IsKkc  RoREKTs        ...         ...         ...         ...       35 

Nebulae  M.  8  Sagittarii  and  l;l  YI.  Ceti.  Photo 
graphs  of— 

By  Isaac    Roberts  ...      132 

Negroes,  Oceanic — 

By  R.  Lydekker  .  ...  ..  ...       97 

Ornithological  Notes,  British— 

Bee-Eater  iu  Shetland — Arthur  -Adie         ...  ...  4] 

Bittern  ill  Devoushii-e-W.  S.  M.  D'Urban  ,.  88 

BvHtard,  Re-introduetion  of  tlie  Great       ...  ...         23U 

Buzzard,    Rough-legged,    near  Londonderry — T).  C. 

Campbell    ...  "  ...  ..."  ...  61 

Chiff-ehaff  in  Barm— W.  L.  MacgiUivray  ...  \r,0 

Cuckoo,    The:    a    Study — Rev.    E.    A.    Woodruffe- 

Peacock     ...              ...'             ...              ...              ...  15S 

Cuckoo,  Yellow-billed,  in  Wales —George  Dickinson  61 

Devonshire,  Winter  Visitors  to-W.  S.  IW.  D'l.h-bau  89 

Ducks  assuming  Drake's  Plumage— Jos.  F.. Green  ...  156 

Egg  enclosed  iu  another — F.  W.  Ileadley    -            ...  89    ' 

.  Fowl  and  Babbit — ,Tos.  F.  Green                ...              ...  156 

Garganey,  Breeding  of  the,  in  Kent — N.  F.  Ticelinrst  156 

Goose,  Snow,  ill  Ii'clund               ...              ...              ...  41 

Grebes,  Great  Crested,  in  Ri<'liniond  Park— AV.  R. 

Read             ...               ...               ...                ,.               ...  231 

Greylags,  The,  of   lUair  Druiuiuoiid— Lieut. -Colonel 

Duthie  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  2.56 

Harrier,  Montagu's,  in  Wicklow — Edward  Williams  41 

Hawfinch,  The,  as  a  Durham  Bird — J.  W.  Fawcctt  ..         156 

Kite  in  Kent — Jos.  F.  Green      ...  ...  ...  61 

Lincolnshire,  Xorth-Kast,   IJird  Notes  from,   during 

the   Autumn   Migration   of    1899— G.   H.    Catoii 

Haigli  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  l-;6 

Migrants,  Summer— E.  Silleiice...  ...  ...         156 

Nesting-boxes   for   Wild    Birds-E.  G.    B.  Me.ade- 

Waldo         ...  ...  ...  ...  ...         276 

Nightjars,  .\n  Observaf'onal  Diary  of  the  Habits  of— 

Edmund  Selous  ..  ...  ...  ...  21 

Norfolk,   Ornithological  Notes  from,  dui-ing  1899- 

J.  H.  Gurney  ...  ...  ...  ...         156 

Nvitcraeker  in  Lincolnshire — H.  F.  W.     ...  .         256 


Pochard,    The 

Nelson 
Pratincole  near  Montrose- 
Protectiou,  Bird 
Robin,    The,    and     tlie 

Witchell     ...  ...        '     ...' 

Robins,  Wild,  as  Pets— Frances  T.  Battersby 

Ruff,  The  Natural  History  of  the— Ch.arles  J.  Patten 

Scotland,  Report  on  the  Movements  and  Occurrence 
of  Birds  in,  during  1899— T.  O.  Laidl.aw 

Sea-fowl  of  tlie  Dublin  Coast,  Recent  Observations 

on  the — Charles  J .  Patten 
Shearwater,  The  Great,  in  Scottish   Waters — Alfred 

Newton 

Shearwater,    The    Levantine,    at    .Scarborough — R. 

Fortune 
Shoveler,  Breeding  of  the,  in  Kent — N.  F.  Ticchurst 
Swans,  Bewick,  in  Suffolk — Jos.  F.  Green 

Tern,  Sandwich,  A.  Visit  to  Lough  Erne  in  search  of 

the — Robert  Warren 
Thrush's  Nest  made  of  Moss — .Tos.  F.  Green 
Titmouse,  Bearded,  A  Short  History  of — J.  H.  Gurney 

Warbler,      Grasshopper,      in  Morayshire — J.     A. 

Harvie-Brown 

Warbler,   The    Melodious,    in  Sussex — AV.    Ruskin 

Butterfield      

Yorkshire,  Natural  History  Notes   from,  for  1899 — 
Oxley  Grabham 

Parr,  W.  Alfred— 

A  Temple  of  Science    ... 
Letter  on    Mental  Perspective 


PAGE 
206 
1.56 
181 
41 
27T 
156 

277 

256 

41 

180 

21 

89 
206 

156 

21 

181 

£77 

156 

61 

1:31 

60 

231 

41 

206 
156 


103 
182 


Pearson,  H.  H.  W.,  B.A.(Cantab.)— 

Plants  and  their  Food        2,  55,  101,  159,  235,  2U 


Pepper,  Prof.  John  Henry- 
Obituary  Notice  of 

Perspectiye,  Mental- 
Letter  on  ;  by  W.  Alfred  P.ark 


110 


...      18-2 


Phelps,  Geo. — 

Letter  on  Is  the  Stellar  Universe  Finite?    ...     109 

Pickering,  Edward  C— 

Mme.  Ceraski's  Second  Algol  Variable  .  .       81 

A  Photographic  Search  for  an  Intermercurial 


Planet 


Pierce,  E, — 


luti 


Letter  on  Crescent  Images  of  the  Sun  during 
the  Eclipse 201 


KNOWLEDGE 


IX. 


Pisciculture.  Modern — 

By  T.  A.  Gerald  Strickland 

Planet,  Intermercurial,  A  Photographic  Search 
for  an — 

By  Edward  C.  Pickering         

Planet,  Intra-Mercurial,  Search  for  an— 

Letter  on  ;  by  W.  F.  Denning  

Planet,  The  Hypothetical- 
Letter  on;  by  G.  MoKenzie  Knight 


PAGE 


123 


106 


131 


20G 


Seal  in  Suffolk- 
Letter  on  ;  by  Jos.  F.  Gueen 


li7 


Plants  and  their  Food — 

By  H.  H.  W.  Pearson        2,  55,  101,  159,  235,  2ii 

Polarity  in  Magic  Squares— 

By  E.  D.  Little  31,53 

Pygmies  of  Asia,  The — 

By  R.  Lydekker  ...         ...         ...         ...     196 

Pygmies  of  the  Great  Forest,  The— 

By  R.  Lydekker  ...         ...         ...         ...     259 

Rainbow  Phenomena — 

Letter  on  ;  by  S.  R.  Stawell  Brown  ...     276 

"Roseau  Photospherique,"  Artificial  — 

By  Rev.  Arthur  East...         ...         ...         ...     129 

Roberts,  Isaac,  D.Sc,  F.R.S.— 

Photograph  of  the  Trifid  Nebula    Ijl    IV.  41 
Sagittarii,  and  of  the  Region  Surrounding       35 

Photographs  of  the  Nebuhc  M.  8  Sagittarii 
and  y  VL  Ceti 132 


Robinson,  Norman — 

Letter  on  Wireless-Telegraph  Receiver 

Royal  Society's  Medals,  The— 

Note  on  

Ruskin,  John — 

Obituary  Notice  of 

Saturn,  Occultation  of,  on  September  3rd— 
Letter  on  ;  by  W.  F.  Denning 

Science,  A  Temple  of — 

By  W.  Alfred  Parr 


109 


276 


39 


229 


108 


Sky,  The  Face  of  the- 
By  A.  Fowler  , . . 


23,  17,71,05,  118,113,  167, 
191,  215,  239,  263,  28(i 


Smith,  W.  A.— 

Letter  on  Acids  in  Soil  16 

Smith,  W.  Stanley,  Ph.D.— 

Some  Early  Theories  on  Fermentation        151,  179 

Smyth,  Charles  Piazzi— 

Obituary  Notice  of      

Societies,  The  Evolution  of  Simple— 

By  Prof.  Alfred  C.  Haddon — 

I.  The  Hunters 

IL  The  Pastors  of  the  Steppes 

III.  The  Pastoral  Societies  

IV.  The  Beginning  of  Agriculture 
V.  The  Metamorphosis  of  Herders  into 

Tillers  

VI.  The  Revolution  eftected  by  Corn 

(Star),  Mme.  Ceraski's  Second  Algol  Variable— 

By  Edward  C.  Pickering        ...  

Stars,  Observations  of  Variable- 
Letter  on  ;  by  David  Flanehy 

Stars,  The  Hundred  Brightest— 

By  J.  E.  Gore 

Letter  on  ;  by  L.  Cuthbertson 

Stebbing,    Rev.    Thomas    R.   R.,    M.A.,    F.R.S., 
F.L.S.— 

The  Karkinokosm,  or  World  of  Crustacea — 
Little  Wonders  and  Queer  Blunders 

Fish- Bears  and  their  Kindred        

The  Many-Twinkling  Feet 

Crustacean  Nurseries  


89 


29 

76 

126 

171 

221 
269 


81 


65 


202 
229 


73 
162 
211 
266 


Stellar  Universe,  Is  the.  Finite  ?— 

Letters  on  ;  by  Wm.  Anderson 

Letter  on  ;  by  R.  J.  Connell 

Letter  on  ;  by  George  II.  Hill^ 
Letters  on;   by  W.  H.  S.  Monck      ... 
Letter  on  ;  by  Cn.u$LE3  E.  Inolis 
Letter  on  ;    by  Geo.  Phelps 
Letter  on  ;  by  Arthur  Ed.  Mitchell 


14,  86 
15 
...  15 
88,  85,  108 
...  65 
...  108 
...  165 


KNOWLEDGE 


stone  Implements  on  the  Gold  Coast — 

By  L.  W.  Bristowe  and  H.   P.  PitzGbrald 
Marriott       241 

Strickland,   T.  A.  Gerald- 
Modern  Pisciculture  ...         .  ...         ...       128 

Stuart  Menteath,  Charles  G. — 

Letter  on  Ancient  Hindu  Astrology  or  Astro- 
nomy and  the  Nine  Planets  ...         ...       255 

Summers,  Hot  and  Dry- 
Letter  on  ;  by  Alex.  B.  MacDow  all...         ...     204 

Summers,  London — 

Letter  on  ;  by  Alex.  B.  MacDowall...         ...     110 

Sun,  The  Constituents  of  the  — 

By  A.  Fowler  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...       11 

Letters  on  ;  by  E.  E.  Markwick  64,86 

Sun-Spots,  The  Nature  of— 

Letter  on  ;  by  Baron  N.  Kaulbars    ...         ...     254 

"  Syritta  pipiens,"  The  Fly- 
By  Walter  Wesohe     ...  ...  ...  ...       33 

Tate,  Sir  Henry- 
Obituary  Notice  of      ...         16 

Telegraphy,  High-Speed— 

By  Charles  H.  Garland  ...  ...     198 

Letter  on ;  by  Baron  N.  Kaulbars     .  ..      254 

Telescope,  A  New  Form  of  Achromatic — 

Letter  on  ;  by  W.  B.  MussoN 252 

Telescope,  The  Collins'  Monoplane- 
Letter  on  ;  by  Edwin  Holmes  275 


Telescope,  The  Great,  of  Paris,  1900— 

By  Eugene  Antoniadi..  ...  ...  246 


Thurbum,  Alex. — 

Electric  Auto-Portraits 


Weather,  Long  Waves  of  Winter- 
By  Alex.  B.  MacDowall         

Wesche,  Walter— 

The  Fly  "  Syritta  pipiens  "     ... 
Letter  on  The  Earwig  as  a  Benefactor 

Wesley,  W.  H.— 

Dark  Markin"3  in  the  Solar  Corona  . . . 


Wireless-Telegraph  Receiver — 

Letter  on  ;  by  Norman  Kobinson 
Letter  on  ;  by  E.  Child  Bayley 


51 


Venus,  The    Phase   of,    seen  with   the  Naked 
Eye- 

Letter  on  ;  by  William  Godden        ...         .  .     275 


44 


33 
64 


225 


Williams,  Walter,  M.B.— 

Letter  on  Some  Curious  Lunar  Phenomena      04 


109 
135 


Wireless  Telegraphy— 

By  G.  W.  DE  TuNZELMANN      2.J,  113,  184,  232,  281 

Wireless  Telegraphy  and  Hertzian  Waves  - 

Letter  on ;  by  S.  Bottone      ...     254 

Wright,  S.  H.— 

Letter  on  Clay-Stones  255 

Zodiacal  Light,  The,  in  Relation  to  the  Corona- 
Letter  on ;  by  "  A  Country  Lad  "     228 


KNOWLEDGE. 


XI. 


INDEX    OF     THE     PRINCIPAL     ILLUSTRATIONS. 


FAOE 

Akka  Woman.  An 

... 



260 

Alps,  The  Buried  - 

Ploiisliius;  in  the 

Plain  of  Western 

Hungary  ... 

12 

In  the  Oak-Fore 

«t  of 

Viikoviiia    ... 

43 

Andamanese,  Group  of  l''~ 

Anoa,  Male  and  Female,  at  Woburn 

Abbey  -'^ 

Australia,  Natives  of  Western 

Full-face  Portrait  of  a  Woman, 
and  Profile  \'iew  of  a  Man  (full- 
page  Plate)  ^> 

Australian     Aborigines,    Group    of 

West  8 

Birds,   "The    Mnd-nest    Building,   of 
Australia  — 

Xest  of  Corcorax  melanorkamphus       92 
Nests   of    Struthiden    cinerea    and 

Grallina  picafa   ..  ...  ...       93 

Black    Rain,  Elliptical    Sporules   in      20 

Chimpanzee,  Palate  of  Skull  of      ...        7 

Clouds,   Photographs   of,   by   Mons. 
Eugene  Antoniadi  — 

Fibred  Cirrus,  Cirrus  witli  Wisps, 
and  Cloud  Ripples  ...         ...       SO 

CiiTO-Cumuli    passing    before    the 
Sun,  and  Thunder-.Storm  Cumuli 
(full-page  Photographic  Plate) . . .       80 
Cumuli  forecasting  Fine  Weather     107 
Primary  and  Secondary  Rainbows     107 

Sunset  Effect  108 

Cirro  -  Cumulus  and  Rain  -  Cloud 
(Full-page  Photographic   Plate)     108 

Corona,    Solar,    Dark   Markings    in 
the 

Diagram  of  Markings  on  the  Corona 

of  1871     22.5 

Diagrams    of     Markings     on    the 

Coronas  of  1896  and  1898  ...  226 
The    Corona    of    1900    (full-page 

Plate,  from  a   drawing   by  Mr. 

W.  n.  Wesley) 227 

Cygnus,  The  Milky  Way  in  (full-page 
Photogmpliic  Plate  by  ilrs.  Walter 
Maunder)    ...         ...         ...         ■■•     271 

Drops  and  their  Splashes — 

Instantaneous  Shadow  Photographs 
of  the  Splash  of  a  Drop  of 
Mereurj-  ...         ...         ...         ...     116 

Various  Stages  of  the  Splash,  pro- 
duced by  a  ball  falling  into  a 
basin  of  milk  and  water  ...     117 


Earthquake,  The  Indian, 

Map  of  the  Disturbed  Area  ...     11-8 

Eclipse,  Photograph  of  Crescent- 
shaped  Images  of  the  Sun 
during  ...         205 

Eclipse,  The  Total  Solar,  of  May  28, 
1900  - 

Majjs  showing  the  Patli  of  the 
Moon's  Shadow  during  the 
Eclipse  (full-page  Plate)  ...        50 

The  Corona  of  1900,  May  28  (full- 
page  Plate,  from  a  drawing  by 
Miss  Catlierinc  1).  Stevens)       ...     1  16 

The  Corona  of  1900,  May  2S(S.W. 
(Juadraiit)  (fidl-page  Plate,  from 
a  drawing  by  Miss  Lilian  Martin-        , 
Leake)      ..".         178 

Mr.  Evershed's  Observing  Hut  at 
Mazafram,  showing  the  Ci-elostat     l-Wi 

Rev.  C.  D.  P.  Davica  and'  Tele- 
]>hotographie  Camera  at  Algiers     MO 

Miss     Leake     at     Iut     TeUwi-opc. 

Algiers It'' 

Mrs.   Walter    Maunder    and    her 

two  Cameras,  Algiers 147 

The  Meteorological  Instruments 
and  Shadow-l'anil  Sheet,  Algiers     176 

The  Hai-bOur,  .'Vlgiers,  five  minutes 
before  Totality 177 


Electric  Auto-Portraits— 

Normal     Positive     and      Normal 

Negative  on  Glass 
Normal      Negative      on      Paper  ; 

Negative  on  Nikko  Paper  ...       52 

Glass  Negative   with   two    Leydeu 

.Lars,  showing  oscillations 


■,l 


53 


Fishery,  Solway,  Hatchery  at  the...     121 

Galileo,  The  Tribuna  di,  in  the 
Museum  of  Physical  Science  at 
Florence    1"* 

Heavens  at  6.30  p.m.  on  March  6, 
1900,  from  the  Latitude  of 
London       •'•' 

Indian  Tribes,  Some  Wild— 

Toda  Man  ;  Toda  Beauty  ;  Vedda 
Man  and  Woman  (full-page 
Photographic  Plate)       67 

Indians,  American — 

A  Typical  North  American  Indian     151 
Male  and  Female  Indians  of   tlie 
Turi-nara   Tribe,  from   the    Rio 
Ncara,  Para,  BrazU         ...         152,  153 


Jupiter  and  His  Markings  (fidlpago 

Plat,)  200 

Karkinokosm,    The,     or    World    of 
Crustacea — 

Sannastacu.s  .luhmi,  Sars.  Philip- 
pine Islands         ...  ...  ...       73 

P.setidocuma  cftmpfilaapoide.'i^  Sars. 

Caspian  Sea  ...  ...  ...        74 

Cmnella  limicola,  Sars.  ICyes  and 
front  of  Carapace  ...  ...       74 

Ci/daspoides  fero.f  (Fischer).  Hay 
of  Biscay  and  Mediterranean    ...       75 

Dia.it//U.i  acidpla,  Sars.     Maxilhe 

and  Maxillipeds 75 

Leptochelia  forresti,  &tchh'mg  ...  162 
Cirolana  horealis,  Lilljeborg  ...  T'.H 
Serolis  hromlni/ana,  v..  WiUcnioes 

Suhm        ...'        163 

Anfhelura  elongata,  Norman  ...  16t 
A.ilacilla  damnunienns,  Stcbbing  164 
Eurt/cojje  iiovfc-ze/anilite,  Beddard  165 
Seiiia  ratlrar/i,  Stebbing.    Hyperid 

from  Atlantic      ...  ...         ...     211 

Pardalisca  rihi/x.ii,  Bocck.      Gam- 

niarid,     with     eyes    imperfectly 

developed ...  .■      211 

Parvipalpus  linea,  Mayer;   Tetra- 

thijrus      morivceuri,      Stcbbing  ; 

Dithi/riisfalia,  Vnna,;  and  Cala- 

mnrhynvhii.H  rii/idas,  Stcbbing  ...  212 
Talorcheslia  felluris,  Bate  ...     213 

Uimthia     maxillaris     (Montagu). 

Male,  Female  and  Larva  ...     266 

Zoea  longhpina,  Dana.  PorccUaniil 

larva         ...  ...  ...  ...     267 

Estheria  packardi,  lirady.     Nau])- 

lius  and  Female 268 

Tiranahipod  opsin     hodysoni,    Sars. 

Female  and  Nauplius    ...  ...     268 

Phyllosoma       laticorne,       Leach. 

Giant  Scyllarid  larva  from  New 

Guinea     ...  ...         ...         ...     26H 


Musk  Ox,  Young  Bull 


138 


Nebula  W  VI.  Ceti.  Nebula  M.  8 
Sagittarii  (full-page  Photogi-aphic- 
Plato  In-  Dr.  I.saac   Roberts)  ...      132 


Nebula  u  IV.  41  Sagittarii  (full-page 
Photographic  Plate  by  Dr.  Isaac 
Roberts)       35 

Plants  and  their  Food- 
Surface  View  of  a  portion  of  an 

Iri.s  Leaf  showing  Stomata        ...       57 
Transverse  Section  through  a  Leaf 

of  the  Cherry  Laurel     57 

A  Vertical   Section  through   Soil, 

showing  the  external  cells   of  a 

root  giving  off  root-hairs  ...     160 

Lupine   Plant,  from  a  drawing  by 

Miss  E.  E.  Pratt 237 


xu. 


KNOWLEDGE, 


S]icct.va 


11,  li 


"  Reseau  Photospherique,"  Artificial — 

Pliotof^-apli?  of  the   Sun's  Siirfare, 
showing  Granule  Pattirn  130,  131 

Photographs     of     Artifieial    Solar 
Granule  Pattern 130,131 

Santis,  Switzerland,  Summit  of  the      91 

Stars,  The  Chief  Circumpolar,  mid-  j 

night,  April  1,  1900        S'^ 

Stone  Implements  from  West  Africa    243 
Sun,  The  Constituents  of  the— 


'  Syritta  pipiens,"  The  Fly- 
Female,  Male,  auil    Mouth  organs       33 

Himl    leg,    end  of   til)ia,   antenna, 
and  h^fopygiiuu...  ...  ...       34 

Claaper  and  holding  organ  of  Male      35 


Telegraphy,  High-Speed- 


Diagrams  of  the  sending  and  re- 
eeiving  apparatus  of  the  Pollak- 
Tirag  Telegraph...  ...  ...     195 

Photographie  reproduction  of  an 
actual  message    ... 


196 


Telescope,  The  Great,  of  Paris,  1900 

The     Great     Siderostat    (full-page 

Photograpliie  Plate)       248 

Prineijile  of  the  Siderostat  ...     246 

The  Great  Siderostat  of  Paris, 
19O0  (drawing) 247 

Right  Ascension  and  Declination 
Axes  and  Circles  of  Siderostat'..,     248 

The  Great  Mirror  and  the  Object 
Glass        248 

General  Tiew  from  the  eye-end  of 
the  Great  Telescope        249 

The  Planet  Venus,  and  various 
Nebula'  viewed  with  the  Great 
Telescope 250,251 


PAOE 

Wireless  Telegraphy- 
Morse's,  Preece's,  and  Willoughby 

Smith's  methods  of  transmission   27,28 
Diagram     of     Lodge's     Hydraulic 

Model  of  Leyden  Jar      ..  ...     185 

Lodge's       Hydraidic      Model      of 

Leyden  Jar         ...         ...  ..     186 

Lodge's  Experiments  with  Syntonic 

Leyden  Jars        232 

Hertz's  Oscillator  and  Resonator...     233 
Oscillations  (various)  ...  ...     233 

Popoff's  Hertzian  Wave  Receiver  281 
Long  Distance  Marconi  Transmitter  281 
Righi     Oscillator     for     use     with 

Renector 282 

Marconi  Transmitter  with  Parabolic 

.  Redector 282 

Marconi  Coherer    ...  ...  ...     282 

Marconi    Receiver    with    Vertical 

Wire  and  Earth  Connection     ...     282 
Marconi   Receiver  witli   Parabolic 

Reflector 283 

Marconi  Mast  at  the  South  Fore- 
land       284 


•I.^NCABT    1,  19(X).] 


KNOWLEDGE 


.t^ovrLEOqv, 

^  ILLUSTRATED  MAGAZINE    <if 

SCIENCE,  LtTERATURE  ^ARIV" 

Founded  by  RICHARD    A.    PROCTOR. 


LONDON:    JAXIAUY    1,   190u. 


CONTENTS. 


.    Bacon,    f.r.a.s. 
FT.    W.    Peauson, 


By  R. 


HOWAKD    a.    ],ITTLE 

By  Wm.  Andeeson, 


Mid-Aip    Observations. 
{Illustrate,!)       

Plants     and     their     Food. 

B.A.(CANTAB.)      (I  llustraleJ) 
Explosions  in  Coal  Mines.     Uy  John  Mills. 
The    Natives   of  Australia   and  their   Origin 

l.VDKKKEli.       (IllHstrilleii) 

Photographs   of    Male    and    Female  West   Australian 
Natives.     (Plate). 

Astronomy     without    a     Telescope.  — I.  Introduction. 

By    Y..   WaLTEB   ilAUNDER,    F.R.A.S. 

The  Constituents  of  the  Sun.      Bv  .V.  Fowler,  f.e.a.s. 
(Illustrated)         

'•Trees  Strucl<  by  Lightning."     By 

Letters : 

Is  THE  Stellar  Uni verse  Finite  ? 

and  E.  J.  Connell 
AciD3  IN  Soil.     By  W.  A.  Smith 
Obituary : 

Sir  J.  William  Dawson 

Sir  Henry  Tate  

Science  Notes       ...         

Notices  of  Books  

Books  Receited        

The    Black    Rain   of  August   6 

Eddie,  p.r.a.3.     (Illustrated) 
British   Ornithological   Notes. 

WiTHBBBY,   F.Z.3..    M.B.G.tT.     ... 

Microscopy.    By  John  H.  Cooke,  p.l.s.,  p.o.8.    (Illustrated) 

Notes  on  Comets  and    Meteors.      By  W.   F.  Dbnnino, 
P.E.A.B 

The  Face  of  the  Sky  for  January,    ^y  A.  Fowler,  f.e.a.s. 

Chess  Column.    By  C.  D.  Locock,  b.a 


1899.      By  Major  L.   A. 
Conducted  by  Habby  F. 


II 
13 


14 
l(i 

16 
16 

17 
17 
19 

19 

21 
21 

22 
2:i 
23 


MID-AIR    OBSERVATIONS. 

By  John  M.  Bacon,  f.e.a.s. 
O.v  carefully  comparing  the  notes  made  by  my 
daughter  and  myself  on  the  morning  when  the  Leonid 
shower  was  expected  to  be  in  progress,  a  few  points  of 
scientific  interest  have  been  brought  out  which  may  be 
worth  recording,  although  having  but  little  bearing  on 
astronomy.  It  may  perhaps  be  claimed  that  their  value 
should  be  all  the  greater  from  the  fact  that  the  cir- 
cumstances of  our  position  as  aerial  observers,  compelled 
by  a  strange  chance  to  remain  aloft  for  many  hours, 
enabled  us  to  give  mature  and  undivided  attention  to 
the  few  principal  facts  which  I  proceed  to  detail. 

Our  actual  view  of  such  Leonids  as  were  visible  was 
undoubtedly  much  enhanced  by  the  exceptional  advan- 
tage we  enjoyed  of  riding  at  4,000  feet  above  any  ground 
surface,  and,  moreover,  riding  with  the  air  currents. 
Sufficient  proof  of  this  lay  in  the  fact  that  the  stars 
from   every   quarter  shone  out  of   a   black   sky   with   a 


brilliance  and  definition  never  equalled  in  my  ex- 
perience, save  on  a  former  occasion  when  I  made  an 
equally  elevated  night  voyage.  The  altitude  of  the 
radiant  at  the  time  of  our  ascent  being  about  sixty 
degrees,  the  body  of  the  Balloon  would  hido  such 
meteors  as  shot  upward,  but,  among  those  seen,  one  at 
least  was  remarkable  for  its  long-lasting  trail,  while  at 
another  time  a  burst  of  three  or  four,  darling  in  twist- 
ing courses  towards  Orion,  presented  a  peculiar  phe- 
nomenon such  as  I  cannot  recall,  resembling  a  small 
discharge  of  tailed  stars  from  a  rocket  head.  The  un- 
usual and  persistently  blue  colour  of  Sirius  was  very 
noteworthy.  Though  its  hue  constantly  changed,  it 
could  never  have  been  described  as  possessing  any  other 
colour  than  blue. 

Still  more  remarkable  however  was  the  "reen-grey 
colour  of  the  dawn.  This  shade  was  evanescent  but 
for  the  while  strikingly  noticeable,  and  corresponded 
with  su('li  dawns  as  were  much  more  pronounced  and 
long-lasting  at  the  period  foHowing  the  eruption  of 
Krakatoa  in  1883.  It  becomes  a  question  whether, 
paucity  of  visible  meteors  notwithstanding,  there  may 
not  have  been  some  unusual  proportion  of  cosmic  debris 
intercepted  by  the  upper  strata  of  the  atmosphere  as 
the  earth  crossed  the  track  of  the  main  Leonid  stream. 

Though  the  official  time  of  sunrise  on  this  morning 
was  not  till  7.21,  it  was  two  or  three  minutes  before 
six  when  with  us  the  dawn  began  to  break,  and  this 
with  a  rapidity  which  I  have  not  seen  surpassed  even 
in  India.  To  explain  this  latter  phenomenon  I  would 
suggest  a  double  cause.  First,  that  low-lying  matter 
and  moisture  in  suspension,  capable  of  reflecting  and 
diffusing  light  (and  thus  of  anticipating  dawn),  had  in 
great  measure  been  surmounted;  and,  secondly,  that 
as  soon  as  appreciable  light  appeared  its  intensity  was 
redoubled  by  reflection  off  the  brilliantly  glistening 
snow-surface  below  us.  The  cloud-veil  here  spoken  of 
had  been  first  entered  at  an  altitude  of  1,500  feet,  and 
proved  to  be  some  1,600  feet  in  thickness,  and  its  ther- 
mal conditions  were  sufficiently  remarkable. 

Owing  to  the  rapidity  of  our  ascent,  the  temperature 
of  the  lower  levels  was  not  accurately  taken,  but  though 
when  we  left  the  ground  the  night  was  one  of  except- 
ional mildness  for  November,  entering  the  cloud  layer 
struck  us  like  passing  into  a  warm  greenhouse  atmo- 
sphere, and  its  temperature  certainly  cannot  have  been 
less  than   50   degrees.     The  upper  ifringo  of   the  same 
cloud,   however,    tested   accurately   by   a   sling   thermo- 
meter, showed  a  temperature  of  38  degrees,  while  at  a 
full  thousand  feet  above  in  the  clear  open  sky  the  same 
thermometer  showed   a  reading  4  degrees  higher.     The 
Balloon  gathered  an  extraordinary  weight  of  condensed 
moisture   necessitating   the  discharge   of   many   bags  of 
ballast,    and   all   objects   about   us   became   rapidly   and 
densely  dewed ;    yet,  at  the  upper  surface  where  billows 
of  mist,   mountains  high,   were  surging  and   vanishing 
into  space,  evaporations  must  have  been  going  forward 
very   briskly,   the   super-incumbent   air  being   doubtless 
comparatively  dry.     It  was  just  at  the  wasting  upper 
fringe  of  the  cloud  that  the  sensation  (unusual  in  a  free 
balloon)  of  constant  draughts  was  experienced,  and  this 
experience    was    repeated    whensoever    wo    dropped    or 
rose  into  this  particular  region. 

For  the  first  hour  the  balloon  constantly  rose  and 
fell  with  a  strongly  marked  pendulous  motion,  owing 
to  it.s  many  struggles  with  the  moist  cloud-wreaths  and 
the  continual  discharge  of  sand;  but,  oscillations  once 
over,  its  perfect  poise  was  remarkable  and  unexampled 
in  my  own  experience.     The  region  iu  which   it  then 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[Ja-vuaey  1,  1900. 


floated  was  probably  shielded  from  ascending  currents 
by  the  cloud-floor,  and  in  the  hour  before  sunrise  the 
upper  levels  had  doubtless  subsided  into  an  exceedingly 
quiescent  and  homogeneous  state. 

The  cloud-floor  itself,  or  rather  its  upper  face,  was 
worthy  of  the  close  attention  which  we  were  ready  to 
give  it  through  many  long  hours.  Speaking  generally 
it  seems  to  have  passed  through  three  distinct  stages. 
First  and  earliest,  it  presented  a  fluffy  cotton-wool 
appearance,  or  perhaps  could  be  better  described — at 
least  when  viewed  from  a  thousand  feet  or  more  above 
it — as  wearing  the  appearance  of  recently  fallen  snow, 
lying  deep  but  light  and  feathery. 

Later  on  this  seeming  snowfield,  interminable  in 
extent,  appeared  of  harder  surface  and  more  compacted 
like  even  snow  when  it  has  ])een  subjected  to  bright 
winter  sun  for  several  days.  Then  in  the  end — a.s 
though  to  complete  the  analogy — these  snow  plains  com- 


1  p.iu — Lioud-Hoor  as  though  thawing  into  holloas. 

menced  breaking  up  infinitely  slowly,  into  black  pits 
and  hollows  through  which  the  actual  earth,  though 
several  thousand  feet  below,  began  to  show  itself. 

The  tri\'ial  incident  of  our  having  suddenly  found 
a  big  blue  fly  buzzing  noisily  about  us,  when  hang- 
ing at  a  height  of  8,000  feet,  would  have  passed 
without  serious  notice  but  for  certain  correspondence 
which  has  since  arisen.  Mr.  F.  T.  Wethered,  of  the 
Alpine  Club,  writes  to  say  that  he  has  seen  a  butter- 
fly scudding  across  the  summit  of  the  Grandes  Jorasses 
at  a  height  of  13,7  99  feet,  and  sees  no  reason  why  the 
fly  should  not  have  been  on  the  wing  and  not  taken  up 
in  the  car  as  we  had  supposed.  M.  C.  Flammarion  tells 
of  white  butterflies  fluttering  round  his  balloon  at  3,280 
feet,  though  in  the  same  voyage  he  remarks  on  the 
silence  of  bird  and  insect  life  at  sunrise.  My  own  ex- 
perience has  always  been  that  winged  creatures  of  every 
kind  have  been  left  behind  long  before  the  first  thou- 
sand feet  were  reached.  The  height  at  which  the  swift 
is  flying  is  surmounted  with  the  first  leap  into  space, 
and  even  when  sailing  at  the  lowest  levels  compatible 
with  safety  the  skj'lark  is  neither  seen  or  heard ;  very 
possibly,  however,  all  creatures  of  the  air  take  alarm  at 
a  balloon  and  naturally  give  it  a  wide  birth. 


Sounds  claimed  our  closest  attention  throughout  our 
voyage,  inasmuch  as  we  were  constantly  straining  our 
ears  to  determine  whether  we  were  over  land  or  sea 
The  deep  cloud-barrier  below  us  certainly  appeared  con- 
ducive rather  than  inimical  to  the  penetration  of  sound 
from  earth.  At  almost  our  highest  elevation  the  bark 
of  a  dog  was  caught,  while  the  shrill  challenge  of  many 
cocks  reached  nearly  as  high.  The  bellow  of  cattle  was 
heard  at  upwards  of  6,000  feet,  the  ringing  of  horses' 
hoofs  on  a  hard  road  at  a  thousand  feet  lower,  and  at 
4,000  feet  the  unmistakable  splashing  of  ducks  on 
water.  The  strangest  case  of  great  penetration  how- 
ever was  afforded  by  the  splash  of  waves  on  shore.  I 
would  submit  that  our  ears  were  highly  strung  and 
abnormally  sensitive  to  this  sound,  as  being  that  which 
we  most  dreaded  to  hear. 

One  other  sound  of  an  uncanny  nature  there  was 
that  began  to  haunt  us  as  we  reached  the  loftier 
regions.  Amid  the  dead  silence  we  heard,  fitfully, 
stealthy  footsteps  as  of  someone  walking  softly  outside 
the  car. 

When  presently  its  cause  was  detected  it  proved  to 
be  a  sound  of  ill  omen.  It  was  the  stretching  of  the 
ropes  vrnder  the  hot  sun,  and  the  silk  giving  out  as  the 
gas  continued  to  expand  and  send  us  mounting  yet 
higher. 


PLANTS    AND    THEIR    FOOD. 

By  H.  H.  W.  Pearson,  b.a.  (Cantab.). 

As  we  observe  the  young  wheat  plants  just  appear- 
ing above  the  ground,  and  in  a  few  months'  time  see 
the  same  plants,  full-grown  and  almost  ripe  for  harvest, 
we  cannot  but  wonder  what  has  been  the  nature 
of  their  food  and  whence  they  have  obtained  it.  In 
the  case  of  animals,  at  least  of  the  higher  animals, 
ordinary  observation  is  sufficient  to  give  us  a  good  deal 
of  information  respecting  the  nature  and  sources  of  the 
food  upon  which  they  live.  But  no  amount  of  obser- 
vation will  enable  us  to  see  anvthing  of  the  nature  of 
food  entering  the  wheat  plants.  We  know  that  they 
have  roots  in  the  ground,  and  can  imagine  that  these 
take  something  from  the  soil  which  the  plants  use  as 
food  ;  this,  however,  teaches  us  nothing,  and  we  soon 
realise  that  we  must  adopt  some  other  method  than 
that  of  out-of-door  observation  before  we  can  hope  to 
obtain  the  information  which  we  seek. 

It  is  more  than  2000  years  since  philosophers  began 
to  speculate  about  the  food  of  plants  and  what  we  may 
term  their  "  digestive  "  processes,  but  it  is  onlv  during 
the  latter  half  of  this  century  that  really  clear  and 
definite  notions  concerning  the  food  supplies  of  the 
vegetable  world  have  been  generally  accepted  bv  scien- 
tific men. 

Aristotle  could  find  in  plants  nothing  which  might  be 
supposed  'o  digest  food  materials  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  stomach  of  an  animal ;  and  he  saw  no  trace  of 
any  excrement  or  useless  matter  being  cast  off.  He 
therefore  believed  that  no  process  corresponding  to 
digestion  took  place  in  plants.  In  order  that  this 
might  be  possible  he  supposed  that  the  food  was  not 
only  obtained  from  the  earth,  but  was  so  prepared  in 
and  by  the  soil  that  it  could  be  taken  up  by  the  roots 
and  at  once  applied  to  the  purposes  of  growth  without 
undergoing  any  further  change.  In  other  words  the 
soil  not  only  supplied  the  food  materials  but  also 
digested  them  and  yielded  the  products  up  to  the  roots 
in  such  a  condition  that  they  could  be  at  rnce  added  1o 


Janiary  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


the  substance  of  the  plant.  Strange  r.s  this  idea 
appeai-s  to  us,  it  did  not  finally  die  out  until  the 
XVIIIth  century.  Passing  over  the  writings  of  several 
philosophers  who  were  influenced  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree  by  these  ideas  of  Aristotle,  we  will  notice  the 
views   of    Van    Helniont,*    a    Dutch    jihysician    of    the 


Fig.  1.  (After  Haustein.)- — A  living  plant  cell,  very  highly  magni- 
6ed.  A. — The  cellulose  wall.  B. — The  wall  of  a  neighboiirine  cell, 
which  is  not  represented,  c. — Inner  wall  of  protoplasm  (Primor- 
dial L'trii-le).  D. — Strands  of  protoplasm  connecting  the  Primordial 
Ctricle  with  the  central  mass  of  protoplasm  (E),in  which  the  nucleus 
(n)  is  embedded. — From  the  figure  in  Vine's  "  Physiology  of  Plants." 

XVTth  century.  He  believed  water  to  be  the  princi- 
pal constituent  of  matter,  and  therefore  of  the  body  of 
the  plant.  Hence  he  considered  that  the  food  of 
plants  consisted  solely  of  pure  water.  This  idea  is 
nearly  as  far  from  the  truth  as  that  of  Aristotle,  but 
it  is  liistorically  of  great  importance  because  it  was 
supported  by  au  experiment — as  far  as  is  known,  the 
first  botanical  experiment  ever  performed.  He  placed 
in  a  pot  200  lbs.  of  dried  earth,  and  in  it  he  planted  a 
willow  branch  which  weighed  5  lbs.  He  kept  the 
whole  covered  up  and  daily  watered  the  earth  with 
rain-water.  After  5  years'  growth  the  willow  was 
taken  up  and  again  weighed  and  was  found  to  have 
gained  164  lbs. ;  the  earth  in  the  pot  was  dried  and 
weighed  and  had  only  lost  2  oz.  Knowledge  was  not  yet 
sufficiently  advanced  to  enable  Van  Helmont  to  inter- 
pret these  striking  results  correctly,  and  he  came  to 
the  erroneous  conclusion  that  the  increased  weight  of 
the  plant  was  due  to  the  water  which  had  been  supplied 
to  the  roots.  He  therefore  looked  upon  this  experi- 
ment as  supporting  the  theory  which  he  had  advanced, 
viz.,  that  plants  required  no  food  but  water.  But 
although  his  conclusions  were  wrong,  yet  to  him  is  due 
the  honour  of  having  been  the  first  to  adopt  the  experi- 
mental method  of  enquiry  in  investigating  problems 
connected   with  plant   life.     A  hundred   years   later   a 

•  Bom  in  Urussels,  1.577. 


very  important  advance  was  made  by  Stephen  Hales. f 
This  distinguished  English  physicist  was  the  first  to 
prove  that  part  at  least  of  the  food  materials  of  plants 
is  derived  from  the  atmosphere.  The  vast  import- 
ance of  this  discovery  will  be  realised  when  we  consider 
the  assimilation  of  the  Carbon  dioxide  (Carbonic  acid 
gas)  of  the  atmosphere  by  the  leaves  of  green  plants. 
Soon  after  the  death  of  Hales  it  was  shown  that  the 
Carbon  of  the  plant  is  derived  from  Carbon  dioxide  of 
the  air,  and  that  at  the  same  time  the  water  of  the  soil 
containing  nitrates  and  other  mineral  matters  in 
solution  is  taken  in  by  the  roots  and  utilised  as  food 
material.  The  true  interpretation  of  Van  Helmont's 
experiment  was  that  the  increase  in  weight  of  the 
willow  branch  during  the  5  years'  growth  was  in  a 
great  measure  duo  to  Carbon  which  it  had  taken  from 
the  air. 

By  these  discoveries  a  firm  foundation  for  further  in- 
vestigation was  laid.  Although  the  progress  made  since 
the  time  of  Hales  has  been  far  from  uniform,  it  has 
been  great,  especially  during  the  last  tO  years,  as  we 
shall  see  in  our  further  consideration  of  the  subject. 
There  is  nevertheless  a  wide  scope  for  furtlier  en((uiry, 
and  much  remains  yet  to  be  discovered  before  all  the 
problems  connected  with  plants  and  their  food  can  be 
satisfactorily  solved. 

A  leaf-bearing  plant  iii;iy  bo  looked  upon  as  a  re- 
public whose  units  are  called  "  ccll,s.''  A  large  pro- 
portion of  the  cells  of  a  living  plant  arc  dead,  although 
they  have  by  no  means  ceased  to  be  of  u.se  to  the  plant ; 
such  are  the  hard  fibres  of  which  the  wood  of  trees  is 
largely  composed,  and  which  give  to  the  trunk  the 
rigidity  which  enables  it  to  sustain  the  heavy  weight 
of  the  branches  and  foliage.  It  is  however  with  the 
living  cells  that  we  are  chiefly  concerned,  in  consider- 
ing plants  in  relation  to  their  food.  We  may  regard  a 
living  cell  as  a  very  minute  bag  or  sac  bounded  by  a 
double  wall.  The  size  of  the  cell  varies  in  difi'erent 
plants  and  in  different  parts  of  the  same  plant.  Some 
idea  of  the  average  size  of  such  ceils  may  be  conveyed 
by  the  statement  that  between  6000  and  "l 2,000,  spread 
out  in  a  single  layer  would  cover  1  square  inch  of  sur- 
face. The  outer  wall  of  the  cell  (the  cell-wall  proper) 
is  composed  of  an  elastic]:  substance  called  "  cellulose,' 
which  in  its  chemical  properties  resembles  starch.  A 
cellulose  wall  permits  the  passage  of  liquids  through  it, 
and  must  therefore  be  minutely  perforated,  though  the 
perforations  are  so  small  as  to  be  quite  invisible  under 
the  highest  powers  of  the  microscope.  The  inner  wall, 
sometimes  called  the  ''  Primordial  Utricle,"  closely  lines 
the  outer  and  is  composed  of  a  viscid  substance  called 
protoplasm,  strands  of  which  pass  from  points  in  the 
wall  to  the  interior  of  the  cell,  and  there  unite  form- 
ing a  mass  in  which  is  embedded  an  oval  body,  the 
nucleus.  The  nucleus  is  also  composed  of  protoplasm, 
but  it  possesses  many  remarkable  properties  which 
mark  it  out  as  a  distinct  body.  Protoplasm  consists  of 
a  mixture  of  substances  called  proteids,  which  are  com- 
posed of  Carbon,  Hydrogen,  Nitrogen,  Oxygen,  and  one 
or  two  other  elements.  Its  most  remarkable  character  is 
that  it  possesses  properties  which  lead  us  to  speak  of  it 
as  a  living  substance.  Some  of  these  properties  will 
come  under  our  notice  at  a  later  stage.  As  much  of 
the  cell  as  is  not  occupied  by  protoplasm  is  filled  by  a 


t  Born  in  Kent,  1677.  Entered  Christ's  College,  Cambridge,  169«. 
Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society. 

X  An  "  elastic "  substance  possesses  the  property  of  returning  to 
its  original  shape  after  being  stretched. 


4 


KNOWLEDGE 


[January  1,  1900. 


liquid  known  as  "  cell-sap."  which  is  water  holding  in 
solution  various  materials  which  have  been  taken  up 
from  without  by  the  roots  and  leaves.  These  materials 
arc  thus  brought  in  contact  with  the  protoplasm  which 
causes  them  to  undergo  changes  in  composition  that 
prepare  them  to  be  added  to  the  substance  of  the  plant. 
Thus  it  is  in  the  protoplasm  of  the  living  cells  of  the 
plant  that  those  "  digestive  "  processes  are  carried  on 
■which  Aristotle  believed  to  occur  in  the  soil.  We  see 
then  that  the  living  cells  are  microscopic  laboratories 
in  which  the  digestion  of  the  food  of  the  plant  is  carried 
on.  And  now  that  we  know  something  of  the  nature  of 
the  laboratories  *o  which  the  food  materials  have  to  be 
conveyed  we  can  the  more  easily  enquire  into  the  nature 
and  sources  of  the  food  supply. 

As  we  cannot  directly  observe  substances  entering  or 
leaving  a  plant,  we  must  adopt  other  methods  of  in- 
vestigation before  we  can  learn  much  about  the  nature 
of  its  food.  If  we  can  ascertain  of  what  substances  a 
plant  is  composed,  we  shall  at  least  know  that  by  som? 
means  or  other  it  has  received  these  substances  from 
outside.  For  example,  when  a  cigar  burns  there  re- 
mains an  incombustible  grey  ash.  Chemical  analysis 
of  this  ash  shows  that  it  is  composed  of  various  sub- 
stances, one  of  which  is  Magnesium.  We  know  then 
that  Magnesium  was  present  in  the  cigar.  If  we  were 
acquainted  with  the  method  by  which  the  cigar  was 
manufactured  we  might  go  back  a  step  further  and 
conclude  that  Magnesium  was  contained  in  the  tobacco 
leaf  from  which  the  cigar  was  made,  and  therefore  in 
the  food  of  the  tobacco  plant.  This  is  an  illustration 
of  the  actual  method  employed  when  we  wish  to  find 
out  what  are  the  substances  which  a  plant  acquires 
from  the  outside  world.  The  whole  of  a  well-growii 
plant  is  thoroughly  dried  at  a  high  temperature,  which 
is,  however,  not  high  enough  to  bui-n  it.  After  being 
carefully  weighed,  the  dried  plant  is  burned  in  such  a 
manner  that  not  only  the  ash,  but  also  the  gases  given 
off  during  the  combustion,  are  collected.  These  are 
then  weighed  and  analysed.  The  gases,  which  weigh 
considerably  more  than  the  ash,  are  found  to  be  Carbon 
dioxide  (COr,),  water  vapour  (H;0),  and  Nitrogen.  Wo 
should  then  conclude,  on  chemical  grounds,  "that  our 
plant  contained  Carbon,  Hydrogen,  and  Nitrogen.  The 
ash  may  contain  a  great  number  of  elements,  many  of 
which  are  found  in  only  a  few  plants;  of  these  the 
following  are  almost  always  present — Calcium  (a  con- 
stituent of  chalk).  Magnesium  (found  in  many  Lime- 
stones,) Iron,  Potassium,  Sulphur,  Phosphorus,  Chlor- 
ine, Silicon,  and  Sodium,  all  of  which  are  found  in 
the  soil.  At  the  same  time  we  should  learn  that  our 
plant  contained  Oxygen.  (It  would  take  us  too  far  to 
consider  the  reasons  for  this  conclusion.) 

It  will  be  interesting  to  place  side  by  side  the  results 
of  such  an  analysis  of  Green  Peas  and  Clover  Hay  :  § 

i;B£en  peas.  ri.ovEii  hav. 

<  'arhon         -  -tR..')  per  pent.  47.4  ))er  cent. 

Hydrogen    -  0.2    „       „  5.0 

Oxygen         -  40.0    „       „  37,8     „ 

Nitrogen      -  4.2    „       „  2  ] 

Ash*  -        -  3.1    „      „  7.7     '      '.'. 


100.0  100.0 

We  cannot  discuss  here  all  the  information  that  is  con- 
tained in  these  figures.  We  notice,  however,  that  the 
proportions  of  each  constituent  differ  in  the  two  cases, 
and  this  is  true  in  all  cases,  even  for  similar  parts  of 
two  plants  of  the  same  kind  growing  side  by  side  in  the 

Vine's  "  Physiology  of  Plants." 
*  All  the  mineral  constituents  are  here  inclucled. 


same  soil.  And  further,  we  see  that  in  each  case  the 
Carbon  weighs  more  than  any  other  constituent.  This 
is  always  the  case  in  herbs  and  in  the  soft  parts  of 
woody  plants. 

This  method  of  analysis  shows  us  what  are  the  ele- 
ments which  a  plant  takes  in  from  without.  But  we 
learn  from  it  nothing  concerning  the  forms  in  which 
these  elements  must  be  combined  before  they  can  be 
received  by  the  plant.  And  further,  it  gives  no  in- 
formation as  to  whether  any  of  the  elements  in  the 
substance  of  the  plant  may  be  more  necessary  for  the 
general  welfare  of  the  body  than  any  others;  in  other 
words,  we  cannot  'liy  mere  analysis  find  out  which  are 
the  necessary  elements  of  the  food  as  distinguished  from 
those  whch  can  be  dispensed  with  without  injury  to  the 
life  of  the  plant. 

To  attack  such  problems  as  these  we  must  have  re- 
course to  other  more  direct  methods  of  investigation. 
The  most  important  of  these  is  the  method  known  as 
"  water-culture."  Plants  are  grown,  sometimes  for  con- 
siderable periods,  with  their  roots  immersed  in  water  in 
which  various  mineral  salts  are  dissolved.  "Sand-culture" 
is  merely  a  modification  of  "  water-culture  " ;  in  this 
the  roots  are  in  pure  sterilised  sand,  to  which  such  so- 
lutions as  are  used  in  water-cultures  are  added.  From 
a  great  number  of  experiments  of  this  kind  it  is  possible 
to  find  the  composition  of  a  solution  in  which  a  plant 
will  grow,  for  a  time  at  least,  as  well  as  if  its  roots 
were  in  the  soil  under  natural  conditions.  Such  a 
solution,  in  which  most  green  plants  are  able  to  find 
all  the  necessary  elements  of  their  food,  has  the  follow- 
ing composition:  — 

Distilled  Water     .         -         .         -  1,000— l,50t)   grammes. 

Potassium  Nitrate  (Saltpetre)        ...  i.o       „ 

Magnesium  Sujpliate  (KjiBom  Salt)         -         -  0.5        „ 

Calcium  Sulphate  .....  0.5        „ 

Calcium  Pliosphate  or  Potassium  Phosphate  -  0.5        „ 

A  soluble  Salt  of  Iron  .....         A  trace. 

This  solution  contains  all  the  elements  which  the  roots 
of  a  green  plant  must  find  in  the  soil  in  order  that  its 
growth  may  be  healthy.  Other  mineral  elements  found 
in  plants  are  not  as  a  rule  essential  constituents  of  the 
food.  The  proportions  in  which  these  substances  are 
presented  to  the  roots  may  vary  without  affecting  the 
growth  of  the  plant,  for  the  roots  have  the  power  of 
regulating  the  quantities  of  each  substance  absorbed,  so 
that  none  enters  in  excess.  An  important  point  to  be 
noticed  in  the  composition  of  this  nutrient  solution  is 
that  Carbon  is  not  present  in  it  in  any  form  what- 
ever. A  green  plant  is  able  to  obtain  all  its  Carbon 
from  the  atmosphere,  though,  as  we  shall  see  later,  it  is 
quite  possible  that  in  Nature  some  of  it  is  absorbed  by 
the  roots. 


EXPLOSIONS   IN   COAL   MINES. 

By    John    Mills. 

A  MOST  important  example  of  an  industrial  result 
depending  upon  pure  induction  from  abstract  science  is 
afforded  by  the  Miner's  Safety  Lamp.  The  processes 
which,  in  the  course  of  ages,  have  resulted  in  the  pro- 
duction of  coal — the  presei'ved  matter  of  primeval 
forests — the  remains  of  a  vegetable  world,  have  also 
yielded  an  abundance  of  inflammable  gas.  This  gas, 
known  to  miners  as  "  fire  damp  "  and  to  chemists  as 
carburetted  hydrogen,  accumulates  in  the  cavities  and 
fissures  of  the  coal  itself,  and  of  the  adjacent  strata;  it 
is  identical  in  composition  with  marsh  gas,  which  causes 
the  phenomenon  known   as  "  will-o'-the-wisp." 

Fire  damp,  the  scourge  of  the  miner,  more  dreadful 


Jandaby  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


in  its  effects  than  those  of  the  lightning  and  the  earfcii- 
quako,  long  defied  investigation  even  as  a  scientific 
phenomenon.  An  element  of  destruction,  apparently 
uncontrollable  by  human  power,  had  to  be  grappled 
with  and  subjugated  so  completely  as  to  be  put  under 
the  management  of  the  most  uneducated  miner.  The 
gas  in  many  mines  is  constantlj'  issuing  from  the  coal 
as  it  is  worked,  and  sometimes  emerges  under  great 
pressure  when  the  cavity  containing  it  is  punctured  by 
a  pick  or  other  means,  the  term  "  blower "  being 
applied  to  such  an  escape  of  gas.  When  mingled  with 
air,  this  gas  forms  a  mixture  which  explodes  violently 
in  contact  with  a  naked  light. 

By  a  pure  inductive  method  Sir  Humjjhry  Davy 
traced  its  history,  step  by  step,  until  he  fully  made  out 
all  itji  characters.  He  discovered  that  fire  damp  in 
reality  requires  a  very  high  heat  for  ignition,  the  tem- 
perature of  red-hot  iron  or  charcoal  being  insufficient 
to  inflame  it.  The  gas  was  found  not  to  explode  in 
narrow  tubes,  as  these  cool  it  below  the  point  of  igni- 
tion, and  a  network  of  iron  or  copper  wire  is  practically 
equivalent  to  a  series  of  sectional  tubes.  A  lamp  sur- 
rounded by  wire  gauze  was  therefore  used,  and  this 
allowed  a  light  to  be  carried  into  the  mine  with  safety. 
The  destructive  gnome  of  the  mine  was  thus  imprisoned 
within  a  cage  of  mere  wire  gauze,  and,  vainly  struggling 
to  escape,  heated  to  redness  the  bars  of  its  prison,  thus 
affording  warning  of  the  presence  of  the  gas  in  danger- 
ous quantity.  Science,  to  its  glory,  by  this  simple  moans 
greatly  minimised  those  scenes  of  death  and  heart-sicken- 
ing misery  which  haunted  the  miner  in  his  most  peace- 
ful hours,  and  has  rendered  comparatively  safe  an 
occupation  formerly  one  of  dread  and  real  danger. 

"  Black  damp,"  the  deleterious  constituent  of  which 
is  carbonic  acid  gas,  is  also  evolved  in  coal  mines,  and 
though  incombustible  and  inexplosive,  it  is  fatal  to  life 
if  allowed  to  accumulate  to  any  considerable  degree. 
Elaborate  systems  of  ventilation  are  therefore  in  us3 
to  carry  off  these  gases  so  as  to  prevent  undue  accumu- 
lation. Pure  air  is  forced,  pumped,  or  sucked  down 
one  shaft,  and  vitiated  air  let  out  at  another,  both 
shafts  communicating  with  the  surface,  and  the  current 
thus  set  up  sweeps  out  the  mine,  so  to  speak,  but  the 
"  fire  damp,  "  being  lighter  than  air,  is  liable  to 
accumulate  in  inequalities  of  the  roof  and  has  some- 
times to  be  dislodged  by  .special  appliances. 

The  main  cause  of  death  in  explosions,  however,  is 
not  the  explosion  itself,  but  the  "  after  damp  "  gene- 
rated by  it.  Dr.  Haldane,  who  visited  Tylorstown 
Colliery  on  the  day  after  the  terrible  explosion  there 
on  January  27,  1896,  resulting  in  the  deaths  of  57  out 
of  90  men  in  the  pit,  has  shown  that  an  examination 
of  the  bodies  revealed  the  astonishing  and  unexpected 
fact  that  52  out  of  the  57  deaths,  that  is,  no  less  than 
91  per  cent.,  had  been  caused  by  "  after  damp,"  the 
remaining  five  having  been  killed  instantaneously  by 
violence.  Of  the  men  killed  by  "  after  damp,"  a  post- 
mortem examination  showed  that  in  nearly  every  case 
the  signs  of  carbon  monoxide  poisoning  were  present. 

The  safety  lamp,  in  its  present  improved  form,  if 
carefully  used,  affords  adequate  protection,  but  it  has 
been  found  when  the  lamps  are  left  in  the  miner's 
possession  and  custody  after  he  quits  the  mine,  they 
are  sometimes  damaged  by  careless  handling,  and  taken 
back  into  the  mine  in  a  defective  and  dangerous  con- 
dition, with  appalling  possibilities.  By  the  Coal  Mines 
Act  of  1896  legislation  provided  for  the  safe  custody 
of  all  lamps  used  in  mines,  the  removal  of  any  lamp 
from  the  mine  being  forbidden. 


But  there  arc  other  sources  of  explosions  in  mines. 
The  primitive  wedge,  used  from  time  immemorial  for 
detaching  coal  from  the  mass  forming  the  seam,  has 
been  superseded  by  the  disruptive  energy  of  explosives 
— the  so-called  "  shot  "  in  blasting  operations.  A  shot 
improperly  fired  is  called  "  a  blown  out  shot,"  and  the 
initial  cause  of  the  explosion  is  the  jet  of  flame  pro- 
jected by  the  blown  out  shot.  When  the  "  stemming," 
or  ■'  tamping,"  used  for  confining  the  explosive  within 
the  boring  prepared  for  it  is  not  sufficiently  rammed  in 
to  secure  the  complete  internal  combustion  of  the  ex- 
plosive, "  a  blown  out  shot  "  may  bo  pro(lut:e(l,  and  the 
effect  is  to  cause  a  jet  of  flame  to  issue  with  great  force 
from  the  orifice  of  the  boring  at  the  moment  of  the 
shot,  so  that  if  "  fire  damp  "  be  present  in  quantity  an 
explosion  occurs  and  may  extend  throughout  the  mine. 

As  some  explosives  arc  unduly  dangerous,  the  Secre- 
tary of  State,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the 
Act  of  1886,  has  had  drawn  up  a  "  Permitted  List," 
that  is,  explosives  which  owners  of  mines  are  required 
to  choose  from  as  safest  and  best.  At  Woolwich 
Arsenal  there  is  a  station  provided  with  apparatus 
designed  to  test  the  effect  of  firing  explosives  in  pre- 
sence of  inflammable  mixtures  of  atmospheric  air  with 
either  coal-gas  or  coal-dust.  The  charge  of  explosive  is 
fii-ed  from  a  steel  cannon  with  a  uniform  stemming  of 
dry  clay,  these  conditions  representing  very  closely 
those  of  "  a  blown  out  shot."  No  exjjlosivc  was  con- 
sidered to  have  satisfied  the  test  if  it  caused  more 
than  two  failures  in  forty  shots — a  failure  being  either 
an  ignition  of  the  gaseous  mixture  or  an  incomplete 
explosion  leaving  a  residue  of  explosive  uncousumed. 

Another  medium  of  disaster  is  coal  dust,  harmless 
enough  till  the  work  of  destruction  has  once  been 
started ;  existing  everywhere  in  the  labyrinthine  pas- 
sages, as  dust  suspended  in  the  air,  it  serves  as  a  ready 
distributor  of  flame  and,  therefore,  explosion  in  all 
directions  from  the  local  point  of  origin.  It  may  be 
seen  in  miniature  when  dry  and  dusty  coal  is  thrown 
on  a  fire  from  a  coal  scuttle,  the  finer  coal  dust  is  im- 
mediately inflamed  by  contact  with  the  glowing  coals 
in  the  grate,  and  passes  up  the  chimney  in  the  form  of 
a  feeble  explosion. 

Faraday,  on  scientific  and  experimental  grounds,  sug- 
gested that  coal  dust  contributed  largely  to  the 
devastating  effect  of  an  explosion.  A  zone  of  safety  is 
generally  obtainable  by  saturating  the  dust  in  the  im- 
mediate neighbourhood  of  a  contemplated  shot.  It  is 
estimated  that  the  total  number  of  shots  fired  in  the 
United  Kingdom  amounts  to  at  least  2U,000,000 
annually. 

Between  1851  and  1889,  inclusive,  there  were  2,060 
colliery  explosions,  and  the  number  of  lives  lost  was 
8,859 ;  during  that  period  some  900,000,000  shots  must 
have  been  fired,  giving  a  percentage  of  explosions  to 
shots  of  0.000229,  and  of  lives  lost  to  shots  of  0.000985. 
In  the  decade  ending  1882,  the  ratio  of  mortality  by 
explosions  of  fire  damp  was  .65  per  1,000  persons,  in 
the  next  decade  .32.  In  1893  it  was  .29,  and  in  1894 
.56.  Lower  still  in  1895 — namely,  .10,  and  up  at  .31 
in  1896.  In  1897,  the  first  year  in  which  the  new  Act 
was  in  force,  the  ratio  fell  to  .03,  and  in  1898  it  had 
risen  a  little— namely,  to  .05.  The  accompanying  table 
shows  the  number  of  persons  employed  underground  in 
coal  mines  and  the  output  for  the  years  given  :  — 

Year.  Number  of  Persons  Employed.   Output  in  Tons. 

1896  ...  557,026  ...  208,503,868 

1897  ...  558,305  ...  215,145,025 

1898  ...  567,124  ...  215,161,954 


6 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[January  1,  1900. 


It  is  gratifying  to  learn  that  the  efforts  put  forth  by 
the  Legislature  in  recent  years  for  the  effectual  pre- 
vention of  explosions  in  coal  mines  are  being  attended 
by  results  which  show  that  mortality  is  not  near  so 
rampant  as  it  was  formerly.  In  the  last  two  years,  that 
is,  in  the  two  years  which,  at  the  end  of  1888,  had 
elapsed  since  the  Act  came  into  force  there  had 
been  no  great  and  devastating  explosion.  Still,  even 
now,  our  knowledge  of  the  causes,  circumstances,  and 
effects  of  explosions  in  mines,  whether  of  fire  damp,  of 
coal  dust,  or  of  both,  is  still  very  far  from  complete — 
indeed,  is  in  many  respects  of  little  more  than  a  rudi- 
mentary character.  But  let  us  not  under-estimate  the 
labours  of  those  who  have  captained  us  thus  far  in 
our  conflict  with  the  miner's  deadly  foe. 


THE   NATIVES   OF  AUSTRALIA  AND   THEIR 
ORIGIN. 

By  R.  Lydekker. 
If  the  visitor  to  the  Natural  History  Museum  at 
South  Kensington  direct  his  attention  to  a  case  in  the 
upper  Mammalian  Gallery  bearing  the  superscription 
"  Comparison  of  Man  and  Apes  :  Craniometry,"  he 
will  scarcely  fail  to  be  struck  by  the  remarkable 
difference  presented  between  the  palates  of  three  skulls 
placed  side  by  side,  and  respectively  labelled  Mon- 
golian, Australian,  and  Chimpanzee.  In  the  firso 
the  teeth,  which  are  of  comparatively  small  size,  form 
a  regular  unbroken  horseshoe-like  curve,  as  they  like- 
wise do  in  a  European  ;  while  the  bony  palate  "of  the 
skull  is  so  short  that  its  transverse  diameter  consider- 
ably exceeds  the  iongitudinal.  On  the  other  h  i  d,  in 
the  Australian  skull  the  individual  teeth  themselves 
are  larger,  and  instead  of  the  whole  scries  forming  a 
regular  horseshoe,  the  line  of  grinders  on  each  side, 
together  with  the  eye-tooth,  or  canine,  forms  a  distinct 
angle  with  the  inci.sor  line  in  front.  Moreover,  the 
palate  is  longer  and  narrower  than  in  the  Mongolian 
skull ;  the  length  of  its  longitudinal  diameter  exceeding 
the  transverse.  Turning  to  the  Chimpanzee  skull,  the 
observer  will  notice  that  the  features  indicated  in  that 
of  the  Australian  are  intensified  ;  the  palate  itself 
being  much  longer  than  broad,  while  the  teeth  are  pro- 
portionately very  large,  and  those  on  each  side  are 
arranged  in  a  straight  line,  curving  slightly  inwards, 
and  forming  a  marked  angle  with  the  incisors  in  front, 
from  which  they  are  separated  by  a  distinct  gap. 

Looking  at  the  three  palates,  the  impartial  observer 
can  scarcely  fail  to  .see  that  although  the  Australian 
is  nearer  to  the  Mongolian  than  it  is  to  the  Chimpan- 
zee, yet  it  forms  a  very  marked  step  in  the  direction  of 
the  latter,  and  that  if  we  had  but  one  more  link,  the  gap 
between  the  Mongolian  and  Simian  palates  would  be 
practically  bridged.  Indeed  although,  judging  from 
the  skull  alone,  the  European  should  have  no  hesi- 
tation in  claiming  the  Australian  as  a  fellow  man,  yet 
to  say  that  he  is  a  "  brother  '  would  be  stretching  that 
somewhat  elastic  term  very  hard  indeed — an  extremely 
distant  cousin  would  more  adequately  express  the 
relationship  I 

Had  we  only  Australians  on  the  one  hand  and  Eu- 
ropeans and  Mongolians  on  the  other  to  deal  with,  it 
appears  highly  probable  that  we  should  be  perfectly 
justified  in  regarding  the  former  as  a  distinct  species 
of  mankind.  For  not  only  is  there  the  above  men- 
tioned striking  difference  in  the  structure  of  the 
palate,  but  (not  to  mention  other  points  of  distinction) 


the  spinal  column  of  the  Australian  lacks  the  full  de- 
velopment of  the  exquisite  curves  of  that  of  the  Eu- 
ropean, and  thus  approximates  to  the  Chimpanzee  and 
Gorilla.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  the  frizzly- 
haired  Melanesians  of  Oceania,  as  well  as  the  true 
Negroes  of  Africa,  stand  in  some  degree  intermediate 
between  the  Australian  and  the  European  in  respect 
to  the  structure  of  the  skeleton,  and  thus  forbid  us 
regarding  the  former  as  a  species  apart. 

One  of  the  greatest  puzzles  in  the  science  of  anthrop- 
ology is  indeed  to  understand  the  relationship  of  the 
Australians  to  other  races  of  mankind.  In  their  skele- 
tal structure  they  undoubtedly  come  nearest  to  the 
Melanesians  and  the  African  Negroes,  although  pre- 
senting a  still  more  primitive  type.  Their  black  com- 
plexion, thick  and  pouting  lips,  projecting  jaws,  large 
teeth,  and  long  skulls  are  indeed  essentially  Negro 
characters.  Their  eyes,  too,  are  deeply  set  in  the  skull, 
and  their  legs  show  little  or  no  calf.  In  the  prominent 
ridges  over  the  eyes,  they  frequently  exhibit  (see 
Plate)  a  resemblance  to  the  Melanesian  rather  than  to 
the  African  Negro  type,  in  which  these  brow-ridges 
are  undeveloped.  Australians  likewise  resemble  Ne- 
groes in  that  the  colour  of  the  skin  of  the  infants  is 
light  yellow  or  brown  instead  of  black  ;  the  adult 
sable  tint  not  being  acquired  till  between  eighteen 
months  and  two  years  of  age. 

But  (and  this  is  a  very  large  "  but  "  indeed)  here 
the  resemblance  ceases  ;  for  all  Australians  aie 
broadly  distinguished  from  Negroes  and  Melanesians 
— even  their  near  neighbours  the  Tasmanians — by  the 
character  of  their  hair,  which,  in  place  of  being 
"  woolly,"  or  frizzly  as  it  may  be  better  termed,  is  at 
most  bushy,  curly,  or  wavy  ;  being  generally  coarse  in 
texture  and  black  in  colour.  The  beard  and  moustache 
are  likewise  well  developed  ;  and  in  fact,  as  the  illus- 
trations show,  Australians  cannot  be  distinguished  by 
their  hair  from  the  wild  tribes  of  India,  who  are  gene- 
rally regarded  as  having  no  near  relationship  with 
Negroes,  and  who  display  no  markedly  low  type  in  the 
form  of  the  palate. 

Before  attempting  to  consider  the  meaning  of  this 
marked  difference  between  Australians  on  the  one  side 
and  Negroes  and  Melanesians  on  the  other,  it  may  be 
well  to  devote  a  few  lines  to  the  essential  distinction 
between  frizzly  and  other  types  of  hair.  If  sections 
be  taken  from  the  hair  or  a  horse's  tail  or  mane,  and 
then  be  examined  under  a  microscope  or  lens,  it  will 
be  found  that  they  are  perfectly  circular  ;  and  the 
entire  hair  being  thus  cylindrical,  it  naturally  hangs 
straight  down.  The  lank  black  hair  of  a  Japanese,  a 
Chinese,  or  an  American  Indian  is  of  the  same  cylin- 
drical type.  On  the  other  hand,  the  hair  of  an  aver- 
age European  when  seen  in  section  presents  an  oval 
ellipse,  and  thus  causes  the  waviness  so  frequently 
noticeable.  When,  however,  the  hair  of  a  Negro  or 
Melanesian  is  sectionised.  it  is  found  to  present  a  flat 
ellipse  ;  and  it  is  owing  to  this  peculiar  structure  that 
the  hair  of  these  peoples  assumes  its  characteristic 
frizziness.  Now  it  is  very  noticeable  that  in  crossbred 
races,  such  as  the  Brazilian  Capesos  (Negro  and  Native 
half-breeds,  who  are  mop-headed  like  the  Papuans), 
this  frizziness  of  the  hair  tends  to  persist ;  and  a  hy- 
brid described  as  half  Negro,  a  quarter  Cheroki,  and  a 
quarter  English,  is  stated  to  have  retained  the  Negro 
"  wool."  Hence  it  has  been  suggested  that  frizzly  hair 
represents  the  primitive  human  type  of  capillary 
adornment. 

But    if    \vc    examine    the     hair   of    a    Chiiujjauzcc, 


Januaby  1,  19C0.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


Gotilla,  Orang-utau,  or  iudeecl  any  other  Old  World 
Ape  or  Monkey,  it  will  bo  found  to  be  of  the  straight 
type,  and  to  show  not  the  slightest  tendency  to  frizzi- 
ness.  Clearly  then,  from  the  evolutionary  point  of 
view,  the  straight-haired  type  ought  to  be  the  original 
one;  and  we  find  the  late  Sir  W.  II.  Flower  saying  that 
the  frizzh'  type  "  of  hair  is  probably  a  specialisation, 
for  it  seems  very  unlikely  that  it  was  the  attribute  of 
the  common  ancestors  of  the  human  race.' 

If  this  hypothesis  be  true,  it  would  point  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  Australians  are  a  more  primitive 
type  than  the  Melanesians  and  Negroes  ;  a  view  which 
receives  strong  support  from  the  primitive  characters 
presented  by  their  skeletons.  But  it  must  be  observed 
that  Sir  William  Flower,  in  spite  of  the  opinion  ex- 
pressed above,  suggested  that  the  Australians  are  a 
mixed  race,  derived  from  a  crossing  between  frizzly- 
haired  Melanesians  and  some  low  type  of  the  Cau- 
casian stock,  such  as  the  wild  tribes  of  Southern  India. 
It  may  be  urged,  however,  from  what  has  already  been 
said  in  regai-d  to  its  persistence  among  half-breeds, 
that  the  frizzly  type  of  hair  would  be  very  unlikely 
to  have  so  completely  disappeared  among  the  Austra- 
lians ;  added  to  which  is  the  circumstance  that  had 
such  extensive  crossing  with  the  Caucasian  stock  taken 
place  the  Australians  could  scarcely  have  preserved 
such  an  extremely  low  type  of  skeletal  structure — a 
type  whicii,  at  least  as  regards  the  jialatc  and  the 
spinal  column,  appears  lower  than  that  of  cither 
Melanesians  or  Negroes. 


Fig.  1.— filiate  of  SkiiU  of  Cliiiii|)anzee. 

That  the  Australian  aborigines  reached  their 
present  home  from  south-eastern  Asia  may  be  regarded 
as  almost  certain  ;  and  some  have  considered  that 
the  migration  took  place  at  a  time  when  there  was  still  a 
more  or  less  complete  land  connection  between  Malaysia 
and  Australia.  Moreover  certain  South  Australian 
tribes  are  considered  to  be  closely  related  to  the  an- 
cient inhabitants  of  Europe,  as  typified  by  the  famous 
Neanderthal  .skull.  Hence  there  is  nothing  improb- 
able in  the  supposition  that  both  of  the  Australians 
and  the  primitive  Caucasian  tribes  of  India  are  the 
descendants  of  a  common  stock,  the  Australians  hav- 
ing retained  the  primitive  character  of  their  Nean- 
derthal ancestors,  while  the  Indian  tribes  have 
attained   a  higher   grade   of   evolution.     Ou    this   view 


the  fi-izzly-haired  Melanesians  and  African  Negroes, 
as  well  as  in  all  probability  the  round-licaded  Negritos 
of  Luzon,  in  the  Philippines,  would  be  descendants 
from  the  primitive  stock  of  which  tlu;  Australians  arc 
less  modilied  representatives.  And  m  this  connection 
it  is  important  to  mention  that  Dr.  ().  Finscli,  who 
iias  travelled  much  in  Australia,  is  of  opinion  that  the 
Australian  aborigines  form  a  single  and  peculiar  race, 
which  differs  more  from  either  typical  Melanesians  or 
Papuans  than  do  both  the  latter  from  African 
Negroes. 

The  general  physical  similarity  of  the  natives  from 
all  parts  of  Australia  is  indeed  a  very  striking  pecu- 
liarity of  the  race,  and  serves  to  show  that,  whatever 
be  their  origin  and  their  relationship,  they  have  been, 
previous  to  the  European  colonization  of  their  island 
continent,  isolated  for  an  immense  period  of  time  from 
the  rest  of  the  human  race. 

Their  unity  of  type  and  isolation  from  other  races 
is  strongly  emphasised  by  their  language,  whicli  while 
uniform  throughout  the  country,  is  at  the  same  time 
quite  distinct  from  that  of  any  other  people.  It  has 
indeed  been  attempted  to  connect  the  Australian 
tongue  with  that  of  the  Dravidian  races  of  Southern 
India,  but  this,  according  to  recognised  experts,  is 
stated  to  have  resulted  in  total  failure. 

There  is,  however,  a  very  curious  connection 
between  the  Australian  aborigines  and  certain  of  the 
wild  tribes  of  Southern  India,  namely  that  both 
possess  the  boomerang  ;  a  weapon  unknown  to  any 
other  members  of  the  human  race.*  Of  course  there 
is  the  possibility  that  this  very  remarkable  implement 
has  been  independently  invented  by  the  two  people 
who  use  it,  but  there  is  a  considerable  degree  of  im- 
probability in  this  idea.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  it 
be  an  inheritance  of  the  Australians  from  Asiatic  an- 
cestors, it  may  be  fairly  argued  that  it  is  unlikely  to 
have  been  evolved  at  the  extremely  remote  epoch  when 
the  ancestral  Australians  started  from  their  Asiatic 
home.  And  if  this  view  be  accepted,  then  we  are  com- 
pelled to  revert  to  the  idea  of  a  later  immigration  from 
Asia,  which  brings  us  again  to  the  question  of  the 
origin  of  the  wavy  hair  of  the  Australians. 

Apparently  there  is  no  possibility  of  giving  a  definite 
answer  as  to  the  origin  of  the  boomerang  ;  but  there 
is  one  very  curious  point  which  may  indicate  the  great 
antiquity  of  its  introduction.  As  most  of  my  readers 
are  aware,  the  Australian  aborigines  possess  a  semi- 
domesticated  dog — the  Dingo  ;  and  there  are  strong 
reasons  for  regarding  this  animal  as  not  pertaining 
to  the  indigenous  fauna  of  the  country.  Its  remains 
are,  however,  met  with  in  association  with  those  of  a 
number  of  extinct  animals,  so  that  the  date  of  its  in- 
troduction was  evidently  very  early.  But  if,  as  some 
suppose,  man  reached  Australia  at  a  time  when  it  was 
much  more  closely  connected  with  Malaysia  than  is  at 
present  the  case,  his  advent  might  well  have  been  con- 
temporaneous with  that  of  the  Dingo.  And  here 
conies  ill  the  point  referred  to,  namely,  that  (as  I  learn 
from  an  expert)  the  Dingo  is  very  closely  related  to 
the  Paria  dogs  of  India,  Now  since  these  latter  arc 
domesticated  breeds,  the  evidence,  if  it  may  be  relied 
on,  points  to  a  very  early  immigration  into  Australia 
of  aboriginal  tribes  accompanied  by  dogs  from  Asia. 
And  if  such  early  aborigines  had  domesticated  a  dog, 
they  might  surely  be  deemed  capable  of  having  invented 
the  boomerang.  ^^ 

•  The  boomerang  of  India  lias  not  the  return  flight  of  the 
Auetraliau  weajjon. 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[January  1,  1900. 


Like  all  tribes  who  have  been  brought  into  con- 
nection with  Europeans,  the  Australian  aborigines, 
especially  in  the  districts  longest  colonised,  have 
altered — and  frequently  for  the  ■worse — from  their 
primitive  condition ;  while  they  have  also  sadly  dimini- 
shed in  number.  Writing,  under  the  pseudonj-m  of  "  An 
Old  Bushman,'  so  long  ago  as  I860,  an  observant 
settler  in  the  vicinity  of  ilelbourne  made  the  follow- 
ing remarks; — "  Of  the  many  thousands  who  inhabited 
the  colony  before  the  arrival  of  the  white  man.  not  2000 
survive,  and  most  of  these  are  on  the  banks  of  the 
Murray.  Although  debased  far  below  their  own 
savage  level  since  their  intercourse  with  the  white  man, 
the  few  that  are  left  still  retain  much  of  that  free  in- 
dependent spirit  and  wild  roving  disposition  which 
characterize  all  savages  who  have   to  get  their  living 


being  consumed  with  relish.  Probably  the  difficulty 
of  obtaining  a  sufficient  food  supply  from  other  sources 
was  originally  the  reason  that  cannibalism  came  into 
vogue,  but  when  once  established  it  assumed  a  promi- 
nent place,  Dr.  Lumholtz  telling  us  that  human  flesh 
is  the  greatest  dietary  luxury  that  these  people  in 
their  primitive  condition  enjoy.  In  the  proper  sense  oi 
the  term  the  Australian  appears  to  have  no  religion  at 
all ;  at  anj'  rate  it  has  been  authoritatively  stated  that 
he  has  never  been  observed  either  to  pray,  worship,  or 
offer  sacrifice,  and  that  in  his  natirral  condition  he 
has  no  sort  of  conception  of  a  future  state  of  existence. 
His  extremelv  low  grade  of  development  is  likewise 
strikingly  exemplified  by  the  treatment  accorded  to  the 
female  sex — a  treatment  perhaps  only  paralleled 
among  the  Fuegians.     Such  of  my  readers  as  wish  to 


Fig.  2.  -   Group  of  West  Australian  Aborigini  ?. 


by  the  chase.  For  although  they  get  their  rations  all 
the  year  round  at  the  head  station,  they  never  care  to 
live  long  in  one  place  ;  but,  following  up  the  habits 
of  their  early  life,  make  periodical  excursions  into  the 
bush  at  different  seasons,  when  the  different  game  is 
in  Thus  swans'  eggs,  kangaroo,  ducks,  eels,  and  cray- 
fish, all  furnish  them  with  food  and  occupation  at 
different  seasons." 

The  procuring  of  a  sufficient  supply  of  food  is  indeed 
the  great  problem  of  the  life  of  the  aboriginal  Aus- 
tralian ;  especially  as  his  weapons,  with  the  exception 
of  the  boomerang,  are  of  an  extremely  poor  descrip- 
tion. Consequently  these  people,  if  we  may  judge 
from  the  accounts  of  those  who  have  had  the  best 
opportunities  of  observing  them,  are  some  of  the  best, 
if  not  actually  the  best  hunters  and  trackers  in  the 
world  ;  indeed,  Dr.  Semon  unhesitatingly  assigns  to 
them  the  highest  position  in  this  respect.  Nothing 
that  can  be  in  any  way  regarded  as  edible  seems 
to  come  amiss  to  an  Australian,  even  such  unsatis- 
factory   morsels    as    grasshoppers,    beetles,    and    fleas 


learn  how  brutal  this  treatment  is,  may  refer  to  the 
works  of  Dr.  Semon  and  Mr.  Brough  Smyth ;  but  no 
good  object  would  be  gained  by  quoting  the  pitiful 
details  in  this  place.  Neither  need  detailed  reference 
be  made  to  the  complicated  system  of  class  marriages 
which  obtains  among  certain  of  the  tribes.  Although 
under  a  careful  system  of  education  in  European 
schools  the  native  children  are  capable  of  acquiring  a 
certain  amount  of  knowledge,  displaying  a  decided 
capacity  for  drawing,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
mental  capacity  of  the  Australian  in  his  primitive  con- 
dition stands  at  an  extremely  low  level.  No  better 
exemplification  of  this  can  be  cited  than  his  arith- 
metical capacity — or  rather  incapacitv.  So  low  indeed 
does  he  stand  in  this  respect,  that  none  of  the  tribes 
have  a  word  to  express  a  number  higher  than  three, 
while  some  content  themselves  with  those  for  one  and 
two.  Mr.  E.  M.  Carr  is  of  opinion  that  no  uuin- 
structed  Australian  native  can  by  any  possibility 
count  even  as  high  as  seven  correctly.  "  If  you  lay 
seven   pins  on   a   table,"   he   writes,   "  for   a   Black   to 


>    > 

g  5 


c     , 


2: 
> 

H 

I— I 

< 
C/) 

o 
(/) 

H 

m 

2: 

> 

(/) 
H 

> 

r 


January  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


reckon,  and  then  abstract  two,  he  would  not  iin-< 
them.  If  one  were  removed,  he  would  miss  it,  because 
his  manner  of  counting  by  ones  and  twos  amounts  to 
the  same  as  if  he  reckoned  by  odds  and  evens."  It  is 
difficult  to  imagine  anything  much  lower  than  this. 

Perhaps  their  one  redeeming  quality  is  their  honesty 
and  truthfulness  ;  the  "  Old  Bushman  "  stating  that 
though  they  will  ask  for  any  article  that  may  take 
their  fancy,  as  if  they  had  a  right  to  it,  yet  that  he 
never  knew  them  to  steal.  All  who  have  had  much 
intercourse  with  them  agree  that  they  are  naturally  a 
merry  and  humorous  people,  with  a  great  capacity 
for  mimicry,  taking  off  with  facility  any  peculiar 
personal  mannerism  of  those  with  whom  they  may  be 
brought  in  contact,  or  imitating  the  movements  of 
the  kangaroo  and  the  emu. 

To  work  of  all  kinds  they  have  a  rooted  objection, 
and  the  writer  last  mentioned  gives  it  as  his  opinion 
that  it  would  be  impossible  to  make  a  slave  of  an  Aus- 
tralian Black.  Nevertheless,  if  I  may  judge  from 
certain  photographs  lent  rae  by  Mr.  B.  Woodward,  of 
the  Perth  Museum  (to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  those 
illustrating  this  article),  the  aborigines  remaining  in 
the  settled  districts  do  now  perform  a  certain  amount 
of  labour.  They  have  also  taken  (as  shown  in  the 
annexed  illustration)  to  European  clothing — of  sorts. 
But,  to  quote  once  more  from  the  "  Old  Bushman,  ' 
the  Australian  ladies,  who  are  by  no  means  remarkable 
for  personal  beauty,  at  least  from  a  European  stand- 
point, "  seem  to  care  nothing  for  finery  or  ornaments. 
a.  dirty  blanket,  or  opossum-rug  wrapped  loosely  round 
them,  and  a  short  black  pipe  stuck  in  their  hair  com- 
pletes their  toilet."  Not  improbably  my  lady  readers 
will  consider  this  a  more  convincing  proof  of  the  low 
grade  of  the  Australian  aborigines  than  any  other 
instance  that  could  be  mentioned  ! 

Since  writing  the  above.  I  have  had  an  opportunity 
of  carefully  reading  Dr.  Semen's  book  "  In  the  Aus- 
tralian Bush,"  and  am  pleased  to  find  that  he  agrees 
with  the  views  here  expressed  as  to  the  racial  distinct- 
ness of  the  Australian  aborigines  from  their  neighbours. 
But  he  goes  a  step  further  than  I  have  ventured  to 
advance,  and  suggests  that  the  Australians  are  really 
near  relations  of  the  Veddas  of  Ceylon,  and  are  there- 
fore in  reality  a  low  branch  of  the  primitive  Cauca- 
sian stock,  and  have  nothing  to  do  with  Negroes,  to 
whom  thev  are  commonlv  affiliated. 


ASTRONOMY    WITHOUT    A    TELESCOPE. 

I.— INTRODUCTORY. 

By  E.  Walter  Maunder,  f.r.a.s. 

Some  years  ago,  when  the  Sioux  Indiana  were  be- 
ginning to  get  restless  and  to  threaten  trouble,  it  was 
thought  expedient  by  the  authorities  at  Washington  to 
invite  some  of  the  discontented  chiefs  to  an  interview 
with  their  "  Great  White  Father."  the  President,  and, 
■incidentally,  to  give  them  a  demonstration  of  the  vast 
resources  which  they  would  have  to  encounter  if  ever 
they  took  up  arms  against  the  Federal  Government 
So  they  came,  and  were  shown  some  of  the  mighty 
machines  which  modern  engineering  has  produced  and 
in  particular  some  hundred-ton  guns.  The  monster 
weapons  were  duly  manoeuvred  for  the  red  men's  benefit 
They  were  loaded  and  fired,  and  the  Indians  were  con- 
ducted to  the  ruin  which  had  been  the  target  that  they 
might  mark  the  terrible  destruction  which  the  missile 
had  wrought.     The  Indians  looked,  but  instead  of  being 


overwhelmed  with  astonishment  and  fear,  as  their 
guides  had  expected,  betrayed  only  a  slightly  bored  in- 
difference. The  United  States  official  in  charge  of  tho 
demonstration  repeated  and  emphasized  his  explana- 
tions when  one  of  the  chiefs,  with  just  the  faintest, 
ghost  of  a  satirical  smile,  which  was  the  utmost  mani- 
festation of  feeling  his  stoical  sense  of  dignity  allowed 
him,  said,  pointing  to  the  unwieldy  weapon,  ''  You  won't 
come  after  Indian  with  that.  " 

It  was  true  !  The  officials  felt  its  force  at  once,  and 
the  Indians  were  treated  to  no  more  exhibitions  of 
heavy  artillery  practice.  It  had  been  forgotten  that 
the  most  powerful  weapon  is  not  necessarily  the  most 
effective  for  every  purpose,  and  that  for  some  classes 
of  work  tho  great  size  of  an  instrument  may  be  a  fatal 
disqualification. 

A  very  similar  mistake  is  sometimes  made  in  regard 
to  astronomy,  and  has  no  doubt  interfered  with  the 
popularity  of  the  science  as  a  pursuit.  It  is  too  often 
assumed  that  nothing  of  real  interest  or  utility  can  be 
achieved  without  the  possession  of  telescopes  of  enor- 
mous power  and  of  corresponding  cost.  The  great  obser- 
vatories maintained  in  various  European  countries  by 
the  State,  or  founded  in  America  by  millionaires,  like 
Lick  or  Yerkes,  have  been  thought  to  command  a 
monopoly  of  the  astronomical  advances  of  the  future, 
since  they  only  possess  the  telescopes  of  greatest  light- 
gathering  power  and  most  perfect  definition. 

This  view  is  far  fi'om  correct.  In  the  first  place  such 
an  assumption  entirely  overlooks  a  consideration  ex- 
pressed as  follows  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Maw.  f.k.a.s.,  in  his 
recent  most  admirable  Presidential  Address  to  the 
British  Astronomical  Association,  an  address  to  which 
I  would  refer  all  who  are  likely  to  take  up  practical 
work  in  astronomy.     Mr.  Maw  points  out  that 

"  By  the  time  a  refractor  of  this  kinil  lias  bocn  erected  and 
equipped,  the  outlay  upon  it  will  have  become  so  large  that  it 
would  be  utter  folly  to  use  the  instrument  for  work  other  than 
that  for  which  its  great  power  renders  it  spec'ally  fitted.  The 
result  of  this  is  that  our  modern  giant  telescopes  are,  with  few 
exceptions,  employed,  not  in  doing  work  which  was  formerly  done 
by  smaller  instruments,  but  in  doing  work  which  formerly  could 
not  be  done  at  all.  Such,  for  instance,  is  the  bulk  of  stellar 
spectroscopic  work,  including  determinations  of  velocity  in  the 
line  of  sight,  the  measurement  of  close  double  stars,  the  spectro- 
scopic examination  of  nebulte,  the  discovery  of  new  planetary 
satellites,  and  similar  matters.  We  see,  therefore,  that  the 
establishment  of  these  powerful  telescopes  has  been  accompanied 
by  the  development  of  new  fields  of  research,  and  that  the  work 
which  was  formerly  done — and  can  still  be  well  done — by  instru- 
ments of  moderate  size  has  not  been  reduced."  • 

Nor  is  this  all.  Not  only  are  the  new  giant  tele- 
scopes necessarily  devoted  almost  entirely  to  work  which 
smaller  instruments  cannot  touch,  thus  leaving  to  the 
latter  the  observations  within  their  compass,  but  there 
are  departments  of  work  for  which  a  gi'eat  refractor 
is  as  wholly  unsuited  as  a  hundred-ton  gun  would  be  for 
fighting  a  Red  Indian  or  shooting  snipe.  Great  light- 
gathering  power  is  not  always  the  most  important 
quality  ;  for  some  researches  broad  grasp  of  field  is  far 
more  essential,  and  here  the  giant  telescopes  are  prac- 
tically useless. 

Prof.  E.  E.  Barnard,  in  one  of  his  lectures  on 
Astronomical  Photography,  illustrated  this  point  by 
showing  a  photograph  of  tho  great  nebula  in  Andro- 
meda, with  all  the  marvellous  detail  of  ring  within  ring 
which  the  photographs  of  Dr.  Roberts  and  his  followers 
in  this  field  have  made  familiar  to  us.     Then  over  this 


*  Journal   of   the    British    Astronomical   Association,   Vol.    X., 
No.  1,  p.  8.       " 


10 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[January  1,  1900. 


he  would  place  a  mask,  cutting  down  the  field  of  view 
to  the  area  which  was  the  largest  which  the  great 
36-inch  refractor  of  the  Lick  Observatory  could  com- 
mand. It  was  seen  at  once  that,  however  powerful 
the  light-g'-asp  of  that  telescope,  it  was  quite  beyond  it 
to  give  any  idea  of  the  structure  of  so  large  a  body  as 
the  Andromeda  nebula,  when  considered  as  a  whole. 

But  there  are  other  objects  in  the  heavens  of  far 
vaster  area  than  the  Andiomeda  nebula,  and  to  deal 
with  these  in  their  full  extent  requires  a  wider  field 
than  any  telescope  can  cover,;  they  must  be  observed 
directly  with  the  unassisted  eye. 

There  are,  then,  definite  branches  of  astronomy  in 
which  the  telescope  is  not  only  unnecesary  but,  more 
than  that,  it  is  a  hindrance.  Apart,  however,  from 
this,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  the  science  was  pursued 
with  great  success  for  some  thousands  of  years  before 
ever  the  telescope  was  even  conceived.  The  length 
of  the  year,  the  obliquity  of  the  ecliptic,  the  fact 
and  amount  of  precession,  the  chief  lunar  inequali- 
ties, the  inclinations  of  the  planetary  orbits,  and  their 
relative  dimensions  were  all  determined  by  direct  eye 
observation,  and  with  a  really  remarkable  approxima- 
tion to  the  truth.  Indeed,  in  our  own  day  the  same 
feat  has  been  repeated,  for.  as  readers  of  Knowledge 
will  remember,*  there  is  still  living  in  Orissa  the  Hindu 
astronomer,  Chandrasekhara,  who,  with  home-made  in- 
struments and  without  optical  assistance,  has  redeter- 
mined the  elements  of  the  chief  members  of  the  solai- 
svstem  with  a  most  astonishing  accuracy.  Work  of  this 
kind  may  not  indeed  "  increase  the  sum  of  human 
knowledge,"  for  it  is  to  repeat  with  very  small  and  im 
perfect  means  what  is  being  done  with  the  most  perfect 
appliances  in  the  great  public  ob.servatories  of  the 
world.  But  it  is  far  from  being  waste  time  and  effort 
on  that  account.  As  a  training  in  keenness  of  perception 
and  in  habits  of  order  and  accuracy  in  obsei-vation  it 
will  be  of  the  utmost  service.  It  is  not  every  man  who 
climbs  the  ropes  of  the  gymnasium  who  expects  or 
wishes  to  become  a  sailor,  and  so  to  turn  the  skill  he 
acquires  to  direct  service  in  exactly  the  same  line  ;  but 
the  strengthening  of  his  muscles  and  the  increase  in 
agility  are  solid  gains  to  him  none  the  less. 

Mr.  Maw's  wordsf  on  this  subject  also  are  well  worth 
quoting,  and  I  make  no  apologj'  for  introducing 
them  :  — 

"What was  done  in  the  olden  times  can  be  done  in  the  present 
dav.  and  I  wish  to  prominently  direct  the  attention  of  beginners 
to  the  fact  that  by  the  employ  in  ent  of  quite  simple  apparatus  they 
may  make  observations  which  will  hi ing  home  to  them  in  a  way 
which  mere  reading  can  never  do.  a  knowledge  of  many  astronomical 
phenomena  which  they  will  find  to  be,  not  only  of  immediate 
interest,  but  of  great  value  to  them  in  their  further  studies 

"  What  I  wish  to  urge,  therefore,  is,  that  those  commencing  the 
stuf'y  of  astronomy  should  not  be  content  with  reading  only,  hut 
should  work  in  the  open  air,  faithfully  and  systematically  recording 
their  observations,  however  elementary  these  may  be.  I  lay  great 
stress  on  this  latter  point,  because  unrecorded  observations  have, 
as  a  rule,  little  educational  value.  The  mere  fact  of  describing  m 
writing  any  observation,  however  simple,  which  has  been  made  is 
of  immense  assistance  in  securing  completeness  and  accuracy.  Of 
cours",  the  country  offers  greater  facilities  than  towns  do  for  this 
out-of-door  work,  but  there  are  few  towns  where  access  cannot  be 
had  to  some  convenient  site  giving  a  fairly  clear  horizon  and 
Bi'.fficiently  free  from  traffic  to  allow  of  star  maps  being  referred  to 
without  serious  inconvenience.  Naturally  tl  e  beginner's  fust  en- 
deavour will  be  to  identify  the  brightest  stars  and  trace  out  approxi- 
mately the  .onfines  of  the  various  constellations.  Continuing  this 
study  he  will  gradually  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  paths  followed  by 

•  See  Knowledge  for  November,  1899,  p.  257. 
t  Journal  of    ihf    British   Astronomical  Association,   Vol.   X., 
No.  1,  p.  12. 


the  stars  in  their  courses  from  rising  to  setting,  and  obtain  a  clear  idea 
of  the  position  of  tlie  apparent  axis  of  this  motion.  As  time  goes  on, 
he  will  further  notice  that  the  constellations  he  has  identified  set 
earlier  and  earlier  each  evening,  and  that  other  constellations 
previously  unseen  will  come  into  view  on  the  eastern  horizon. 
Further,  he  will  notice  that  the  path  followed  by  the  moon  in  her 
course  through  the  sky  not  only  differs  at  different  parts  of  a 
lunation,  but  varies  for  any  given  part  of  a  lunation  at  different 
seasons  of  the  year.  As  his  knowledge  of  the  sky  progresses,  he 
will  be  able  to  identify  any  bright  planets  which  may  be  visible, 
and  to  observe  their  changes  of  position  with  regard  to  the  adjacent 
stars,  changes  which  he  will  do  well  to  note  in  his  sketch-book  for 
future  reference  and  consideration.  Now,  the  beginner  who  has 
learned  these  elementary  facts  by  actual  observation  of  the  sky, 
and  has  subsequently  by  the  aid  of  his  text-books  mastered  the 
reasons  for  what  he  has  observed,  ^"ill  have  made  a  very  fair  start 
in  tlie  study  of  astronomy,  and  he  will,  I  venture  to  think,  have 
acquired  a  far  keener  interest  in  the  motions  of  the  heavenly  bodies 
than  he  would  have  possessed  if  he  had  confined  his  attention  solely 
to  hooks,  or  if  his  open-air  observations  liad  not  been  of  a  systematic 
character.  He  will  also  find  that  by  the  aid  of  some  very  simple 
home-made  instruments,  such  as  a  cross-staff,  a  rude  form  of  transit 
instrument,  and  other  similar  appliances,  he  will  be  able  to  make 
observations  which  serve  to  still  more  impress  upon  his  mind  the 
facts  he  has  been  learning.  Of  course,  such  observations  must  be 
crude  and  wanting  in  accuracy,  but  they  will,  nevertheless,  bo 
found  to  serve  a  very  useful  educational  purpose." 

It  is  therefore  possible  to  become  a  real  astronomical 
observer  without  a  telescope  and  without  any  outlay 
except  that  necessary  to  procure  a  good  star  atlas.  And 
although  it  may  appear  a  useless  labour  thus  to  traverse 
for  oneself  the  steps  by  which  the  early  astronomers 
attained  a  knowledge  of  the  universe,  yet  the  value  of 
the  training  involved  will  be  immense,  and  the  delight 
to  be  derived  from  personally  watching  in  progress  the 
majestic  movement  of  the  heavens,  the  sublimest 
machine  in  creation,  will  soon  be  felt  to  be  en- 
thralling. 

But  however  great  the  interest  that  may  be  taken  in 
work  of  the  kind  just  described,  the  observer  will 
be  sure,  ere  long,  to  desire  to  do  something  which  shall 
be  of  value  for  its  own  sake,  as  well  as  for  its  secondary 
effect  as  training.  And,  as  has  been  already  intimated, 
there  are  certain  fields,  by  no  means  too  fully  culti- 
vated, which  are  full  of  interest,  and  for  which  no  giant 
telescopes  are  required  ;  indeed,  in  these  domains,  the 
unaided  eye  is  the  ideal  instrument. 

First  of  all,  there  is  the  observation  of  Meteors.  The 
past  November  has  afforded  a  great  deal  of  popular 
interest,  of  a  sort,  in  the  subject  of  meteors.  Articles 
and  letters  in  all  the  newspapers  of  the  land  excited 
general  expectation  to  the  utmost.  Everyone  was 
anxious  to  see  a  display  of  natural  fireworks,  exhibited 
without  charge,  and  which  would  utterly  outdo  any 
efforts  of  human  pyrotechny.  It  is  perhaps  no  loss  to 
science  that  the  expectation  was  doomed  to  disappoint- 
ment. But  though  everyone  was  eager  to  be  a  spectator 
at  a  magnificent  display,  there  are  very  few  indeed 
who  have  cared  to  become  serious  observers  of 
meteors.  Yet  the  work  is  of  great  interest  and  value, 
if  systematically  carried  out ;  and  the  work  of  a  single 
observer,  Mr.  W.  F.  Denning,  has  supplied  us  to-day 
with  the  most  perplexing  problem  that  still  remains 
without  solution  of  all  astronomy  ;  the  problem  of 
"  stationary,"  or  "  long  enduring  radiants." 

Next,  comes  the  study  of  the  Milky  Way.  Here 
again  no  telescope  is  required.  A  clear  sky,  keen  sight, 
and  great  patience  are  the  requisites.  And  this  field 
is  also  one  which  scarcely  any  observer  has  taken  up. 
When  we  have  mentioned  Heis,  Boeddicker,  Easton, 
and  Wesley,  we  have  almost  exhausted  the  roll  of  ex- 
plorers of  the  Galaxy.  Yet  night  after  night  its 
mysterious  convolutions  are  drawn  out  athwart  the  sky, 


Jajid.uiy  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


11 


the  ring  which  encloses  our  universe ;  the  true  Mitgai-d 
snake  that  encircles  the  entire  world.  Only  to  the 
most  constant  and  patient  scrutiny  will  it  give  up  its 
secrets ;  yet  how  large  a  proportion  of  the  mystery  of 
our  Cosmos  is  involved  in  an  understanding  of  its 
structure  who  can  tell  ? 

Thirdly,  there  is  the  Zodiacal  Light.  Wc  in  these 
high  northern  latitudes  are  not  well  placed  for  watch- 
ing it ;  but  it  can  be  seen  from  time  to  time,  and  a 
thorough  use  of  the  opportunities  that  do  come  will  go  far 
to  compensate  for  our  less  favourable  position.  And  it 
is  worth  mentioning,  in  this  connexion,  that  the  Gegen- 
schein.  the  faint  counterglow  to  the  sun,  more  difficult 
and  elusive  than  the  Zodiacal  Light  proper,  was  inde- 
pendently discovered  by  an  Englishman,  and  not  a 
dweller  in  Southern  England  at  that,  by  Mr.  Backhouse 
of  Sunderland. 

In  the  Zodiacal  Light,  and  the  Gegenschein,  we  have 
again  objects  of  the  greatest  interest  and  mystery, 
which  are  quite  unfitted  for  telescopic  examination,  are 
truly  naked-eye  objects,  and  which  to  this  day  have 
never  been  sufficiently  observed. 

Fourthly,  there  are  Aurora;.  At  the  present  period 
of  the  sunspot  cycle  there  is  no  reason  to  expect  any 
immediate  recurrence  of  these  beautiful  phenomena. 
But  careful  training  in  the  knowledge  of  the  constel- 
lations and  in  the  throe  branches  of  work  just  men- 
tioned will  be  the  best  possible  preparation  for  properly 
observing  Aurorae  when  they  set  in  again.  And  this  is 
most  important.  After  a  great  display  it  is  very  easy 
to  collect  a  number  of  most  vivid  and  jiicturesque  de- 
scriptions, but  really  useful  and  scientific  accounts  are 
apt  to  be  sadly  wanting. 

All  these  four  branches  of  astronomy  are  essentially 
for  the  naked  eye ;  in  a  fifth,  that  of  variable  stars, 
a  great  deal  may  be  done  without  a  telescope  in  the 
strict  sense  of  the  word,  that  is  to  say,  a  good  opera- 
glass  will  suffice  for  a  considerable  number  of  objects. 
An  opera-glass  also  greatly  adds  to  the  number  of 
objects  which  are  brought  within  the  observer's  range 
of  vision.  In  the  series  of  papers  to  which  the  present 
is  intended  to  serve  as  introduction,  it  is  my  intention 
therefore  not  to  limit  myself  entirely  to  work  which 
can  be  done  without  any  optical  aid  at  all,  but  to  in 
elude  in  "  Astronomy  without  a  Telescope  '  observa- 
tions for  which  a  good  field-glass  will  suffice. 

My  programme,  therefore,  may  be  divided  into  four 
parts.  First,  lessons  in  the  configuration  of  the  con- 
stellations, so  that  the  principal  stars  may  be  easily 
recognised.  Second,  simple  observations  with  the  naked 
eye  for  training  in  the  habits  of  astronomical  work. 
Third,  observations  with  the  naked  eye  of  Meteors,  the 
Galaxy,  the  Zodiacal  Light  and  Aurora.  Lastly,  obser- 
vations with  the  help  of  an  opera^glass ;  mostly  of 
Variable  Stars. 


THE    CONSTITUENTS    OF    THE    SUN. 

By   A.   Fowler,   f.r.a.s. 

Of  all  the  heavenly  bodies  open  to  our  enquiries, 
the  Sun  is  the  one  which  can  be  best  submitted  to  the 
processes  of  spectrum  analysis ;  in  the  first  place 
because  its  light  is  so  brilliant  that  instruments  of  great 
power  can  be  utilised,  and  in  the  second  place  because 
it  is  near  enough  to  admit  of  its  component  parts  being 
separately  observed.  Through  the  use  of  spectroscopes 
of  high  dispersion,  and  the  increased  attention  given  to 
spectroscopic  work  during  recent  total  eclipses,  the  data 
at  our  disposal  for  deductions  as  to  the  chemical  con- 


stituents of  the  sun  have  of  late  been  enormously  ex- 
tended, and  it  may  serve  a  useful  purpose  to  briefly 
summarise  the  present  state  of.  our  knowledge  on  this 
subject. 

Information  relating  to  the  solar  elements  is  arrived 
at  by  three  different  routes.  First  of  all,  there  is  the 
Fraunhofer  spectrum  of  dark  lines,  by  which  we  may 
investigate  the  constituents  of  that  part  of  the  sun's 
atmosphere  which  produces  discontinuous  absorption; 
then  there  is  the  bright  line  spectrum  of  the  chromo- 
sphere and  prominences ;  and,  finally,  that  of  tho 
corona.     (Fig.  1.) 

g'  = 

te»5 


o-  a 

**-  2  o 

O     o    Cj 


o  =.2 
o  g 

^    3    O 

-5  i  a 

2  i~ 

a   c<  „ 


■"■t  H 

-^   U-,   tt-i 

~    O    O 

-=  5  3  oi 
^  ^  g  S3 

Ml. "  a 

°  .B  f^ 

As  to  the  Fraunhofer  spectrum,  the  most  recent  re- 
search bearing  upon  the  elements  entering  into  the  sun'i 
composition  is  that  of  Professor  Rowland,  who  has 
catalogued  close  upon  twenty  thousand  lines  between 
wave-lengths  2975.5  and  7331.2  by  the  use  of  his  splen- 
did concave  gratings.  Some  hundreds  of  these  dark 
lines  owe  their  origin  to  the  absorbing  powers  of  their 
own  atmosphere,  through  which  the  sun  is  of  necessity 
viewed ;  but,  as  a  rule,  these  are  readily  distinguished 
from  true  solar  lines  by  their  increased  thickness  when 
the  sun  is  near  the  horizon,  by  their  freedom  from  the 
displacement  which  is  common  to  all  true  solar  lines 
when  the  advancing  or  receding  limb  of  the  sun  is 
observed,  or  by  their  increased  thickness  when  the  air 
contains  a  great  deal  of  water  vapour.     (Fig.  2.) 

The  chemical  significance  of  tho  true  solar  lines  is 
most  satisfactorily  determined  by  pliotographing  side 
by  side  the  spectrum  of  the  sun  and  that  of  the  sub- 
stance under  investigation.  Such  a  comparison  at  once 
shows  whether  there  are  any  coincidences  of  the  solar 
and  terrestrial  lines,  and  if  there  is  an  exact  agreement, 
we  are  entitled  to  conclude,  in  accordance  with 
Kirchoff's  law,  that  the  substance  in  question  is  present 


12 


KNOWLEDGE, 


[Jantjakt  1,  1900. 


among  the  vapours  which  surround  the  bright  shell  from 
which  most  of  the  sun's  light  proceeds.  This  method 
was  adopted  by  Sir  Norman  Lockyer  about  twenty-five 


f  K     j^-  k       1        ^ 


"    p  f 


f. 

,       ,' 

1     . 

I 

'i.- 

'     !■ 

1           i 

Or 

1     1, 

I 

-*' 

!     r 

-''     . 

i 

;      1 

1 

ji 

a  ■ 

- 

-A}     r 

. 

;•< 

>. 

X    ■■ 

'■    '     t 

ii 

a 


Fig.  2. — A  portion  of  the  Solar  Spectrum  sliowiug  intensification  of 
lines   due   to   aqueous  vapour  in  our  atmosphere  wlien  the   air   is 
moist.     (Crewe.)* 

years  ago,  and  more  recently  Prof.  Rowland  has,  in  this 
way,  compared  the  spectrum  of  the  sun  with  that  of 
every  known  element  except  gallium.  The  majority  of 
the  atronger  lines  have  now  been  identified  with  respect 


t  a 
o  o 

,'  3 

-  -O 


Sel 


J;  ^1 


to  the  elements  which  produce  tlieni.     To  the  substan- 
p.es  jrecognised  by  Rowland,  Messrs.  Runge  and  Paschenf 


*  Astrophysioal  Journal,  Vol.  IV.,  1896,  page  324. 

■   +  Astrophysioal  Journal,  Vol.  IV.,  1896,  p.  318;  Vol.  VIII.,  1898, 
p.  73.  I 


ines,  however,  still 
lines.   Here,  then. 


have  added  oxygen,  the  presence  of  which  may  now  be 
considered  as  demonstrated  (fig.  4),  and  Hartley  and 
Ramage  have  added  gallium. | 

Some  thousands  of  the  Fraunhofer 
belong  to  the  category  of  "  unknown 
is  a  great  field  for  further  enquiry,  for  it  is.  perhaps, 
too  early  to  conclude  that  these  "  unknown  "  lines  have 
no  terrestrial  equivalents,  or  even  that  they  represent 
the  dissociated  products  of  our  terrestrial  elements 
The  latter  view  in  fact  appears  to  some  extent  nega- 
tived by  the  recent  researches  of  Sir  Norman  Lockyer, 
which  show  that  the  first  stage  in  the  dissociation  of  a 
metal  is  indicated  by  the  appearance  of  enhanced  lines 
(lines  which  are  brighter  in  the  spark  than  in  the  arc 
spectrum),  and  in  the  case  of  iron  and  other  well-known 
metals  these  enhanced  lines  probably  do  not  appear  as 


774- 

1 

77S          776          77 

1,1,1 

7 

778         779 

1        ,        1        , 

780 

Fig.  4. — The  Hues  of  oxygen  in  the  Solar  Spectrum.       (Runge  and 
Paschen.)     (1)  Solar  Spectrum.      (2)  Oxygen  vacuum  tube. 

such  among  the  dark  lines  of  the  solar  spectrum.  The  sub- 
stances which  we  can  best  compare  with  the  Fraunhofer 
lines  agree  in  indicating  that  the  absorbing  vapours 
which  produce  them  exist  under  conditions  very  similar 
to  those  which  exist  in  the  electric  arc.  It  may  be, 
therefore,  that  some  of  the  unidentified  lines,  which  are 
mostly  feeble,  represent  lines  in  the  arc  spectra  of 
known  substances  which  are  so  faint  as  to  escape  de- 
tection unless  photographs  are  taken  with  very  long  ex- 
posures. In  fact,  the  tables  of  lines  recently  published 
by  Hasselberg,  and  by  Prof.  Rowland  himself,  for  vana- 
dium, chromium,  and  other  elements,  leave  little  doubt 
that  many  of  the  unidentified  lines  in  Rowland's  solar 
tables  are  to  be  accounted  for  in  this  way. 

Another  important  point  also  appears  to  have  received 
insufficient  attentiou.  It  is  by  no  means  impossible  that 
among  the  constituents  of  the  earth's  crust  are  many 
still  unrecognised  elements  which  exist  in  such  small 
quantities  as  to  evade  the  ordinary  processes  of  chemical 
analysis,  but  which  may  yet  be  revealed  to  the  delicate 
eye  of  the  spectroscope.  As  the  usual  practice  in  the 
matching  of  solar  lines  is  to  deal  with  elements  in  as 
pure  a  state  as  possible,  it  would  appear  important  to 
make  a  spectroscopic  comparison  with  the  sun  of  sub- 
stances as  they  occur  naturally  in  the  form  of  minerals 
and  rocks.  Prof.  Hartley  has,  in  fact,  already  found 
that  some  of  the  rarer  metals,  especially  lithium  and 
gallium,  are  very  widely  diffused  in  mineral  substances, 
and  this  furnishes  an  excellent  illustration  of  the  deli- 
cacy of  the  spectroscopic  method.  Until  such  mineral 
comparisons  have  been  made,  it  would  be  unwise  to 
suppose  that  all  unidentified  lines  of  the  solar  spectrum 
owe  their  origin  to  non-terrestrial  matter. 

In  the  investigation  of  the  constituents  of  the  sun,  as 
already  remarked,  we  are  not  limited  to  the  dark  line 
spectrum.  The  bright  line  spectra  of  the  chromosphere 
and  prominences  may  be  examined  any  time  the  sun  is 
visible,  and  by  taking  advantage  of  total  eclipses,  the 
outlying  parts  which  constitute  the  corona  are  opened 


X  Asfnyphi/sical  Journal,  Vol.  IX  ,  1899,  p.  Li4. 


Jaxiaby  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


13 


to  iuvestigatiou.  The  photographs  takcu  during  reoent 
eclipses,  some  of  which  are  fiuuiliar  to  the  readers  of 
Knowledge,  give  very  complete  data  as  to  chromo- 
sphere, promiueuces,  aud  corona,  and  for  our  present 
purposes  we  may  take  these  as  including  practically  all 
that  is  certainly  known  of  these  appendages. 

These  photographs  indicate  that  the  chromosphere  in 
its  upper  parts — live  or  sis  thousand  miles  above  the 
photosphere — consists  chiefly  of  livdrogcu,  helium,  and 
calcium,  while  at  lower  levels  we  get  indications  ot 
metallic  substances  in  tlie  numerous  lines  which  consti- 
tute the  so-called  "  flash  "  spectrum.  As  is  now  well- 
known,  the  flash  spectrum  is  not  a  simple  reversal  of 
Fraunhofcr  lines  :  while  the  majority  of  the  25i"inrip<i' 
dark  lines  probably  have  corresponding  bright  lines  in 
the  flash  spectrum,  a  great  number  of  bright  lines  not 
represented  with  proper  intensity  by  dark  lines  make 
their  appearance  (fig.  1).  Sir  Norman  Lockyer  has  traced 
many  of  these  bright  lines  to  known  substances,  such  as 
iron,  titanium,  and  so  on.  He  has  shown  that  tiles'? 
previously  "  unknown"  lines  of  the  chromosphere  spec- 
trum are  mostly  lines  which  become  intensified,  or 
■'  enhanced."  when  we  compare  a  spark  with  an  arc 
spectrum  of  the  same  substance,  and  in  the  present 
stage  of  the  inquiry  it  is  supposed  that  the  enhance- 
ment of  these  lines  is  due  to  the  higher  temperature  of 
the  spark.  If  we  grant  that  the  region  which  pro- 
duces the  flash  spectrum  is  at  a  temperature  higher  than 
that  which  by  its  absorp'tion  produces  the  Fraunhofer 
lines,  we  not  only  have  a  pretty  complete  explanation 
of  the  origins  of  the  lines,  but  we  have  a  reason  for  the 
want  of  similarity  between  the  flash  and  the  Fraun- 
hofer spectra.  So  far  as  there  is  any  similarity  between 
the  two,  it  may  reasonably  be  ascribed  to  the  fact  that 
the  same  substances  are  involved  in  the  production  of 
the  dark  and  bright  line  spectra,  and  that  many  lines 
persist  through  a  great  range  of  temperature.  But 
whatever  may  be  the  physical  explanation,  the  dis- 
covery of  the  enhanced  lines,  aided  by  that  of  helium, 
removes  a  great  deal  of  the  supposed  non-terrestrial 
matter  from  the  chromosphere,  and  there  is  probably 
now  no  greater  a  percentage  of  unfamiliar  lines  in  the 
chromosphere  than  in  the  solar  spectrum  itself. 

The  spectra  of  the  prominences  show  that  the  sub- 
stances present  are  the  same  as  those  which  exist  ii 
the  chromosphere,  no  additional  elements  being  cei'- 
tainly  indicated. 

When  we  come  to  the  corona,  however,  we  have  still 
to  acknowledge  ourselves  in  the  region  of  the  unknown. 
First  and  foremost  in  its  spectrum  is  the  green  line 
which  has,  until  quite  recently,  been  known  as  1474K, 
but  which  we  now  know  to  be  much  more  refrangible 
than  this  line.  Photographs  taken  at  Viziadrug,  India, 
in  1898,  (fig.  1),  show  that  while  the  bright  1474K  line 
is  truly  chromospheric  (Lambda  5316.79)  and  corres- 
ponds to  an  enhanced  line  of  iron,  that  of  the  corona 
has  a  wave  length  5303.7.*  and  has  not  yet  been  identi- 
fied, unless  Prof.  Nasini's  supposed  new  gas  from 
Pozzuoli  turns  out  to  be  its  terrestrial  equivalent.  As 
to  the  other  coronal  lines  which  have  been  photographed 
during  recent  eclipses,  no  satisfactory  evidence  as  to 
their  origin  is  forthcoming,  but  the  discovery  of  helium 
encourages  us  to  hope  that  the  coronal  gases  will  be 
also  eventually  found  upon  earth. 

In  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge  it  does  not 
seem  possible  to  give  a  perfectly  trustworthy  list  of  the 
elements  certainly  present  in  the  sun.     One  published 


•  Hoy.  Soc.  Proc,  Vol.  LXIV.,  p.  168. 


by  Rowland,  in  1891,  is  the  most  extensive,  but  the 
more  recently  published  tables  do  not  seem  to  afford 
complete  justification  for  it.  Taking  the  tables,  how- 
ever, and  including  oxygen,  gallium,  and  the  chromo- 
spheric and  coronal  gases,  we  may  summarise  the  most 
probable  elements  as  follows  :  — 


Alumiuiuiii 

■AsU'viutiit 

BiLritiin 

Ciulmium 

Calcium 

C'arbou 

Cerium 

Cobalt 

Cop])pr 

Coronium* 

Chromium 


Jt.ydrogoM 

Heliumt 

I  rou 

Lunthanuui 

Magnesium 

Manganese 

Molvlidenum 

Neodymium 

Nickel 

Oxygen 

Palladium 


I'otassiinu 

Scandium 

Silicon 

Silver 

Sodium 

Strontium 

Titanium 

Vanadium 

Yttrium 

Zinc 

Zirconium 


In    addition    there    is    evidence    which    suggests    the 
[jossible  presence  of  the  following  elements  :  — 


Bervllium 

Didymium 

Krbiuni 

Indium 

Lead 


Mercury 
Niobium 
I'latiuum 
Rhodium 


Ruthenium 
Thallium 
Tin 
Tungsten 


Besides  these,  Rowland,  in  his  1891  list,  includes 
germanium  and  glucinum  among  the  elements  present, 
and  iridium,  osmium,  tantalum,  thorium,  and  uranium 
among  those  doubtfully  present,  while  Lockyer  con- 
cluded that  lead  and  uranium  were  certainly  present, 
and  lithium,  glucinum,  rubidium,  cresium,  and  bismuth 
probably  present. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  constituents  of  the  sun 
approximate  to  those  of  our  own  earth,  and  Prof. 
Rowland  was  probably  not  far  from  the  truth  when  he 
remarked  some  years  ago  that  "  were  the  whole  earth 
heated  to  the  temperature  of  the  sun  its  spectrum 
would  probably  resemble  that  of  the  sun  very  closely." 
In  each  case  our  knowledge  is  fragmentary.  Our  ter- 
restrial chemistry  is  but  skin  deep,  and  our  solar 
chemistry  is  only  that  of  the  sun's  atmosphere,  for  we 
as  yet  know  nothing  either  of  the  interior  of  the  earth 
or  of  the  vast  region  which  lies  beneath  the  sun's 
photosphere.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  also  that  as 
regards  the  sun  our  knowledge  is  limited  to  the  indi- 
cations of  the  spectrum,  which  in  the  case  of  a  mixture 
of  substances  may  render  no  account  of  some  of  the 
elements  present.  Thus,  although  we  are  not  yet  in  a 
position  to  assert  that  the  composition  of  the  stin  is 
identical  with  that  of  the  earth,  it  would  not  be  easy 
to  justify  the  view  that  there  is  any  fundamental  dif- 
ference. 

[For  the  tise  of  figures  1  and  3  we  are  indebted  to 
Sir  Norman  Lockyer,  and  for  figures  2  aud  4   to 
editors  of  the  "  Astrophysical  Journal."] 


the 


"TREES  STRUCK   BY  LIGHTNING." 

By  Howard  B.  Little. 

Throughout  the  past  year  correspondence  has 
been  carried  on  under  the  above  heading  in  Knowledgk. 
It  was  in  January  last  that  "  A.  C.  "  gave  an  account 
of  an  elm  tree  which  had  been  practically  shattered  by 
the  dread  stroke;  and  he  asked,  '^  What  actually  takes 
place?  What  is  the  force  exerted?"  In  the  following 
month,  again  on  the  correspondence  page,  I  answered 
these  questions  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  pointing  out 
that  our  ascertained  facts  were  few,  but  that  electro- 


*  In  corona  ouly.    t  In  cliromosphere  only.   ( Asterium  and  helium, 
ccording  to  Lockyer.  are  the  two  constituents  of  the  eleveite  gas.) 


14 


KNOWLEDGE 


[January  1,  1900. 


lytic  action,  combustion,  and  violent  evaporation  were 
doubtless  all  present.  I  further  suggested  that  the 
assistance  of  Botanists  was  required  for  the  complete 
solution  of  the  problems. 

In  the  October  number  of  Knowledge  a  most  in- 
teresting letter  from  Baron  Kaulbars  was  published. 
Here  much  detail  was  given  concerning  the  fate  of 
various  trees,  as  also  an  account  of  the  destruction  of 
a  stone  monument  which  was,  at  intei-vals,  braced  in- 
ternally by  iron  angles.  But  strangely  enough  the 
writer,  in  giving  his  conclusion  (which,  to  save  space  I 
will  write  "  steam  ),  altogether  overlooks  the  terrific 
force  in  Xature — Electro-chemical  action.  Further, 
while  he  says  that  a  very  old  dry  tree  may  be  burned 
down  he  seems  to  overlook  the  fact  that  the  insulator 
i-esin  is  highly  inflammable.  Again,  one  finds  it  diffi- 
cult to  suppose  that  in  the  case  of  the  tower  the  path 
of  the  lightning  was  from  iron  to  iron.  If  however 
this  was  actually  so,  we  are  confronted  with  a  remark- 
able difficulty  to  which  I  shall  refer  later. 

Next,  in  November  last,  Lord  Hampton,  after  en- 
dorsing the  statements  made  by  Baron  Kaulbars,  states 
that  upon  one  occasion  (of  which  details  are  given), 
Faraday,  pronouncing  upon  a  smitten  tree,  asserted  that 
the  lightning  had  gone  down  the  hollow  stem  and, 
meeting  with  damp  at  the  bottom,  generated  steam, 
so  causing  an  explosion.  Now,  with  all  deference,  I 
would  submit  that  there  appears  to  be  an  error  here. 
Faraday  knew  well  enough  that  the  resistance  of  air  is 
enormously  higher  than  that  of  any  wood.  By  air  I 
mean  of  course  air  at  more  or  less  normal  pressure. 
Why  then  did  the  lightning  seek  the  path  suggested  ? 
We  must  regard  trees  as  being  in  a  measure  lightning 
conductors.  This  brings  me  to  the  undeveloped  argu- 
ment suggested  by  the  case  of  the  tower  which  Baron 
Kaulbars  mentioned.  Did  the  lightning  follow  a  track 
(which  was  in  all  probability  tortuous)  through  each 
piece  of  iron,  going  always  from  one  to  that  next  it  ? 
I  doubt  it.     But  of  this  more  anon. 

A  few  days  since  the  Editors  handed  me  two  letters 
which  they  had  received  recently  upon  this  question. 
The  first,  signed  E.  W.  Mitford,  gives  very  many  instan- 
ces of  trees  having  been  struck.  His  first  case  is  that 
of  an  Elm,  and  the  damage  done  he  describes  as  having 
been  via  "  several  serpentine  channels  through  the  bark, 
and  reaching  half  way  up  the  tree  from  the  ground.' 
Now  this  serpentining  is  not  difficult  to  account  for  (it 
was  mentioned  in  October),  the  fact  being  that  the 
current  goes  from  point  to  point  by  the  easiest  route. 
But  why  the  suggestion  of  ''  from  the  ground  "  ?  The 
idea  of  return  shock,  or  earth's  potential  is  difficult  of 
conception  here.  A  tree  may  easily  enough  be  struck, 
first,  half  way  up  its  height,  and  further,  there  cannot 
be  much  doubt  that  the  trees  are  less  susceptible  to 
damage  (of  a  serious  natui'e)  at  their  tops.  The  same 
correspondent  remarks  that  he  has  frequently  seen 
lightning  rise  in  a  tapering  pillar  from  the  earth.  This 
is  no  doubt  the  so  called  "  Luminous  Rain.  "  Oh  that 
I  had  space  to  deal  with  it  here !  ! 

The  next  letter  is  that  of  "  An  Old  Rug."  May  his 
hearth  never  grow  cold  !  !  He,  dating  from  Jamaica, 
tells  how  the  top  of  a  tree  was  taken  off  and  earned 
away  with  tremendous  violence.  The  branches  too  were 
cut  off  and  strewn  round  a  hole  in  the  earth  where  the 
root  had  been.  (I  want  in  this  connection  one  detail — 
was  the  hole  lined  wi'-h  earth  in  its  normal  condition. 
or  was  there  a  sleeve  of  vitrified  sand  ?)  The  trunk  of 
the  tree  was  completely  shattered.  That  is  to  say  here 
again  the  top  was  only  injured  by  removal. 


Finally,  in  the  December  issue,  P.  de  Jersey  Grut 
gave  particulars  of  a  case  which  is  perhaps  more  in- 
teresting than  any  yet  cited.  In  this  instance  the  tree 
struck  was  encircled  by  a  rope  some  twenty-five  feet 
from  the  ground,  and  it  so  chanced  that  an  end  of  the 
rope  stood  out  from  the  bark  of  the  tree,  so  that  during 
the  earlier  part  of  a  rain-storm  the  tree  was  damp 
from  +he  top  to  the  rojie,  while  the  lower  portion  of  the 
trunk  was  kept  comparatively  dry.  The  tree  in  this 
condition  was  struck,  the  lower  part  only  being 
damaged.  And  the  damage  followed,  downwards,  a 
path  which  the  twist  in  the  fibre  of  the  wood  made 
easiest. 

And  now,  endeavouring  to  gather  up  those  thread 
ends  which  I  am  painfully  conscious  of  having  scat- 
tered; the  methods  of  lightning  seem  erratic.  The 
word  "chance"  is  all  too  often  misunderstood;  it 
really  means  the  natural  effects  of  causes  which  were 
unexpected,  or  even  unknown.  And  lightning  moves  at 
a  speed  that  is  literally  beyond  our  ken,  save  for  figures 
which  convince  only  the  few. 

From  all  this  then,  I  propose,  in  conclusion,  to  ven- 
ture upon  one  or  two  Isold  statements.  Suppose  an 
enormously  powerful  magnet  to  have  been  erected, 
several  feet  above  a  building,  and  further  suppose  that 
the  surrounding  air  be  filled  with  flying  masses  of 
steel  moving  "  lil  e  lightning.  "  What  would  be  the 
result?  Would  the  steel  that  came  near  go  to  the 
magnet?  Some  might,  but,  remembering  the  pre-sup- 
posed  (lightning)  velocity  many  of  these  masses  would 
swerve  from  their  paths  if  they  were  sufficiently  near, 
and  go  crashing  through  the  roof.  In  other  words,  a 
lightning  conductor  may  often  bring  destruction  just 
near  enough  to  destroy  that  which  it  has  been  set  up 
to  protect.  And  a  tree  top  may  bring  the  lightning 
to  its  own  immediate  neighbourhood,  yet,  not  quite  to 
itself,  so  that  it  is  not  extraordinary  if  the  tree  be 
struck  in  the  middle. 

I  am  painfully  conscious  that  I  have  not  done  jus- 
tice to  my  subject.  But,  as  a  lightning  conductor,  I 
seem  to  have  drawn  towards  me  a  vast  deal  of  (may  1 
say  matter  ?)  with  which  I  cannot  deal.  Careful  ob- 
servation, and  well  recorded  data  are  still  at  a  premium. 


ILtttcrs, 


[The  Editors  do  not  hold  themselves  responsible  for  the  opinioLS  or 
statements  of  correspondents.] 


'•  IS    THE    STELLAR    UNIVERSE    FINITE  ?" 

TO    THE    EDITORS    OF    KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — In  his  interesting  papers  on  the  above  sub- 
ject in  Knowledge  (July  and  November),  Mr.  Burns 
has  neglected  three  factors  which,  I  think,  must  be 
taken  into  consideration.  These  are  (1)  the  absorption 
of  light  by  our  atmosphere,  and  (2)  by  our  object- 
glasses  or  mirrors,  and  (3)  the  finite  sensibility  of  our 
eyes  and  photographic  plates. 

Suppose  for  a  moment  that  all  .stars  consists  of  two 
degrees  of  intrinsic  brightness,  their  differences  in 
photometric  magnitude  being  otherwise  due  to  differ- 
ences in  distance,  and  that  stars  are  uniformly  distri- 
buted through  space.  Then  with  a  given  aperture  we 
are  able  to  see  every  star  within  a  sphere  the  radius  of 
which  is  equal  to  the  greatest  distance  at  which  a  star 
of  the  second  (the  fainter)  degree  of  intrinsic  bright- 
ness can  only  just  be  seen  by  reason  of  the  three 
factors  mentioned.        Outside   this   sphere   we   have   a 


January  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


in 


shell  the  external  limit  of  which  is  the  maximum  dis- 
tance at  which  a  star  of  the  first  degree  of  intrinsic 
brightness  is  just  visible,  and  within  this  shell  only 
stars  of  the  first  degree  of  iutriusic  brightness  will  be 
visible  with  the  same  aperture.  But  will  an  increase 
of  aperture  render  visible  all  the  stars  of  the  second 
degree  of  intrinsic  brightness,  i.e.,  all  the  stars  lying 
within  the  shell  ?  It  will  not,  because  some  of  the 
stars — viz.,  those  near  the  outer  surface  of  the  shell — 
will  be  so  faint  that  their  feeble  rays  will  be  either 
entirely  absorbed,  or  so  much  absorbed  by  our  atmo- 
sphere and  telescope,  that  the  limited  sensibility  of  ou'- 
eyes  or  photographic  plates  will  be  unable  to  show 
them.  But  it  may  be  argued  that  these  second  degree 
stars  may  be  bright  enough  to  be  seen  with  the  larger 
apei-ture  even  from  the  outer  surface  of  the  shell.  Tliis 
may  be  true  in  the  limited  case  we  are  considering, 
but  not  when  we  consider  infinity. 

In  all  probability  stars  consist  of  100  or  1000  degrees 
of  intrinsic  brightness.  Wc  must  therefore  consider 
100  or  1000  shells  around  the  inner  sphere,  in  each  suc- 
ceeding one  of  which,  with  a  given  aperture,  fewer  stars 
are  seen.  If  the  feeble  rays  from  a  star  of  the  100th 
degree  of  intrinsic  brightness  bo  just  able  to  pene- 
trate our  atmosphere  from,  say.  the  .50th  shell,  then  all 
the  100th  degree  stars  beyond  this  distance  will  be 
quite  invisible  with  any  aperture.  Stars  of  the  100th 
and  99th  degrees  of  intrinsic  brightness  will  be  visible 
beyond  the  51st  shell;  those  of  the  100th,  99th,  and 
9Sth  degrees  beyond  the  52nd  shell,  and  so  on  till  we 
come  to  the  150th  shell,  where  stars  of  the  1st  degree 
of  intrinsic  brightness  become  invisible,  and  which 
therefore  forms  the  limit  of  the  visible  stellar  universe. 
Must  we  not,  then,  expect  a  thinning  out  of  faint  stars 
somewhat  similar  to  that  shown  in  fig.  2,  p.  154  (July)  :- 
And  may  we  not  therefore  brush  away  those  "  clouds 
of  cosmical  dust  which  conceal  eveything  beyond  "  our 
faintest  stars  ? 

But,  even  disregarding  absorption  altogether,  is  the 
question  of  sky-light  from  an  infinite  number  of  stars 
so  simple  as  Mr.  Burns  assumes  ?  Someone  has 
defined  "  nothing  "  as  "  a  bung-hole  without  a  barrel  "  ! 
Similarly,  a  star  at  infinite  distance  is  a  star  without 
a  magnitude.  For  if  it  be  at  infinite  distance  it  must 
be  infinitely  faint,  and  its  disc  infinitely  small,  i.e., 
like  a  geometrical  point,  without  magnitude.  How, 
then,  can  an  infinite  number  of  such  points  cover  any- 
thing at  all,  much  less  the  entire  sky  ?  And  again, 
could  the  light  of  a  star  at  infinite  distance  ever  reach 
us  ?  Would  not  the  star  be  at  a  finite  distance  if  it 
did  ?  Nor  will  the  excessively  faint  stars  that  are  at 
finite  distances  produce  any  apparent  brightness,  for 
the  image  of  each  star  falls  upon  a  different  point  of 
the  retina  ;  and  since  each  is  invisible,  they  will  bo 
collectively  invisible. 

Must  we  not  therefore  conclude  that  although  the 
stellar  universe  may  be  infinite,  the  visible  portion  of 
it  must  be  finite ;  and  that  no  reasoning,  from 
numerical  data  or  otherwise,  can  ever  advance  us  a  step 
further  ? 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  ciuestion  is  not  "  Is  the 
stellar  universe  finite?" — that  we  can  never  know— - 
but  "  Is  it  probable  that  within  the  finite  visible 
universe  stars  are  uniformlv  distributed?" 

Madeira.  Wm.   Anderson. 


TO   THE   EDITORS    OF    KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — Having  read  the  article  in  last  month's  issue 
under  the  above  heading,  it  occurred  to  me  that  the 


writer,  Mr.  Burns,  would  go  a  good  way  iu  answering 
the  question  if  he  were  to  define  in  what  sense  he  uses 
the  word  "  infinite." 

When  scientists  speak  of  the  number  of  the  stars 
being  infinite,  they  either  mean  indefinite,  or  givo  to 
the  word  its  strict  philosophical  meaning.  Taken  in 
the  first  sense  the  word  infinite  is  quite  intelligible  as 
applied  to  the  number  of  the  stars,  man's  power  of 
observation  being  so  limited.  To  adopt  the  second 
sense  is  to  put  forward  an  absurdity. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  observe  that  the  idea  of 
infinity  in  the  strict  sense  docs  not  admit  of  circum- 
scription ;  of  either  increase  or  decrease ;  and  accord- 
ingly excludes  the  idea  of  extension  or  multitude. 

Surely  this  sense  of  the  infinite  eannol,  be  predicated 
of  tiie  stellar  universe,  made  up  as  it  is  of  units. 

R.    J.    CONNELL. 

[Mr.  George  H.  Hill  (Streatham),  writing  on  this 
suljject,  "Is  the  Stellar  Universe  Finite?"  challenges 
Dr.  Burns'  conclusion  (Knowledge,  November,  1899, 
p.  'J49),  that  "  if  the  number  of  stars  were  infinite  we 
should  have  the  whole  sky  one  blaze  of  light,"  on  the 
ground  that  Dr.  Burns  assumes  that  what  is  lost  in 
stellar  radiation  by  distance,  is  gained  in  number.  He 
writes: — "But  if  the  illuminating  area  were  to  de- 
crease owing  to  increase  of  distance,  more  rapidly  than 
it  increased,  owing  to  greater  numbers,  surely  how- 
ever infinitely  the  process  might  be  continued  it  would 
never  give  us  a  blazing  sky."  This  is  of  course  true  if 
the  rate  of  decrease  be  sufliciently  high,  and  simply 
expresses  in  other  words  my  own  criticism  of  Dr.  Burns' 
fourth  hypothesis.  Mr.  Hill  gives  my  suggestion  more 
at  length,  and  conceives  of  space  "  as  containing  prac- 
tically isolated  stellar  groups  or  systems  (on  a  colossal 
scale),  every  star  visible  to  us  belonging  to  but  one 
such  system,  while  other  (exterior)  systems  appear  to 
us  only  in  the  form  of  nebulae."  He  further  suggests 
that  there  would  naturally  be  a  tendency  to  thin  out 
towards  the  margin  of  such  a  system,  in  accordance  with 
Mr.  W.  H.  S.  Monck's  remark  (Knowledge,  August, 
1899,  p.  179)  that  "a  thinning  out  commences  at 
(comparatively  speaking)  no  great  distance  from  the 
earth  or  sun."  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the 
idea  that  the  irresolvable  nebulre  were  "  external 
galaxies  "  was  refuted  long  ago  by  Herbert  Spencer, 
Proctor,  and  others.  The  clustering  of  nebulse  round 
the  poles  of  the  Milky  Way  is  a  clear  proof  that  they 
form  an  integral  part  of  the  samei  structure  with  it ;  as 
their  occurrence  with  stars  in  the  Nebecula  Major  is  a 
proof  that  they  exist  at  substantially  the  same  distances 
from  us,  as  do  the  stars.] 

The  "  Seas  "  op  the  Moon. — Mr.  James  Macgeorge 
criticises  Mr.  J.  Gr.  O.  Tepper's  paper  on  "The  '  Seas  '  of 
the  Moon  "  (Knowledge,  November,  1899,  p.  251),  on 
the  ground  that  Mr.  Tepper  has  not  shown  that  the 
Moon  ever  had  an  a+mosphere  sufficiently  dense  to  sup- 
port any  form  of  organic  life,  and  calculates  the  amount 
of  atmosphere  which  it  would  have  possessed  had  it 
attracted  to  itself  a  proportion  of  atmosphere,  as  com- 
pai-ed  with  that  of  the  earth,  corresjionding  to  its 
gravity.  As  the  figures  may  bo  of  some  little  interest 
I  give  them  here  more  precisely  than  Mr.  Macgeorge 
has  done.  Taking  the  diameter  of  the  earth  as  7,926 
miles  and  of  the  Moon,  2,160  miles;  wc  have  the  earth 
,3.67  times  the  Moon  in  diameter,  or  13.47  times  in  sur- 
face area.  Its  mass,  however,  is  78  times  as  great.  If 
then  the  total  mass  of  the  earth's  atmosphere  be  78 
times  that  of    the  Moon  we  shall  have  5.8  times  the 


16 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[January  1,  1900. 


amount  of  atmosphere  above  each  unit  of  the  surface 
here,  that  there  is  on  the  Moon.  But  this  atmosphere 
will  be  differently  distributed.  Half  of  our  atmosphere 
is  passed  through  when  we  ascend  3i  miles  from  the 
earth's  surface.  To  pass  through  half  the  Moon's  at- 
mosphere we  should  have  to  ascend  23  miles.  At  lOi 
miles  therefore  above  the  surface  of  the  two  worlds  we 
should  find  the  same  amount  of  atmosjDherc  above  us  in 
both  cases,  and  at  21J,  miles  the  actual  density  of 
the  atmosphere  woidd  be  as  great  for  the  Moon  as  for 
our  earth,  though  at  the  surface  of  the  ground  the  pres- 
sure at  the  earth's  surface  would  be  37.6  times  as  great 
as  on  the  Moon.  Above  21  J,  miles  high  the  entire  ad- 
vantage would  rest  with  the  Moon.  Now  the  earth's 
atmosphere  is  sufficiently  dense  far  higher  than  this 
to  vaporize  meteors  by  the  resistance  which  it  offers 
to  their  path,  and  to  produce  strong  crepuscular  effects. 
We  have  no  evidence  of  an  atmosphere  approaching 
this  in  efficiency,  on  the  Moon.  It  seems  clear  then, 
that  the  Moon  has  not,  at  pi'esent,  the  proportion  of 
atmosphere  to  which  its  mass  entitles  it.  If  it  never 
had  more  than  at  present  we  must  agree  with  Mr. 
Macgeoi'ge  that  "  the  theory  of  vegetable  remains  ne- 
cessarily falls  to  the  ground.''  But  seeing  how  little 
we  know  as  to  the  condition  and  extent  of  the  earth  at 
the  time  when  the  lunar  crust  had  become  solid  and 
cool,  or  of  the  distance  apart  of  the  two  bodies  at  the 
time,  it  is  certainly  rash  to  say  that  the  Moon  may  not 
then  have  had  a  respectable  atmosphere.  As  to  what 
has  become  of  it  since,  we  most  certainly  cannot  agree 
with  Mr.  Macgeorge  that  "  it  is  impossible  that  it 
may  have  been  attracted  by  the  earth,"  nor  is  it  "  in- 
conceivable that  it  may  have  been  absorbed  by  the  sub- 
stance of  the  Moon."  Neither  hypothesis  is,  however, 
necessary,  for  Dr.  Johnstone  Stoney's  researches  tend  to 
show  that  the  Moon  has  not  sufficient  attractive  force 
to  retain  permanently  an  atmosphere  of  constituents 
similar  to  those  of  our  own ;  and  assuming  that  the 
Moon  once  had  a  comparatively  dense  atmosphere,  this 
would  necessarily  fvilly  explain  its  present  disappear- 
ance.] 

[Collecting  Meteoric  Dust. — Messrs.  T.  S.  Overbury 
and  L.  B.  Booth  enquire  how  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Bacon 
collected  meteoric  dust  by  means  of  gun-cotton  during 
his  recent  balloon  voyage  to  observe  the  Leonids.  The 
answer  is  of  the  simplest.  A  continuous  current  of 
air  was  drawn  thi'ough  a  tube  in  which  a  small  plug 
of  gun-cotton  was  fixed,  which  would  act  as  a  filter  to 
filter  I  ut  any  dust  which  it  might  contain.  The  gun- 
cotton  could  easily  be  dissolved  at  the  end  of  the  voy 
age,  and  the  amount  and  character  of  the  dust  which  it 
had  taken  up,  if  any,  be  ascertained. 

[E.  'Walter  Maunder.] 


ACIDS      IN      SOIL. 

TO     THE    EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — 'Will  you  be  so  good  as  to  inform  me  if  there 
exist  in  any  part  of  England  or  Ireland  marshy  soils, 
or  rather  mineral  moors,  which  contain  besides  sul- 
phuret  and  peroxide  of  iron: — organic  acids  such  as 
formic  acid  or  acidity,  and  if  so  in  what  proportion  to 
the  other  ine;redients. 


South  Tottenham, 

Dec.  12th,  1899. 


W.  A.  Smith. 


Sir  .1.  William  Dawson,  whose  death  on  19th 
November,  1899,  we  regret  to  record,  was  a  leading 
man  of  science  of  the  old  school — a  teacher  who  stoutly 
supported  the  final  destiny  of  man  as  taught  in  Revela- 
tion, and  emphatically  opposed  to  all  theories  of  the 
evolution  of  man  from  brute  ancestors,  nor  would  he 
allow  anything  more  than  a  moderate  antiquity  for 
the  species.  Of  Scottish  extraction,  he  was  born  at 
Pictou,  Nova  Scotia,  in  1820,  obtained  the  degree  of 
M.A.  at  Edinburgh  in  1842,  then  recrossed  the  Atlan- 
tic, and  spent  some  time  in  scientific  exploration  under 
Sir  Charles  Lyell's  direction.  Papers  contributed  to 
the  Geological  Society  of  London  soon  brought  him  into 
prominence.  In  1855  he  was  appointed  Principal  of 
McGill  University,  Montreal,  only  excelled  in  America 
by  that  of  Harvard,  and  the  scientific  side  of  that  in- 
stitution was  practically  Sir  William's  creation.  The 
Royal  Society  of  London  in  1862  elected  him  a  fellow, 
and  twenty  years  later  he  received  the  Lyell  Medal  of 
the  Geological  Society  of  London.  In  1884  he  was  made  a 
K.C.M.G.,  in  1880  he  discharged  the  duties  of  President 
at  the  Birmingham  Meeting  of  the  British  Association, 
and  he  wa«  the  first  President  of  the  Royal  Society  of 
Canada.  Eozoon  Canadense,  described  by  him  in  1865, 
opened  a  controversy  on  organic  life  which  is  not  yet 
entirely  disposed  of.  The  study  of  Geology  he  would 
have  "  delivered  from  that  materialistic  infidelity  which, 
by  robbing  nature  of  the  spiritual  element  and  of  its 
presiding  Divinity,  makes  science  dry,  barren,  and  re- 
pulsive." "  Modern  Science  in  Bible  Lands,"  "  Eden 
Lost  and  Won,  "  among  his  many  popular  books,  in- 
dicate the  trend  of  his  teaching.  Sir  William's  solid 
contributions  to  science  in  the  form  of  papers  to  learned 
societies,  periodicals,  and  magazines,  were  very  numer- 
ous, those  to  our  own  Royal  Society  numbering  one 
hundred  and  fifty-eight. 

Sir  Henry  Tate,  whose  death  occurred  on  the  5th 
December,  1899,  will  be  remembered  as  a  successful 
man  of  business  who  utilised  his  great  wealth  in  pro- 
moting the  interests  of  science  and  art.  "  This  gallery 
and  sixty-five  pictures  were  presented  to  the  nation  by 
Henry  Tate  for  the  encouragement  and  development  of 
British  Art,  and  as  a  thank-offering  for  a  prosperous 
business  career  of  sixty  years."  So  reads  an  inscription 
affixed  to  the  base  of  a  column  in  the  vestibule  of  the 
magnificient  pantheon  of  Art  on  the  banks  of  the 
Thames  erected  on  the  site  of  Millbank  Prison.  Sir 
Henry  endowed  many  scholarships,  contributed  £10,000 
to  the  building  fund  of  Owen's  College,  and  donations 
to  the  extent  of  some  £50,000  to  University  College, 
Liverpool.  Born  at  Chorley,  Lancashire,  m  1819,  he 
served  an  apprenticeship  to  the  grocery  trade,  and  sub- 
sequently engaged  in  sugar  refining — a  business  which, 
under  his  shrewd  management,  rapidly  expanded  to 
gigantic  proportions,  and  "  Tate's  cube  sugar  "  became 
a  familiar  object  all  the  world  over.  As  his  wealth 
augmented  he  freely  utilised  it  in  the  stimulation  of 
education  and  in  patronising  artists.  Previous  to  the 
opening  of  the  Academy  Exhibition  each  year  he  gave 
a  great  dinner  at  Park  Hill,  Streatham,  to  the  leading 
artists,  and  in  course  of  time  he  acquired  by  purchase 
a  collection  of  the  works  of  British  Artists  of  the  day, 
which  gradually  led  him  up  to  the  idea  of  forming  a 
permanent  home  or  Gallery  thoroughly  representative 
of  British  Art.  He  offered  £80,000  to  build  a  gallery, 
provided  the  Government  would  give  a  site.  Vacant 
land  near  the  Embankment  at  Blackfriars  was  declined 


Jamcaby  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


17 


by  the  City  Corporation,  and  a  site  at  South  Kensing- 
ton had  alreadv  been  promised  for  a  new  science  college 
and  museum,  but.  at  last,  Sir  William  Harcourt, 
in  1892.  then  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  offered  the 
site  at  Millbank.  Th?  Tate  Gallery  was  opened  21st 
July,  1897,  and  so  recently  a-s  i27th  November,  1899, 
the  opening  of  a  new  wing  completed  the  great  building 
which  British  Art  owes  to  Sir  Henry  Tate's  munifi- 
cence. 


Sftrncf  i^otr. 

Royal  Institution. — The  following  arc  the  Lecture 
Arrangements  at  the  Royal  Institution  before  Easter  ;  — 
Mr.  C.  Vernon  Boys,  Six  Christmas  Lectures  (especially 
adapted  for  voung  people)  on  Fluids  in  Motion  and  at 
Rest;  Professor  E.  Ray  Lankester,  Twelve  Lectures  on 
The  Structure  and  Classification  of  Fishes;  Dr. 
W.  H.  R.  Rivers,  Three  Lectures  on  the  Senses  of 
Primitive  Man;  Professor  H.  H.  Turner,  Three  Lec- 
tures on  Modern  Astronomy;  Dr.  Charles  Waldstein, 
Three  Lectures  on  Recent  Excavations  at  Argivc 
Heraeum  (in  Greece);  Three  Lectures  by  Sir  Hubert  H. 
Parry;  Mr.  W.  L.  Courtney.  Three  Lectures  on  The 
Idea  of  Tragedy  in  Ancient  and  Modern  Drama ; 
The  Right  Hon.  Lord  Rayleigh,  Six  Lectures  on  Polar- 
ised Light. 

♦ 

i^ottcts  of  Boolts. 


Handbuch  der  Aatronomhclif  Inxlrumentenkunde.     A  descri])- 
tion   of   the  instruments   used   in   astronomical    observations, 
together  with  an  explanation  of  their  construction,  their  appli- 
cation, and  their  mounting,  on  fundamental    principles.     By 
Dr.  L.  Ambronn.      Two  volumes,  containing   118.0   figures  in 
the  text.     (Berlin  :  Juhns  Springer.    1899.)    Dr.  Ambronn  has 
produced  a  work  which  is  unique  of  its   kind,  and  which  will, 
beyond  doubt,  be  regarded  as  classic.     From  time  to  time  our 
great  instrument  makers  in  England  have  published  catalogues 
of  their  telescopes  and  mountings,  and  perhaps  a  full  description 
of  their  properties  and  the  methods  of  making  and  adjusting 
them,  but  these  cannot  for  a  moment  compare  with  the  ency- 
clopaedia of  instruments  and  instrumental  adjuncts  that  has  just 
been  compiled  by  Dr.  L.  Ambronn.     In  Germany,  Carl  wrote, 
about  1860,  his  '"  Principien  der  Astronomi^ehen  Instrumenten- 
kunde,"  and,  twenty  years  later,  Yon  Konkoly  hi.s  "  Anleitung 
zur  Ansf  iihrung  Astronomischer  Beobachtungen  "  ;  and,  quite 
lately.  Professor  E.  Becker  has  produced  a  monogra])h  on  the 
"  Mikrometer "  ;   but  these  may  be  regarded  as  simplj'  intro- 
ductory to  Dr.  Ambronn's  work.     The   two  volumes  contain 
together  some  1276  pages,  and  are  divided  into  seven  chapters. 
The  first  chapter  treats  of   the  adjuncts   of   an   astronomical 
instrument — screws  of  all  sorts,  both  for  clamping,  for  correct- 
ing  and   motion,   and  for  measuring  ;    i)lummets   and   levels  ; 
artificial  horizons,  collimators  and  verniers,  and  reading  micro- 
scopes.      All  these    are   very   copiously  illustrated  ;    and    Dr. 
Ambronn  has  not  confined  himself  to  a  mere  description  of 
them  by  word  or  woodcut,  h\it  discusses  their  properties,  their 
errors,  and   the  necessary   corrections   for   these,  whether   by 
mathematical  or  by  instrumental  means.     The  second  chapter 
takes  up  the  question  of  the   recording  and  noting  of   time, 
whether  by  clock  or  chronometer,  by  pendulum,  hairspring,  or 
electric  control  ;  the  regulation  of  motion  and  compensation. 
Chapter  three  is  divided  between  three  large  subjects.     The 
first  has  to  do  with  the  axes  of  a  telescope,  and  the  supports  on 
which  they  rest  or  in  which  they  turn.     The  second  division 
takes  the  two  great  forms  of  instrument  with  which  telescopic 
work  may  be  done — the  refractor  and  the  reflector.     In  the  case 
of  refractors,  there  is  a  verj-  full  description  of  the  manner  of 
choosing  the  glass,  the  grinding  and  figuring  of  the  lenses,  and 
methods  of  combining  the  lenses  of  different  glass  and  different 
form  to  make  the  finished  objective.      The  mounting  of  the 
objective  in  its  cell  is  not  omitted,  nor  the  effect  of  the  whole 
on  the  form  of  the  stellar  image.     The  methods  of  figuring  and 


polishing,  or  silvering  the  mirroi-s,  and  the  different  forms  of 
refiecting  telescopes,  are  fully  described.     The  tliird  division 
tolls  of  the  constructing  and  dividing  of  the  circles  and  of  the 
determination  of  their  errors,  and  several  pages  are  devoted  to 
cl  imps  and  slow  motions.     Tlio  fourth  chapter,  of   120  pages, 
takes  the  micrometer  in  all  its  forms,  from  the   simplest  focal 
micrometer  to  the   great   RadcIifTi;  and    Repsold    heliomcters. 
It  is  a  very  great  gain  that  these  important  instruments  are  so 
fully  figured.     The  next  two  chapters — comprising  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  large  second   volume — consist  of  descriptions  of 
the  important  instruments  of  the  world,  which  arc  remarkable 
for  their  size  and  ])Owlt,  or  for  their  perfect  or  ingenious  form 
of  mounting,  or  for  their  adaptation  to  .some  particular  object. 
We  find  here  the  photometers  of  the  Harvard  Observatory,  of 
Stoinheil,  Knobel,  and  Pritchard  ;  the  measuring  apparatus  of 
Kaptoyn  ;  the  meteor  camera  of  Elkin  ;  the  great  refractors  of 
Yerkes  and  Lick  ;  the  elbow  form  of  mount  in  use  at  Potsdam  ; 
tlie  twin  telescopes  of  Greenwich  ;  the  great  reflector  of  Dr. 
Isaac  Roberts.     Incidentally,  Dr.   Ambronn   mentions  that  the 
chief  reflectors  are   made  and  used  in  England,  the  exceptions 
being  tho.se  of  ProfessorSafarik, at  Prague, and  of  the  well-known 
optician,  Dr.  H.  Schrcider.     The  final  cliapter  is  devoted  to  tlie 
housing  of  the  telescopes.     Pretty  nearly  every  sort  and  shape 
of  dome  is  figured  and  described.     The  omissions  are  very   few 
and  slight.     We  are  sorry  not  to   see  any  description  of  tlie 
]iroperties,  or   use  for  astronomical  purposes,  that  the  portrait 
lens  has  been  put  to  by  Professor  E.  E.   Barnard  and  others. 
There  are,  also,  one    or    two    special  forms   of    photographic 
objectives  which  apparently  are  not  described — notably  a  very 
short  focus  portrait  lens  by  Voigtlander  and  Sohn,  and  Mr.  J.  H. 
Dallmeyer's  stigmatic  lens.     Perhaps  the  section  which  is  the 
least  completely  dealt  with  is  that  of  the  spectroscope,  which  is 
at  once  one  of  the  most  intricate  and  one  of  the  most  important 
of  the  telescope  accessories.     The  objective-prism,  in  ]iarticular, 
is  very  briefly  treated  of.     But  these  are  but  small  ])oints.  and 
cannot  detract  from  the  immense  value  of  the  book  as  a  whole. 
It  will  form  an  invaluable  adjunct   to    the   library   of   every 
observatory — for  the  whole  wide  field  of  astronomical  instru- 
ments has  been  covered   with  conspicuous  skill,  thoroughness, 
and  care — and  it  will   be  a  complete  reference    book   to   any 
astronomer  who  wishes  to  establish  a  telescope  of  his  own,  even 
though  his  equipment  be  nece.ssarily  a  modest  one. 

The  Natural  lli>it>irij  of  Sflborne.  By  Gilbert  T.  White. 
Edited  with  Notes  by  Grant  Allen.  (John  Lane.)  Illustrated. 
XII.  Parts,  l.s.  tid.  each.  It  is  pleasant  to  think  that  among 
the  last  literary  work  undertaken  by  the  late  Grant  Allen  was 
the  editing  of  an  edition  of  White's  classic  letters.  That  this 
was  a  most  congenial  task  to  Grant  Allen  we  are  certain,  for  he 
knew  the  neighbourhood  of  >Selborne  well,  and  was  a  great 
admirer  of  the  immortal  Uilbert  White.  Although — as  the 
editor  says  in  his  delightful  introduction  to  the  volume —  these 
"  letters  have  probably  been  reprinted  in  a  greater  number  of 
editions  than  those  of  any  other  English  worthy,''  nevertheless 
their  present  edition  is  very  welcome.  The  aim  has  been  to 
preserve  the  original  text  ;  and  the  editor's  notes,  which  are 
useful  and  not  unnecessarUy  frequent,  are  always  signed,  and 
can,  therefore,  be  immediately  identified.  No  attempt  has  been 
made  to  bring  all  White's  statements  up  to  the  modern  standard 
of  scientific  knowledge — and  rightly,  for  such  a  gigantic  task 
would  utterly  spoil  the  book.  Everything  in  this  edition — 
from  the  editor's  scholarly  introduction  to  the  excellent  pen- 
and-ink  drawings  by  Mr.  Edmund  H.  New — is  in  keeping  with 
the  character  of  the  letters.  An  appendix  contains  a  novel 
feature  in  some  interesting  marginalia  from  Samuel  Taylor 
Coleridge's  copy,  as  well  as  a  complete  bibliography  of  the  work. 
Bacteria.  By  George  Newman,  m.d.,  f.r.s.  (Murray.)  Illus- 
trated. 6s.  Dr.  Newman,  according  to  the  preface  in  this  book, 
had  no  other  inspiration  than  an  editor's  request  "  to  set  forth  a 
popular  scientific  statement  of  our  present  knowledge  of 
bacteria,"  when  he  undertook  to  add  one  volume  more  to  the 
large  number  aheady  in  existence.  With  this  sort  of  halter 
round  one's  neck  it  is  a  hazardous  ta.sk  to  traverse  the  uneven 
ground  covered  by  that  now  all-embr.acing,  yet  innocent  looking, 
word — bacteria.  As  the  author  says,  '•  it  is  difficult  to  escape 
the  Scylla  and  Charybdis  in  such  a  voyage."  Too  technical  for 
the  many  and  too  popular  for  the  few,  one  or  other  of  these 
results  is  often  arrived  at  in  efforts  of  this  kind.  A  medical 
student,  in  his  third  or  fourth  year,  would  follow  Dr.  Newmun 
with  profit,  but  the  average  man,  depending  upon  common  sonaa 


18 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[January  1,  1900. 


and  minun  the  buoyant  auxiliaries  of  science,  could  hardly 
sustain  tlie  voyage  from  cover  to  cover.  The  word  "popular" 
can  hardly  be  applied  to  a  book  in  order  to  understand  which 
the  reader  must  know  the  nomenclature  of  the  chemist,  the 
phraseology  of  the  dissecting  room,  and  the  out-of-the-way 
language  of  many  other  specialists  iu  different  domains  of 
science. 

Curiosities  of  Light  initl  Sif/lit.  By  Shelford  Bidwell,  F.R.s. 
(Sonnenschein.)  Illustrated.  '2s.  (id.  Consists  mainly  of  matter 
presented  in  the  form  of  lectures  at  various  places,  but  here  re- 
modelled for  a  larger  public.  Of  a  popular  and  informal  cha- 
I'acter,  as  might  be  expected  in  such  a  case,  the  essays,  as  we 
may  now  call  them,  bring  into  relief  such  phenomena  as 
defects  of  the  eye,  optical  illusions,  curiosities  of  vision,  and  so 
on,  subjects  which  appeal  more  particularly  to  the  spectacled 
section  of  the  community.  Heavily  leaded  type  is  used,  and  a 
fair-sized  volume  is  thus  eked  out  of  an  almost  stai'vation 
supply  of  intellectual  food. 

Vieirs  tin  some  of  the  Phenomena  of  Nature.  Part  II.  By 
James  Walker.  (Sonnenschein.)  2s.  (id.  Our  author  has 
selected  for  his  theme  all  the  inexplicables — force,  motion, 
space,  ether,  hght,  heat,  electricity— and  courageously  attempts 
to  fly  in  this  attenuated  atmosphere,  so  to  speak.  One  needs 
to  be  very  wide  awake  in  order  to  glean  a  little  mental  food 
here  and  there  in  this  arid  desert  ;  but  now  and  then  it  is 
possible  to  drop  across  an  oasis— fertile,  refreshing,  new.  For 
example,  "  light  and  the  sun's  photosphere  are  one,''  "  light  is 
the  sublimed  product  from  matter  in  an  incandescent  state," 
and  light  is  "  projected  into  space  by  some  disruptive  force 
developed  on  the  sun's  surface." 

Sport  in  East  Central  Africa.  By  F.  Vaughan  Kirby  (Maqa- 
qamba).  (Rowland  Ward.)  Illustrated.  8s.  6d.  This  book, 
deaUng  with  several  hunting  trips  in  the  wilds  of  Portuguese 
Zambesia  and  the  Mozambique  Province,  is  full  of  the  most 
stirring  incidents  connected  with  big  game  shooting  that  can 
well  be  wished  for,  told  in  the  most  matter-of-fact  way  imagin- 
able. It  is  not  to  be  inferred  from  this  that  the  author  has 
been  guilty  of  giving  us  "  travellers'  tales,"  or  even  of  stretching 
a  point  ;  indeed,  we  believe  every  story  he  tells.  And  as  to  his 
matter-of-fact  style,  we  admire  it,  and  thiuk  that  it  adds  very 
greatly  to  the  interest  of  the  book.  It  is,  in  fact,  the  style — a 
rare  one — in  which  all  books  of  big  game  shooting  should  be 
written.  That  Mr.  Kirby  is  a  true  sportsman — and  not  a  wanton 
destroyer  of  animal  life — and  a  brave  and  resourceful  man  to 
boot,  is  testified  by  many  a  page  of  his  engrossing  and  exciting 
narrative.  A  very  useful  appendix  to  the  book  contains  interest- 
ing and  informing  field  notes  on  all  the  larger  animals — and 
there  are  many — obtained  by  the  author  in  the  region  of  which 
the  work  treats.  We  heartily  recommend  the  book  not  only  to 
sportsmen,  but  to  those  who  are  in  any  way  interested  in  East 
Central  Africa,  for  the  author  knows  the  country  and  its  people 
well,  although,  perhaps,  his  knowledge  of  them  is  not  so  intimate 
as  that  of  the  wild  animals  for  the  hunting  of  which  he  has 
lived. 

Tlie  Soeiai  Life  (f  f^culland  in  the  Eii/hternlh  Century.  By 
the  Kev.  Henry  Crey  Graham.  Two  vols.  (A.  &  C.  Black.) 
24s.  To  draw  an  indictment  against  a  nation  has  always  proved 
at  once  an  easy  and  a  popular  task,  no  matter  how  jioor  the 
grounds  of  the  charge,  or  how  remote  from  the  facts.  There 
are  few  [leople  in  the  world  who  have  suffered  more  odium  in 
this  way  at  the  hands  of  the  im])ecunious  scribbler  than  the 
race  across  the  border.  But  Scotland  has  incvirred  a  lasting 
debt  of  gratitude  to  the  author  of  these  fascinating  volumes 
for  the  comprehensive  acumeu  with  which  he  has  exploited  the 
records  of  the  past,  placing  in  our  hands  a  delightfully  vivid 
picture  of  Scottish  life  and  Scottish  manners  in  the  last  century. 
Mr.  Graham  has  essayed  to  give  us  history  in  its  most  instruc- 
tive form — to  bring  before  his  readers  the  life  of  the  whole 
people,  rich  and  poor,  lairds  and  labourers,  as  they  lived  it. 
The  goal  which  he  has  set  himself  is  the  worthiest  in  the 
historian,  and  our  author  has  justly  followed  his  course  to  the 
end.  "  It  is  in  the  inner  life  of  a  community  that  its  real 
history  is  to  be  found — in  the  homes  and  habits  and  labours  of 
the  peasanti7  ;  in  the  modes  and  manners  and  thoughts  of 
society  ;  what  the  people  believed,  and  wliat  they  practised  ; 
how  tliey  farmed,  and  how  they  traded  ;  how  the  [loor  were 
relieved  ;  how  their  children  were  taught,  how  their  bodies 
were  nourished,  and  how  their  souls  were  tended."  Thus  the 
task.     But  at    what  infinite  pains   of  research,  of  sifting  and 


sorting,  of  weighing  and  counting,  has  that  task  been  accom- 
plished. Apart  altogether  from  the  great  reach  and  number  of  the 
authorities  consulted,  what  countless  documents,  letters,  bills, 
pamphlets,  and  kirk  session  records  have  been  laid  under  contri- 
bution, as  these  entrancing  glimpses  of  that  far  away  time  are 
unfolded  before  us.  Not  the  least  among  the  virtues  of  the 
work  is  the  thoughtful  orderliness  and  compactness  of  the 
picture  as  a  whole — the  artistic  limning  of  that  ])eaceful  revo- 
lution which  brought  the  impoverished  country  and  people 
onward  and  upward  in  every  channel  of  national  activity.  If 
it  be  not  invidious  to  single  luit  any  portion  of  a  book  in  which 
we  have  not  found  a  dull  page,  we  may  be  permitted  to  direct 
attention  to  the  cha])ters  on  The  Land  and  the  People,  on 
Education  in  Scotland,  and  to  the  happy  and  entertaining 
account  of  Town  Life  in  Edinburgh.  In  this  latter  chapter  the 
author  realises  most  vividly  the  later  period  of  the  greatness  of 
the  old  town,  in  wliose  dark  recesses.  Lord  Rosebery  has  told 
us,  are  embodied  three-parts  of  the  history  of  Scotland — when 
the  High  Street  was  the  daily  meeting  place  of  judges, 
ministers,  and  advocates,  when  lords  of  Session  resided  in  the 
Canongate,  and  resorted  at  night  to  the  Crochallan  Club,  so 
famous  for  its  association  with  Burns,  or  might  be  found  at 
John  Dowie's  tavern.  We  do  not  know  a  better  account  of 
this  intensely  interesting  chajiter  in  the  life  of  Auld  Reekie. 
In  taking  a  regretful  leave  of  Mr.  Graham's  book,  which  is  sure 
to  become  a  standard  work  in  Scottish  history,  we  can  but  hope 
that  the  unique  success  which  has  crowned  his  labour  in  the 
preparation  of  these  two  volumes,  may  induce  him  to  write  the 
necessary  third  volume  on  the  Literature  and  Fine  Arts  of  the 
Century,  for  which  he  must  have  amassed  a  quantity  of 
material.  Without  such  a  volume  the  work  is  scarcely  com- 
plete. 

Star-land.  By  Sir  Robert  Stawell  Ball,  F.R.S.  (Cassell.)  7s.  6d. 
It  almost  makes  one  long  to  be  a  child  again,  and  to  have  the 
right  to  form  one  of  Sir  Robert  Ball's  audience  at  his  Christmas 
lectures  at  the  Royal  Institution,  to  read  the  new  edition  of 
"  Star-land."  Sir  Robert  has  a  charm  of  style  and  a  gift  of 
words  that  go  far  to  make  the  hard  things  of  astronomy  easy, 
and  the  abstruse  problems  plain  ;  and  where  there  is  a  bit  of 
the  way  of  knowledge  that  seems  dull  or  uninteresting,  he  has 
an  anecdote  or  an  illustration  that  carries  one  over  the  dreary 
part  with  a  rush.  The  very  largest  part  of  the  book  tells  of 
that  portion  of  the  stellar  universe  which  is  comprised  within 
the  limits  of  the  solar  system  ;  and,  perhaps,  it  is  a  slight  indi- 
cation of  Sir  Robert's  Hibernian  origin  that  has  led  him  to  adorn 
the  cover  of  "  Star-land  '  with  a  very  beautiful  golden  repre- 
sentation of  the  corona  and  comet  of  1882.  Speaking  of  corona;, 
it  is  just  a  little  bit  of  a  pity — after  Sir  Robert  Ball  has  explained 
to  the  children  that  the  size  of  an  object  depends  very  largely 
on  its  proximity,  and  that  very  serious  consequences  would 
result  to  the  temperatui'e  of  the  earth  if  it  was  brought  closer 
to  the  sun — that,  on  p.  40,  in  Trouvelot's  drawing  of  the  eclipsed 
sun  of  1883,  he  should  have  brought  it  so  alarmingly  near.  The 
original  representation  in  "  L'Astronomie ''  was  considerably 
exaggerated,  l)ut  Sir  Robert's  copy  is  like  Creusa's  ghost  in 
Virgil's  description,  mda  major  imai/o.  There  is  one  point  on 
which  Sir  Robert  Ball  speaks  with  assurance,  but  on  which  we 
have  not  been  able  to  gather  any  direct  or  fijst-hand  evidence. 
On  p.  57  he  has  a  representation  of  a  man  standing  inside  and 
at  the  base  of  a  very  tall  chimney,  and  below  is  the  description, 
"  How  the  stars  are  to  be  seen  in  broad  daylight."  Is  it 
really  so,  and  how  many  stars,  and  of  what  magnitude,  can  be 
seen  thus '? 

Colour  :  A  Ilandhoolc  of  the  Tlteory  of  Colour.  By  George  H. 
Hurst,  F.c.s.  (Scott,  (ireenwood  &  Co.)  Illustrated.  7s.  6d. 
Artists,  dyers,  calico  printers,  and  decorative  painters,  who  are 
accustomed  to  use  pigments  iu  their  everyday  work,  will  find  iu 
this  book  a  valuable  compilation  on  matters  concerning  every 
phase  of  colour— its  production  by  the  decomposition  of  hght, 
theories  of  colour  phenomena,  physiology  of  light,  contrast  of 
tone,  decoration  and  design,  and  measurement  of  colour,  or  the 
exi)ression  of  ditferent  tints  by  numbers  so  that  any  given 
shade  of  colour  can  be  re])roduced  from  data  preserved  in  note- 
books or  received  from  other  sources.  Some  excellent  plates 
largely  augment  the  value  of  the  work. 

Wild  Life  in  Hampshire  Hit/hlands.  By  George  A.  D.  Dewar. 
( Dent  &  Co.)  Illustrated.  7s.  Gd.  This  is  one  of  the  handsomely 
bound  and  luxuriously  printed  volumes  of  the  Haddon  Hall 
Library  now  beiug  issued  under  the  editorship  of  the  Mari(ucss 


January  1,  lOW.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


19 


of  Granby  and  Mr.  Dewar.  The  Haiuiishire  Highlands  lio  in 
the  northwest  corner  of  tlie  county,  a  part  little  known  to  the 
tourist.  The  author's  pleas;intly  written  description  of  the 
spot  he  loves  so  well,  and  his  enjjrossiug  account  of  the  many 
country  pleasures  to  be  enjoyed  there,  makes  one  wish  to  visit 
the  district.  Although  there  is  perhaps  nothing  new  in  the 
author's  observations,  we  have  derived  much  peaceful  pleasure 
in  the  perusal  of  the  well-told  experieuces,  anecdotes,  and 
observations  of  this  keen  field  naturalist  and  sportsman.  The 
illustrations  are  like  the  letterpress — restful  and  most  soothing. 

Chat-i  about  the  }ficrosiope.  By  Henry  C.  Shelley.  (Scien- 
tific Press,  Ltd.)  Illustrated.  2s.  A  little  book  intended  to  enlist 
the  interest  of  aimless  pedestrians  in  country  ])laces  who  sacri- 
fice the  pleasure  and  instruction  contained  in  every  mossy  bank, 
every  darkling  pool — the  happy  hunting-ground  freely  accessible 
to  all  who  will  but  avail  themselves  of  the  key  to  Nature's 
precious  casket.  The  book  is  but  a  slender  introduction  to  pond 
life,  diatoms,  foraminifera,  and  a  few  other  kindred  subjects  ; 
lacking  the  sequence  necessaiy  as  a  basis  of  pure  scientific  study, 
it  is  better  adapted  as  a  guide  in  using  the  microscope  incident- 
ally as  a  source  of  innocent  amusement.  The  illustrations  are 
anything  but  attractive — the  "  porous  cells  of  mosse.s,"  for 
example,  figured  on  p.  00,  look  as  stiff  and  mechanical  as  if 
intended  as  a  working  drawing  for  the  making  of  book-shelves. 

Daririnhm  and  LatnarckUiu.  By  F.  W.  Hutton,  f.k.?. 
(Duckworth  &  Co.)  ;!s.  tjd.  net.  Apparently  this  book  consists 
of  a  verbatim  report  of  four  lectures  delivered,  in  part,  as  far 
back  as  1887.  A  great  part  of  the  old  ground  is  traversed  once 
again,  and  little,  if  any,  additional  light  is  shed  upon  the  all- 
absorbing  subject.  AVhat  is  new  may  be  termed  the  bearer  of 
the  candlestick,  Mr.  Hutton  himself,  who  contrives  to  project 
the  luminous  rays  into  the  holes,  corners,  and  crooked  by-ways 
of  the  fabric  raised  by  Darwin,  Lamarck,  and  the  thousand-and- 
one  workers  who  have  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  these  illus 
trious  pioneers.  The  best  we  can  say  of  the  book  is  that  it  is 
a  handy  bird's-eye  view  of  evolution  in  the  wider  sense  of  that 
terra. 

C'^miii'in  Sense  Health  Reform.  By  T.  Thatcher.  With 
supplementary  article  on  "  The  Gospel  of  the  Open  AViudow,'' 
by  the  Hon.  Auberon  Herbert.  (Simpkin,  Marshall  &  Co.)  2d. 
Mr.  Thatcher  is  a  hero,  we  know,  and  not  alone  because  Mr. 
Auberon  Herbert  has  told  us  so  ;  but  we  are  not  quite  sure 
that  a  calm  consideration  of  the  long  vista  of  trapeze  bars, 
horizontal  bars,  stirrups  and  rings,  punching  balls,  and  divers 
developers  which  Mr.  Thatcher  opens  up  before  us,  will  not  be 
held  to  constitute  him  a  martyr  as  well.  But  his  efforts  are 
made  in  the  best  of  good  causes— that  of  robust  health  ;  and 
we  heartily  commend  this  description  of  his  experiences  to  all 
in  search  of  health  guidance. 

On  the  Ctilit;/  of  Kw ndedge- mak! luj  «s  a  Means  of  Liberal 
Traininij.  By  Professor  J.  G.  JLicgregor,  of  Dalhousie  College, 
Halifax.  (Nova  Scotia  Printing  Co.,  Halifax,  X.S.)  We  are 
obliged  to  Professor  Macgregor  for  sending  us  a  copy  of  his 
informing  inaugural  address  on  a  subject  of  so  much  interest  to 

KNiPWLKlKiK. 

We  have  received  JEessrs.  T.  Cooke  and  Sons'  illustrated 
catalogue  of  telescopes,  transit  instruments,  spectroscopes, 
chronographs,  micrometers,  driving  clocks,  observatories,  and 
other  astronomical  and  scientific  instruments.  As  is  well  known 
among  practical  workers,  there  is  now  a  tendency  among  some 
makers  of  these  instruments  to  lower  prices  at  the  expense  of 
quality  in  workmanship,  but  this  firm  proceeds  on  the  principle 
that  '■  it  is  impos-sible  to  do  good  work  at  the  cost  of  bad,"  and 
many,  as  we  can  testify,  know  this  truism  only  too  well. 

We  are  glad  to  receive  the  new  edition  of  Mr.  Mee's  "  Heavens 
at  a  Glance.'"  This  handy  little  almanac^printed  on  one  side 
of  a  card  for  obseiTatory  use — has  been  prepared  for  19U0  on 
the  same  lines  as  for  1899,  and  will  be  found  a  valuable  and 
convenient  guide  to  observers.  The  data  for  meteoric  showers 
have  been  taken  from  Mr.  Donning's  list  in  -'Observational 
Astronomy,"  for  variable  stars  from  information  supplied  by 
Sir  Cuthbert  Peek,  Mr.  J.  E.  Gore,  and  Mr.  J.  Grover,  and  the 
rest  from  the  "  Nautical  Almanac." 

Early  in  the  new  year  5Ir.  John  C.  Nimmo  will  publish  the  first 
volume  by  Prof.  Sayce,  of  Oxford,  of  "The  Semitic  Series,"  a  new 
series  of  handbooks,  intended  to  present  coinpactly  and  in  popular 
form  a  knowledge  of  the  more  iroiK>rtant  facts  in  tlie  hist<jry,  religion, 
government,  langu:ige,  customs,  etc.,  of  the  Babylonians,  Assyrians, 
and  allied  Semitic  races  of  aucicut  historv. 


BOOKS    RECEIVED, 

Memori/  Training  :  Its  Laios  and  /heir  Application  to  Practical 
Life.    By  Chri8to)iber  Louia  Pelman.     (7(1,  Herncrs  Street.) 

Common  Seme  Health  Heform.     By  'i'.  Thatcher.     (Simpkin.) 

On  the  Vtilitii  of  Knowledge-Making  as  a  Means  of  Liberal 
Training.       l!y    J'rof.    J.    O.    Maigregor. 

Teleographg.  l!y  Thomas  R.  Dallmejer,  f.r.a.8.  (Hcinemann.) 
Illustrated.     15s.  net. 

The  Christmas  Sookseller,  1S'J9.     (Whitaker.)     Is. 

J'he  Advance  of  Knoirledge.     By  W.  Sedgwick.     (Allen.)     63. 

The  Bot/hood  of  a  Naturalist.    By  Kred  Smith.    (lUackie.)    lis.  6d. 

£nglishiromans  Year  Book,  I'JOO.     (lihick.)     28.  fid.  net. 

Who's  Who,  1900.     (Black.)     :{3.  (id.  net. 

Science  and  Faith.  By  i)r.  Paul  Topinard.  Translated  by 
Tliomas  J.  MeCormao.     (Kegan  Paid.)     'is.  6d.  net. 

A  First  Book  in  On/anie  Evolution.  By  D.  Kerfoot  Sliute. 
(Kegan  Paul.)     7a.  6d. 

The  "  Mechanical  World  "  Pocket  Diary,  1900.     (Emmott.)      fid. 

Makers  of  Modern  Prose-  By  W.  3.  Dawson.  (Hodder  and 
Stoughton.)     (is. 

Co-ordinate  Geomelri/ — The  Conic,  liy  J.  II.  Grace,  B.A.,  and 
J'".  Rosenberg,  M.A.     (Clivc.)      ts.  fid. 

Twelve  Months'  Notes  on  Birds  in  the  South  Mams  District — 
{August,  lSi9f<-99).     Hy  E.  X.  Savage  Elliot. 

Letters  of  Farada'g  and  Schoenhein,  1SM)-1SI)2.  Edited  by 
Kahlbaum  and  Darbisliire.     ^Williams  and  Norgate.)      115s.  net. 

The  Mind  of  the  Nation.  By  Marcus  R.  P.  Dorman,  M.D. 
(Kegan  Paul.)     12s.  net. 

The  Storg  of  the  Wanderings  of  Atoms.  By  M.  M.  Patlison 
Muir.     (Newnes.)     Is. 

Useful  Arts  and  Handicrafts  Series: — Picture  Frames  ly  Novel 
Methods.  Dges,  Stains,  and  Inks.  Decorated  Woodwork  and  Wood 
Carving  for  Beginners.  (Uawbarn  &  Ward.)  Illustrated.  Each, 
fid.  net. 

Whitaker's  Almanack,  1900.       Whitaker's  Peerage,  1900. 

The  Races  of  Man.     By  0.  Deuiker,  sen.     (Paris.) 

Contemporary  Science  Series.     Walter  Seott.     Illustrated,     fis. 

Optical  Activity  and  Chemical  Composition.  By  Dr.  II.  Laudolt. 
Translated  by  John  MeCrac,  PU.u.     (Whitaker.)     -Is.  fid. 

Monthly  Star  Maps  for  1900.  By  W.  B.  Blaikie.  (Scottish 
Provident.  Institution.) 

Social  Chess.     By  James  Mason.     (Horace  Cox.) 

The  Studio.     December.     Is. 


THE   BLACK    RAIN   OF   AUGUST  6,   1899. 

By  Major  L.  A.  Eddie,  f.r.a.s. 

On  August  14th,  18S8,  a  heavy  fall  of  black  rain 
(an  account  of  which  I  published  in  the  "  Grahams- 
towu  Journal,"  of  August  28th,  1888)  took  place  in 
Grahamstown  and  the  surrounding  districts,  extending 
over  an  area  of  more  than  360  square  miles,  when  1 
advanced  several  theories  in  an  endeavour  to  explain 
the  cause  of  this  curious  phenomenon ;  but  no  micro- 
scopical examination  of  the  water  itself  was  made  on 
that  occasion.  During  the  early  part  of  the  month  of 
August,  in  many  of  the  intervening  years  sinco  this 
recorded  fall,  there  have  been  similar  downfalls  of 
blackish  rain,  though  less  joronounced,  which  have  been 
cither  observed  by  myself  or  reported  to  me  by  others. 

The  fall  in  August,  1888,  was  heralded  by  an  almost 
incessant  low  rumbling  thunder,  and,  in  like  manner, 
the  fall  of  black  rain  on  the  early  morning  of  Sunday, 
the  6th  August,  1899,  which  I  have  now  to  record,  was 
preceded  by  a  continuous  bombardment  of  muffled 
growling  thunder  varied  by  one  smart  deafening  peal. 
This  storm  followed  after  two  days  of  a  stiff  south- 
easter. The  storm,  accompanying  raiu,  and  the  corre- 
sponding time  of  the  year,  to  my  recollection  agreeing 
with  that  of  August,  18SS,  induced  me  to  inspect  the 
water  that  had  fallen,  when  I  was  not  surprised  to  find 
the  colour  and  ajipearauoe  of  the  fluid  to  resemble  that 
of  the  previous  August,  viz.,  to  be  of  a  sable  tint  as  if 
mixed  with  ink.  On  putting  by  some  of  this  dusky 
fluid  in  a  white  enamelled  vessel,  I  soon  observed  that 
the  liquid  partially  cleared,  and  a  black  sediment  waa 


20 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[Januaby  1,  1900. 


deposited,  consisting  of  jsarticles  of  a  size  separately 
perceptible  to  the  unaided  vision,  but  on  trying  to  seize 
these  particles  between  the  finger  they  crumbled  to  an 
extremely  fine  powder  and  were  exceedingly  soft  to  the 
touch,  and  not  in  any  way  gritty,  as  would  be  expected 
if  of  an  inorganic  mineral  or  metallic  nature. 

On  submitting  this  black  dust  to  examination  under 
the  microscope,  and  using  a  high  jJower,  it  became 
apjjarent  that  microscopic  organisms  were  present.  The 
spores,  of  a  dingy  brown  colour,  were  mainly  elliptical 
in  form,  though  some  were  circular  and  some  of  an 
irregular  pentagonal  figure ;  where  not  crushed  apart 
they  were  lying  in  heaps,  or  swarm-spores  in  close  con- 
tact like  clusters  of  bramble  berries ;  there  was 
occasionally  to  be  seen  a  piece  of,  as  it  were,  filamentous 
mycelium,  from  which  the  clusters  or  groups  of  sessile 
spores  had  been  probably  detached;  the  marginal 
border  of  these  cells  was  dark,  while  the  centre  position 
was  fairly  permeable  to  the  transmitted  light,  and  some 
few  seemed  to  possess  a  tiny  dark  nucleus ;  their 
average  size  was  about  the  1/12,500  of  an  inch,  though 
many  were  much  smaller  and  some  few  larger.  On 
examination  as  an  opaque  object  they  reflected  a  bright 
yellow  light  in  contrast  to  the  dark  background,  but 
were  not  at  all  affected  by  polarised  light.  It  will  be 
seen  that  in  this  plate  many  of  the  elliptical  sporules 
are  arranged  in  catinaries,  with  their  small  ends  abut- 
ting in  a  line  with  their  conjugate  axes,  while  some  of 
these  elongated  members  appear,  on  minute  inspection, 
to  consist  of  two  circular  sporules  in  close  contact  with 
a  more  or  less  defined  septum  between  the  individual 
cells. 

Again,  many  of  these  spores,  more  especially  those  of 
elongated  form,  appear  to  be  germinating  by  emitting 
a  thin  filament,  generally,  though  not  in  all  cases,  from 
one  of  the  narrow  ends,  this  filament  is  appaiently  in 
some  instances  holding  two  or  more  in  conjugation, 
though  when  attached  to  a  single  cell  it  meiely  re- 
sembles a  flagellum. 

These  aerial  fungi  may  probably  have  belonged  to 
the  genus  Rcestitia  or  ^cidium,  both  of  which  genera 
are  known  to  exist  in  the  Cape,  producing  in  the  earlier 
stage  blight  in  the  plants  they  infest,  and  subsequently 
smut,  mildew,  or  rust  in  the  wheat  and  barley. 

The  inky  appearance  of  the  water,  both  of  August, 
1888,  and  of  August,  1899,  soon  cleared  after  it  had 
stood  for  a  ti'ne  in  the  vessel  into  which  it  had  drained, 
and  but  a  comparatively  small  amount  of  sediment  was 
deposited,  much  less  indeed  than  might  have  been  ex- 
pected, judging  from  the  very  sable  tint  which  the  fluid 
wore  upon  its  descent  from  the  clouds.  This  black 
water  was  noticed  after  the  rainfall  of  the  6th  August, 
1899,  in  all  water  receptacles  throughout  Grahamstowu, 
but  I  have  not  heard  of  its  being  detected  in  the  sur- 
rounding district. 

Such  rainfalls  are  not  without  precedent  in  other 
countries.  Professor  Barker,  in  April,  1849,  reported 
to  the  Royal  Dublin  Society  two  observations  on  a 
shower  of  black  rain  that  had  fallen  around  Carlow  and 
Kilkenny  and  extended  over  an  area  of  some  400 
square  miles.  It  is  described  as  being  uniformly  black 
at  the  time  it  fell,  resembling  ordinary  writing  ink, 
but  that  it  soon  cleared  after  standing,  and  a  black 
sediment  was  deposited,  and  that  the  gardeners  and 
shepherds  had  had  their  clothes  blackened  when  work- 
ing afterwards  in  the  clover  and  the  fields.  No 
microscopic  examination,  however,  seems  to  have  been 
made. 

Mary   bomerville,    in    her   classic    work    on    Physical 


Geography,  says — "  Rain  dust  has  been  most  wonder- 
fully the  means  of  proving  that  the  trade  winds,  after 
meeting  at  the  Equator,  cross  and  continue  their  course 
as  upper  currents.  Brick-red  dust  has  frequently  fallen 
in  large  quantities  on  ships  in  the  Atlantic,  especially 
about  the  Cajje  cle  Verd  Islands,  but  specimens  having 
been  examined  by  Professor  Ehrenberg  from  the  Cape 
de  Verd  Islands,  fi'om  Malta,  Genoa,  Lyons,  and  the 
Tyrol,  he  found  that  they  all  consisted  of  infusoria 
and  organisms  whose  habitat  is  South  America."  "  There 
is  every  reason  to  suppose  that  the  dust  collected  by 
Mr.  Rutland  in  1839,  nearly  midway  between  the 
African  and  American  continents,  between  the  10th 
and  14th  degrees  of  north  latitude,  consisted  of  Ameri- 
can infusoria,  "  and  the  same  authoress,  writing  of  the 
ubiquitous  infusoria,  says  that  Professor  Ehrenberg  had 


Elliptical   Sporulea  (magnified)  in  black  rain. 

found  them  in  fog,  rain,  and  snow,  and  in  the  minute 
dust  that  sometimes  falls  on  the  ocean. 

Mr.  M.  C.  Cooke,  in  his  work  on  Fungi,  states  that 
recent  examinations  of  the  common  atmosphere  prove 
the  large  quantity  of  spores  that  are  continually  sus- 
pended, and,  generally,  in  considerable  numbers.  The 
majority  of  the  cells  were  proved  to  be  living  and  ready 
to  undergo  development.  A  suitable  pabulum  being 
exposed  it  was  soon  converted  into  a  forest  of  fungoid 
vegetation.  It  has  been  held  that  the  atmosphere  is 
often  highly  charged  with  fungi  spores.  The  experi- 
ments conducted  in  India  have  been  convincing  on  this 
point  ("  Microscopic  Examination  of  the  Air,"  from  the 
ninth  Annual  Report  of  the  Sanitary  Commissioners, 
Calcutta,  1872). 

Many  of  these  aerial  fungi  have  been  known  to  attack 
insects  and  use  them  as  a  basis  for  their  parasitical 
growth ;  even  the  common  housefly  is  a  prey  to  a 
mouldy  fungus  called  Sparendonema  Muscae,  as  may 
be  witnessed  at  certain  seasons  when  our  domestic  com- 
panion is  seen  to  take  up  his  last  resting  place  on  our 
window  panes  surrounded  with  a  white  mouldy  shroud. 

That  terrible  pest,  the  locust,  is  also  known  to  fur- 
nish a  favourable  medium  for  the  cultivation  of  a 
fungoid  vegetation,  and  valuable  work  is  now  being 
done   in   the   Cape   Colony    by   artificially   sowing   and 


Ja-vtjaky  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


21 


disseminating  the  sporules  of  a  suitable  insecticidal 
fungus  amongst  these  very  destructible  creatures,  and 
thereby  slaying  countless  myriads  in  a  very  brief  space 
of  time. 

The  Cape  mycologic  flora  is  said  to  be  peculiar,  and 
can  scaroelv  be  comp-.red  with  any  other.  From  the  Cape 
and  Natal  collections  have  been  made  by  Zcyhcr  Drigi 
and  others.  Humidity  is  known  to  contribute  largely 
towards  the  copious  production  of  fungi,  and  during 
protracted  droughts  the  regions  affected  thereby  will 
remain  comparatively  bare  of  fungi,  but  during  seasons 
of  frequent  rainfalls  the  production  of  a  fungoid  vege- 
tation is  larsrelv  increased. 


BRITISH 


ORNlTHOLOCTCAt^ 


'^ 


,NQT.£S;: 


Conducted  by  Habby  F.  Withebby,  f.z.s.,  m.b.o.d. 


The  Robin  and  the  Nightingale. — In  "  Cries  and 
Calls  of  Wild-Birds  "  I  have  compared  a  modified  and 
very  coarse  rendering  of  the  croak  of  the  nightingale 
with  the  rattling  alarm  of  the  robin  ;  and  I  instanced 
the  croaking  of  two  robins  as  illustrating  a  family  re- 
semblance between  the  cries  of  the  two  species. 
Another,  and  a  remarkable,  instance  of  this  has 
recently  been  observed  by  me. 

Early  in  August  last  I  heard  near  my  garden  at 
Charlton  Kings  what  I  thought  to  be  a  nightingale 
giving  its  common  cry,  which  may  be  written 
"  whit-rrrr."  But  something  in  the  tone  of  the  cry 
attracted  attention,  and  I  was  astonished  to  see 
what  I  felt  positive  was  a  robin,  giving  the  notes.  But 
I  could  not  see  the  bird's  breast,  and  therefore  could 
not  be  quite  sure  of  it.  The  bird  soon  flew  away,  in 
the  manner  of  a  robin,  and  was  seen  no  more.  But 
early  in  November  I  saw  and  heard  in  the  hedge 
about  a  quarter-mile  below  the  railway  station,  a  robin 
giving  the  "  rrrr "  croak  of  the  nightingale  exactly, 
sometimes  preceding  it  with  one  or  more  of  the  ticking 
sounds  heard  in  the  robin's  rattling  alarm.  Mostly  one 
tick  only  was  given.  Anyone,  even  a  good  observer,  hear- 
ing the  croak  only,  would  at  once  have  said  that  it 
was  uttered  by  a  nightingale.  The  robin  is  of  course 
a  near  relative  of  the  warblers,  and  its  use  of  one  of 
their  most  typical  alarm-cries  is  worth  recording. — 
Charles  A.  Witchell,  Charlton  Kings,  Cheltenham. 

An  Observational  Diarii  of  the  Uahits  of  Niffhtjars  {Caprimulgu.t 
Europaeus),  most/i/  of  a  Silting  Pair.  Notes  taken  at  time  and  on 
Spot.  By  Edmund  Selous.  {Zoolor/isf,  ?5eptembpr,  1899,  pp.  388-K)H ; 
November,  1899,  pp.  486-50.5.)  The  very  full  title  of  this  article 
explains  its  object.  Mr.  Selous  has  evidently  taken  a  vast  amount 
of  pains  in  watching  and  recording  most  minutely  the  doings  and 
"  sayinKs"  of  this  pair  of  Nightjars  from  the  time  the  eggs  were  laid 
until  the  chicks  hatched.  To  those  who  wish  to  be  familiar  with  the 
domestic  arrangements  of  the  Nightjar  we  recommend  a  periieal  of 
Mr.  Selous'  most  original  series  of  interviews. 


Serent  Observations  on  the  Sea  fowl  of  the  Dublin  Coast.  By 
Charles  J.  Patten.  (Irish  Naturalist,  December,  1899,  pp.  253.256.) 
'I'hese  into^e^ting  notes  ehielly  relate  t-o  the  occurrence  of  various 
species  of  waders — some  of  them  irregular  visitors  to  Ireland. 


itticvoscopi>. 

By  John  IF.  Cookk,  r.i,.s.,  F.ri.s. 

Boll  covers,  for  protecting  preparations  from  dust,  may  bo 
made  by  cementing  a  small  handle  or  cork  to  tho  centre  of  the 
convex  side  of  watch  glasses. 

Mr.  II.  F.  Moore,  of  tho  United  States  Fish  Commission,  has 
recently  published  tho  ri>Hnlts  of  his  investigations  on  tho  food 
of  herring.s.  Tlio  .staple  diet  of  these  tish  consist  of  niiniito 
organi.sms,  often  of  microsco|)ic  dimensions.  Examinations  of 
tho  stomachs  of  the  fisli  sliowed  the  food  to  consist  largely  of 
copepods,  schizo])od.s  (shrimp-like  forms),  ampliipods  (sand  tieus 
and  their  allies),  tlie  embryos  of  g,asteropo<ls  and  lamellibranchs, 
and  young  lishcs,  often  of  their  own  kind.  ^laiiy  of  these 
possess  phosphorent  spots,  due  to  the  prcsciico  of  photo-bacteria, 
which  enable  the  herring  to  follow  their  prey  by  tiight.  Mr. 
Moore  has  often  watched  the  herrings  at  night  swimming  back- 
wards and  forwards  in  search  of  their  prey,  "  apparently 
screening  the  water,  their  every  movement  traced  by  a 
])hosporescont  gleam  evoked  ]ierhaps  by  the  very  organisms 
which  they  are  consuming." 

The  necessity  for  exercising  great  caution  in  the  use  of  pork 
as  food  is  again  brought  home  very  forcibly  to  us  in  the  last 
report  of  the  microscopist  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture, 
U.S.A.  In  the  microscopal  inspection  for  trichina;,  1,S81,:)09 
specimens  were  examined,  and  of  these  13,32,0  were  found  to  be 
infected.  The  expenses  connected  with  this  examination  cost 
the  Government  11,()()9  dollars. 

Salicylic  acid  crystallized  from  alcohol  gives,  when  mounted, 
a  beautiful  combination  of  gold  and  green,  with  shades  of 
purple  and  silver  points.  The  method  of  mounting  is  as 
follows  : — Dissolve  the  acid  in  alcohol  and  allow  a  drop  of  the 
solution  to  fall  on  the  slide.  Apply  heat  for  a  few  seconds,  and 
when  cool,  ring  the  preparation  with  balsam  and  allow  it  to  set. 
It  may  be  necessary  to  super-impose  several  rings  of  balsam, 
but  in  each  ca.se  the  lower  ring  should  have  thoroughly  set 
before  another  is  a[i])lied.  Slightly  warm  a  cover  gla.ss  and 
place  it  on  the  ring.  The  cell  may  then  be  sealed  with  asphaltum 
and  finished  according  to  taste.  The  preparation  is  most 
effective  as  a  "  show  "  slide. 

In  the  same  paper,  Mr.  MacDougall  discusses  the  question  of 
the  action  of  the  bacteria  of  leguminosffi,  and  describes  the 
experiments  of  Prof.  Nobbe  .and  Dr.  Ililltner  in  indticing  nodule 
formation  in  plants  by  inocculation  with  pure  cultures.  To 
make  pure  cultures  a  fresh  nodule  is  washed  carefully,  and  after 
being  dried  in  blotting  paper,  it  is  dropped  for  a  moment  into 
corro.sive  sublimate  to  kill  any  bacteria  on  the  surface.  It  is 
next  washed  in  absolute  alcohol,  and  cut  with  a  scalpel  that  has 
been  sterilized  in  a  Hame.  A  platinum  needle  is  dip])ed  into 
the  cut,  and  gelatine,  previously  prepared  with  a  decoction  of 
leguminous  shoots,  is  streaked  with  it.  The  bacillus  radicicola, 
being  an  aerobic  form,  requires  a  large  surface  of  gelatine  for 
propagation.  A  pure  culture  is  obtained  in  a  few  days.  To 
inoceulate  plants  with  the  microbe,  the  bacilli  are  transferred  to 
water,  and  a  little  of  the  mixture  is  sprinkled  over  the  soil  lu 
which  the  plants  are  growing. 

Living  diatoms  survive  for  days  when  stained  with  methyline 
blue  .solution  (one  in  one  hundred  thousand),  but  the  vitality  of 
the  cells  wane  from  the  moment  the  nucleus  takes  up  the  stain 

When  photographing  bacteria  and  other  minute  organisms, 
the  cone  of  light  should  never  be  reduced  by  stopping  down. 
Without  a  full  sized  cone  of  light,  white  diffraction  lines  will 
appear  around  the  organism. 

The  use  of  mercury  pellets  is  recommended  to  free  slide 
boxes  and  store  cabinets  from  mites,  jjsoci,  etc.,  and  also  to 
collect  any  particles  of  dust  which  may  gain  entrance.  A  few 
small  pellets  of  mercury,  ]ilaced  free  in  the  bottom,  will,  by  Iho 
movement  of  the  box  or  drawer,  be  caused  to  roll  to  and  fro  and 
accomplish  the  desired  end. 


22 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[January  1,  1900. 


In  the  course  of  some  petrological  investigations  on  the  north 
shore  of  Lake  Superior,  Mr.  A.  P.  Coleman  discovered  a  new 
mineral,  at  Heron  Bay,  Lake  Superior,  which  he  has  named 
Heronitr,  and  which  he  describes  at  length  in  the  Journal  of 
Geolof/;/.  It  is  a  dike  rock,  consisting  essentially  of  analcite, 
orthoolase,  plagioclase,  and  cegyrite,  the  analcite  having  the 
character  of  a  base  in  which  the  other  minerals  form  r.adiating 
groups  of  crystals.  The  analcite  clearly  represents  the  magma 
left  after  the  crystallization  of  the  embedded  minerals,  and  it 
is  evident  that  it  can  be  formed  only  from  a  magma  highly 
charged  with  water,  and  therefore  under  pressure. 

The  labelling  of  microscopic  objects,  when  done  properly, 
forms  a  no  unimportant  part  of  the  training  of  a  microscopist. 
Apart  from  the  discipline  that  it  affords  in  habits  of  painstaking 
research,  the  systematic  record  that  a  label  contains  is  a  great 
time  saver  to  the  student,  inasmuch  as,  when  it  is  necessary  to 
refer  to  the  object  again  or  to  comp.are  it  with  a  series  of  objects 
belonging  to  the  same  genus,  he  is  enabled  to  see  at  a  glance 
the  relation  that  each  object  bears  to  the  others  in  the  system 
of  classification  that  is  adopted,  thus  rendering  further  references 
to  text  and  note  books  unnecessary.  For  these  reasons  the 
following  example   has  much  to  recommend  it.      The   labels 


SuAJun^. 

SectijojL 

n^ss 

/^        "*\ 

Meduiin, 

I'nkr 
Fititiilv 

1   r/:?'     1 

Spft:ja^yPoui/.v 

tiauis 

V  ''<■'' '^  / 

Localitv 

SptCLtS 

.Kiiru 

v=y^ 

MotmtiT 
Date 

should  be  printed  in  sheets  and  details  filled  in  before  the  labels 
are  trimmed  to  size.  They  are  placed  on  the  slide,  one  on 
either  side  of  the  object. 

Minute  soft-bodied  insects  do  not  lend  themselves  to  methods 
of  preparation  that  will  enable  them  to  be  kept  in  a  condition 
serviceable  for  subsequent  scientific  study.  Alcohol  deprives 
them  of  their  colour,  and  balsam  frequently  distorts,  and  so 
destroys  the  characteristics  of  venation  and  of  jointed 
appendages.  The  method  of  roasting  by  the  sudden  application 
of  intense  heat  has  hitherto  proved  itself  to  be  one  of  the  best 
means  of  dry  preservation.  For  Aphides  the  following 
procedure  gives  satisfactory  results.  The  living  Aphis  is  put  on 
a  sheet  of  white  paper,  and  at  the  moment  when  it  is  in  the 
desii-ed  position  the  pa|)er  is  held  over  a  flame,  and  in  an  instant 
it  will  be  dead  and  will  ret.ain  the  attitude.  Then  put  it,  still 
on  the  paper,  into  an  oven  ;  or,  still  better,  hold  it  over  the 
heated  tin,  carefully  watching  the  drying  and  moving  the  paper 
about  in  order  to  prevent  it  getting  singed.  The  roasting  is 
quickly  accomplished  in  either  way.  If  the  paper  burns  brown 
it  is  a  sign  that  caution  is  requisite.  To  pierce  these  brittle 
preparations  is  hazardous,  and  it  is  a  better  way  to  mount  them 
with  gum  in  a  dry  cell. 

The  question  of  the  limit  of  resolving  power  of  objectives 
is  discussed  by  Dr.  L.  B.  Twitchell,  who  points  out  that  up  to 
the  present,  ICobert's  twentieth  band,  225,190  lines  to  an  inch, 
has  never  been  resolved,  and,  theoretically,  with  white  light 
only  146,543  lines  per  inch  can  be  distinguished.  By  utilizing, 
however,  the  shorter  actinic  rays  and  a  photographic  plate, 
theoretically  193,037  lines  per  inch  should  be  resolved — that  is, 
effects  beyond  the  jiossibility  of  ocular  vision. 

Mr.  G.  E.  Stone  descants,  in  the  current  issue  of  the  Journal 
of  Applied  Mi(^rogco2}y,  on  the  advantages  of  formalin  as  a 
preservative  for  botanical  specimens.  He  has  used  formalin  in 
his  laboratory  for  six  years  for  the  display  of  the  morphological, 
physiological,  pathological  and  ecological  characteristics  of  plants 
with  most  satisfactory  results.  The  strength  of  the  formalin 
solution  used  for  preserving  specimens  is  four  parts  of  the  forty 
i)er  cent,  solution  to  one  hundred  parts  of  water.  Two  to  three 
parts  to  one  hundred  have  been  tried,  but  solutions  of  this 
strength  have  not  (jroved  satisfactory.  Most  of  the  specimens 
have  been  kept  in  a  4-100  parts  solution  for  five  years  without 
renewing,  and  with  the  exception  of  a  slight  tendency  to  form 
a  precipitate  in  some  of  the  jars,  they  are  as  clear  as  ever. 
Formalin  solution  gives  clear  white  colourless  tissues,  whereas 


the  tissues  placed  in  alcohol  have  invariably  turned  to  aMirty 
brown. 

In  the  same  Journal,  Prof.  C.  J.  Chamberlain  continues  his 
admirable  series  of  articles  on  methods  in  plant  histology.  He 
treats  of  the  Algae,  freshwater  and  marine,  and  of  the  Fungi 
Under  the  Phyco- 
mycetes,  he  briefly 
discusses  Mucor  sto- 
lonifer,  the  familiar 
bread  mould,  and 
suggests  the  follow- 
ing method  as  a  sure 
and  rapid  method 
for  obtaining  it: — 
Place  a  glass  tum- 
bler in  a  plate  of 
water,  put  a  slice 
of  bread  on  the 
tumbler,  and  cover 
with  a  glass  jar.  To 
obtain  such  a  series 
as  is  shown  on  the 
A-D  of  the  figure, 
the  material  should 
be  studied  before 
the  sporangia  begin  to  turn  black.  The  phase  in  the  life-liistory 
indicated  in  F-H  is  rarely  seen,  and  therefore  the  writer  would 
be  glad  to  hear  from  anyone  who  has  met  this  phase,  especially  if 
the  information  could  be  accompanied  by  a  few  dry  zygospores. 
A  very  satisf actoi'y  study  may  be  made  from  the  living  material. 
Corrosive  sublimate  (four  per  cent.)  in  fifty  per  cent,  alcohol, 
used  hot,  is  recommended  as  a  fixing  agent. 

A-D. — Successive  stages  in  the  development  of  the  sporangium. 
E. — Columella  with  a  few  spores  adhering.  F-H. — Stages  in 
the  formation  of  the  zygospore. 


NOTES   ON   COMETS   AND   METEORS. 

By  W.  F.  Denning,  f.r.a.s. 

Comets. — At  present  there  is  very  little  of  general  interest  to 
observers  as  regards  visible  comets.  Several  of  these  objects 
may  possibly  be  picked  up  in  very  large  telescopes,  but  they 
have  passed  beyond  the  capacity  of  ordinary  instruments. 

The  year  1899  has  not  been  very  productive  of  cometary 
discoveries,  for  only  two  new  comets  h.ave  been  announced 
These  were  by  Lewis  Swift  on  March  3rd,  and  by  Giacobini  on 
September  29th.  Apait  from  these,  returns  of  three  periodical 
comets  have  been  observed,  viz.,  that  of  Holmes's  comet  (detected 
by  Perrine  on  June  10th,  perihelion  passage  April  28th), 
Tuttle's  comet  (detected  by  Wolf  at  Heidellierg,  March  5th, 
perihelion  passage  May  14th),  and  Tempel's  comet,  1873  II. 
(detected  by  Perrine,  May  0th,  perihelion  jjassage  September 
28th).  The  first  periodical  comet  due  in  1900  will  be  Finlay's 
(seen  in  1886  and  1893),  which  should  be  in  perihelion  early  in 
the  spring,  but  the  conditions  will  be  unfavourable,  and  the 
comet  may  escape  observation  at  this  return.  In  the  autumn 
of  1906  this  comet  should  be  well  seen,  as  it  will  be  com- 
paratively near  the  earth. 

Holmes's  Comet. — Mr.  R.  G.  Aitken,  in  describing  (Asl. 
Niicli.  3602)  six  observations  which  he  obtained  of  this  object 
in  August  and  September  with  the  36-inch  equatorial  of  the 
Lick  Observatory,  says  "  The  comet  was  very  faint — not  as 
bright  as  a  14th  magnitude  star  when  best  seen — and  on  the 
night  of  September  2nd,  when  the  seeing  was  very  poor,  it  was 
at  times  entirely  invisible.  It  showed  only  feeble  condensation, 
and  the  outlines  were  very  vague." 

The  Shower  of  Leonids  in  1899. — A  large  number  of 
observers  have  reported  observations,  but  the  experience  in 
Enghand  and  foreign  places  seems  to  have  been  general  that  the 
phenomenon  presented  a  very  feeble  aspect.  Occasional  meteors 
shot  from  the  sickle  of  Leo,  and  demonstrated  that  the  earth 
was  either  passing  near  or  through  the  swarm,  but  the  brilliant 
spectacle  which  it  was  hoped  would  have  been  visible  was 
nowhere  realized.  Many  people  who  do  not  even  make  a  hobby 
of  astronomy  remained  up  all  night  watching  from  their  windows 


Jantary  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


23 


or  from  commanding  positions  whence  the  display  might  have 
been  viewed  lo  the  best  advantage,  but  disappointment  was 
almost  universal.  At  some  stations,  liowever,  it  is  gratifying 
to  find  it  reported  that  meteors  were  tolerabl_v  numerous,  and 
that  a  few  tine  Leonids  were  noticed.  From  these  a  proportion 
of  the  impromptu  observers  received  at  least  a  small  measure  of 
satisfaction.  It  may  be  a  solace  to  those  who  saw  little  or 
nothing,  when  they  reflect  that  the  shower  may  be  brilliantly 
visible  in  I'.tOO  or  1901.  In  several  newspapers  the  statement 
has  lately  been  made  that  all  chance  of  seeing  the  meteors  has 
gone  until  a  generation  hence,  when  the  swarm,  having  com- 
pleted another  revolution,  would  return  in  193:').  This  is, 
however,  based  on  a  misconception,  for  the  denser  portion  n( 
the  system  occupies  several  years  in  passing  through  that  region 
of  the  orbit  intersected  by  the  earth  at  the  middle  of  Xov(  inbtr. 
AVe  are  fairly  entitled  to  e.xpect  that  either  in  November  r.iOil. 
or  1901,  the  shower  will  be  witnessed  at  its  best,  though  it 
seems  probable  that  in  the  former  year  it  will  occur  during 
daylight  in  Englami.  and  19ill,  when  there  will  be  no  moon, 
apparently  offers  much  tlie  best  prospect. 

Thk  Mktkors  ur  BrEi.A's  Comht. — There  was  reason  to 
expect  that  as  nothing  of  these  meteors  was  noticed  in  1898, 
and  as  the  parent  comet,  if  it  still  exists,  passed  through  its 
perihelion  some  time  this  year,  that  a  jjretty  strong  .shower  of 
them  might  be  seen  on  about  November  23rd  or  •J4th.  They 
were  accordlnglj-  looked  for  at  several  places,  and  with  moderate 
success,  for  a  very  definite  shower  of  Andromedids  was  ob.^erved. 
At  Xew  York,  Prof.  Young,  at  the  Princeton  Observatory,  .saw 
fortj--two  meteors  on  November  ■24th  belonging  to  this  shower, 
and  secured  photographs  of  several.  The  astronomers  of  the 
observatory  at  Yienna  watclied  lietween  early  evening  and 
moonrise  on  November  'JUrd,  and  counted  sixty-seven  shooting 
stars,  mostly  directed  from  the  constellation  Andromeda.  A 
magnificent  fireball  was  also  seen  shining  in  that  constellation. 
Twelve  photographs  were  .secm-ed.  Mr.  E.  C.  Willis  reports  in 
Nature  of  December  7th,  that  on  November  '24th  he  watched 
from  10  to  11.25,  and  noted  fifty-two  Andromedids  an;l  ten 
other  meteors.  The  shower  was  strongest  between  10  and 
10.15,  when  twenty  Andromedids  were  .seen.  At  Bristol  the 
same  ill-fortune  followed  the  observers  as  on  November  14  th 
and  15th,  for  clouds  veiled  the  heavens  on  November  '2:ird  and 
■24th,  except  for  about  half  an  hour  in  the  early  evening  of 
November  2.3rd,  when  in  a  beautiful  sky  only  two  meteoi's  were 
seen,  and  neither  of  these  were  Andromedids.  It  is  probable 
that  on  the  afternoon  or  early  evening  of  November  24  th  the 
shower  formed  a  pretty,  bright,  and  numerous  one,  but  we  have 
not  yet  received  anj-  reports  which  would  lead  us  to  think  that 
the  display  was  in  any  way  comparable  to  the  imposing  showers 
of  November  27th,  1><72,  and  1««5.  The  next  really  rich  display 
of  these  meteors  will  probably  occur  on  November  18th,  1905. 
In  the  spring  of  1901,  Jupiter  will  be  in  the  region  of  this 
meteor  group,  and  disturb  it  in  a  manner  to  bring  its  apparition 
six  days  earlier  than  at  the  present  time  according  to  the  com- 
putations of  Schulhof  and  Abelmann. 

The  Qcadrantidj. — This  annual  shower  is  sometimes  rather 
striking,  and  quite  as  rich  as  the  Perseids,  though  it  has  been 
comparatively  seldom  observed.  It  should  be  looked  for  on  the 
early  evening  of  January  2nd,  and  morning  of  January  ,3rd. 
The  radiant  is  at  230"  +  ii'd^  ;  the  meteors  are  pretty  bright, 
of  moderate  velocity,  and  traverse  long  paths. 


most   conveniently  observable   occultations   during   the 
month  :  — 


THE  FACE   OF   THE  SKY  FOR  JANUARY. 

By  A.  Fowler,  f.r.a.s. 

The  Sun. — On  the  1st  the  sun  ri.ses  at  8.8  and 
sets  at  4.0  ;  on  the  31st  he  rises  at  7.42  and  .sets  at 
4.46.  The  sun  is  at  its  least  distance  from  the  earth 
at  6  a.m.  on  the  2nd,  the  apparent  diameter  then  being 
at  its  maximum,  .32'  3.5  ".08  ;  the  horizontal  parallax 
is  then  9". 00.     Few  sunspots  arc  to  be  expected. 

The  Moon. — The  moon  will  be  new  on  the  1st  at 
1.52  P.M.,  will  enter  first  quarter  on  the  8th  at 
5.40  A.M.,  will  be  full  on  the  15th  at  7.8  p.m.,  will  enter 
last  quarter  on  the  23rd  at  11.53  p.m.,  and  will  be  again 
new  on  the  31st  at   1,27  a.m.     The   following   are  the 


^ 

Disappearance. 

Reappearftuce 

^ 

V 

3 

' 

'^ 

a 

I 

ii?; 

£> 

1> 

«>r, 

£> 

a 

1 

.1 

»a 

5fa 

a 

a  a 

5fa 

f 

■«'!'. 

<!'. 

P 

-fi'. 

«!« 

■" 

Jau.   6 

19  Pisciam 

5-2 

7.V2  P.M. 

91° 

6.S» 

8.10  P.M. 

•215" 

182° 

„    10 

i^  Arietis 

5-3 

7.1     P.M. 

;w 

4S1 

7.59  P.M. 

•295 

295 

,.    10 

1)5  Arietis 

5-6 

7..M  P.M. 

■15 

47 

9.1       P.M. 

288 

271 

„    11 

«!  Tnuri 

id 

10.27  P.M. 

I  US 

90 

11.3+    P.M. 

2U 

20.'i 

,.     11 

K-  TiLuri 

5-5 

10.40  P.M. 

IW 

11.5 

li.2:i  P.M. 

213 

17S 

Thk  I'lanets.. — Mercury  is  a  morning  star  through- 
out the  month,  but  is  not  well  placed  for  observation  in 
our  latitudes  on  account  of  his  great,  southerly  decli 
nation. 

Venus  is  an  evening  star,  setting  on  the  IsL  about 
2  hours  after  the  sun,  and  on  the  31st  nearly  3  liours 
after  the  sun.  The  planet  will  be  found  low  down, 
south  of  ■■vest,  soon  after  sunset.  At  the  middle  of 
the  month  nearly  nine-tenths  of  the  disc  will  be 
illuminated. 

Mars  will  be  in  conjunction  with  the  sun  on  the 
16th,  and  cannot  be  observed  this  month. 

Jupiter  is  a  morning  star,  rising  shortly  after  4  a.m., 
at  the  middle  of  the  month,  his  polar  diameter  then 
being  30". 6.  The  movement  of  the  planet  is  direct, 
in  the  northern  part  of  Scorpio. 

Saturn  is  a  morning  star  but  too  near  the  sun  for 
easy  observation,  rising  just  before  half-past  .six  at  the 
middle   of   the   month. 

Uranus  is  also  a  morning  star,  rising  about  5  a.m.  at 
the  middle  of  the  month. 

Neptune,  in  Taurus,  may  be  seen  almost  all  night. 
His  movement  is  westerly.  He  is  in  the  Milky  Way, 
almost  midway  between  Zeta  Tauri  and  132  Tauri. 

The  Stars. — About  9  p.m.  at  the  middle  of  the 
month,  Ursa  Major  will  be  in  the  north-east,  Leo  and 
Cancer  towards  the  east,  Gemini  high  up,  and  Canis 
Minor  lower  in  the  soutli-east,  Auriga  and  Perseus 
nearly  overhead,  Orion  and  Taurus  nearly  in  the  south, 
Aries  and  Cctus  towards  the  south-west,  Pegasus  and 
Andromeda  in  the  west,  and  Cygnus  in  the  north-west. 

Convenient  minima  of  Algol  will  occur  on  the  4th 
at  7.33  P.M.,  on  the  24th  at  9.15  p.m.,  and  on  the  27th 

at  6.4  p.u. 

. ^ 

d^tSB  Column. 

Bv  C.  D.  LococK,  li.A. 


Communications  for  this  column  should  be  addressed 
to  C.  D.  LococK,  Netherfield,  Camberley,  and  be  posted 
by  the  10th  of  each  month. 


Solutions  of  December  Problems. 
(C.    D.    Locock.) 

No.    1. 
1.  Kt  to  K7,  and  mates  next  move. 

No.  2. 
1.  B  to  Kt2,  and  mates  next  move. 

Correct  Solutions  of  both  problems  received  from 
E.  A.  Servante,  H.  S.  Brandiclh,  W.  de  P.  Crousaz, 
W.  d'A.  Barnard,  G.  F.  Todd,  J.  Baddeley,  A.  E. 
Whiteliou.sc,  G.  C.  (Teddington),  K.  W.,  H.  Le  Jeune. 

Of   No.   2   only,    from   Alpha,    G.    A.   Forde   (capt.;. 
J.    T.    Blakemore. — Many    tiianks   for   your   prompt 
response,   the   two   problems   appear   below. 


24 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[January  1,  1900. 


J.  Neville. — Very  glad  to  receive  your  appreciative 
letter. 

G.  F.  Todd. — Your  suggested  key  1.  Kt  to  Kt5  to 
the  four-mover  certainlv  •  omes  verv  near.  For  instance 
neither  1.  .  .  .  P  x  P  lior  1.  .  .  .  B  to  Kt5  uor  1.  .  .  . 
K  to  Q4  are  valid  defences.  There  is  nothing  left 
therefore  except  1.  .  .  .  B  x  Kt. 

J.  O.  Neumann. — In  No.  1.  after  1.  B  to  KKt7  there 
is  no  mate,  whatever  Black  reply.  In  No.  2.  1.  B  to 
K7  is  answered  by  K  to  K4  or  Bishop  moves.  By  ex- 
changing the  column  of  letters  for  the  row  of  figures 
your  notation  would  become  the  ordinary  German 
notation. 

Alpha,  G.  A.  Forde.— If  1.  Kt  to  KK4,  P  to  Q4. 
Hence  the  Black  Pawn  at  KKt5. 

B.  G.  Laws. — Problem  withdrawn  a.s  requested.  The 
coincidence  which  prevents  its  publication  is  as  curious 
as  it  is  unfortunate  for  us. 

J.  Baddeley. — We  quite  agree  with  you  in  principle  : 
but  how  about  a  fifteen-move  problem  ?  Few  players 
but  Mr.  Blackburne  could  manage  this  from  the  dia- 
gram alone :  and  yet  these  long  problems,  sui-mate  or 
otherwise,  frequently  contain  the  most  beautiful  com- 
binations. Moreover,  if  the  composer  moves  the  pieces, 
may  not  a  mere  solver  do  likewise  without  reproach? 

PROBLEMS. 

By  J.  T.  Blakemore. 

No.    1. 

Black  t^). 


^M 

^e^/ 


I 


^^'^  f  m 


Ui. 


White  (:i). 
White    mates    in    two    moves. 

No.   2. 

Buck  (i;). 


'■■///////,^  ',///////,  g^g'^-i  ^^P* 


mm    ■  § ■ 


^1      W'-. 


I  ■  ■lii 


WM 


'Whiti(IO). 

White  mates  in  two  moves. 


Mr.  Blackburne's  Games  at  Chess.  Edited  by  P. 
Anderson  Graham.     (Longmans,  Green  &  Co.) 

Some  two  or  three  years  ago  Dr.  Tarrasch  published 
a  selection  of  300  of  his  games.  Mr.  Blackburne  has 
now  followed  suit  with  this  handsomely  bound  volume, 
which  contains  more  than  400  of  his  games,  selected, 
annotated  and  arranged  by  himself.  Mr.  Blackburne 
has  undoubtedly  been,  for  the  last  thirty  years,  the 
most  prominent  of  English  chess-players  :  the  present 
volume  illustrates  his  skill  in  all  departments  of  the 
game.  The  games  are  divided  into  four  sections, 
viz.  :  — 

(1)  Match,  Tournament,  and  Consultation  Games. 
In  this  section  the  games  are  grouped  under  the  various 
openings,  the  arrangement  in  other  respects  being 
chi'onological. 

(2)  Games  played  oflf-hand,  simultaneously,  or  at 
odds. 

(3)  Endings  from  Actual  Play. 

(4)  Games  played  Blindfold.  This  last  section  is 
prefaced  by  a  short  history  of  blindfold  chess  contri- 
buted by  the  Editor,  who  is  also  responsible  for  the 
interesting  biography  of  Mr.  Blackburne  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  book.  The  annotations  to  the  games 
are  brief  and  descriptive  rather  than  analytical.  Since 
the  editorial  daj'S  of  Zukertort  and  Steinitz  the  analv- 
tical  method  of  annotation  has  gone  out  of  fashion. 
Mr.  Blackburne  prefaces  each  opening  with  a  brief 
resume  of  its  characteristic  features.  We  may  perhaps 
take  exception  to  his  description  of  the  Ruy  Lopez  as 
a  dull  opening  "  leading  to  no  attack."  This  seems  a 
little  hard  on  the  favourite  opening  of  Mackenzie  and 
Zukertort,  to  say  nothing  of  Morphy  and  Anderssen. 
Twenty-eight  of  Mr.  Blackburne's  excellent  problems 
in  three  and  four  moves  conclude  the  volume,  which  is 
published  at  7s.  6d.  net.  It  should  certainly  have  a 
large  sale. 

• 

CHESS    INTELLIGENCE. 


The  Anglo-American  cable  match  will  take  place 
during  March.  The  British  team  will  undergo  some 
alterations.  Mr.  Locock  has  retired  from  active  chess. 
Mr.  Lawrence  has  been  singularly  unfortunate  on  both 
the  occasions  on  which  he  has  represented  his  country  ; 
but  as  ho  has  already  scored  six  successive  victories  in  the 
City  of  London  Championship  tourney,  and  has  there- 
fore again  the  best  chance  of  winning  that  competition, 
he  could  hardly  be  left  out  of  any  representative  team. 
Messrs.  W.  Ward,  R.  Loman,  and  Jacobs  are  also 
making  good  scores. 

For  Contents  of  the  Two  last  Numbers  of  "  Knowledge,"  see 

Advertisement  pages. 


Tte  yearly  bound  volumes  of  Knowledge,  cloth  gilt,  8a.  6d.,  post  free. 

Binding  Cases,  Is.  6d.  each  ;  post  free.  Is.  9d. 

Subscribers'  numbers  bound  (including  case  and  Index),  2s.  6d.  each  volume. 

Index  of  Articles  and  Illustrationa  for  1891,  1892,  1894,  1395,  1896,  1897,  and 
1898  can  be  supplied  for  3d.  each. 

All  remittances  should  be  made  payable  to  the  Publisher  of  "  Knowledoe." 


"  Knowledge "   JLnnnal    Sabscription,  tbrooghont   the    world, 
7s.  6d.,  post  free. 

Communications  for  the  Editors  and  Books  for  Eeriew  should  be  addressed 
Editors,  "  Knowi^edok,"  326,  High  Uolbom,  London,  W.C. 


February  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


25 


V^IUUSTRATED  MAGAZINE    << 

Founded  by  RICHARD    A.    PROCTOR. 


LONDON:    FEBRlAnY   1,  1900. 


CONTENTS. 


1! 


\V.    Ill;    TlN/.ELMANN,   D.SC. 


Wireless  Telegraphy 

(JUuslrated)      

The  Evolution  of  Simple  Societies.     By  Prof.  Aifrbd 

C.   HaIIPoS,   M.A.,  P.SC.  F.K.S.  

Polarity  in  IVlagic  Squares.— I.  liv  E.  I).  Little.  (Ilhs- 
trattJ)     

The  Fly  •■  Syritta  Pipiens. '  Bv  Waltbb  Wbscuk.  {Illus. 
frated)     

Photograph  ot  the  Trifld  Nebula  V-  IV.  41  Sagittaril, 
and  of  the  Region  Surrounding.  By  Isjuc  Robbhts, 
D  sc.  F.B.s.      (Plate)    ...  

Astronomy  and  Astrology  :  A  Question  of  Primo- 
geniture.    By  K.  Walteb  Maunpbb,  f.r.a.s 

Letters  : 

Is  THE  iKIYBBSB  INFINITE  ?      By  W.  H.  S.   MoNCK 

LrsAB  Sbas.     By  a.  Elvins  

S.  S.  Ctqni.    By  David  Fiasebt 

Obituary  ; 

.lOHK  RrSKIN 

Dr.  Elliott  CorES 

Notices  of  Books  

Books  Eecbited        

British   Ornithological   Notes.     Conducted  by  Habbt  F. 

WiTHBBBY,   P.Z.S.,    M.B.O.0 ■ 

The    Buried    Alps.     By  Grenville  A.  J.   Cole,  m.b.i.a.. 

F.a.S.      {Illustrated)     ... 
Long  Waves  of  Winter  Weather.    By  Alex.  McDowall, 

M.A.     (Illustrated) 
Microscopy.    By  John  H.  Cooze,  f.l.s.,  p.g.s.    (Illustrated) 
Notes  on  Comets  and   Meteors.      By  W.  F.  Dbnnino, 

P.B.A.B 

The  Face  of  the  Sky  for  February.  By  A.  Fowleb,  p.b.a.s. 
Chess  Column.    By  C.  D.  Locock,  b.a.  


PAOK 

2.5 
29 
31 
3.3 

3.5 

35 

38 
38 
39 

39 
39 
39 

W 

41 

41 

44 
45 

4(i 

47 
47 


WIRELESS    TELEGRAPHY. 

By     G.    W.    DE    TUNZELMANN,    B.Sc. 

In  the  ordinary  commercial  system  of  telegraphy, 
signals  are  transmitted  between  two  distant  stations 
by  means  of  electric  currents  made  to  flow  through  a 
circuit  consisting  of  an  insulated  wire  connecting  the 
two  stations  and  the  earth.  The  wire  being  connected 
with  *he  earth,  or  "  earthed,"  as  the  telegraphist 
expresses  it,  at  each  of  the  stations  in  order  to  make 
a  complete  circuio  or  loop  round  \  liich  the  electric  flow 
takes  place. 

When  a  new  system  of  sending  electric  signals  in 
which  no  connecting  wire  was  required  between  the  two 
stations  came  into  prominence  it  was  named  from  the 
most  striking  features  to  the  ordinary  observer, 
namely  the  absence  of  the  connecting  wire. 

The  name  is  not  logically  defensible,  for  on  the  one 
hand  the  method  of  signalling  known  as  "  Wireless  Tele- 
graphy "  involves  the  use  of  wires  both  in  the  trans- 
mitting and  in  the  receiving  apparatus,  and  on  the 
other  hand  it  includes  systems  of  signalling  which  are 
not  popularly  supposed  to  be  electrical  at  all. 


The  term  aHlieric  telegrapliy,  which  has  also  been 
suggested,  is  just  as  open  to  the  latter  objection  as  the 
one  in  common  use,  and  personally  I  should  be  inclined 
to  suggest  the  term  Hertz  Wave  Telegraphy  or  Hert- 
zian Telegraphy,  for  the  system  of  telegraphing  without 
connecting  wi-es  which  is  now  exciting  so  much  interest 
and  attention.  Though  greatly  developed  by  the  re- 
searches of  Lodge,  Marconi,  and  others,  Hertzian  tele- 
graphy depends  entirely  upon  exciting  at  the  transmit- 
ting station  and  detecting  i>t  a  distant  receiving  station 
jether  waves  of  a  certain  character,  the  existence  of 
wliich  Iiad  been  deduced  thcorelically  by  Professor  Clerk 
Maxwell,  but  first  experimentally  demons'^ratcd  by  the 
late  Dr.  Hertz,  of  Carlsruhe,  who  ])ublished  the  results 
in  a  series  of  papers  in  "  Wiedemann's  Annalen  ''  be- 
ginning in  July,  1887. 

It  has  long  been  an  admitted  fact  that  the  observed 
phenomena  of  light  can  only  be  explained  by  the  exis- 
tence of  a  highly  elasic  medium,  to  which  the  name  of 
huniniferous  a'thcr  has  been  given,  and  which  must 
fill  at  any  rate  the  whole  of  the  space  into  which  our 
vision  can  penetrate,  that  is  to  say  the  space  intervening 
between  the  earth  and  the  most  distant  visible  stars. 

The  phenomena  of  light  show,  that  for  extremely 
rapid  motions  such  as  light  waves,  which  traverse  some 
186,000  miles  in  a  second,  this  medium  is  far  more  rigid 
than  steel,  while  for  comparatively  slow  motions  such 
as  those  of  the  planets  (the  earth's  speed  in  its  journey 
round  the  sun  is  considerably  under  20  miles  a  second), 
it  oflFers  so  little  resistance  that  in  most  cases  it  is  im- 
perceptible to  us.  In  the  case  of  Encke's  comet  astro- 
nomers believe  they  can  just  detect  evidence  of  the 
existence  of  a  resisting  medium  in  space,  but  that  is 
all. 

If  any  reader  is  disposed  to  object  to  the  assumption 
of  a  medium  behaving  in  such  very  different  ways  with 
regard  to  motions  of  different  speeds,  it  may  assist  in 
convincing  him  that  the  objection  is  not  a  valid  one, 
to  direct  his  attention  to  the  similar  behaviour  of  such  a 
familiar  substance  as  pitch.  In  moderately  cold  weather 
this  material  has  all  the  appearance  of  a  solid,  and  will 
resist  a  blow  or  momentary  heavy  pressure.  If,  how- 
ever, a  denser  body  than  the  pitch,  such  as  a  bullet  for 
example,  be  laid  upon  its  surface,  it  will  gradually  sink 
until  it  rests  upon  whatever  is  supporting  the  pitch.  If 
on  the  other  hand  the  pitch  is  placed  upon  a  less  dense 
body,  such  as  cork,  the  latter  will  float  up  through  it  in 
the  course  of  time.  The  pitch,  therefore,  exposes  great 
resistance  to  rapid  motion,  but  the  smallest  pressure 
causes  it  to  give  way  if  sufficient  time  is  given,  or,  in 
other  words,  when  the  motion  slows  down  sufficiently 
the  resistance  becomes  negligeable,  thus  offering  very 
close  analogy  to  the  behaviour  of  the  luminiferous 
sether. 

When  a  disturbance  is  set  up  in  a  medium,  waves 
are  in  general  emitted  in  all  directions  from  the  point 
of  disturbance.  Sound  we  know  is  transmitted  by  air, 
and,  unlike  light,  it  will  not  traverse  what  we  call 
empty  sjJace,  viz.: — space  occupied  only  by  sether. 

Now,  air  and  other  gases  are  composed  of  molecules 
in  an  irregular  condition  of  agitation,  which  can  be 
shown  to  explain  the  observed  fact  that  sound  is  trans- 
mitted through  air  entirely  by  longitudinal  vibrations, 
that  is  to  say,  by  waves  in  which  the  portions  of  the 
vibrating  medium  move  backwards  and  forwards  in  a 
direction  parallel  to  that  in  which  the  wave  is  travel- 
ling. Vibrations  in  other  directions  are  necessarily 
started     bv     the     disturbance     which     gives     rise     to 


26 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[Februaby  1,  1900. 


the  sound,  but  it  is  found  that  the  transverse  vibrations 
die  away  almost  immediately.  Clerk  Maxwell  points 
out  that,  within  a  single  wave  length,  the  amplitude 
of  the  transverse  vibrations  will  be  reduced  to  less  than 
one-five-hundredth  of  its  initial  value  owing  to  this 
state  of  irregular  agitation. 

In  the  case  of  light,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  found 
that  transverse  vibrations  are  the  only  ones  which  are 
transmitted,  that  is  to  say,  that  all  vibrations  along 
the  line  in  which  the  wave  is  travelling  die  away  almost 
immediately,  so  that  the  vibrations  are  entirely  per- 
pendicular to  the  line  of  transmission.  The  reason  of 
this  had  never  been  explained  until  Maxwell  showed, 
from  electromagnetic  theory,  that  electric  waves  must 
have  this  characteristic.  This  suggested  to  him  the 
hypothesis,  that  light  waves  were  simply  electric  waves, 
of  such  wave  lengths  as  to  be  capable  of  affecting  the 
receiving  instrument  commonly  known  as  the  eye. 

Many  phenomena  when  investigated  were  found  to 
confirm  this  hypothesis ;  the  close  correspondence,  for 
example,  between  the  calculated  speed  of  transmission 
of  an  electromagnetic  wave  and  the  observed  velocity 
of  light;  and,  again,  the  fact  that  transparent  sub- 
stances are  invariably  bad  conductors  of  electricity. 
Hertz,  however,  made  a  step  further,  for,  as  we  shall 
see,  he  succeeded  in  producing  waves  known  to  be  of 
electro-magnetic  origin,  and  in  showing  that  they  could 
be  made  to  produce  interference  phenomena  and 
undergo  reflection  and  refraction  exactly  like  light 
waves. 

When  oscillations  are  set  up  in  an  electric  circuit  it 
can  be  shown  that  the  time,  T,  of  a  complete  oscillation 
is  de'^ermined  by  the  equation 

T  =  2  TT  y  L,  S, 

where  L  and  S  are  two  of  the  electric  constants  of  the 
circuit  known  as  its  self  induction  and  its  capacity 
respectively,  while  of  course  *  stands  as  usual  for  the 
ratio  of  the  circumference  of  a  circle  to  its  diameter, 
which  is  approximately  equal  to  22/7. 

The  speed  with  which  the  waves  travel,  depends  only 
on  the  medium  being  equal  to  the  square  root  of  the 
ratio  of  its  elasticity  to  its  density.  In  the  case  of  the 
sether  this  speed  is  about  186,000  miles  a  second,  the 
observed  speed  of  light. 

We  will  now  consider  the  question  as  to  what  kind  of 
jether  waves  are  most  suitable  for  the  transmission  of 
signals  to  a  distance. 

The  conditions  to  be  fulfilled  are  clearly  two  in 
number.  Firstly,  in  order  that  the  waves  may  not  be 
stopped  by  intervening  obstacles,  such  as  portions  of 
land  and  water,  we  require  oscillations  for  which  the 
opacity  of  different  kinds  of  matter  is  least,  or,  in  other 
words,  those  oscillations  for  which  ordinary  terrestrial 
bodies  are  most  transparent. 

Secondly,  in  order  that  the  signals  may  be  dis- 
tinguishable at  as  groat  distances  as  possible  with  a 
moderate  expenditure  of  energy,  we  require  those  os- 
cillations for  which  the  largest  possible  proportion  of 
the  energy  supplied  from  the  source,  the  transmitting 
instrument  may  be  taken  up  by  the  medium. 

We  know  that  ordinary  light  waves,  the  wave  lengths 
of  which  are  measured  in  hundred-thousandths  of  an 
inch,  fulfil  the  second  condition  in  the  most  satisfactory 
manner,  but  unfortunately  they  do  not  fulfil  the  first, 
for  the  thinnest  films  of  most  substances  are  sufficient 
to  stop  them.  Still,  they  were  employed  for  the  earliest 
attempts  at  wireless  telegraphy,  which  is  far  more 
ancient  than  the  system  of  telegraphing  by  means  of 


wires.  In  the  earliest  examples  of  which  we  have  any 
record,  the  requisite  setliereal  oscillations  were  excited 
by  means  of  large  bonfires,  and  the  difficulty  of  fulfilling 
the  second  condition  was  evaded  by  placing  both  the 
transmitting  instrument  consisting  of  the  bonfire,  and 
the  receiving  instrument,  which  was  simply  the  eye 
of  the  watchman,  on  the  highest  hills  available,  so 
that  the  waves  excited  had  only  to  encounter  the  com- 
paratively transparent  atmosphere.  The  semaphore  of 
a  hundred  years  ago  and  the  heliograph  of  to-day  offer 
further  examples  of  wireless  telegraphy  by  means  of 
electric  oscillations  of  extremely  short  wave  length. 

All  bodies  become  less  opaque  to  electric  bodies  as  the 
wave  length  inci-eases.  The  reason  of  this,  according 
to  theory,  is  that  the  quenching  of  the  waves  does  not 
take  place  immediately  on  entering  any  opaque  medium, 
as  would  be  the  case  if  it  were  a  perfect  conductor  of 
electricity,  but  the  waves  die  out  after  a  certain  number 
of  vibrations  depending  on  the  opacity  of  the  medium. 

It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  in  the  case  of  a  medium 
which  will  permit  of  half-a-dozen  vibrations  before  the 
wave  is  quenched,  a  very  thin  film  will  suffice  to  stop 
light  waves  which  are  of  the  order  of  a  hundred-thou- 
sandth of  an  inch  in  length,  while  a  much  thicker 
stratum  would  be  required  to  stop  the  Hertzian  waves 
which  may  be  from  a  foot  to  some  few  yards  in  length, 
while  no  practicable  thickness  would  stop  the  waves 
from  an  alternating  dynamo,  say  with  a  periodicity  of 
100  vibrations  a  second,  as  in  this  case  the  wave  length 
would  be  something  like  a  couple  of  thousand  miles. 

Unfortunately,  as  the  wave  length  increases,  the 
second  condition  is  less  and  less  perfectly  fulfilled. 

The  reason  for  this  is  extremely  interesting.  Sir 
George  Gabriel  Stokes,  so  long  ago  as  1849,  showed  by 
mathematical  reasoning  from  observed  optical  phe- 
nomena, that  when  a  wave  of  light  is  excited  from  a 
given  source,  the  radiation  is  emitted,  not  from  the 
source  itself,  but  from  a  point  a  quarter  wave  length  in 
advance  of  it.  This  very  curious  phenomenon  is  com- 
pletely explained  when  light  waves  are  admitted  to 
be  of  electromagnetic  origin. 

When  an  electric  disturbance  is  set  up  at  a  certain 
point,  it  is  always  accompanied  by  a  magnetic  disturb- 
ance in  a  plaae  at  right  angles  to  it.  The  electric 
disturbance  occurs  a  quarter  of  a  period  later  than  the 
magnetic,  but  it  starts  a  quarter  of  a  wave  length  in 
advance,  so  that,  except  within  the  first  quarter  wave 
length,  the  two  travel  together,  their  zero  and  maximum 
values  always  occurring  at  the  same  points. 

Within  the  first  quarter  wave  length,  however,  the 
two  disturbai.^es  sometimes  reinforce  and  sometimes 
oppose  each  other,  and  the  result  of  this,  as  Professor 
Poynting  has  shown,  is  that,  within  the  first  quarter 
wave  length,  the  energy  originally  proceeding  from 
the  source  of  the  disturbance  is  sometimes  travelling 
forward  and  sometimes  backward  towards  the  source,  so 
that,  although  more  goes  forward  than  comes  back- 
ward, a  large  proportion  is  wasted. 

Beyond  the  first  quarter  wave  length,  however,  the 
two  disturbances  tend  always  to  cause  an  outward  flow 
of  energy. 

It  is,  therefore,  easily  seen  that  in  the  case  of  a  wave 
a  hurdred- thousandth  of  an  inch  in  length,  the  point 
from  which  the  radiation  begins  being  only  the  four- 
hundred-thousandth  of  an  inch  from  the  source,  there 
will  be  very  little  energy  returning  to  the  source. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  the  case  of  a  dynamo  such  as 
referred  to  above,  with  a  wave  length  of  some  2,000 
miles,   the   emission    point   would   be   sorne    500   miles 


Fkbru.\by  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


27 


from  the  souive,  so  that  very  little  of  the  energy  of 
the  source  would  reach  this  point,  by  far  the  larger 
proportion  being  returned  *o  the  soui'ce. 

We  see.  then,  that  the  two  conditions  to  be  fulfilled 
are  diametrically  opposed  to  each  other,  and  it  becomes 
a  matter  for  experimental  investigation  to  determine 
wh.at  kind  of  wave  lengths  arc  mo.st  advantageous  for 
telegraph  work  under  varying  conditions  as  to  distance 
and  other  circumst^inces. 

The  preceding  brief  outline  of  the  principles  under- 
Iviug  the  Hertz  wave  method  of  wireless  tclegraphv, 
will  enable  the  reader  to  follow  the  descriptions  of  ex- 
periment^al  work  and  practical  details  with  greater 
facility,  and,  I  trust,  also  with  greater  interest,  by 
reason  of  his  having  obtained  a  general  view  of  the 
fascinating  country  through  which  I  am  to  have  the 
privilege  of  acting  as  his  guide. 

Before  proceeding  to  this  exploration,  however,  I  will 
ask  him  to  linger  with  me  for  a  moment  to  take  a 
passing  glance  at  two  other  methods,  which  ai'o  as  yet 
in  the  infantile  stage,  but  one  or  both  of- which  may  not 
impossiblv  in  time  outgrow  their  elder  brother. 

These  are,  the  system  of  conduction  through  the  sea 
or  moist  earth,  and  the  system  of  electromagnetic  in- 
duction. 

In  the  earliest  attempts  at  electric  telegraphy,  a 
complete  metallic  circuit  was  employed,  requiring  a  pair 
of  wires  to  connect  any  two  stations. 

In  the  year  1838,  Steinheil  tried  unsuccessfully  to 
utilise  the  two  lines  of  rails  of  a  railway  in  place  of 
overhead  telegraph  wires,  but,  as  lias  so  often  happened, 
his  investigations  into  the  cause  of  his  failure  led  him 
to  a  most  important  discovery. 

He  found  the  reason  to  be  '^hat  the  earth  was  so  good 
a  conductor,  that  the  electric  current  from  the 
transmitting  station,  instead  of  flowing  along  one  of 
the  rails  to  the  distant  station  and  returning  by  the 
other,  as  he  had  anticipated,  simply  flowed  across  to 
the  other  rail  through  the  earth  on  which  they  rested, 
and  this  at  once  suggested  to  him  that  it  should  only 
be  necessary  to  have  one  wire  between  the  two  stations, 
provided  this  wire  was  earth-connected  at  each 
station,  and  this  he  found  to  be  the  case. 

He  also  suggested  that,  the  earth  being  so  good  a 
conductor,  it  might  be  possible  to  do  away  with  con- 
necting wires  altigether,  but  I  am  not  aware  of  his 
having  devised  any  means  by  which  this  could  be 
done. 

Four  years  later  the  American,  Professor  Morse,  who 
took  so  large  a  share  in  the  development  of  electric 
telegraphy,  succeeded  in  transmitting  messages  across 
a  canal,  80  feet  in  width,  and  afterwards  across  the 
Susquehanna  River,  a  distance  of  nearly  a  mile,  by  the 


^ 


\ . 

o 


-^^:^ 


Fig.  1. — Morse's  method  of  transmitting  messages  across  the 
Susquehanna  Eiver. 

method  shown  in  Fig.  1,  where  B  is  a  battery,  N  N  a 
pair  of  needle  instrumeuts  for  transmitting  and  receiv- 


ing signals,  and  P  Q  R  S  ai'o  metallic  plates  immersed 
being   connected   with   insulated    wire. 

He  obtained  very  good  results  when  the  distances 
from  P  to  Q  and  R  to  S  were  three  times  as  great  as 
those  from  P  to  R  and  from  Q  to  S. 

In  this  connection  I  cannot  refrain  from  pausing  for 
a  moment  to  refer  to  J.  B.  Lindsay,  of  Dundee,  a  Scotch 
schoolmaster  of  the  very  slenderest  means,  who  made 
several  importan'^  electrical  discoveries,  though  unfortu- 
nately very  little  w.is  hoard  of  them  except  by  his  im- 
mediate neighbours,  until  they  were  unearthed  some 
few  years  ago,  when  they  were  only  of  historical 
interest.  He  carried  out  a  long  series  of  experiments 
similar  to  those  of  Morse,  quite  independently  but  a 
year  later. 

After  this,  the  subject  appears  to  have  excited  very 
little  attention,  until  in  the  year  1880,  Professor  John 
Trowbridge,  of  Harvard  College,  discovered  that  all  the 
neighbouring  telephone  circuits  were  affected  by  the 
time  signals  sent  from  Harvai-d  to  Boston,  some  four 
miles  away.  He  investigated  the  cause  of  these  dis- 
turbances, and  found  that  they  were  not  due  to  in- 
duction, but  to  earth  currents  produced  by  leakage  from 
the  clock  circuit. 

Trowbridge  saw  at  once  that  this  might  be  utilised 
for  the  purpose  of  sending  telegraphic  messages  without 
connecting  wires,  and  he  proposed  attempting  to  tele- 
graph across  the  Atlantic  by  sending  alternating 
currents  from  a  large  dynar.io  through  an  insulated 
cable  extending  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Florida  and 
earthed  at  each  end,  and  placing  another  long  wire  with 
a  telephone  in  its  circuit  down  the  coast  of  France. 

He  proposed  signalling  to  ships  at  sea  by  means  of 
similar  means,  and  also  by  means  of  magnetic  induction 
between  coils  carrying  interrupted  currents  and  using 
a  telephone  as  detector,  but  he  found  that  it  would  be 
necessary  to  employ  either  coils,  far  too  large  for  use 
on  board  ship,  or  extremely  heavy  currents. 

During  the  following  year  Graham  Bell,  the  inventor 
of  the  telephone,  began  some  interesting  experiments 
of  which  I  will  only  describe  one,  which  he  carried  out 
on  the  Potomac  River. 

A  battery  and  an  interrupter  were  placed  in  a  boat 
and  connected  by  a  wire  about  100  feet  long,  one  end 
of  which  was  soldered  to  a  metallic  plate  immersed  in 
the  water  near  the  bow,  while  the  other  end  was  at- 
tached to  a  similar  plate,  which  was  buoyed  by  a  float 
and  allowed  to  trail  astern.  Bell  himself  was  in  another 
boat  similarly  equipped,  except  that  the  battery  and 
interruptor  wero  replaced  by  a  telephone,  and  he  found 
that  he  could  clearly  distinguish  the  signals  at  a  dis- 
tance of  a  mile  and  a  quarter  from  the  first  boat.  He 
strongly  urged  that  a  similar  method  should  be  cm- 
ployed  for  communicating  between  steamships,  the 
steamer's  electric  lighting  dynamo  being  used  to  replace 
the  battery. 

In  1882,  Mr.  A/.  H.  Preece,  now  Sir  William  Preece, 
began  to  turn  his  attention  to  the  subject  with  a  view 
to  effecting  communication  with  lighthouses  and  light- 
ships, where  continual  interruptions  occur  owing  to  the 
cables  being  broken  or  damaged  by  the  heavy  seas. 

One  of  his  earlier  experiments  was  to  establish  a 
telegraphic  circuit  between  Southampton  and  Newport 
in  the  Isle  of  Wight. 

As  shown  in  Fig.  2,  one  wire  was  carried  from 
Portsmouth  through  Southampton  to  Hurst  Castle,  the 
two  ends  being  connected  to  large  metallic  plates  im- 
mersed in  the  sea  at  Southsea  Pier  and  Hurst  Castle 
respectively.     Another  overhead  wire  was  carried  from 


28 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[February  1,  1900. 


Ryde  through  Newport  to  Sconce  Point,  and  the  ends 
connected  as  before  to  metallic  jjlatcs  immersed  in  the 
sea. 


tsmout/i 


Fio.  2.— Preece's  mpthod  of  transmission  between  Soutliamptou 
and  Newport. 

With  30  Leclanche  cells  and  a  buzzer  and  Morse  key 
at  Southampton,  ■l^he  signals  were  found  to  be  perfectly 
audible  at  Newport  in  a  telephone  on  the  circuit. 

Three  years  later  Mr.  Preece  arranged  some  interest- 
ing experiments  on  wireless  telegraphy  by  electromag- 
netic induction  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Newcastle, 
which  were  carried  out  by  Mr.  A.  W.  Heaviside.  Two 
squares  of  wire,  each  side  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  length, 
were  placed  a*^  dis*ances  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  1,000 
yards  apart.  In  the  former  case  the  signals  could  be 
easily  read  by  a  telephone  in  the  receiving  circuit,  and 
audible  sounds  were  produced  even  at  the  greater  dis- 
tance. 

Further  experiments  were  made  with  parallel  lines 
of  telegraph,  ten  and  a  quar'^er  miles  apart,  between 
Durham  and  Darlington,  and  it  was  found  that  the 
ordinary  working  currents  in  one  line  produced  dis- 
tinctly audible  sounds  in  a  telephone  in  the  other. 
Equally  successful  experiments  were  made  between 
parallel  lines  Jt  telcgrapii  on  the  East  and  Weso  Coasts 
about  forty  miles  apart,  but  in  these  experiments  there 
aiose  the  question  whether  the  effects  might  not  be  due 
in  part  to  leakage  from  the  network  of  telegraph  wires 
covering  the  intervening  country. 

The  fii-st  practical  application  of  the  results  of  these 
experiments  was  to  establish  communication  between 
Lavernock  Point  near  Cardiff  and  two  islands,  Flat 
Holm  at  a  distance  of  about  tliree  and  a  third  miles,  and 
>Steep  Holm  at  a  distance  of  rather  more  than  five  and 
a  third  miles.     (See  Fig.  3.) 


Fio.  3. — Preece's  method  of  transmission  between  Lavernock 
Point  and  the  Islands  Steep  Holme  and  Fhit  Holme. 

On  the  shore  a  copjier  wire  1,267  yards  in  length  was 
suspended  on  poles  and  earthed  at  each  end.  In  this 
circuit  was  an  alternating  dynamo  capable  of  giving  a 
current  up  to  15  amperes,  and  a  Morse  key  for  breaking 
up  the  alternations  into  signals.  At  a  distance  of  600 
yards  from  this  circuit,  on  the  sand  at  low  water  mark, 
a  secondary  circuit,  composed  of  two  gutta  percha 
covered  and  one  bare  copper  wires,  were  laid  down  and 
their  ends  buried  in  the  ground.     On  the  two  islands, 


gutta  percha  covered  wires,  each  600  yards  long,  and 
parallel  to  those  on  shore,  were  laid  down.  Jhe  signals 
in  the  telephone  on  Steep  Holm  were  audible,  but  not 
sufficiently  distinct  to  be  read,  but  messages  were  easily 
read  off  in  the  telephone  on  Flat  Holm. 

I  will  conclude  this  article  by  a  brief  reference 
to  a  method  devised  and  patented  by  Mr.  Willoughby 
Smith,  and  a  modification  patented  by  him  in  eon- 
junction  with  Mr.  W.  P.  Granville. 


Fio.  4. — Willoughby   Smith's  method   of  communication 
between  a  lighthouse  and  the  shore. 

In  Fig.  4  a  lighthouse  is  shown  at  A,  and  insulated 
wires  lead  from  the  terminals  of  a  telephone  in  the 
lighthouse  to  metallic  plates,  M  N,  submerged  on  oppo- 
site) sides  of  the  rock.  Two  other  plates,  P  and  Q,  submer- 
ged to  a  sufficient  depth  to  be  unaffected  by  waves,  are 
connected  by  an  insulated  cable,  having  in  circuit  with 
it  a  battery,  B,  and  an  interruptor,  C.  The  course  of  the 
current  is  shown  by  the  arrows.  The  modification  of 
Mr.  Willoughby  Smith's  method  is  shown  in  Fig.  5, 
which  illustrates  its  application  to  communication  be- 
tween the  Fastnet  Rock,  off  the  S.W.  coast  of  Ireland, 


Fsstnef  Rocti 


Fig.  5. — Method  of  Willoughby  Smith  and  Granville  employed  in 
communicating  between  Crookhaven  and  the  Fastnet  Eock. 

and  the  town  of  Crookhaven,  eight  miles  away.  An 
insulated  cable  from  the  shore  is  earthed  at  the  shore 
end,  and  also  by  means  of  a  heavy  copper  anchor,  C, 


Fkbbuaby  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


29 


near  the  rock.  A  conductor,  a  b,  coutaiuina;  a  receiving 
lustriuneut,  which  in  this  case  is  a  d'Arsonval  galvano- 
meter, is  eai-thed  at  a  and  b  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
rock  by  connection  with  submerged  masses  of  copper, 
and  whenever  a  current  flows  through  one  circuit  there 
*  will  be  a  diflFerence  of  potential  produced  at  the  ends  of 
the  other  circuit,  resulting  in  a  llow  of  current  which  is 
shown  bv  the  galvanometer. 


THE   EVOLUTION   OF   SIMPLE   SOCIETIES. 

By  Professor  Alfked  C.  Haddox,  m.a.,  d.sc,  f.r.s. 

Is  the  following  series  of  ai-ticles  I  propose  dealing  with 
various  human  social  groups  in  different  stages  of  cul- 
ture. History  is  not  concerned — or  should  not  be — 
merely  with  the  rise,  progress,  and  downfall  of  dynasties 
and  with  the  doings  of  great  men;  but  it  takes  into 
cognisance  the  evolution  of  the  people  in  general.  The 
population  of  any  country  is  not  an  incoherent  mass, 
but  is  composed  of  groups,  and  it  is  the  business  of 
Sociolog}'  to  study  the  origin  and  histoiy  of  these 
groups,  which  are  subsequently  welded  into  nations. 
Sociology  is  partly  the  study  of  the  raw  material  of 
History  as  it  endeavours  to  account  for  the  idiosyn- 
crasies of  societies  and  groups  of  men  whose  ultimate 
fate  is  described  by  Histoiy.  It  may  perhaps  not 
inappi  opriately  be  termed  the  Natural  History  of 
History. 

I  claim  no  originality  in  the  method  of  treatment. 
Several  years  ago  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  assist 
Prof.  Patrick  Geddes  in  his  stimulating  Summer  Courses 
in  Edinburgh,  and  it  was  there  that  this  method  of 
study  was  brought  under  my  notice. 

My  friend  M.  E.  Demolins,  editor  of  "  La  Science 
Sociale.'  has  given  me  permission  to  utilise  the  series 
of  sociological  studies  that  have  appeared  in  that  highly 
original  journal.  As  the  system  initiated  by  Le  Play 
and  so  ably  elaborated  by  MM.  E.  Demolins,  R.  Pinot, 
P.  de  Rousiers,  Henri  de  Tourville,  and  others  is  but 
little  known  in  '^his  country — I  have  ventiu-ed  to  intro- 
duce it  to  the  pages  of  Knowledge.  There  is  not 
space  here  to  expound  the  system,  which  after  all  may 
be  best  illustrated  by  the  treatment  of  the  several 
articles. 

The  first  article  is  mainly  an  abbreviated  translation 
of  papers  by  M.  Demolins  in  the  first  volume  of  "  La 
Science  Sociale,"  but  I  have  not  hesitated  to  give  fresh 
examples  and  to  add  qualifications  to  many  of  his  pro- 
positions. 

I.— THE    HUNTERS. 

Environment. — As  Europe  is  so  lai'gely  deforested 
and  cultured  one  must  go  elsewhere  to  study  the  hunter 
type  in  i*s  purity.  Indeed  at  the  present  day  it  is  not 
easy  to  find  people  who  are  pure  hunters.  The  Austra- 
lians do  not  cultivate  the  soil,  but  their  conditions  of 
life  are  somewhat  peculiar,  and  it  will  be  better  to 
consider  the  hunting  folk  who  dwell  in  tropical  forests 
where  the  environment  is  fairly  uniform. 

The  greatest  forest  region  is  that  of  the  valleys  of  the 
Amazon,  Orinoco,  and  of  the  rivers  of  the  Guiana-s,  an 
area  about  equal  to  that  of  Europe. 

The  physical  features,  climatic,  meteorological  and 
geographical,  which  desers'e  a  more  extended  considera- 
tion than  can  here  be  given  to  them,  determine  the 
nature  of  the  vegetable  products,  which  in  this  case 
constitute  an  immense  forest.  The  prolonged  humidity 
permits  the  growth  of  trees,  and  these  by  cutting  off 
light  and  air  stifle  the  growth  of  grass.     Vegetation  is 


rampant,  savage  man  is  powerless  against  it.  As  Bates 
says,  "  In  the  equatorial  forests  the  aspect  is  the  same, 
or  ncai-ly  so,  every  day  in  the  year;  budding,  flowering, 
fruiting,  and  leaf-shedding,  are  always  going  on  in  one 
species  or  other.  It  is  never  ei'hor  spring,  summer, 
or  autumn,  but  each  day  is  a  combination  of  all  three." 

Occupation.  —  The  climatic  conditions  and  the 
luxuriance  of  the  forest  render  agriculture  very  labor- 
ious, especially  in  the  low-lying  lands;  the  line  of  least 
resistance  is  found  in  living  by  hunting.  There  is 
something  to  be  said  in  favour  of  this  mode  of  life. 

The  attractions  of  hunting  are  very  great.  In  all 
grades  of  even  +ho  most  artificial  or  civilised  societies 
there  are  people  who  have  an  almost  irresistible  im- 
pulse to  hunt;  the  instinct  of  the  poacher  is  similar 
to  that  of  the  aristocratic  sportsman  who  slaughters 
half-tame  pheasants  or  who  stalks  deer,  or  to  that  of 
the  hunter  who  travels  afar  in  search  of  big  game. 
This  fascination  is  evidently  felt  by  those  who  are 
practically  compelled  by  circumstances  to  become  and 
remain  hunters. 

Hunting  requires  no  foresight.  An  intimate  know- 
ledge of  the  habits  of  animals  is  necessary  for  existence, 
but  no  forethought  is  required  to  maintain  the  supply. 
The  breeding  of  animals  for  food  or  industrial  require- 
ments belongs  to  a  later  stage  of  culture,  the  sole  ex- 
ception being  the  domestication  of  the  dog,  which  has 
been  more  or  less  thoroughly  accomplished  by  most 
hunting  peoples. 

The  capture  of  each  day  provides  the  food  of  each 
day,  and  this  must  be  consumed  immediately  for  it 
cannot  be  preserved.  Various  methods  have  been  de- 
vised for  drying  or  smoking  meat,  but  even  so  it  cannot 
be  kept  for  long  periods  like  tubers  or  cereals. 

Hunting  is  suited  to  the  generality  of  men,  for  it  is 
interesting,  and  it  calls  forth  intelligence  and  the  satis- 
faction of  outwitting  animals ;  it  gratifies  the  lust  of 
killing,  and  supplies  an  exciting  element  of  chance, 
which  keeps  hope  alive  through  disappointments.  The 
food  is  stimulating  and  enjoyable.  No  preparatory 
work  or  thought  is  required  to  provide  the  supply  of 
food.  These  conditions  appeal  to  the  majority  of  man- 
kind. 

Although  there  are  no  great  possibilities  in  this  mode 
of  life,  the  chase  provides  for  the  diverse  wants  of  man. 
The  meat  serves  for  food.  The  Eskimo  prove  that  it  is 
possible  to  live  exclusively  upon  a  meat  diet;  in  wai'mcr 
climates  there  are  numerous  edible  roots,  shoots,  leaves 
and  fruits  which  can  be  had  in  the  vaiious  seasons 
for  the  picking.  The  sKi'is  provide  clothing,  materials, 
for  habitations,  vessels  and  the  like.  It  is  only  in  tem- 
perate and  cold  climates  that  clothes  are  necessary  for 
warmth,  and  decency  requires  but  a  minimum  of 
clothing  which  in  tropical  countries  is  provided  by  bark 
or  leaves.  The  same  practically  applies  to  habitations. 
It  is  mainly  the  hunters  of  the  prairies,  or  the  inhabi- 
tants of  other  treeless  districts  like  the  frozen  lands, 
who  make  use  of  skin  tents.  Under  the  same  conditions 
various  portions  of  the  animals  are  employed  for 
different  purposes  which  the  vegetable  world  supplies  in 
the  tropics  with  the  expenditure  of  less  labour  to  men — 
such,  for  example,  as  fibres  and  receptacles  like  gourds. 
The  feathers  of  birds  furnish  finery  all  over  the  world, 
but  perhaps  nowhere  have  they  been  employed  to  the 
extent  that  they  are,  and  were,  in  tropical  South 
America.  The  hunters  there  can  live  isolated  from 
more  complicated  societies  as  they  are  self-contained, 
and  thus  they  retain  a  simpler,  and  probably  more 
primitive,  social  condition. 


30 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[Febeuaby  1,  1900. 


The  pursuit  and  capture  of  prey  require  special  quali- 
ties :  agility,  dexterity,  and  strength,  in  addition  to 
woodcraft.  These  aptitudes  are  most  particularly  found 
among  the  young  men,  hence  there  arises  a  tendency 
for  superiority  of  youth  over  age,  unless  social  institu- 
tions are  evolved  to  counteract  it,  as,  for  example, 
occurs  in  Australia.  In  any  case  the  youths  are  eai-ly 
able  to  provide  for  themselves,  and  in  consequence  they 
set  up  an  establishment  as  soon  as  possible.  In  extreme 
cases  they  retain  to  themselves  the  fruit  of  their 
labours,  and  repudiate  the  duty  of  assisting  their  aged 
paren'^s.  As  will  be  stated  shortly,  the  means  for  sub- 
sistence are  strictly  limited,  and  the  first  biologic  law — 
that  of  self-jDreservation — is  imperative,  come  what 
may. 

It  is  one  of  the  first  duties  of  social  organization  to 
modify  this  crude  state  of  affairs,  and  to  prevent  the 
children  from  arrogating  to  themselves  an  undue 
amount  of  authority.  The  arrogance  of  youth  is  a 
natural  outcome  of  the  feebleness  of  parental  control. 

The  development  of  primary  individualism  is  the 
result  of  this  mode  of  life.  This  form  of  individualism 
is  of  the  lowest,  that  is,  of  the  least  social,  character. 

It  is  usually  to  the  hunter's  interest  to  isolate  himself 
and  to  hunt  his  prey  on  his  own  account.  Some  people 
temporarily  combine  to  drive  their  quaiTy  into  nets  or 
trajjs,  but  hunting  is  chiefly  done  single  handed. 

The  tendency  to  individualism  is  still  further  de- 
veloped by  the  facilities  which  hunting  offers  to  the 
establishment  of  new  and  distinct  households ;  a  verv 
different  state  of  affairs  to  the  value  of  aggregated 
families  in  sedentary  communities.  The  dwellings  of 
hunters  are  simple  huts,  made  of  branches  and  covered 
with  leaves  or  made  of  skins.  They  are  easily  erected, 
and  in  the  latter  case  are  easily  portable ;  but  in  warm 
climates  a  rain-proof  hut  can  be  made  in  a  very  short 
space  of  time  with  the  materials  that  are  ready  to 
hand.  It  costs  no  money  to  make  and  but  veiy  little 
time,  and  no  regret  is  felt  at  leaving  it. 

The  household  furniture  is  of  the  most  rudimentary 
chai-acter,  on  account  of  the  migrations  necessitated  by 
the  chase.  It  is  provided  by  the  wood  of  the  forest,  by 
gourds,  shells  of  nuts,  carapaces  of  turtles,  shells  of 
molluscs,  in  fact  of  anything  ready  to  hand  that  will 
serve. 

The  imislements  for  the  chase  are  quite  as  elementary, 
wooden  spears,  bows  and  arrows  for  terrestrial  animals ; 
a  canoe  and  fish-spear,  or  a  line  and  hook,  for  fishing. 
A  few  hours'  work  would  suffice  to  make  them  all.  In 
the  district  of  the  Orinoco  there  are  two  kinds  of  canoes. 
(1)  A  sufficiently  large  tree  is  chosen  from  which  a 
jiiece  of  bark  several  yards  in  length  is  detached.  This 
is  folded  and  its  ends  strongly  secured  by  lianas.  Later 
the  canoe  is  covered  with  leaves  and  placed  over  a  great 
fire.  This  operation  not  only  hardens  it  but  makes 
it  start  and  it  only  remains  to  caulk  the  ci'acks  with  a 
kind  of  gum  supplied  by  neighbouring  trees.  (2)  The 
other  canoes  are  tree-trunks  hollowed  out  by  hatchets; 
although  this  operation  is  longer  it  is  accomplished 
pretty  quickly.  Crevaux  states  that  it  takes  four  men 
only  four  hours  to  make  a  bark  canoe.  On  several 
occasions,  when  stopped  by  a  rapid,  they  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  abandon  one  and  to  make  another  in  order  to 
continue  their  voyage  on  the  other  side  of  the  fall. 

There  is,  however,  a  vei-y  marked  limitation  of  the 
means  of  existence.  Game  and  fresh-water  fish  are  more 
easily  exterminated  than  the  grass  of  the  prairie  and 
the  fish  of  the  sea.  In  our  complicated  societies  it  is 
necessary  to  frame  special  laws  to  regulate  fresh-water 


fishing,  and  even  the  inshore  marine  fishing  grounds 
are  liable  to  depletion,  and  certain  methods  of  marine 
fishing  have  to  be  prohibited  or  limited  by  law. 

The  existence  of  hunters  is  not  so  assured  as  that 
of  pastoral  or  fishing  communities.  The  game  may  be 
over-hunted  or  become  scarce  through  disease  or  un- 
favourable seasons,  hence  hunting  populations  are  sub- 
ject to  cruel  famines.  They  cannot  reserve  food  for 
these  periods  of  famine  in  tropical  countries,  as  the 
temperature  necessitates  the  immediate  consumption  of 
the  product  of  the  chase.  At  most  they  can  preserve 
meat  for  four  or  five  days  by  submitting  it  to  the  action 
of  a  strong  fire. 

The  question  of  food  is  the  principal  occupation  of 
savages.  "  Our  voyage,"  said  Crevaux,  "  resolved  itself 
into  a  regular  stniggle  for  existence.  All  the  time  we 
could  spare  from  our  survey  and  our  observations  was 
devoted  to  fishing  and  hunting.'' 

The  uncertainty  of  the  means  of  existence  gives  to 
the  savages  a  particularly  accommodating  stomach. 
They  can  remain  several  days  without  eating,  and  when 
food  is  abundant  they  can  gorge  a  prodigious  quantity. 

The  chase  obliges  the  savage  to  periodically  migrate. 
He  must  follow  the  game,  or  the  migration  of  fish,  or 
visit  the  banks  at  the  turtle-egg  season.  Following  the 
annual  migration  of  the  bisons  across  the  prairies  was 
not  difficult  to  the  North  American  Indians,  but  it  is  a 
different  matter  in  tropical  forests,  owing  to  the  tangled 
luxuriance  of  the  vegetation  and  the  general  absence 
of  paths.  Hence  they  walk  in  "  Indian  file."  So  in- 
veterate is  this  habit  that  they  walk  in  single  file  when 
there  is  no  occasion  to  do  so. 

The  difficulty  of  communication  is  so  great  that  there 
are  scarcely  any  relations  between  different  tribes,  and 
from  this  arise  a  multiplicity  of  dialects. 

The  whole  family  has  to  follow  the  periodical  mi- 
grations, and  there  is  consequently  a  high  mortality 
for  the  aged,  sick,  and  even  children ;  that  is,  those 
who  cannot  easily  transport  themselves  are  frequently 
abandoned. 

It  will  be  a.5ked.  Why  do  not  the  hunters  seek  in 
cultivation  of  the  soil  a  more  abundant  and  assured 
means  of  existence?  It  is  probable  that  this  has  often 
taken  place,  but  there  are  hunting  communities  that 
do  not  till  the  soil.  In  the  district  which  we  have 
more  particularly  under  view,  when  game  is  abundant 
for  several  years,  certain  tribes  multiply  to  the  extreme 
limits  of  the  local  resources.  They  then  manifest  a 
tendency  to  agriculture ;  but  this  mode  of  life  necessi- 
tates more  effort  and  offers  less  attractions  than  the 
chase,  and  is  especially  repudiated  by  the  young.  The 
paternal  authority  which  should  exercise  a  sufficient 
constraint  upon  the  latter  is  very  feeble. 

The  attempts  at  cultivation  are  not  persisted  in  and 
are  soon  abandoned ;  as  Le  Play  has  pointed  out,  "  The 
frequent  atmospheric  calamities  in  this  region  of  the 
equatorial  zone  happen  to  justify  the  repugnance  of  the 
population  to  works  of  agriculture.  Epidemics  have 
not  only  the  result  of  reducing  the  tribes  of  the  aged 
and  the  more  feeble,  they  destroy  entire  tribes,  and 
thus  re-establish  the  equilibrium  between  the  mouths 
and  the  means  of  sustenance."  Such  are  some  of  the 
causes  which  oppose  the  transformation  of  hunters  into 
tillers  of  the  soil. 

There  are  in  the  forests  of  the  New  World  some  very 
rudimentary  plantations  of  rice,  yams,  sweet  potatoes, 
sugar  cane,  manioc,  etc.  The  manioc  produces  tapioca 
and  a  fermented  drink  ;  four  days'  work  per  month  in 
their  plantations  provide  sufficient  food  for  a  family  of 


Fbbbuary  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


31 


nine  persons.     Yet  the  huntci-s  only  do  this  to  satisfy 
their  most  urgent  rcquiromonts. 

Despite  uncortiiiuties  and  rrucl  disappointments,  the 
chase  holds  and  retains  the  savages,  and  if  occasion- 
ally necessity  compels  them  to  take  one  st^^p  towards 
tillage  they  do  not  persist  in  this  effort,  and  return 
with  eagerness  to  the  more  attractive  work  of  hunting. 

Property. — The  forest  theoretically  belongs  to  every- 
body because  its  products  arc  not  the  result  of  any  work 
bv  man.  The  extent  of  commonage  accessible  to  each 
family  is  much  more  restricted  than  the  steppes  or  the 
sea.  This  limitation  arises  partly  from  the  difhcultics 
of  locomotion,  which  confine  the  hunters  to  a  relatively 
limited  district;  partly  from  the  nature  of  the  spon- 
taneous productions.  As  these  are  easily  exhausted 
the  several  families  are  obliged  to  energetically  defend 
their  hunting  grounds  ag;uust  the  inroads  of  noigh- 
boui's. 

If  the  hunting  grounds  are  under  the  I'ule  of  the  com- 
munity this  is  not  the  case  with  the  home  and  imple- 
ments of  work.  These  are  pei-sonal  property  on  account 
of  the  division  into  isolated  households.  But  we  have 
seen  how  restricted  they  are  and  how  easy  to  make. 
This  property,  therefore,  contributes  in  only  a  very 
feeble  manner  to  devclojj  habits  of  forethought  and 
economy. 

Thus  the  hunting  savage  is  naturally  improvident. 
His  true  property  consists  in  his  skill  and  agility,  which 
he  can  neither  sell  nor  bequeath.  The  grave  question 
of  *he  transmission  of  property  does  not  exist  for  him. 
No  tie  binds,  even  materially,  the  generations  with 
one  another  to  induce  solidanty.  Individualism 
triumphs. 

The  Family. — The  family  cannot  retain  its  members 
at  home,  all  the  children  successively  separate  as  soon 
as  they  can  provide  for  themselves.  The  family 
periodically  dissolves,  scattering  to  found  new  homes  as 
instable  as  the  preceding.  Such  are  the  characteristic 
traits  of  the  instable  family,  which  develop  the  spirit 
of  change. 

The  spirit  of  change  is  manifested  by  the  preponder- 
ance acquired  by  the  young,  unless,  as  previously  stated, 
special  precautions  are  taken  to  prevent  it.  The 
youths,  by  reason  of  their  premature  emancipation  and 
comparative  isolation  are  not  permeated  by  the  tra- 
ditions of  their  ancestors  or  the  sentiments,  ideas,  and 
habits  of  their  parents,  except  so  far  as  they  maintain 
that  conservative  spirit  which  is  so  characteristic  of 
children  and  backward  peoples. 

The  chief  of  these  small  families  forget  the  memory 
of  *^heir  elders,  and  take  no  pains  to  transmit  the  re- 
membrance of  the  great  actions  of  the  race  to  their 
descendants.  Verbal  history,  so  prolix  in  sedentary 
communities,  is  almost  non-existent  among  nomadic 
hunters. 

Magical  practices  may  be  developed,  but  true  religion 
— that  is,  the  worship  of  a  spirit  or  spirits — is  in  a  very 
primitive  stage. 

Among  the  South  American  hunters  not  only  is 
there  no  respect  for  their  progenitors,  but  they  may 
abandon  and  even  eat  their  parents.  The  instable 
family  often  leaves  orphans,  the  sick,  the  aged — in  other 
words,  the  feeble  and  incapable — without  refuge  and 
sustenance;  there  is  no  fixed  home  to  act  as  a  place  of 
refuge. 

Government. — It  is  necessary  to  be  young,  vigorous, 
enterprising,  if  the  home,  children,  and  hunting  grounds 
are  to  be  protected  from  the  incessant  attacks  of  neigh- 


bouring tiibes.  Power  belongs  to  the  strongest,  auJ 
is  thus  not  only  despotic  but  cruel. 

Each  tribe  must  be  organised  for  defence,  and  for 
attack — it  n;ust  always  be  on  the  alert.  It  is  to  the 
interest  of  the  families  to  group  themselves  under  a 
valiant  chief  capable  of  protecting  them  and  their 
possessions.  Thus,  this  state  of  permanent  war  develops 
a  kind  of  personal  authority  ;  the  habits  of  the  chase 
render  it  arbitrary  and  cruel;  the  feebleness  and  in- 
stability of  the  family  permit  to  encroach  ,  but  the 
authority  is  itself  instable.  Force  makes  chiefs,  force 
unmakes  them. 

Primitive  Gaul,  as  Le  Play  points  out,  w;is  in  a 
■similar  condition;  "  obliged  to  struggle  without  cciising 
in  order  to  procure  their  living,  and  to  defend  the 
game  agaist  the  inroads  of  contiguous  peoples,  the  early 
Gauls  approached  in  their  habits  the  Indian  hunters 
whom  one  may  still  observe  in  the  forests  of  America." 
On  their  arrival  the  Romans  found  the  Gauls  divided 
into  a  multitude  of  small  tribes  constantly  at  war.  The 
policy  of  Caisar  consisted  in  setting  one  against  another. 
It  was  the  internal  weakness  of  the  Gauls  that  made 
them  powerless  against  the  Romans. 

Incapacity  of  the  Hunters  to  Expand. — First,  there 
is  an  absence  of  the  means  of  transport,  being  without 
the  horse  or  a  seaworthy  boat,  for  bark  canoes  and 
simple  dug-outs  are  quite  unsuitcd  for  maritime  navi- 
gation. 

Secondly,  owing  to  the  isolation  of  the  families  there 
is  very  little  communication  between  them,  and  there 
is  a  mai-ked  lack  of  co-ordina*ion.  Relatively  small 
bodies  of  men  may  temporarily  combine,  but  large 
enterprises  are  practically  impossible,  not  only  from  the 
lack  of  social  education,  but  from  the  difficulty  of  ob- 
taining sufficient  food. 

Finally,  the  population  is  limited.  The  population 
is  diminished  by  epidemics,  the  abandonment  and  death 
of  those  whom  they  cannot  '^ransport,  intertribal  wars, 
and  cannibalism.  Hunting  peoples  always  multiply 
very  slowly,  and  they  even  tend  to  disappear.  The 
Indians  of  the  Amazon  diminish  rapidly  in  contact  with 
the  white  man,  and  so  also  do  the  North  American 
Indians  and  the  Australians.  The  Tasmanians  have 
entirely  disappeared. 


POLARITY    IN    MAGIC    SQUARES.-I. 

By  E.  D.  Little. 
Pythagoras  found   the   secret  of  the  Universe  in 
Number  and  Duality  or  Polarity,  for  Number  is  Law, 
and  Law  divides  all  things  into  complementary  pairs. 

The  universal  reign  of  law,  the  essential  unity  of 
law,  and  yet  the  diversity  of  its  operation,  the  Duality 
or  Polarity  of  its  subject  matter,  all  these  receive  abun- 
dant illustration  from  the  number-problem  known  as 
the  Magic  Square,  which  has  always  had  a  singular 
fascination  for  the  Mystic  and  the  Mathematician 
alike. 

The  object  of  this  paper  is  to  show  how  well  the 
least  snd  simplest  of  these  figures  will  serve  for  the 
purpose  of  this  illustration,  for  although  De  minimis 
Lex  non  curat  may  be  Lawyer's  Law,  it  is  not  the 
Law  of  Nature.  In  Nature  Law  reigns  as  supreme  in 
Jhe^least  as  in  the  greatest,  and  it  is  in  the  least  that  it 
is  often  best  observed. 

In  treating  of  a  subject  at  all  scientific  in  character 
it  is  always  well  to  begin  with  definition,  and  our  first 
care  must  be  to  define  the  nature  or  the  note  of  the 
Magic  Square.        A  Magic  Square  then  is  a  square  of 


32 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[Febeuaey  1.  1900. 


numbers  so  aiTauged  that  the  numbers  in  each  of  its 
rows,  columns,  and  diagonals,  amount  to  the  same  sum, 
as  in  Fig.  1,  where  the  numbers  123456789  are 


Fig  I. 


Fig.  2. 


so  arranged  in  the  form  of  a  square  that  the  rows 
6—1—8,  7—5—3,  2—9—4,  the  columns  6—7—2, 
1—5—9,  8—3—4,  and  the  diagonals  6—5 — 4,  8—5—2, 
all  amount  to  15. 

This  definition  calls  for  some  comment.  In  the  first 
place  it  presupposes  a  square,  apart  from  the  numbers, 
in  which  a  certain  construction  has  been  made,  a  geo- 
metrical square  which  has  been  divided  by  lines  parallel 
to  its  sides  into  a  number  of  equal  rows,  and  the  same 
number  of  equal  columns,  of  small  squares,  or  positions, 
as  they  will  be  called. 

Furthermore  the  definition  involves  a  classification  of 
the  parts  into  which  the  whole  figure  is  divided,  as 
(1)  rows  of  positions,  (2)  columns  of  positions,  (3) 
diagonal  lines  of  positions.  A  moment's  consideration 
shows  that  this  classification  is  incomplete.  The  word 
diagonal  is  not  of  the  same  extension  as  the  words  row 
and    column. 

The  rows  comprise  all  the  positions  of  the  Square, 
taken  three  at  a  time ;  so  do  the  columns ;  but  not  so 
the  diagonals,  which  in  one  direction  comprise  three 
positions,  and  in  another  direction  three  also,  one  of 
which  is  common  to  both  diagonals.  The  classification 
is  therefore  not  exhaustive.  It  may  be  made  so  how- 
ever by  extending  the  meaning  of  the  word  diagonal  so 
as  to  include  parallel  to  a  diagonal.  For  with  this 
extension  the  diagonals  will  comprise  all  the  positions 
of  the  square,  taken  three  at  a  time,  in  +wo  oblique 
directions,  related  to  one  another  in  precisely  the  same 
way  as  the  rows  and  columns  are  related.  Let  the 
positions  of  the  square  Fig.  2,  be  numbered  in  the  usual 
or  natural  order. 

We  may  then  arrange  the  positions  in  four  classes, 
according  to  their  direction. 

(1)  3  rows  of  3  iiositions  eiich,  1—2—3,  4—5—6,  7—8—9 

(2)  3  columns  of  3  positions  eaot,       1—4—7,2—5-8,3—6—9 
(3J  3  diagonals  of  3  positions  each, 

descending  to  the  right,  1—5-9,  2—6—7,  3— 1—8 

(4)  3  diagonals  of  3  positions  each, 

descending  to  the  left,  1-6-8,2-4—9,3—5—7 

If  we  wish  to  distinguish  (3)  and  (4)  we  may  call 
(3)  positive  diagonals  or  -)-  diagonals,  and  (4)  negative 
diagonals  or  —  diagonals. 

We  may  also  distinguish  the  diagonals  in  the  usual 
sense  from  the  diagonals  in  the  extended  sense  by  call- 
ing the  former  the  middle  diagonals.  And  we  may 
class  together  the  rows  and  columns  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  two  kinds  of  diagonals  on  the  other,  as  laterals 
(for  they  are  measured  by  the  sides  of  the  square),  and 
diagonals. 

We  shall  now  be  prepared  for  an  analysis  of  the  magic 
square  of  3,  and  for  a  comparison  of  the  magic  square 
with  the  complement  which  by  the  universal  law  of 
things  must  somewhere  exist.  The  square  which  stands 
in  this  relation  of  polatity  to  the  magic  square  is  shown 


in  Fig.  3,  and  is  called  the  Natural  Square,  and  the 
object  now  in  view  is  to  establish  and  illustrate  the 
completeness  of  the  polarity  existing  between  these 
two  squares. 

The  law  might  be  called  in  general  terms  the  law  of 
polarity  in  direction,  but,  as  might  be  expected,  it 
shows  itself  under  various  aspects,  ■Which  will  have  to 
be  considered  separately. 

I.  Summation. — Equal  summation  of  all  rows  and 
columns  is  the  special  note  of  the  magic  square ;  for  in 
the  equal  summation  of  its  mean  diagonals  and  mean 
laterals  it  is  undistinguishable  from  the  natural  square. 

Now  if  the  square  in  Fig.  1  be  compared  with  tha'. 
in  Fig.  2  it  will  be  seen  that  the  -I-  diagonals  of  the 
first  are  the  columns  of  the  second,  and  its  —  diagonals 
the  rows. 

The  diagonals  therefore  of  the  Natural  Square,  and 
the  laterals  of  the  Magic  Square  have  equal  summation, 
and  polarity  of  direction  as  regards  summation  exists 
between  the  two. 

II.  Difference. — Let  the  series  123456789  be 
regarded  as  a  recurring  series,  that  is  to  say  a  series  in 
which  we  may  begin  at  any  point,  read  in  either 
direction  to  either  end,  revert  to  the  other  end,  and 
read  in  the  same  direction  to  the  starting  point  as 
4  5  6  7  8  9  1  2  3  or  5  4  3  2  1  9  8  7  6.  In  all  these 
readings  of  the  series  the  difference  is  said  to  be  1,  for 
successive  terms  are  taken  at  intervals  of  one  position. 
Now  let  the  series  be  varied  by  taking  successive  terms 
at  intervals  of  2,  3  and  4  positions  respectively ;  it  will 
be  unnecessary  to  go  further  since  by  so  doing  we  shall 
only  obtain  the  same  variations  inverted. 

The  possible  variations  for  these  differences  will  be 
found  to  be — for 
or 

123|456|789 
1  I  357  I  924  |681 
147|258|869 
159|483|726 

When  the  difference  is  3  or  6,  it  is  impossible  to  com- 
plete the  series  without  beginning  at  three  different 
starting  points  since  the  third  position  after  4  is  7,  the 
third  after  7  is  again  1. 

Now  if  these  valuations  of  the  series  be  divided  each 
into  three  triads,  beginning  with  1  in  all  cases  except 
where  the  difference  is  2  or  7,  when  a  triad  must  begin 
with  a  multiple  of  3,  the  triads  will  be  found  to  be 
identical  with  the  lines  of  the  Natural  and  Magic 
squares,  and  the  distinction  between  the  squares  to  lio 
in  the  direction  of  the  differences. 

The  subjoined  table  shows  the  directions  of  the  differ- 
ences in  each  square  :  — 


1, 

8. 

2, 

7. 

3, 

6. 

4, 

5. 

Natural. 

Ditferences. 

Magic. 

Eows 

Columns 
+  Diagonals 
—  Diagonals 

1  or  8 

3  or  6 

4  or  5 

2  or  3 

—  Diagonals 
+  Diagonals 

Columns 

Kowe 

Thus  polarity  of  direction  as  regards  differences  exists 
between  the  two  squares. 

III.  Odd  and  Even  Cross. — If  the  Natural  and  magic 
squares  be  compared  as  regards  the  position  of  odd  and 
even  numbers,  it  will  be  observed  : 

That  odd  and  even  numbers  are  alternate  in  the  out- 
side rows  and  columns  and  either  in  the  middle  laterals 
or  middle  diagonals  of  each. 


FEBRUARY    1,   1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


33 


That  ia  the  Natural  Square  the  odd  numbers  all  lie 
in  a  diagonal  cross,  the  even  in  a  lateral  cross. 


6 

■/,  ■/// 

8 

7 

5 

4 

2 

ft^ 

4 

f/g  4. 

That  in  the  !Magic  Square  the  even  numbers  all  He  in 
a  diagonal  cross,  the  odd  in  a  lateral  cross. 

In  this  respect  therefore  there  is  complete  polarity 
of  direction  between  the  two  squares. 
{To  he  continued.) 


THE   FLY,  "SYRITTA   PIPIENS." 

By  Walter  Wesche. 

A  CAREFUL  study  of  the  anatomy  of  insects,  aided  by 
the  higher  powers  of  the  microscope,  though  a  pursuit 
of  great  interest,  taxes  the  observer's  ingenuity  to 
account  for  the  changed  aspect  of  organs  when  ren- 
dered transparent,  flattened,  and  mounted  under 
pressure.  The  appearances  presented  are  often  likely 
to  lead  to  erroneous  conclusions,  unless  one  is  ac- 
quainted with  the  position  and  shape  of  the  object  in 
its  natural  condition.  A  knowledge  of  the  life-history 
and  habits  of  an  insect  is  also  essential  if  a  correct  idea 
as  to  the  uses  and  purposes  of  the  several  parts  are  to 
be  arrived  at.  For  instance,  thi-ie  is  a  beautiful  con- 
trivance on  the  tibia  of  the  forelegs  of  most  of  the 
Hymenoptera,  and  some  of  the  Coleoptera,  for  cleaning 
the  antennae,  which,  had  not  Mr.  Frank  Cheshire  ob- 
served its  iise,  would  probably  be  still  regarded  as  an 
auditory  organ.  The  great  elaboration  and  speciali- 
zation of  different  mechanisms  for  various  purposes 
displayed  in  the  anatomy  of  insects  are  only  equalled 
by  the  economy  of  means ;  every  part  is,  or  has  been, 
in  some  way,  of  use  to  its  possessor,  though  what  that 
use  is  is  often  a  difficult  matter  to  divine. 

Syritta  pipiens,  with  its  complicated  lancets  (fig.  3) ; 
the  process  of  knife-like  setse  on  the  tibia  of  the  fore 
leg  (fig.  6),  which  is  usually  found  in  predaceous  flies 


Fio.  1. — Siiritla  pipiens.  Female.  Femur 
of  hind  leg  flattened. 

and  beetles,  and  used  in  holding  prey ;  the  many 
chitinous  setse  on  the  tarsi  of  the  middle  leg,  disposed 
in  fairly  regular  patterns  (fig.  5) ;  and  the  remarkable 
hind  leg  (fig.  4),  which  at  first  view  seems  adapted  to 
the  curbing  of  the  struggling  wing  of  a  powerful 
opponent,  might  incline  to  the  opinion  that  the  fly  was 
raptorial,  and  used  these  parts  in  pursuit  and  capture 
of  its  prey.     The  insect  is  very  well  known  and  common 


from  April  to  October.  It  belongs  to  the  family 
Syrphidiv,  or  '  Hover  flics,"  and  feeds  on  the  pollen  of 
flowers,  of  which  its  abdomen  may  often  be  found  full. 


Via.  2. — S.  pipinis.     Male. 

It  is  figured  and  described  under  the  name  of  Musca 
pipiens  in  the  work  of  the  old  French  entomologist, 
Dc  Geer,  and  so  exhaustively  that  most  later  writers 
quote  his  observations  (Westwood  and  othcr.s).  It  was 
named  from  iU  habit  of  uttering  an  exceedingly  acute 
cry  when  held,  the  sound  being  produced  through  the 
two  large  pear-shaped  spiracles  on  the  thorax.  De  Geer 
found  the  larvre  in  the  dung  of  horses  and  cows;  it  is 
thicker  in  front  than  behind,  and  has  a  small  point  on 
the  head. 

The  male  (fig.  2)  is  a  little  smaller  than  the  female, 


Fig.  3. — Mouth  organs  uf  .S'.  pipiens,  proliosfis,  lancets,  and 
maxillary  palpi ;  smaller  circle  lias  tip  of  lancet  more  magnified 
and  shoiving  liairs.      x   46  diameters. 

as  is  usually  the  case  in  insects,  and  the  mouth  organs 
and  legs  do  not  differ,  with  the  exception  that  the  male 
carries  a  series  of  very  short  chitinous  spines  on  the 
coxse  of  the  hind  leg — "  a  secondary  sexual  "  character- 
istic, enabling  him  to  hold  the  female  in  a  firm  grip 
(fig.  4).  The  same  process  is  to  bo  found  on  the  males 
of  Erystalis  (bee  or  drone  fly).  The  coxa;  of  the  female 
are  quite  plain,  and  both  sexes  have  a  pretty  and 
delicate  fringe  of  hair  on  the  abdomen  to  protect  the 
femur  of  the  bind  leg  from  the  effects  of  chafing.  The 
male,  in  its  markings,  also  differs  from  the  female, 
these  ex;temal  characteristics  being  larger  and  lighter 
on  the  dorsal  region  of  the  abdomen,  and  there  is  a 
smaller  space  between  the  eyes  (facies). 


Si 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[Februaky  1,  1900. 


This 
flowers, 
having 
plant." 


fly  may  be  seen  on  a  sunny  day  hovering  over 

or  busy  with   the  pollen,   and  is  described   as 

a  "  characteristic  quiet  manner  of  moving  on  a 


Fig.  4. — Hind  leg  of  S.  pipiens ;  the  smaller  circle  shows  the 
processes  on  the  edge  of  the  femur  and  tibia  more  magnified. 
X   22  diameters. 

It  will  be  seen  on  examination  of  the  mouth  organs 
(fig.  3)  that  there  are  no  pseudo  trachse  on  the  labella 
of  the  proboscis,  and  no  teeth ;  also  on  looking  at  the 
smaller  lancets  with  a  power  of  three  hundred  and  fifty 
diameters,  that  they  are  not  piercing  organs,  but  bear  a 
very  delicate  series  of  fine  hairs  on  the  tip  (small  circle 
on  fig.  3). 

The  hind  leg  (fig.  4)  is  truly  remarkable ;  the  process 
of   blunt  knobs   or   teeth   on   the   femur,   and   of   bent 


Fig.  5. — End  of  tibia,  and  part 
of  tarsi  of  middle  leg,  of  S. pipiens. 
■  X  94  diameters. 


Fig.  6.— End  of  tibia  of 
fore  leg  of  5.  pipiens.  x  125 
diameters. 


spines  on  the  tibia,  are  contrived  to  lock  on  to  each 
other  and  so  constitute  a  sort  of  pincer.  From  its  ex- 
traordinary elaboration  and  powerful  construction  it 
must  play  an  important  part  in  the  insect's  life-history  ; 
it  is  probably  used  in  crushing  some  kind  of  capsule  or 
part  of  a  flower  to  admit  of  the  pollen  being  extracted. 
By  careful  focussing  with  a  power  of  three  hundred 
and  fifty   diametei's,  some  minute  trachse  may   be   de- 


tected above  the  knobj  on  the  femur  (small  circle, 
fig.  4.) 

It  is  possible  that  the  spines  on  the  tibia  may  be 
capable  of  erection,  as  there  appears  to  be  some  trace 
of  a  muscle  underneath  them.  Of  the  uses  of  the  setae 
on  the  middle  and  fore  legs  it  is  difiicult  to  form  an 
idea ;  they  may  be  the  remnant  of  former  useful 
appendages,  the  insect  having  changed  its  manner  of 
obtaining  food,  but  from  their  very  marked  character 
and  the  modification  which  in  that  case  has  taken  place 
in  the  lancets,  leaving  them  unmodified,  this  is  very  im- 
probable ;  besides,  the  spines  at  the  end  of  the  tibia  of 
the  fore  leg  are  found  in  most,  if  not  all,  of  the 
Syrphidje.* 

An  antenna  is  shown  in  fig.  7.  It  resembles  Syrphus 
balteatus  and  others  of  the  family;  the  small  circular 
markings  are  probably  olfactory  organs,  and  would  be 
of  service  to  a  flower-feeding  insect;  at  a  deeper  focus 
there  is  a  curious  organ  of  a  rather  vermifoiTU  appear- 
ance, which  seems  to  be  for  the  same  purpose.  The 
male  organs  are  very  interesting,  and  can  seldom  be  so 
well  seen  as  in  this  fly — though  even  here  it  is  far  from 
easy  to  make  a  satisfactory  diagram  (fig.  8);  two  large 
feeling  organs,  two  "  claspers  "  (fig.  9),  and  two  inner 
"  holding  organs  "  (fig.  10),  as  well  as  a  seminal  duct, 
are  all  clearly  seen,  but  other  parts  are  very  nebulous, 


Fio.  7.  —  Antenna  of    S. 
pipiens.   x   .50  diameters. 


Fig.  8. — Diagram  of  the  hypopygiimi 
of  S.  pipiens. 


overlap,  and  difficult  to  differentiate.  The  apparatus 
shown  in  fig.  10  is  a  very  pretty  microscopic  object, 
and  with  the  "  claspers  "  (fig.  9)  (note  how  the  setse  are 
turned  back  so  as  to  form  hooks)  and  the  process  on 
the  coxse  of  the  hind  leg,  are  claviously  all  modified 
with  the  object  i  f  accentuating  the  male's  firm  hold  of 
the  female.  The  remarkable  elaboration  and  com- 
plexity of  detail  ou  this  minute  fly  (the  female  is  §  of 
an  inch  long,  the  ni  le  a  little  less),  cannot  fail  to 
strike  an  observer.  It  is  interesting  to  compare  this 
insect  with  another  nearly  related  to  it.  Ascia  podgrica 
is  rather  smaller,  and  the  abdomen  very  different  in 
shape,  being  a  pointed  oval  tapering  with  a  curve  to 
the  base,  but  the  wings,  the  fore  legs,  and  the  moutn 
organs  are  identical ;  the  femur  of  the  hind  legs  is 
thickened  in  precisely  the  same  manner,  but  it  is 
toothed  with  sharp  setse,  and  there  are  no  spines  on 
the  tibia,  the  edge  being  hardened  and  chitinous  in- 
stead ;  the  middle  legs  lack  the  elaborate  spines, 
and  the  autennse  are  slightly  different  in  shape. 
Erystalis  pertiuax  and  Heliophilus  trivittatus  carry  a 

*  I  have  had  an  opportunitv  of  watching,  at  all  events,  one  of  the 
uses  of  the  hind  leg;  a  female  extended  her  long  membranous 
ovipositor  and  drew  it  very  carefully  through  the  teeth  of  the  femur 
and  tibia,  which  were  compressed  for  the  purpose ;  this  was  repeated 
many  times.  T  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  nimierous  hairs  and 
spines  on  the  legs  are  primarily  intended  for  cleaning  purposes. 


NEBULA      M      IV.      41       SAGITTARII. 

By     ISAAC     ROBERTS,     D.Sc,     F.RS 


Fkbbcary  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


35 


similar  apparatus  on  the  hind  leg,  but  the  femur  is  not 
nearly  so  thii-keued  ;  it  is  armed  with  shai-pcr  spines 
than  S.  pipiens,  and  the  tibia  is  furnished  with  a  similar 


Fio.  9.— "Claspcr"  of  mule        Fio.  10. — "Holding  organ"  of  male 
S.  pipiens.      x    KXl  diametors.  .S.  jjipiens.      x   27.")  diamoters. 

process,  though  not  quite  so  continuous.  The  explana- 
tion of  these  variations  forms  an  interesting  problem, 
which  with  opportunity  for  observation,  I  do  not  think 
is  incapable  of  elucidation. 

In  conclusion  it  is  my  duty  and  my  plea-sure  to  ex- 
press my  obligations  to  Mr.  E.  Austen,  of  the  British 
Museum,  for  information  on  the  life-history,  literature, 
and  the  kind  gift  of  specimens  of  S.  pipiens. 


¥ 


PHOTOGRAPH  OF  THE  TRIFID  NEBULA 
IV.  41  SAGITTARII,  AND  OF  THE  REGION 
SURROUNDING. 

By  Isaac  Roberts,  d.sc,  f.r.s. 

The  photograph  annexed  is  of  the  region  in  the 
sky  comprised  between  R.A.  17h.  54m.  12'8s.  and  R.A. 
17h.  .58m.  421s.,  and  in  declination  between  south 
23°  37'-6  and  22'  16'-6.  The  area,  therefore,  is  4m,  29:3s. 
in  extent  from  following  to  preceding,  and  1°  21'  from 
north  to  south.  Scale— one  millimetre  to  twenty  seconds 
of  arc. 

Co-ordinates  of  the  fiducial  stars  marked  with  dots  for 
the  epoch  19<j0. 

star    (.)    D.M.    Schunfeld    No.  450.3    Zone  -  22°   E.A.    17h.    55m.    50  R'. 

Dec.  S.  ±J=>  «'•!.    Miic.  fiO. 
Star  (.,)  D.M.  No.  4533  Zone  -  22°  E.A.  17h.  57m,  53-6s.  Dec.  S.  22°  oO  7. 

Maj.  7-4. 

The  Trijid  nebula  ^  IV.  41  is  in  R.A.  17h.  56m. ; 
declination,  south  23°  2'. 

Refeeences. 

N.G.C.  No.  6514.  G.C.  4355.  h  1991  =  3718.  Phil. 
Trans.,  1833,  PI.  XVI.,  Fig.  80.    Cape  Ohs.,  PI  II.,  Fig.  2. 

The  photograph  was  taken  with  the  20-inch  reflector, 
and  exposure  of  the  plate  during  90  minutes,  on  the 
13th  July,  1899  ;  and  it  will  be  observed  that  the  nebula 
is  characterized  by  tortuous  dark  rifts  without  stars 
in  them.  Those  which  intersect  the  denser  part  of  the 
nebulosity  have  margins  sharply  defined,  whilst  those 
in  the  fainter  parts  are  broader,  with  the  margins  less 
defined  and  some  nebulosity  in  the  rifts. 

There  have  been  published  in  Knowledge,  during 
the  past  two  years,  three  photographs  showing  the 
densely  dark  rifts,  and  besides  those,  others  showing 
the  broader  rifts ;  amongst  the  latter  the  nebulae  in 
Orion  and  in  Andromeda  are  conspicuous  examples,  as 
well  as  those  of  the  cloud-like  class. 


The  inferences  we  may  reasonably  draw  from  these 
aijpearances  are  that  those  nebul;v>  are  developing  into 
the  more  stable  form  of  stars  by  the  influence  of  gravi- 
tation. They  appear  to  bo  the  earlier  stages  in  the 
development  of  spiral  nebula',  examples  of  which  have 
been  shown  on  many  photographs  already  published, 
where  it  wa.s  obvious  that  tlio  nebulosity  is  aggregatin;^; 
into  stars  in  the  convolutions. 

The  most  useful  work  that  can  now  be  done  for  the 
advancement  of  astronomical  science  is  the  careful 
measurement  of  tho  position  angles  and  distances  of 
the  sufficiently  well  defined  star-like  condensations  of 
tho  nebulosity  in  these  vai'ious  nebula}  from  selected 
normal  stars,  six  or  eight  in  number,  which  surrolind 
the  respective  objects  within  tho  radius  distance  of  one 
degree  or  less.  In  this  way  astronomers  would,  within 
an  interval  of  a  few  years,  bo  able  to  demonstrate  tho 
changes  that  have  taken  place  in  these  bodies  with 
reference  to  those  stars  as  fiducial  points;  and  thus 
positive  knowledge  would  bo  gained  in  place  of  the 
speculative  with  its  never  ending  controversy. 

It  is  welcome  intelligence  that  Dr.  Drcycr,  of  the 
Armagh  Observatory,  is  about  to  commence  the  attack 
upon  this  work. 

♦ 

ASTRONOMY  AND  ASTROLOGY;  A  QUESTION 
OF   PRIMOGENITURE.      .  ; 

By    E.    Walter    Maunder,    f.r.a.s.  ', 

No  record  exists  to  tell  us  under  what  circumstances, 
and  exact  form,  the  science  of  Astronomy  had  its  first 
beginning.  We  can,  therefore,  but  make  a  guess  as  to 
its  origin,  and  most  of  our  leading  writers  are  a,t  one  as 
to  the  agent  which  gave  it  birth.  Astronomy,  say  they, 
is  the  daughter  of  Astrology. 

It  may  seem  presumptuous  to  call  in  question  an 
idea  which  writers,  of  such  sound  judgment  and  keen 
perception  as  the  late  R.  A.  Proctor,  have  regarded  as 
axiomatic,  but,  in  my  own  view,  Astrology,  so  far  from 
being  the  parent  of  Astronomy,  must  be  looked  upon 
as  a  late  and  most  degenerate  descendant  from  the  sub' 
lime  science. 

Astronomy,  like  everything  else,  had  a  beginning-. 
There  must  have  been  a  time  when  men  had  not  yet; 
discovered  that  the  stars  seen  on  one  evening  held  the 
same  lelativ©  positions  as  those  obsei-ved  the  next;  « 
time  viflien  no  planets  at  all  had  been  recognised,  and 
when  the  sun  and  moon  were  not  thought  to  be  of 
the  same  order  as  the  other  heavenly  bodies. 

An  unintelligent  townsman  of  to-day,  who  may  perr 
chance  find  himself  out  in  the  country  on  some  dark; 
clear,  night,  looks  up  and  remarks  casually,  that  "  It 
is  a  lovely  night,"  and  "  What  a  lot  of  stars  there  are 
out,"  and  there  his  knowledge  and  recognition  of  the 
spectacle  end.  He  knows  ho  constellations,  he  recog- 
nises no  particular  stars ;  he  has  never  watched  the 
heavens  long  enough  to  discern  that  they  are  continually 
turning  round  the  pole  ;  a  planet  and  a  fixed  star  are 
both  alike  to  him ;  the  heavens  present  no  problems, 
give  no  information  to  him. 

Now  this  state  of  things,  which  we  find  only  too 
widely  prevalent  to-day,  much  to  ^ho  discredit  of  our 
modern  civilization,  must  once  have  been  universal. 
There  was  a  time  when  no  one  could  recognise 
a  constellation,  because  none  had  yet  been  mapped  out  j 
when  none  could  tell  tho  difference  between  a  pla'nefc 
and  a  fixed  star,  because  no  observations  had  at  that 
early' date  been  devised  for  following  the  rtoveftieilt 
of  the  one,  or  proving  the  iinmobility  of  the  other. 


36 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[FlBEtJABY    1,  ICOO. 


Let  us  turn,  on  the  other  hand,  to  a  consideration 
of  the  kno'wledge  which  is  involved  in  the  exercise  of 
astrological  art.  Supposing  that  a  modern  astrologer 
were  asked  to  calculate  the  nativity  of  some  client,  he 
would  proceed  substantially  in  the  way  in  which  Sir 
Walter  Scott  describes  Guy  Mannering  as  doing  at  the 
birth  of  Henry  Bertram  of  EUangowan. 

"He  erected  his  Eclieme  or  figure  of  heaven,  divided  into  its 
twelve  houses,  placed  the  planets  therein  according  to  the  ephemeris, 
and  rectified  their  position  to  the  hour  and  moment  of  the  nativity. 
Without  troubling  our  readers  with  the  general  prognostications 
which  judicial  astrology  would  have  inferred  from  these  circum- 
stances, in  this  diagram  there  was  one  significator  which  pressed 
remarkably  upon  our  astrologer's  attention.  Mars  having  dignity 
in  the  cusp  of  the  twelfth  house,  threatened  captivity,  or  sudden 
or  violent  death,  to  the  native  ;  and  Mannering,  having  recourse  to 
those  further  rules  by  which  diviners  pretend  to  ascertain  the 
vehemency  of  this  evil  direction,  observed  from  the  result  that 
three  periods  would  be  particularly  hazardous — his  fifth,  his  tenth, 
his  twenty-first  year," 

The  foregoing  sketch  of  an  astroioger  at  his  work  will 
be  a  sufficiently  accurate  one  for  our  purpose,  no  matter 
what  the  time  or  the  nation  in  which  he  is  supposed  to 
have  lived. 

Now  what  is  involved  in  the  operations  which  Guv 
Mannering  performed?  First  of  all,  they  imply  that 
the  constellations  had  been  devised  and  mapped  out , 
next,  that  the  planets  were  recognised  as  such,  and 
these  are  inferences  with  very  significant  consequences. 
Thei  recognition  of  "  the  seven  planets,"  though  it 
came  so  early  in  the  history  of  the  world  that  there 
is  a  numerous  school  which  believes  the  week  is  a  con- 
sequence of  such  recognition,  was  no  simple  matter.  It 
was  a  triumph  of  careful  observation  and  clear  in- 
duction which  led  the  early  astronomers  to  see  that 
Hesper  and  Phosphor,  the  evening  and  morning  stars, 
were  not  two  bodies,  but  one.  Much  more  difficult  was 
it  to  track  the  elusive  Mercury,  and  recognise  in  it  again 
a  single  wanderer.  Mars  and  Jupiter  would  be  followed 
with  much  greater  ease,  but  '^he  dull  and  slow  moving 
Saturn  could  only  have  revealed  itself  as  a  planet  when 
observations  of  the  relative  positions  of  the  stars  had 
become  systematic  and  it  was  known  from  definite 
measurement  of  some  sort  or  another  that  of  all  the 
stars,  these  five  and  these  alone,  moved  with  respect  to 
the  others. 

The  recognition  of  the  remaining  two  of  "  the  seven 
planets  "  must  have  been  no  easy  matter,  and  implies 
a  power  of  looking  behind  the  mere  superficial  appear- 
ance of  things  in  the  highest  degree  creditable  to  the 
early  workers  in  our  science.  For  the  effect  produced 
by  the  sun  and  moon  on  the  mind  of  the  casual  spectator 
is  cert.ainly  that  of  an  altogether  different  order  and 
kind  from  the  stars  and  other  planets.  Of  course,  it 
was  easy  to  perceive  that  the  moon  moved  amongst 
the  stars,  although  its  motions  differ  in  several  impor- 
tant characteristics  from  those  of  any  of  the  planets, 
but  he  must  have  been  both  a  clear  and  a  bold  thinker 
who  first  told  his  fellow  men  that  the  stars  were  shining 
down  upon  them  all  day  as  well  as  all  night,  and  that 
the  explanations  of  the  changes  in  the  constellations 
visible  at  different  seasons  of  the  year  was  that  the 
sun  was  moving  round  amongst  them  in  the  course  of  a 
year,  as  the  moon  did  within  the  limits  of  a  month. 

All  this  pioneer  work  must  have  been  done,  and  done 
thoroughly — become  familiar  and  commonplace  long 
before  the  very  first  step  in  astrology  can  have  been 
taken.  Men  cannot  possibly  have  conceived  that 
Jupiter  brought  good  fortune,  or  Saturn  sinister,  before 
they  had  recognised  the  existence  of  those  planets,  and 


that  they  moved  differently  from  the  common  herd  of 
stars. 

If  we  assume  that  at  some  early  date  men  had  come 
to  look  upon  certain  of  the  planets  as  favourable,  and 
others  as  unfavourable,  we  can  readily  see  that  an  As- 
trologer who  could  take  an  actual  observation  of  the 
heavens  at  the  moment  of  the  birth  of  some  Prince,  or 
of  the  starting  of  some  expedition,  or  the  laying  of  the 
foundation  of  some  building,  could  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  person  or  enterprise  would  be  pro- 
sperous or  the  reverse.  But  that  was  not  the  chief  object 
of  Astrology.  The  principal  point  was  to  find  out 
beforehand  at  what  time  in  the  life  of  the  new-born 
Prince  he  would  be  most  exposed  to  danger  or  most 
likely  to  meet  with  good  fortune.  This  was  the  actual 
case  with  Guy  Mannering's  prediction  of  Harry 
Bertram.  So  in  the  event  of  an  expedition,  or  enter- 
prise of  any  kind,  the  duty  of  the  Astrologer  was  to 
choose  in  advance  a  favourable  moment  for  its  com- 
mencement. And  in  both  cases  this  demanded  on  his  ' 
part  a  very  precise  knowledge  of  the  future  position  of 
the  planets.  A  complete  horoscope,  indeed,  involves 
the  knowledge,  not  merely  of  the  places  of  the  planets 
that  are  above  the  horizon  at  a  given  time,  but  also 
those  that  are  below.  This  meant  a  mastery  of  the 
apparent  movements  of  the  planets,  which  can  only 
have  been  obtained  after  centuries  of  the  closest  ob- 
sei-vation.  In  other  words,  the  existence  of  Astrology 
pre-supposes  a  state  of  Astronomy  not  less  advanced 
than  it  was  in  Alexandria  under  Claudius  Ptolemy,  or 
in  Samarkand  under  XJliigh  Beigh. 

More  than  this.  Astrology  bears  witness  to  a  previous 
Astronomy,  then  half  forgotten.  The  signs  of  the 
Zodiac  of  the  astrological  scheme  are  not  in  the  least 
the  actual  Zodiacal  constellations,  though  they  derive 
their  names  from  them.  They  are  simply  a  method  of 
recording  celestial  longitude,  and  bear  no  relation  to 
the  configiu'ations  of  the  actual  stars. 

Yet  whenever  ;.iid  however  Astronomy  first  arose,  the 
initial  step  towards  progress  must  have  been  the  map- 
ping out  of  the  stars  into  constellations ;  until  that 
had  been  done  it  was  impossible  for  men  to  be  sure 
that  the  stars  they  could  see  maintained  the  same 
relative  positions  towards  each  other.  Not  until  that 
fact  had  been  assimilated  was  it  possible  to  appreciate 
the  next,  namely,  that  certain  stars  were  planets,  wan- 
dering amongst  the  others.  Then  when  the  constella- 
tions had  been  formed,  there  must  have  come  quickly 
the  recognition  that  different  constellations  were  visible 
at  varying  times  of  the  year,  and  this  led  on  no  doubt 
at  once  to  the  idea  of  adapting  the  science  to  utili- 
tarian purposes. 

Both  tradition  and,  it  seems  to  me,  the  inherent 
probability  of  the  thing,  support  the  belief  that  the 
first  use  of  Astronomy  was  the  determination  of  the 
leng*h  of  the  year  and  the  announcement  of  the 
return  of  the  seasons  in  their  due  course ;  and  this 
must  have  been  a  service  of  the  very  first  magnitude 
For  although  the  early  agriculturist  could  learn  from 
flowers,  or  plants,  or  trees  when  Spring  was  approach- 
ing, yet  these  phenological  indications  are  somewhat 
vague  and  indefinite,  and  will  vary  considerably  even 
in  neighbouring  districts. 

No  doubt  the  chief  duty  of  the  early  priests  and  as- 
tronomers, to  whom  the  task  of  watching  the  heavens 
was  intrusted,  consisted  in  noting  the  heliacal  rising 
of  certain  special  stars  to  be  able  to  announce  the  return 
of  the  different  seasons  of  the  calendar,  and  in  all  pro- 
bability it  is  in  these  observations  that  we  can  see  the 


Fbbbcaby  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


37 


first  germ  of  the  notion  of  Astrology.  For  the  seasons 
in  their  course  naturally  bring  with  them  their  own 
characteristics — seed-time  and  harvest,  cold  and  heat, 
drought  and  flood,  fevers  and  agues,  and  the  like;  and 
it  would  bo  easy  to  associate  these  vai'ions  phenomena 
with  special  stars,  and  to  ascribe  them  to  the  stellar 
influence. 

Such  astrology,  however,  would  be  a  purely  stellar  as- 
trologv,  not  susceptible  of  very  much  development. 
Astrology,  as  we  know  it,  on  the  other  hand,  is  almost 
exclusively  planetai-y,  and  very  nearly  independent  of 
anv  such  simple  considerations  as  the  return  of  the 
stars  to  their  heliacal  rising  at  the  end  of  the  year. 

Another  application  of  Astronomy  which  must  have 
been  considerably  later  than  that  of  its  use  for  the 
determination  of  the  calendar,  and  yet  which  was  cer- 
tainlv  an  early  one,  is  its  use  in  navigation,  taking  the 
word  in  a  wide  sense  to  mean  not  merely  the  steering 
of  a  ship  across  the  sea  but  also  a  caravan  across  the 
desert.  Here  it  must  have  been  early  appreciated  that 
the  stars  afford  absolutely  the  best  finger-posts  by  which 
to  cross  the  pathless  and  monotonous  ocean,  and  no 
doubt  it  was  soon  luiderstood  that  not  only  did  thcv 
give  the  means  for  determining  the  cardinal  points 
but  also  for  ascertaining  the  latitude  of  the  traveller. 
The  sailor  who  was  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 
stars  would  have  no  difficulty  in  navigating  from  one 
port  of  which  he  knew  the  latitude  to  any  other  whose 
latitude  was  also  known.  He  had  but  to  sail  north  or 
south  until  the  elevation  of  the  Fole  Star  assured  him 
that  he  was  on  the  proper  circle,  and  then  he  would 
sail  east  or  west,  as  the  case  might  be. 

There  must  have  been  a  very  wide  demarcation  in 
early  times  between  the  Astronomy  of  the  Calendar, 
without  doubt  in  the  hands  of  a  small  and  mysterious 
cult,  and  the  Astronomy  of  Navigation  necessarily  in 
the  keeping  of  practical  sailors.  The  latter  would  cer- 
tainly have  not  Ien<-  itself  to  astrological  ideas,  and 
though  we  mav  owe  several  of  our  constellations  to 
these  early  sailors  they  are  not  likely  to  have  done 
much  to  give  the  science  a  fortune-telling  character. 

Very  different  indeed  would  have  been  the  position 
of  the  priestly  astronomers  if  by  dint  of  careful  obser- 
vation and  research  they  were  able  to  go  beyond  their 
original  work  of  arranging  the  calendar,  and  were 
able  not  only  to  divine  the  causes  of  eclipses  but  to 
foretell  them.  If  they  attained  to  this  mastery  of  the 
laws  of  Nature  then  they  had  a  power  in  their  hands 
which  could  be  readily  used  for  political  or  religious 
effect  to  an  almost  unlimited  extent,  and  which  would 
at  the  same  time  serve  as  a  foundation  upon  which  an 
infinitude  of  further  claims  might  be  safely  based.  To 
this  very  day  no  astronomical  feat  whatsoever  obtains 
such  wide  and  complete  popular  recognition  as  the  com- 
putation of  the  time  of  an  eclipse,  and  in  those  early 
ages  the  occurrence  of  an  eclipse  in  accordance  with 
prediction  must  not  only  have  seemed  to  invest  the 
astronomer  himself  with  superhuman  powers,  but  must 
have  convinced  the  people  beyond  all  chance  of  con- 
futation that  the  movements  of  the  heavenly  bodies 
were  intimately  connected  with  the  affairs  of  men.  The 
successful  prediction  of  an  eclipse  was  probably  regai'ded 
at  once  as  a  certificate  of  the  skill  of  the  Astrologer 
and  a  demonstration  of  the  reality  of  Astrology. 

Nevertheless,  when  once  the  imposture  had  been 
fairly  set  afoot  of  predicting  the  fortunes  and  fates  of 
men  from  the  movements  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  the 
predictors  must  have  speedily  found  themselves  short  of 
material  upon  which   to   go.     The  return   of   stars   to 


their  heliacal  risings  in  the  course  of  the  year  would 
be  far  too  regular  a  phenomenon  for  anything  but 
general  prophecies  to  have  been  based  upon  it,  and 
eclipses  are  too  rare  for  anything  but  occasional  use. 
The  sheer  necessity  which  a  fortune-teller  would  have 
for  a  wide  range  of  combinations,  applicable  at  any 
and  every  moment,  must  have  driven  the  old  soo'  hsayers 
and  seers  to  the  use  of  the  planets  as  their  stock  in 
trade,  directly  the  science  of  actual  observation  had 
been  so  far  advanced,  that  they  could  both  predict  a 
planet's  place  in  the  future,  or  calculate  back  its 
position  in  the  past.  The  infinite  diversity  of  grouping 
which  the  planets  offei-cd,  lent  itself  so  precisely  to  the 
needs  of  the  imposture  that  once  started  the  pseudo- 
science  developed  with  amazing  rapidity. 

The  rise  of  Astrology  would  seem  to  have  meant  a 
complete  arrest  of  the  development  of  the  parent  science 
— Astronomy.  The  Astrologer  needed  his  tables  of  the 
sun,  moon,  and  planets.  He  required  some  instrument 
for  observing  the  altitude  and  azimuth  of  a  celestial 
object.  Ability  to  make  at  least  an  approximate  deter- 
mination of  time  was  a  desideratum,  but  given  a  science 
which  would  supply  him  with  this  infonnation,  and  he 
stood  in  need  of  nothing  more.  He  boldly  translated 
the  celestial  movements  into  terms  of  human  history, 
and  predicted  wars  and  revolutions,  plenty  or  famines, 
as  the  result  of  the  planetary  positions.  It  did  not 
occur  to  him  to  follow  these  positions  for  themselves 
or  to  speculate  as  to  how  they  were  brought  about. 
Had  a  doubt  as  to  the  Ptolemaic  system  been  suggested 
to  him  it  would,  likely  enough,  have  seemed  idle  and 
abstract  controversy.  The  astrological  significance  of  a 
given  position  of  Mars  was  just  the  same,  whether  its 
real  centre  of  motion  was  the  earth  or  the  sun.  As- 
tronomy, therefore,  which  had  made  so  great  a  progress 
before  Astrology  could  have  made  a  start,  remained 
perfectly  dormant  during  the  long  ages  when  men 
studied  the  heavens  not  to  get  a  better  knowledge  of  the 
laws  of  Nature  but  simply,  if  possible,  to  lift  the  veil 
which  hid  their  own  future.  And  when  once  again 
men  began  to  inquire  as  to  the  real  physical  meaning  of 
the  movements  of  the  planets.  Astrology  decayed  as 
rapidly  as  it  had  grown.  The  arguments  of  Coper- 
nicus, the  telescopic  discoveries  of  Galileo,  the  laws  of 
Kepler,  though  they  have  no  direct  bearing  on  the 
truth  or  falsity  of  Astrology,  yet  by  directing  men's 
minds  to  the  true  problems  which  the  heavens  offer, 
speedily  put  an  end  to  the  absurd  inventions  which  had 
enchained  men's  minds  for  so  many  generations. 

"We  are  able  to  indicate  roughly  how  far  back  both 
Astronomy  and  Astrology  arc  traceable.  Assume  the 
mapping  of  the  constellations  amongst  the  first  of  As- 
tronomical operations.  Now  the  old  constellations 
which  have  been  handed  down  to  us  through  the 
medium  of  the  Greeks,  from  the  old  inhabitants  of 
Mesopotamia,  received  their  completion  not  quite  3000 
years  B.C.  This  we  know,  since,  as  has  been  frequently 
pointed  out,  the  region  in  the  Southern  heavens  which 
the  Astronomers  of  old  left  unmapped,  is  one  the  centre 
of  which  coincided  with  the  Southern  Pole  a  little  less 
than  5000  years  ago.  This  then  gives  us  the  date  of 
the  completion  of  "the  constellations.  How  long  they 
had  taken  to  map  out  we  cannot  tell,  whether  it  was  a 
few  months,  a  few  years,  or  several  centuries.  Yet;  we 
can  be  sure  that  it  was  not  an  indefinitely  long  time, 
for  whilst  many  tradition.^  in  different  forms  remind  us 
that  Taurus  was  once  the  equinoctial  constellation,  there 
is  no  tradition  that  Gemini  ever  held  that  place. 

When   we  come  to  Astrology,  however,   we  find   the 


38 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[Febbuaey  1,  1900. 


indabitable  marks  of  a  much  more  recent  origin.  First 
of  all,  as  already  pointed  out,  the  astrological  signs  of 
the  Zodiac  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  actual  stars ; 
the  constellations  to  which  they  owe  their  names  are 
left  quite  out  of  sight  and  ai"e  almost  foi-gotten. 
Next,  and  most  significantly,  we  find  that  Ai-ies 
is  the  primitive  sign  of  the  Astrological  scheme. 
There  is  no  hint  that  it  ever  had  been  Taurus. 
This  fact  would  of  itself  sufiice  to  show  that  Asti-ology, 
at  any  rate  in  any  such  systematised  form  as  we  now 
know  it,  is  far  younger  than  Astronomy,  younger  by 
the  time  which  precession  takes  to  cross  an  entire  sign 
of  the  Zodiac,  younger,  that  is  to  say,  by  a  period 
which  wo  may  roughly  put  as  2000  years.  No  doubt 
sun-worship  and  moon-worship  reach  back  almost  to 
the  birth  of  the  human  race ;  no  doubt  eclipses,  comets 
and  meteor-showers  struck  terror  into  men  from  the 
earliest  ages,  and  many  superstitions  and  fancies  of  an 
astrological  tendency  took  fomi  and  shape  in  primitive 
times  and  prepared  men's  minds  to  accept  the  im- 
posture when  at  length  it  had  attained  an  organised 
development ;  but  we  can  say  positively  that  Astrology 
in  anything  like  a  complete  system  cannot  date  back 
earlier  than  1800  B.C.,  when  the  sun  first  entered  Aries 
at  the  Spring  Equinox,  and  that  it  must  almost  cer- 
tainlj'  have  arisen  many  centuries  later. 


[The  Editors  do  not  hold  themselveB  responsible  for  the  opinioDs  or 
statements  of  correspondents.] 

IS    THE    UNIVERSE    FINITE  ? 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — Of  course  the  academical  question,  whether 
the  Universe  is  finite  or  infinite,  is  not  likely  to  be 
solved  in  our  time,  and  I  do  not  think  that  the  difii- 
culties  raised  by  some  correspondents  of  your  journal, 
and  elsewhere,  about  our  idea  or  conception  of  the 
infinite  will  afford  us  the  least  assistance  in  arriving 
at  the  solution.  The  structure  of  the  Universe  is  a 
verv  different  thing  from  our  ideas  or  concejjtions 
of  it. 

But  the  question  which  occnrred  to  Mr.  Burns,  and 
had  previoush'  occurred  to  others,  is  in  reality  a  differ- 
ent one.  It  is  this  :  Is  the  Universe  confined  within 
limits  which  we  mav  reasonably  expect  to  ascertain  and 
define — for  instance,  within  a  sphere  with  the  sun  (or 
earth)  as  centre,  and  a  radius  equal  to  100,000,000 
times  the  sun's  distance  from  the  earth  ?  In  fact  a 
sphere  with  a  considerablv  smaller  radius  than  this 
would  account  for  everything  that  we  at  present  know. 
But  although  this  explanation  is  admissible,  there  ar3 
grounds  for  doubting  whether  it  is  the  true  one. 

Mr.  Anderson,  I  think,  falls  into  a  vei-y  common  error 
on  this  subject,  by  supposing  that  nothing  can  affect 
the  eye  unless  it  can  be  separately  seen.  The  current 
theory  at  present  is  that  Saturn's  rings  consist  of 
meteors.  'What  would  be  thought  of  an  astronomer 
who  contended  that  the  ring  must  be  invisible  because 
the  meteors  cannot  be  separately  seen  ?  Again :  look 
at  the  Milky  Way  on  a  clear,  moonless  night.  It  is 
perfectly  visible  to  the  naked  eye ;  but  can  it  be  said 
that  our  most  poverful  telescopes,  whether  used  by 
the  eve  or  on  the  photographic  plate,  have  as  yet  re- 
solved all  this  luminosity  into  separately  visible  stars? 
The  zodiacal  light  and  the  Gegenschien  may  be  cited 
in  further  illustration  of  this.  Stai-s  or  other  objects, 
which    no    one    has    as    yet    succeeded    in    rendering 


separately  visible,  do  unquestionably  affect  the  naked 
eye ;  and  if  we  find  that  the  general  illumination  of  the 
sky  falls  much  short  of  what  it  ought  to  be  on  any 
given  theory,  we  cannot  explain  this  fact  by  supposing 
that  stars  of  less  than  a  given  magnitude  produce  no 
effect  at  all.  Take  a  single  meteor  at  the  distance  of 
Saturn  and  of  the  average  size  of  those  which  compose 
the  rings ;  regard  this  meteor  as  a  star,  and  of  what 
magnitude  will  it  be? 

Bright  stars  lose  as  much  by  absorption,  atmospheric 
or  telescopic,  as  fainter  ones.  Hence,  we  may  neglect 
the  element  of  absoi-ption  when  dealing  with  the  total 
light  of  stars  of  different  magnitudes.  It  is,  of  course 
true  that  "  if  the  illuminating  area  were  to  decrease, 
owing  to  increase  of  distance,  more  rapidly  than  it  in- 
creased owing  to  greater  numbers.  .  .  it  would  never  give 
us  a  blazing  sky,"  as  Mr.  Hill  says.  But  this  could  not 
occur  without  a  constant  thinning  out  of  the  stars  as 
we  pass  to  greater  distances  from  the  solar  system.  On 
the  hypothesis  of  unifoi-m  distribution,  when  the  light 
of  the  stars  decreased  in  the  proportion  of  2.512  to  1 
(one  magnitude)  the  number  would  increase  in  the  pro- 
portion of  3.984  to  1,  and  the  total  "  illuminating 
area"  would  be  more  than  li  times  as  great  as  before. 
Mr.  Burns,  I  apprehend,  did  not  seek  to  prove  that  the 
stars  could  not  extend  to  infinity.  What  he  sought  to 
prove  was  that  they  could  not  do  so  unless  there  was  a 
constant  thinning-out  on  the  way.  The  question  is 
almost  equivalent  to  this  :  Is  the  sun  a  member  of  a 
star-cluster  ? 

Admitting,  however,  that  the  sun  is  a  member  of  a 
cluster,  the  chances  are  that  it  is  not  in  the  centre 
of  the  cluster ;  and,  if  so,  this  thinning  out  of  the  stars 
ought  not  to  take  place  at  once.  But  if  we  take  in  the 
entire  sky,  as  far  as  I  can  judge,  the  apparent  thinning- 
out  begins  almost  at  once.  Hence  the  existence  of  an 
absorptive  medium  of  some  kind  in  space  is  naturally 


suggested. 


W,  H,  S.  MoNCK. 


LUNAR  SEAS. 

TO    THE    EDITORS    OF    KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — I  hope  Mr.  Tepper's  very  thoughtful  paper 
and  Mr,  Tappenden's  letter  in  your  last  issue  will 
revive  an  interest  amongst  your  readers  in  the  study 
of  lunar  cosmogony. 

The  theoi-y  suggested  by  Mr.  Tepper  has  so  many 
things  in  its  favour  that  I  cannot  think  it  unimportant ; 
the  fall  of  meteors  on  its  surface,  where  no  atmosphere 
exists,  certainly  suggests  a  plausible  origin  for  the  rays 
from  Tycho  and  other  ring  craters  as  we  call  them.  I 
am  not  sure  but  some  of  the  craters  themselves  may 
have  originated  by  the  fall  of  large  meteors  coming 
down  vertically  into  a  deep  coating  of  such  dust  as  Mr, 
Tepper  speaks  of,  and  might  explain  the  radiating  rays, 
whilst  meteors  moving  obliquely  would  explain  the  rays 
which  run  parallel  to  each  other,  and  there  are  many 
such. 

The  large  plates  of  the  French  photographs  by  Loewy 
and  Puiseux  will  be  of  very  great  value  in  the  study  of 
lunar  questions;  the  part  of  one  of  these  published  in 
December  Knowledge  shows  many  impoi-tant  points, 
which  answers  some  of  the  suggestions.  The  ray  below 
Bullialdus  (E)  does  not  ran  into  the  crater  Tycho  but 
passes  close  to  its  eastern  wall,  and  can  be  traced  run- 
ning in  the  same  direction  on  the  other  side,  and  we  can 
easdy  trace  another  ray  running  parallel  to  it  farther 
east,  as  if  a  meteor  had  ploughed  through  some  loose 
matter,  forming  a  furrow  and  throwing  the  material  on 


Fkbruaky  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


39 


each  side  of  its  track.  There  is  also  another  runniug 
parallel  with  those  on  the  west  side  of  Tycho.  It 
appeai-s  to  me  as  if  a  ruinber  of  nieteoi-s  swept  over 
this  part  of  the  moou  iu  the  same  direction  at  the  same 
time. 

Mr.  Maunder  speaks  of  Kies  and  Lubiniesky  as 
havirg  sunk  in  the  invasive  fluid.  May  it  not  be 
that  these  rings  were  perfect  belore  the  rays  refeiTed 
to  were  formed,  and  that  the  matter  thrown  from  the 
meteor's  track  has  buried  these  rings? 

Another  group  of  parallel  rays  sweeps  north  westerly 
from  Kircher  and  Bailly,  over  Tycho  and  on  to  Lexcll. 
I  think  Jlr.  Tappendeu's  suggestion  that  the  rays  arc 
the  results  of  meteor  flights  and  falls  may  be  the  true 
explanation. 

December  17,    1899. 


A.   Elvins. 


S.  S.  CYGNI. 

TO    THE   EDITORS    OF    KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — We  have  had  a  remarkable  appearance  of 
S.  S.  Cygni  dxxring  the  last  two  weeks,  quite  unknown 
to  our  experience.  For  myself  I  will  say  I  did  not 
believe  my  eyes,  and  sought  for  light,  but  my  obser- 
vations which  are  as  follows  have  been  fully  con- 
firmed :  — 


1899. 

Mags. 

1S99. 

Mug.s. 

XOT.  21. 

Cloudy 

Dee.  1. 

9  p.m 

.       9  20 

„     22. 

7.30,8  &9  p.m. 

105 

„    2. 

8  p.m 

.       9-20 

„    23. 

8  p.m 

<io-oo 

„     3. 

7.45  &9  p.m.. 

.       925 

„     28. 

,^         

9-37 

„     4.- 

7.3U  p.m 

.       9-30 

„     29. 

9-30 

9  p.m 

.,       9-35 

„    30. 

„         ... 

9  20 

„     5. 
„     6. 

7,30  p.m 

..       9-55 

<10U0 

The  weather  si^ce  has  been  cloudy.  The  maximum 
may  be  put  on  the  1st  December.  The  star  on  previous 
apparitions  rose  on  second  or  third  nights  to  about 
8.5m. 

David  Flanery. 
Memphis,  Tenn.,  U.S.A., 

9th  December,  1899. 


©tituarg. 

— ♦ — 

John  Ruskin,  whose  death,  on  the  20th  Januaiy, 
1900,  we  regret  to  record,  was  born  in  1819,  the  son  of 
a  wine  merchant  in  London,  and  was  educated  privately 
and  at  Christ  Church,  Oxford,  carrying  off  the  New- 
digate  Prize.  His  love  of  art  found  expression  in  his 
early  attempts  at  painting,  and  in  the  pamphlet  written 
by  him  in  defence  of  Turner  and  his  method,  which  was 
afterwards  expanded  into  the  great  work — "  Modern 
Painters,"  the  five  volumes  of  which,  illustrated  by 
himself,  appeared  between  1843  and  1860.  "  His 
besetting  sin,"  says  Frederick  Harrison,  "  as  a  master 
of  speech,  may  be  summed  up  in  his  passion  for  profuse 
imagery  and  delight  in  an  almost  audible  melody  of 
words.'  Indeed,  it  is  generally  conceded  that  Ruskin 
not  only  surpassed  every  contemporary  writer  of  prose, 
but  called  forth  out  of  our  English  tongue  notes  more 
strangely  beautiful  and  inspiring  than  any  ever  yet 
issued  from  that  instrument.  "  No  writer  of  prose  before 
or  since  has  ever  rolled  forth  such  mighty  fantasies,  or 
reached  such  pathetic  melodies  in  words,  or  composed 
long  books  in  one  continued  strain  of  limpid  grace." 
"  All  my  life,"  he  once  said,  "  I  have  been  talking  to 
the  people,  and  thev  have  listened  not  to  what  I  had 
to  say,  but  to  how  I  said  it ;  they  have  cared  only  for 
the  manner,  not  the  matter.  For  them  the  kernel  is 
nothing;     it    is   the    shell     that    attracts.        In     1849 


appeared  his  "  Seven  Lamps  of  Architecture,"  followed 
bv  "The  Stones  of  Venice,"  1851-53;  "Lectures  on 
Ai-t,"  1859;  "Unto  This  Last,"  1862;  "Ethics  of  tho 
Dust,"  and  "Sesame  and  Lilies,"  1865;  "Crown  of 
Wild  Olive,"  186G,  and  others.  Ruskin  was  Slade  Pro- 
fessor of  Art  at  his  own  University,  and  Rcdc  Lecturer 
at  Cambridge,  llis  autobiography,  under  tho  name  of 
"  Prae'erita,"  appeared  in  parts  a  few  years  ago.  The 
venerable  Dean  of  Westminster  offered  to  tho  relatives 
a  space  in  Westminster  Abbey  in  Poets'  Corner  for 
the  entombment  of  tho  great  critic  and  philosopher, 
but,  adhering  to  Mr.  Ruskin's  previously  exjjressed 
wishes,  the  distinguished  man  of  letters  now  rests  in 
the  churchyard  at  Coniston. 

It  is  wdth  much  regret  that  we  have  to  record  the  death 
of  Dr.  P]lliott  Coues,  the  well  known  American  Zoo- 
logist, who  died  at  Baltimore,  on  December  25th,  aged 
57.  Dr.  Coues  began  life  as  a  surgeon  in  the  U.S. 
Army,  in  which  position  ho  had  unu.sual  opportunities 
for  travel.  Tho  results  of  his  collections  of  birds  and 
animals  made  during  these  expeditions  were  published 
in  various  scientific  journals.  In  1872  he  published  a 
most  valuable  "  Key  to  i.>orth  American  Birds." 
Among  his  other  works  may  be  noted,  "  Birds  of  the 
North-West,"  "  Field  Ornithology,"  "  Birds  of  the 
Colorado  Valley,"  and  iu  conjunction  with  Mr.  J.  A. 
Allen,  "  Fur-Bearing  Animals."  Dr.  Coues  was  best 
known  as  an  ardent  and  accomplished  ornithologist, 
not  only  in  America  but  also  all  over  Europe.  As 
a  man  he  was  most  genial  and  affable,  and  his  loss  will 
be  a  great  one,  as  well  to  his  friends  as  to  the  scientific 
world  at  large. 


j^otictg  of  Boofeg. 

A  System  •;/■  Ethics.  By  Friedrich  Paulsen.  Edited  and 
translated  from  the  fouith  German  edition  by  Frank  Thilly. 
(Kegan  Paul.)  18s.  net.  Since,  as  Matthew  Arnold  wrote, 
"  Conduct  makes  up  three-quarters  of  life,"  the  science  con- 
cerned with  studying  and  formulating  the  laws  which  govern 
right  conduct  is  of  the  very  highest  importance.  AVe  welcome 
Professor  Thilly's  translations  of  Professor  Paulsen's  valuable 
contribution  to  this  study,  because  being  written  primarily  for 
those  who  are  personally  interested  in  the  problems  of  practical 
philosophy  and  not  for  the  philosophical  expert,  it  can  be 
easily  understood  by  the  ordinary  intelligent  person  who  reads 
carefully.  The  translator  has  used  a  wise  discretion  in  omitting 
certain  sections  of  the  original  treatise  which  only  possess  a 
more  or  less  local  interest  for  the  German  public.  The  first 
portion  is  devoted  to  the  historical  development  of  the  con- 
ceptions of  life  and  moral  philosophy  from  the  times  of  the 
Greeks  down  to  the  present  ;  the  ne.xt  examines  the  funda- 
mental questions  of  ethics  ;  while  the  third  division  of  the  book 
is  concerned  with  the  application  to  daily  conduct  of  the  prin- 
ciples previously  discovered.  It  will  serve  to  indicate  roughly 
the  author's  philosophical  position  if  some  of  his  views  on 
crucial  questions  are]  briefly  stated.  He  is  an  advocate  of  the 
<f/fo/o(//'c«^  as  opposed  to  theybcm«//.si(V  view  of  the  difference 
between  good  and  bad — that  is  to  say,  from  Professor  Paulsen's 
point  of  view,  "  acts  arc  called  good  when  they  tend  to  presei-ve 
and  promote  human  welfare  ;  bad  when  they  tend  to  disturb 
and  destroy  it."  To  the  question,  "  What  is  the  end  of  all 
willing  V"  ihn  edcriilstk  s.nA  not  the /«v7oh«/''-  answer  is  given. 
"  Not  pleasure,  but  tho  •  objective  content  of  life  '  is  the  highest 
good  at  which  the  will  continually  aims."  "  The  highest  good 
of  an  individual  as  well  as  of  a  society  consists  in  the  ]ierfect 
development  and  exercise  of  life."  Nor  is  the  author  a 
pessimist  ;  in  one  place  he  .says,  "philosophical  pessimism  is  not 
a  proved  theory,  whose  propositions  can  lay  claim  to  universal 
validity,  but  the  expression  of  individual  feelings,  and  as  such 
can  be  merely  subjectively  true."  Or,  again,  "  inasmuch  as  we 
have  no  statistics  on  the  happy  and  urdiiqipy  lives,  the  successes 
and  failures,  I  am  for  the  present  inclined  to  put  as  much  faith  in 


40 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[February  1,  1900. 


the  judgment  of  a  plain  man  of  the  people  as  in  the  eloquence 
of  a  pessimistic  philosopher."  But  interesting  quotations 
could  be  multiplied  indefinitely.  When  it  is  said  that  some  of 
the  headinjjs  of  separate  chapters  are  "  Duty  and  Conscience," 
"  Virtue  and  Happiness,"  "  Relation  of  Morality  to  lleligion," 
"  Suicide,"  and  "  Justice,''  it  becomes  abundantly  evident  that 
the  volume  is  brimful  of  information  interesting  to  every 
thoughtful  man  and  woman,  and  as,  added  to  this,  the  translator 
has  succeeded  throughout  in  writing  clear  and  pleasing  English, 
it  is  quite  certain  that  the  book  will  be  widely  read. 

Imjiresaions  of  America.  By  T.  C.  Porter,  M.A. (oxox.). 
Illustrated.  (C."  Arthur  Pearson,  Ltd.)  10s.  Cd.  Mr.  Porter 
tells  in  simple,  chatty  language,  the  story  of  a  hurried  visit  to 
America.  He  travelled  from  New  York  to  Niagara,  thence  to 
the  Yellowstone  Park,  San  Francisco,  Yosemite,  Utah  and  the 
Colorado  Springs.  The  author  is  not  strong  in  painting  word- 
pictures,  indeed,  his  pen  sometimes  halts  rather  painfully,  but 
yet  the  narrative  as  a  whole  is  quietly  pleasing.  At  the  same 
time  a  great  de.al  of  information  about  the  show-places  of 
America  can  be  learnt  from  the  book,  and  Mr.  Porter's 
experiences  cannot  fail  to  be  useful  to  anyone  who  intends 
taking  a  holiday  of  a  similar  kind.  The  reader's  attention  is 
directed  almost  entirely  to  scenic  effects,  examples  of  earth 
sculpture,  and  kindred  topics.  The  ways  of  men  in  these  western 
places  are  scarcely  touched  upon  at  all.  The  most  noteworthy 
characteristic  of  the  volume  is  undoubtedly  the  fine  collection 
of  stereoscopic  plates  which  accompanies  the  text,  and  a 
stereoscope  is  supplied  with  the  book  for  the  proper  examination 
of  the  plates.  'Though  Mr.  Porter's  clear  explanation  in  the 
introduction  will  enable  many  readers  to  obtain  the  stereo.scopic 
effect  without  any  instrument,  the  person  who  objects  to  a 
little  preliminary  trouble  will  be  glad  of  this  novel  addition  to 
the  volume. 

TIte  Unwersal  Illusion   of  Free  Will  nnd  Criminal  Res2}")isi- 
hililij.     By  A.  Hamon.     (University   Press,   Limited.)     3s.  6d. 
Criminal  anthropology,  in  the  hands  of  Professor  Lombroso's 
followers,    is    advancing  rapidly.      Sociology   and   psychology 
constitute  very  plastic  materials  out  of  which  these  students 
i    can   mould   ethereal   forms   not   altogether    agreeable    to    the 
'    average   citizen   of    the    world.      Sample  ;    "  The   criminal   is 
normal,  and  the  honest  man  an  anomaly.     I  defy  the  refutation 
of    this  assertion   if,  by  criminal,  is   meant  the  author  of  an 
injury  to  the  community  or  to  an  individual."     For  an  acquain- 
tance with  the  multitude  of  facts  ])ut  forward  to  uphold   such 
assertions  as  this  the  book  itself  must  be  consulted.     We  are, 
according   to   the    author's    teaching,    practically   automatons. 
'    Marriages,  crimes,  suicides,  emigration,  births,  mortality,  and  so 
j    on,   are  the   resultants  of   many  forces— social,    physical,   and 
cosmic.     Free  will,  the  helm  by  means  of  which  some  of  us 
imagine  we  steer  the  human  ship,  is  denied. 

The  Romance  of  Wild  Floivers.  By  Edward  Step.  (Warne.) 
Illustrated.  6s.  No  pleasanter  companion  could  very  well  be 
imagined  than  Mr.  Step  in  his  communings  with  Nature. 
Roses  and  apples,  buttercups  and  columbines,  violets  and 
pansies,  harebells  and  heather,  all  these  give  jileasurf  as  the 
eye  glances  down  the  pages,  and  the  pictures  almost  emit  the 
sweet  odours  which  the  jJates  recall  to  the  memory.  It  is  a 
book  to  put  flower  lovers  merely  on  speaking  terms,  as  it  were, 
with  Nature,  and  is  not  intended  for  the  scientific  botanist. 

All  IntrnducUoii  tn  the  Stitdi/  of  Zoolofjij.  By  B.  Lindsay. 
(Sonnenschein.)  Illustrated.  6s.  Students  of  biological  science 
are  too  frequently  retarded  at  the  outset  through  lack  of  infor- 
mation concerning  the  means  necessary  for  amplifying  their 
knowledge  outside  the  very  limited  .scope  of  a  first  book  on 
either  of  the  two  branches  of  the  science  — zoology  and  botany. 
]\[r.  Lindsay  has  anticipated  these  difficulties  by  chapters  on 
the  use  of  books,  biological  stations  which  have  been  estab- 
lished on  the  British  coast  for  the  study  of  marine  biology, 
lists  of  persons  who  can  supply  sjiecimens  and  tools  to  work 
out  the  practical  details,  and  so  on.  All  this,  added  to  the 
usual  text,  raises  Mr.  Lindsay's  book  to  a  high  level  among 
introductory  works  of  this  kind. 

The  Beliqtiar!/  mid  Illustrated  Archwologisi.  Vol.  V.  1899. 
(Bamroso.)  123.  net.  We  are  pleased  to  observe  that  this 
quarterly  continues  to  sustain  the  reputation  it  has  so  long 
enjoyed  as  a  first-rate  magazine  of  antiquities.      The  editor, 


Mr.  J.  Romilly  Allen,  merits  the  thanks  of  all  interested  in 
the  survivals  of  ancient  usages  and  appliances.  The  rich  store 
of  information  here  gathered  together  from  many  and  widely 
separated  sources  for  our  quiet  enjoyment  at  home  without  the 
trouble  and  inconvenience  of  travel  are  a  real  boon.  The 
contents  vary  from  a  glass  linen  smoother  to  a  cathedral,  and 
from  a  tiller  of  the  soil  to  a  Roman  Emperor. 

Mutter,    Ether,    and    Motion.       By    Prof.    A.   E.    Dolbear.    , 
(S.P.C.K.)     It  would  bo  stimulating   to  find  a  new  book  on  ( 
Matter,  Ether,  and  Motion  which  contained  a  few  new  ideas —  1 
lead  us  a  little  way  out  of  the  beaten  track  into  fresh  fields  of 
thought.     Alas  1  it  is  still  in  the  parched  desert  and  the  twilight 
that  we  follow  Prof.  Dolbear.      Matter,  for  example,  is  defined 
as  "  whatever  possesses  the  property  of  gravitative  attraction.'' 
Now,  the  author  adopts  this  definition  in  place  of  "  whatever 
occupies    space,"    but  while  he  may   gain   a   little   as   I'egards 
accuracy,  the  bewildered  student  is  transferred  as  it  were  from 
solid  earth  to  a  base  of  operations  situated  somewhere  near  the 
centre  of  the  universe.      The  migration  is  in  the  direction  of 
that  abstract  mood  in  which  Emerson  may  have  been  when  a 
miUenarian  told  him  the  world  was  coming  to  an  end  next  day 
— "  I  can  get  along  very  well  without  it,"  said  the  philosopher. 

Liviiii/  Pictures.  By  Henry  V.  Hopwood.  (Gutenberg 
Press,  Ltd.)  Illustrated.  2s.  6d.  net.  Here  we  have  a  complete 
compilation  of  the  many  facts  which  have  led  up  to  the  pro- 
duction of  so-called  Mving  pictures.  From  the  fundamental 
persistence  of  vision,  through  colour  tops,  wheel  phenomena 
and  the  [jhoto  revolver,  to  the  various  forms  of  camera  now 
used  and  the  treatment  and  production  of  films — all  are 
gathered  here  in  handy  shape,  and  very  useful  digests  of  patents 
and  an  annotated  bibliography  give  to  the  book  features  of 
permanent  value.  There  are  nearly  three  hundred  illustrations, 
and  a  very  complete  index. 

.-•-. 

BOOKS    RECEIVED, 

Practical  Exercises  in  Mlemeatary  Meteorology.  By  Robert 
De  Courcv  Ward.     (Arnold.)     Illustrated. 

Umoin's  Chap  Book,  1899-1900.     (Uuwin.)     Illustrated.     Is. 

Letter-,  Word-,  and  Mind-BHiidness.  By  James  Hinchelwood. 
(Lewis.)     3s. 

Annual  Seport  of  the  Soard  of  Regents  (Smithsonian  Institution) 
for  the  year  ending  ZOth  June,  1897. 

Life  and  Happiness.  By  Auguste.  Marrott.  (Kegan  Paul.) 
2s.  Gd.  net. 

British  Dragonflies.  Bv  W.  J.  Lucas.  (L.  Upcott  Gill.)  Plates. 
31s.  fid. 

Discoveries  and  Inventions  of  the  Nineteenth  Century.  By  Robt. 
Routledge.     (Routledge. )     Illustrated.     7s.  6d. 

Missionary  Travels  and  Researches  in  South  Africa.  By  David 
Livingstone.     (Ward,  Lock  &  Co.)     Illustrated.     2s. 

Journal  of  the  Society  of  Comparative  Legislation,  December, 
1899.     (Murray.)     5s.  net. 

The  Making  of  Europe.     By  Nemo.     (Nelson.)     39.  6d. 

Ejsy  Oiiide  to  the  Constellations.  By  Rev.  James  trail.  (Gall  & 
Ingli.s.)     Is. 

Common  Objects  of  the  Microscope.  By  Rev.  J.  G.  Wood. 
(Routledge.)     Is. 

What  a  Toung  Boy  ought  to  Know.  By  Silvanus  Stall.  (The 
Vir  Publishing  Co.) 

The  Semitic  Series — Babylonians  and  Assyrians.  By  Rev.  A.  H. 
Sayce.     (Nimmo.)     5s.  net. 

A  Manual  of  Zoology.  By  the  late  T.  JefEery  Parker  and  Wm.  A. 
Haswell.     (Macmillau.)     Illustrated.     lOs.  6d. 

Experiments  on  Animah.     By  Stephen  Paget,  with  an  Introduction 
by  Lord  Lister.      (Unwin.)      68. 
'  Useful   Arts   and   Handicrafts — Pyrography,   Bent   Iron    Work, 
Wood  Engraving,  and  Gouge  Work.     (Dawbarn  &  Ward.)    6d.  each. 

The  Studio.  An  Illustrated  Magazine  of  Fine  and  Applied  Art. 
January,  1900.      Is. 

The  '  Agricultural  Awakening.  By  Sir  James  Blyth,  Bart. 
( Reprint  from  the  Times.) 

A  Selection  of  Photographs  of  Stars,  Star-clusters,  and  Nebulce. 
Second  Volume.  By  Isaac  Roberts,  D.ac,  r.B.s.  (Witherby.) 
yOs.,  post  free. 

Laboratory  Note  Book  for  Chemical  Students.  By  Vivian  B. 
Lewes  and  J.  S.  S.  Brame.     (Ai'chibald  Constable  k  Co.)     4s. 

The  Grammar  of  Science.  By  Karl  Pearson.  Second  edition. 
(A.  &  C.  Black.)     7s.  Cd. 

Primeval  Scenes.   By  the  Bev.  H.  N.  Hutchinson.   (Lamley  &  Co.) 


Fkbkuasy  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


41 


SRiTISH 

^j^a 

^         ,/^ 

^^P 

•  ^>€ 

-^^    # 

ORNlTttOLOoVtAP 

^ ,.,  _   '■'  ^ 

•f* 

%-^ 

_NOTES.'.    _._ 

Conducted  by  Hasby  F.  Withebby,  f.z.s.,  m.b.o.u. 

Snow  Goose  in  Ireland. — At  the  meeting  of  the 
British  Ornithologists'  Club,  held  on  November  22, 
1899,  Dr.  Bowdler  Sharpc  exhibited,  on  behalf  of  Mr. 
R.  J.  Ussher,  a  Snow  Goose  (Chen  nivalis),  shot  near 
Belmullet,  County  Mayo.  The  specimen  belonged  to 
the  larger  form.  Although  the  snow  goose  has  been 
identified  by  competent  observers  we  believe  that  it 
has  never  yet  been  obtained  in  England  or  Scotland. 
Several  specimens  have  been  shot  before  in  Ireland, 
but  according  to  Mr.  Howard  Saunders  they  all  be- 
longed to  the  smaller  form.  Both  forms  of  the  Snow 
Goose  are  inhabitants  of  North  America. 

Grasshopper  Warhlerin  ilorai/shire.  (Annals of  Sco/fish  Xa/ural 
ffistory.  January,  1900,  p  48.)  Mr.  R.  H.  MacKessiich  has  Dbtaiued 
ncst8  and  eggs,  which  have  been  identified  by  Mr.  Harvie-Brown,  of 
this  species  from  near  Elgin.  This  record  seems  to  extend  the 
northern  breedin;;  range  of  this  bird  in  Great  Britain. 

Bee-eater  in  Shetland.  (Annuls  of  Scottish  Natural  Ilislori/, 
January,  1900,  p.  48.)  A  Bee-eater,  which  had  been  seen  flving 
about  at  Symbister,  was  found  dead  by  Jfr.  Arthur  Adieou  June  5th, 
1899.     Tlie  Bee-eater  very  rarely  occurs  in  Scotlant'. 

Pratincole  near  Montrose.  (Annals  of  Scottish  Natural  Histori/, 
January,  190(5,  p.  51.)  Mr.  J.  A.  Harvie-Brown  records  that  Mr. 
Stormond  shot  a  Pratincole  at  Kocksands,  Montrose,  on  November  4th, 

1899.  The  Pratincole  has  only  once  before  been  noticed  in  Scotland, 
viz.,  at  rnst,  Shetland,  as  far  back  as  1812. 

Jlontayu's  Harrier  in  TTirkloic.  (Irish  Naturalist,  January,  1903, 
p.  21.)  Mr.  Edwird  Williams  records  that  an  immature  male  of 
this  species  was  shot  near  Kylebeg,  Blessington,  Co.  Wicklow,  on 
September  7th,  1899. 

Rose-coloured  Pastor  in  Co.  Mayo.     (Irish  Naturalist,  January, 

1900,  p.  22.)     Mr.  Robert  Warren  records  that  a  female  specimen  of 
this  erratic  wanderer  was  shot  near  Foxford,  on  Xovember  5th,  1899. 


THE    BURIED    ALPS. 

By  Grenville  A.  J.  Cole,  m.r.i.a.,  f.g.s.,  Professor  of 
Geology  in  the  Royal  College  of  Science  for  Ireland. 

It  is  now  well  recognised  that  the  granitic  core  of  a 
great  mountain-chain  is  not  in  itself  the  cause  of  the 
elevated  highland.  It  h<ts  not  forced  itself  up,  splitting 
asunder  the  superincumbent  strata,  and  hurling  them 
back  on  either  hand;  but  it  bears  in  its  own  structure 
all  the  signs  of  stress  and  pressure,  and  has  clearly  been 
elevated  with  the  strata,  along  some  line  of  wrinkling 
in  the  crust.  Here  and  there,  remelting  has  gone  on  in 
the  core,  as  the  old  rocks  moved  upward  from  Precam- 
brian  resting  places;  at  other  places  fresh  molten 
masses  have  intruded  from  some  caldron  far  below. 
Along  the  axis  cf  movement,  the  old  crust  has  been 
squeezed  together  like  a  sponge;  the  liquids  have  es- 
caped from  one  hollow  to  another,  and  at  last  consoli- 
dated as  crystalline  igneous  rocks,  destined  to  weather 


out  in  resisting  peaks  and  pinnacles.  The  great  arch, 
as  it  rose,  became  the  natural  receptacle  for  most  of 
these  flowing  ma.sses ;  hence,  wlicn  denudation  worked 
against  the  chain,  these  reconstituted  types  of  the 
fundamental  rocks — ancient  gneisses  that  had  renewed 
their  youth,  began  to  stand  out  pre-eminently  as  a  great 
central  ridge.  The  stratified  covering  w;us  swept  from 
them,  and  is  now  found  only  in  the  foot-hills, 
where  its  very  structure,  consisting  of  folded  layers, 
still  renders  it  an  easy  prey.  Rain  and  frost  work  in 
along  the  upturned  bedding-planes;  and  the  strained 
masses  arc  always  ready  to  sl-p  aud  settle  dowu  before 
the  earth  tremors  that  still  attack  the  chain. 

The  central  core,  then,  marks  out  the  axial  character 
of  the  mountains;  where,  on  the  other  hand,  it  has 
not  been  pushed  sufficiently  towards  the  surface,  tho 
features  of  the  foot-hills  may  prevail  from  side  to  side 
of  the  wrinkled  area.  Thus  it  is  that,  as  wo  approach 
the  end  of  a  chain,  *he  scenery  is  less  austere  and  more 
broken  up  into  local  landscapes — not  so  generalised  as  • 
in  the  grander  altitudes  of  the  range. 

This  becomes  markedly  felt  in  the  eastern  borders  of 
the  Alps,  where  the  hills  ramify  like  huge  fingers,  gr;isp- 
ing  between  them  the  inlets  of  the  European  plain.  At 
times  we  scarcely  realise  the  presence  of  the  massif,  the 
potential  mountain-range,  though  all  the  time  it  lies 
buried  at  no  great  depth  beneath  us. 

We  leave  Vienna  by  the  Cainozoic  ridge  of  Schoii- 
brunn,  and  are  practically  entering,  from  a  geographical 
point  of  view,  on  the  great  Karpathiau  ring,  which 
girds  about  tho  whole  of  Hungary.  On  our  right,  the 
green  but  broken  highland,  covered  with  its  woods,  re- 
presents alike  the  limestone  Alps  of  Innsbruck  and  the 
forest-ranges  of  the  Tatra  which  dominate,  far  in  the 
north-east,  the  hamlets  of  the  Polish  plain.  Similarly, 
the  gneissic  axis  south  of  us,  peeping  out  along  the 
Leitha  Hills,  forms  the  neck  that  unites  the  Hohe 
Tauern  of  Salzburg  with  the  mining  district  of 
Hungary,  and,  farther  still,  with  the  wall-like  frontier 
of  Roumania. 

There  is  little,  however,  to  suggest  the  Alps  or  the 
Karpathians  in  the  gentle  slopes  above  the  Leitha. 
The  ground  rises,  that  is  all ;  and  the  first  dusty  levels 
of  Hungary,  where  the  great  white  cattle  feed  in  un- 
bounded fields,  pass  into  a  more  tumbled  country, 
shaded  here  and  there  by  trees.  The  villages  occupy 
the  strategic  positions  on  this  miniature  mountain  side, 
with  an  occasional  ruined  tower,  holding  a  pass  some 
600  feet  above  tho  sea.  Then  we  descend  into  the 
yellow  dust  again,  with  the  grey  waters  of  the  Ferto 
Lake  (Neusiedler  See),  filling  i^s  basin  on  the  left.  Even 
this  lake  emphasises  the  contrast  with  the  Alps;  it  is 
ten  miles  long  and  about  four  feet  deep,  saline  itself, 
and  bordered  by  still  Salter  marshes.  This  is  clearly 
a  feature  of  the  plain,  into  which  it  often  merges  by 
evaporation. 

Continuing  southward,  we  actually  touch  the  gneiss, 
on  a  little  rise  beyond  Soprou  (Odenburg);  and  we 
get  under  a  real  hill  at  Koszeg,  the  last  spur  of  tho 
north-eastern  Alps.  Then,  for  kilometre  after  kilometre, 
we  cross  a  low  plateau,  formad  of  crumbling  Pliocene 
and  Miocene  strata,  among  which  arc  the  last  marine 
deposits  laid  down  in  Eastern  Kuiope.  Every  now  and 
then,  we  descend  into  an  alluvial  area,  cross  some  stream 
running  eastward  to  the  Danube,  note  the  villages  clu.s- 
tered  thirstily  along  it,  and  push  up  again  to  the  yellow 
scarp  of  the  plateau. 

But  in  time  the  alluvium  becomes  the  prevailing 
feature.     At  Baksa,  the  country  is  so  level  that  a  tall 


4i2 


KNOWLEDGE 


[Febkhaby  1,  1900. 


pole,  with  cross  pieces  nailed  to  it,  is  set  up  iu  the 
village,  so  that  the  watchman  can  ascertain  the  locality 
of  a  fire,  when  roused  by  the  glow  against  the  sky.  The 
browu  acres  are  ploughed  from  the  roadside  to  the 
horizon,  and  the  farmer  can  view  his  twenty-two  pairs  of 
oxen  moving,  at  wide  intervals,  across  one  even  field 
(Fig.  1).     The  little  towns  exist  purely  for  the  cultiva- 


FlG.  1.     Ploughing  in  the  r.a,.i  ^l    \\  t.-Ltru  Hungary. 

tors  of  the  soil,  and  a  market-day  clears  the  country 
round.  In  the  afternoon,  however,  the  peasants  will 
stream  out  again,  hundreds  of  swaying  rustic  carts  will 
follow  one  another  down  the  road;  and  the  clear  gold 
sunset,  a  veritable  sunset  of  the  jjlains,  will  add  its 
colour  to  the  crimson  and  blue  and  orange  of  the 
dresses  of  sober  matrons,  or  to  the  white  kerchiefs  of 
bronzed  and  laughing  girls. 

We  are,  in  fact,  approaching  the  first  of  the  great 
Alpine  rivers;  for  at  L^ndva  we  enter  on  a  valley, 
which  varies  from  7  to  16  kilometres  (10  miles)  in 
width — a  valley  choked  with  sand  and  pebbles,  spread 
out  by  successive  shiftinjs  of  the  stream.  Against  the 
southern  bank,  which  is  at  present  favoured,  the  Mur 
runs  among  its  sandy  shoals.  Here,  in  the  middle  of  a 
continent,  the  river  already  lies  only  160  metres  above 
the  sea;  and  it  shortly  lets  its  waters  slip,  as  if  ex- 
hausted, into  the  greater  current  of  the  Drava. 

How  should  we  know  this  river,  this  lowland  Mur,  for 
that  which  we  have  seen  in  flood  through  Styria,  tearing 
at  its  banks,  washing  away  roads  and  houses,  rejoicing 
to  run  its  course  amonj;  the  shattered  forests  of  the 
Alps?  Or  is  it  the  same  that  flows  at  its  birth  through 
all  those  resonant  ravines,  as  we  come  down  from  the 
crags  of  the  Tauern,  whei'e  the  chill  clouds  move 
against  the  walls  of  rock,  and  feed  each  night  the  grow- 
ing streamlets  in  the  clefts  ?  Truly,  the  rivers  depend 
for  their  life  upon  the  mountains ;  and  they  are  always 
undoing  themselves,  wearing  away  their  gathering- 
grounds,  and  choking  up  their  ow  i  courses  in  +he  lower 
reaches  of  their  valleys. 

There  is  quite  a  ridge,  comparatively  speaking,  be- 
tween the  Mui-  and  the  Drava.  In  this  level  counti-y  it 
is  an  incident  in  itself,  hough  the  summit  lies  about 
as  high  as  Richmond  Hill  above  the  Thames.  Beyond 
it  is  the  flat  in  which  the  Drava  wanders.     Here  we 


have  a  river  indeed,  with  a  long  course  yet  before  it; 
but  it  divides  already  into  a  number  of  loops  and  back- 
waters, and  all  attempts  to  use  it  as  a  boundary  between 
Hungary  and  Croatia  have  failed.  You  may  see  upon 
a  detailed  map  how  the  official  frontier  curves  this  way 
and  that,  representing,  no  doubt,  some  ancient  windings 
of  the  stream ;  but  new  routes  are  always  opening 
among  the  alluvial  islets,  and  a  fringe  a  kilometre  wide 
on  either  hand  is  abandoned  to  the  chances  of  the  floods. 
The  river,  in  its  numerous  channels,  flows  silently 
between  banks  of  grey-green  willows,  which  hide  the 
water  until  we  are  close  upon  it.  At  last  we  find  the 
main  artery,  spanned  by  ,-,  long  iron  bridge ;  we  are 
now  again  only  160  metres  above  the  sea,  which  lies  at 
Varna,  as  the  crow  flies,  600  miles  away. 

The  Drava,  traced  back  as  the  German  Drau,  has 
done  its  work  at  higher  levels.  It  rises  at  a  height  of 
1300  metres  among  the  stone-slides  and  fir-woods  of 
the  dolomites  of  Toblach  ;  we  may  follow  it,  reinforced 
by  noisy  brooks,  through  the  flood-swept  gorge  of  Lienz, 
one  of  the  most  impressive  scenes  of  rock-destruction  to 
be  found  in  the  whole  of  Europe;  we  may  see  it  swirl- 
ing the  timber-  rafts  upon  its  bosom  through  the  ravine 
of  Sachsenburg,  and  then  emerging,  with  an  air  of 
innocence,  among  the  maize-fields  and  farmsteads  of 
Paternion.  Soon,  where  the  clear  green  Gail  flows  into 
it,  we  hear  of  it  as  the  Drava,  in  the  soft  and  grave 
Slavonic  speech.  It  cuts  its  way  for  another  eighty 
kilometres  to  Marburg  in  Styria,  often  lying  deep 
between  vertical  walls  of  rock ;  and  then  ultimately 
it  becomes  weai^ied,  and  covers  the  country  to  Varasdin 
and  the  Danube  with  the  spoils  of  Karinthia  and 
Tyrol. 

In  fact,  these  great  i eastwaid-flowing  livers  have 
worn  their  way  down  practically  as  far  as  they  can, 
and  have  reached  almost  the  same  levels  in  the  plain  ; 
and  now,  as  their  flow  becomes  more  sluggish,  they  may 
even  tend  to  raise  themselves  on  their  own  alluvium, 
instead  of  cutting  out  a  groove  in  it.  Their  history 
has  been  much  the  same ;  doubtless  they  began  to 
flow  when  the  Alps  at  first  arose;  and  they  may  thus 
have  fallen  at  one  time  into  the  late  Miocene  sea  of 
eastern  Europe.  Soon,  however,  this  sea  was  banked 
out  by  continued  uplift  of  the  land ;  brackish  and 
fresh-water  lakes  replaced  it  in  the  west  of  Hungary ; 
and  then  these  also  disappeared,  their  floors  being 
raised  against  the  cutting  action  of  the  streams.  A  num- 
ber of  shallow  valleys  have  now  been  excavated,  and  the 
rivers  from  the  Alps,  with  the  spread  of  the  continent, 
have  grown  longer  and  longer  towards  the  cast.  The 
removal  of  matter  from  Styria  and  Karinthia  to  the 
plains  has  been  going  on  since  early  Pliocene  times. 
The  pebble-beds  that  we  have  traversed  on  the  plateaux 
contain  all  manner  of  old  rocks,  quartzite  and  schist 
and  gneiss,  clearly  deriv  d  from  th?  central  portions  of 
the  chain;  and  all  this  detritus  has  filled  up  pre- 
existing hollows,  and  has  buried  deeper  than  ever  the 
unseen  prolongations  o?  the  Alps. 

If,  however,  the  invisible  ridges  below  us  continue  to 
rise,  the  period  of  deposition  may  pass  away.  But  are 
upward  movements  in  progress,  or  is  merely  settlement 
going  on?  In  Switzerland,  the  conversion  of  long 
mountain-valleys  into  lakes,  such  as  those  of  Lucerne 
and  Como,  points  already  to  a  sinking  of  the  central 
massif.  But  this  indication  of  old  age  is  absent  in  the 
younger  ranges  to  the  east;  and  Switzerland  was 
already  high  and  dry  when  Italy  and  parts  of  Austriar 
Hungary  lay  still  beneath  a  Cainozoic  sea.  Hence 
elevation  may  still  be  going  on  in  the  east,  and  the 


Fkbbuabt  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


48 


buried   Alps   may    be    destined    to   play    their  part    in 
Europe. 

Tho  frequency  of  eai'thquakes  in  the  area  under  con- 
sideration shows  at  least  a  condition  of  unrest,  lu 
Agram,  the  Croatian  capital,  shocks  arc  felt  about  twice 
a  year ;  and  the  city  was  in  great  part  destroyed  on 
November  9th,  18S0.  Still  more  recent  examples  arc 
the  Bosnian  earthquake  of  1891;  the  great  Servian 
shocks  in  1S93  ;  the  destructive  earthquake  of  Laibach 
on  April  14th,  1895,  when  twenty-five  shocks  were  felt, 
and  when  tremors  were  noted  at  Vienna  and  Trieste, 
at  Salzburg,  and  at  Agrani  in  the  east.  In  1897, 
Laibach  was  visited  by  a  smaller,  but  also  destructive, 
earthquake ;  and  a  comp  ete  series  of  observatories 
would  probably  reveal,  as  Dr.  C.  Davison  has  remarked, 
the  extreme  instability  of  the  region  that  stretches 
from  Kai-inthia  to  Constantinople. 

At  present,  the  alluvial  features  of  the  Drava  Valley 
give  Verasdin  the  appearance  of  a  city  in  a  plain.  But 
in  the  south  a  long  range  of  wooded  hills  can  be  de- 
sciied,  a  welcome  change  from  the  bare  Hungarian  levels. 
These  broken  ridges,  in  parts  as  lofty  as  the  Grampian.?, 
lie  in  the  direct  line  of  the  Carnic  Alps  of  Tyrol  and 
Venetia.  Now  and  again,  as  we  cross  them,  a  little 
scarp  of  grey  limestone  among  the  trees  serves  as  a 
reminder  of  the  superb  rock-giants  that  gather  on  the 
wall  of  Italy.  But  the  peaks  of  Cortina  and  the  canons 
of  Auronzo  are  remote  indeed  from  this  warm  and  cul- 
tivated upland.  The  clustered  woods  give  way  to  parks 
and  farmlands ;  there  is  one  more  pass,  with  a  show  of 
romantic  interest,  whereby  we  rise  to  208  metres,  or 
not  quite  700  feet  above  the  sea;  and  then  we  have  a 
long  fall  to  the  valley  of  the  Sava,  and  the  crossing  of 
the  Alps  is  an  accomplished  fact.  In  a  traverse  of 
some  forty  miles,  we  have  ascended,  as  it  were,  to  the 
level  of  the  Surrey  Downs,  and  have  completed  our 
passage  of  one  of  the  structural  lines  of  Europe. 

The  diversity  of  rocks,  however,  in  this  model  of  '^lie 
Alps,  hcis  given  us  a  corresponding  change  of  scenery ; 
and  the  noble  Sliemen  range  above  Agram  in  no  way 
disappoints  the  eye.  Even  the  crystalline  schists  of 
the  core  crop  out  at  the  north-east  end  of  it,  flanked 
by  little  patches  of  Cretaceous  limestone,  such  as  are 
uptilted  in  Switzerland  to  form  heroic  crags.  It  is 
evening  as  we  come  down  into  Agram,  in  the  shadow 
of  these  steep  grey  hills ;  and  far  away  in  the  west  we 
can  see  the  huge  ridges  of  the  limestone  Alps  them- 
selves, a  vision  of  pxirple  and  pale  gold,  against  the  lurid 
glory  of  the  sunset. 

Next  morning  we  cross  the  Sava,  on  a  long  bridge 
that  seems  to  lead  into  a  limitless  expanse  of  level  cul- 
tivated land.  The  river  flows  through  its  own  brown 
alluvium,  a  mere  magnification  of  the  Raba,  or  the 
Leitha,  or  other  streams  that  open  out  on  the  fringe 
of  the  Hungarian  plain.  Once  in  a  while  a  hamlet,  or 
one  of  the  old  eastern  wells,  provides  an  incident  for 
the  eye ;  elsewhere  we  move  between  the  maize-crops, 
their  stems  seven  or  eight  feet  high,  effectually  walling 
in  the  road.  Sometimes  in  the  open,  we  see  the  clouds 
gathering  on  the  fine  mass  of  the  Sliemen,  and  the 
towers  of  Agram  falling  back  behind  us  in  the  shade. 
And  yet  this  Sava  has  also  had  its  day  of  strength  and 
energy.  For  it  rises  in  a  wild  and  craggy  highland, 
close  against  the  valley  of  the  Gail ;  the  limestone 
fortress  of  the  Mangart  guards  it  from  the  southern 
sun ;  and  the  great  grey  blocks,  split  by  frost  from 
the  wall  of  Italy,  form  the  first  boulders  in  its  stream. 
A  straight  line  from  its  source  to  Agram,  where  it 
leaves  the  highlands,  measures  two  hundred  kilometres. 


or  more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles. 

Through  southern  Croatia,  tho  villages  are  artifi- 
cially protected  from  Hoods,  and  the  roads  along  the 
rivers  run  upon  embankments.  The  same  pre- 
cautions, often  futile,  have  to  bo  taken  here,  as  in  the 
Danube  plain  itself.  The  bends  of  the  river  are  thus, 
through  artificial  aid,  a  little  more  stable  than  they 
were  in  former  times,  and  strenuous  efforts  arc  made  to 
keep  the  water  within  bounds.  Beyond  Sisek,  the  old 
loops  and  backwaters  become  more  frequent,  and 
strangely  curved  villages  divci-sify  the  scene,  their  form 
having  been  originally  dictated  by  bends  of  the  river 
which  has  deserted  them.  Elsewhere,  the  houses  cluster 
along  the  first  terrace  of  the  hills,  their  bases  washed 
by  the  alluvium,  as  by  a  sea;  the  great  highway  of 
the  "  military  frontier "  runs  towards  Turkey  on  tho 
outcrop  of  the  Pliocene  strata,  and  the  villages  have 
grown  out  along  it  from  north-west  to  south-east,  until 
some  of  them  stretch  for  five  kilometres  along  the  road. 
The  great  flat  between  them  and  the  river  is  given  over 
to  marsh-land  and  rak  forest  (Fig.  2);    and  the  coun- 


FlG.  2.    In  the  Oak-Forest  of  Vukovina,  alluvium  of  the  Sava. 

try  has  a  poor  and  desolate  air,  much  as  if  it  were  still 
swept  by  the  Turkish  irregulars  of  a  hundred  years 
ago.  The  only  offshoots  of  these  elongated  villages  lie 
in  the  tiny  valleys  of  the  lateral  streams,  where  huts 
piled  indiscriminately,  and  half  hidden  in  the  trees, 
climb  up  along  convenient  watercourses. 

When,  at  any  point,  we  have  to  cross  tho  alluvial 
plain,  we  may  feel  at  once  the  sheltei-less  nature  of  the 
country.  All  the  morning,  the  storm  has  been  creeping 
nearer.  The  black  gloom  that  gathered  in  the  Agram 
hills  has  blotted  out  tho  distance  with  terrific  and  truly 
inky  thunder-clouds.  As  we  turn  round,  kilometre 
after  kilometre,  we  can  feel  the  sunlight  being  swept 
from  the  face  of  heaven ;  the  earth  lies  still ;  even  the 
great  oak-forest,  from  which  we  have  emerged,  is  only 
just  beginning  to  tremble  in  its  topmost  leaves.  But 
now  the  first  wind  touches  us,  the  first  drops  begin  to 
fall;  the  whole  life  of  the  country  is  at  once  in  motion, 
fleeing  along  the  road,  where  the  dust  is  whirled  up 
strangely  amid  the  rain.  Hailstones  descend,  at  least 
an  inch  across,  and  break  themselves  to  pieces  on  the 
ground.      Horses,  cowe,  poultry,  white-kerchiefed  girls, 


u 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[Februaby  1,  1900. 


and  me/i  in  black  coats,  their  sleeves  flying  out  behind 
them,  liiiiTy  into  the  nearest  villages  from  the  blank 
and  stricken  fields.  TJ])  in  the  Alps  you  may  ';ioucli 
beneath  a  rock  and  see  tlie  lightning  leap  from  scar  to 
scar,  and  hear  the  church  bells  ringing  out  their  answer 
from  the  fields  a  thousand  feet  below ;  but  here,  in  the 
great  open,  the  elemental  forces  will  hold  you  more  se- 
ciu'cly  in  their  grasp.  A  hand,  as  it  were,  at  first 
gentle,  then  imperious,  pushes  you  forward  from  be- 
hind. In  the  air  there  are  resistless  spirits ;  in  the 
oak-forest  there  are  strange  whisperings,  and  the  cry  of 
frightened  birds.  The  herd-boy,  with  his  rustic  pipe, 
knows  these  things  better  than  the  wisest  student  of 
geography. 

LONG   WAVES   OF  WINTER   WEATHER. 

By  Alex.  B.  MacDowall,  m.a. 

The  student  of  weather  uses  various  time-units ;  hours, 
days,  months,  seasons,  years,  &c.  Each  of  these  is  a 
groui:)ing  of  smaller  units ;  and  proceeding  further,  he 
may  compare  groups  of  five  years,  or  ten  years,  or  more. 
This  is  often  instructive;  and  it  is  still  better,  in  the 
case  of  a  given  year-group,  to  compare,  not  merely  suc- 
cessive groups  of  that  order,  but  overlapping  gi'oups, 
e.g.,  in  the  case  of  ten-year  gi'oups,  not  merely  1841-50, 
1851-60,  etc.,  but  1841-50,  1842-51,  1843-52,  etc.  Here 
we  come  to  the  principle  on  which  cui-ves  are  often 
smoothed.  Instead  of  observing  how  a  given  element 
varies  from  year  to  year,  we  note  how  the  average  of 
three,  of  five,  of  ten  years  (or  more)  varies  from  year 
to  year.  (The  principle  obviously  applies  to  smaller 
units  also.) 

Some  interesting  relations  are  thus  brought  out;  and 
light  may  be  thrown  on  those  longer  waves  of  variation, 
which  often  underlie,  and  are  rather  obscured  by  the 
minor  undulations. 

In  this  jiaper,  I  pi'opose  to  look  at  winters  in  groups 
of  ten.  The  term  "  winter  "  will  be  used  somewhat 
loosely,  and  winters  may  be  briefly  denoted  by  the  year 
in  which  they  end  (1842,  e.g.,  meaning  1841-42). 

Let  us  begin  with  wind  in  the  winter-half  (October 
to  Mai'ch).  Taking  the  Greenwich  tables  of  wind- 
distribution  in  which  all  winds  ai'o  reduced  to  the  four 
cardinal  directions,  we  may  ask,  How  many  days  of 
northerly  and  easterly  wind  (the  two  colder  directions 
in  winter),  occurred  in  each  of  the  winters  from  1860? 
The  reply  apj^ears  in  the  zigzag  curve  A.  This  is  tra- 
versed by  a  thick  line  curve,  each  year-point  of  which 
represents  an  avei-age  of  ten;  e.g.,  the  first,  1865,  the 
average  ot  1861-70;  the  second  in  1866,  that  of  1862-71, 
and  so  on.  This  average,  it  will  be  seen,  rises  on  the 
whole,  from  a  minimum  in  1870  to  p.  high  point  in  1890. 
That  is  to  say,  in  the  ten  winters  about  1870,  little 
N.  and  E.  wind;    in  those  about  1890,  much. 

Next,  as  to  temperature.  B  is  a  curve  derived  from 
that  of  the  mean  temperature  of  the  group  of  four 
months  December  to  March,  since  1842,  by  the  same 
averaging  process.  It  is  an  inverted  curve ;  the  high 
points  meaning  low  temperatures,  and  the  low  ones 
high.  Here  we  find  two  conspicuous  wave  crests  1856 
and  1890,  while  a  minimum  (maximum  of  mildness) 
appears  at  1873. 

Thirdly,  rainfall.  In  the  coldest  parts  of  the  year, 
severe  cold  and  dryness  are  generally  associated,  while 
great  mildness  often  goes  with  wetness.  Treating  the 
rainfall  of  October  to  Mai'ch  in  the  same  way,  we  get 
the  (inverted)  curve  C ;  and  it  is  not  surprising  to  find 
a  gen'jral  similarity  to  that  of  temiaerature.     The  ten- 


winter  groups  about  1856  and  1890  ('88  the  highest 
point),  show  a  deficiency  of  rainfall ;  those  about  '73 
('72)  an  excess. 

jWW   '-f      '"«      S2    'b'     '60     V      »     '72      '6     W     '4      '8      92    '6    1300 


Says 

, 

•1              MS 

^               \ 

A 

, 

\s 

\ 

SO 

f 

i 

\i 

a 

4_ 

M 

Y 

I 

« 

V_^ 

r.t^ 

'\ 

70 

--^- 

^-1y 

A/ 

■V 

w 

\ 

3S-4  eo 

V 

I 

nl 

1 

3SS 

1 

1 

f\ 

3SS  50 

f\ 

B 

S90 

■    f 

' 

3SZ 

1 

0 

394 

Vi 

M 

S3S 

8 

J 

L 

fi 

\ 

398 

r  ■ 
c 

r 

\ 

) 

\ 

•WO 

(VI 

^^ 

\ , 

I 

•JO-^ 

^ 

fi 

0 

i 

Ul 

■I0-4  104 

'J3 

k 

aI 

\K 

i> 

■106  108 

A 

r 

\ 

'  & 

^\ 

'i 

til 

/' 

\l 

\ 

,3 
73 

r 

\. 

t 

11$ 

N 

\ 

^ 

\ 

A 

/ 

\ 

Ti^ 

izo 

A 

Zl 

t 

Days 
66  124 

1 

\ 

rA 

h        \ 

'90 

iS  es 

4\j  ^ 

A 

60   I3Z 

■j 

J 

'7? 

^/ 

D 

<'>! 

f, 

r^ 

K 

p 

h^ 

I 

\ 

-.4^^ 

Xt: 

M 

f 

^4^ 

\  / 

51 

»*. 

^ 

\ 

J'\ 

]* 

i 

48 

K- 

i3 

■13 

\ 

A.  Days  of  N.  +  K.  wind  in  October- ]y[arch  (Gr.),  emoothoJ  with 
areniges   of  10.     B.  Mean  T.  (Orr.)  in   December-March,  smoothed. 

C.  Kainfall,  October  -  March  (Gr.),  smootlied.  D.  Frost  dajs, 
September- May  (Gr.),  smoothed.     E  and  C  are  inverted. 

Lastly,  frost  days  in  September  to  May.     The  cui've 

D,  obtained  in  the  same  way,  agrees  with  B  in  its 
maxima  (of  cold)  at  '56  and  '90;  but  the  dip  between 
reaches  its  lowest  point  a  little  earlier,  in  '63  or  '65. 

We  have,  then,  the  outstanding  fact,  of  a  great  peak, 
or  wave  crest,  of  cold  about  1890 ;  the  ten-winter  group 
1886-95,  being  the  coldest  of  all  the  49  groups  con- 
sidered. That  group  is  also  conspicuous  for  its  quantity 
of  N.  and  E.  wind,  and  shows  less  than  the  average 
precipitation.  It  may  be  useful  to  look  at  those  ten 
winters,  from  the  standpoint  of  frost  days.  The 
average  in  September  to  May  being  about  55,  wo  have 
the  following  numbers  and  relations:  — 

'86.  '87.    '88.    '89.   '»).   '91.  '92.  "93.   '94.  '95. 
Frost  davs  ...        75     80     90     CO     45     82     73     48     42    62 

Kelatioirto  average     -f  20 -f  25 -H  35    -h  5  -  10  +  27 -f  18    -7-13-1-7 

Thus  we  see  that  seven  out  of  those  ten  winters  were 
severe;  that  1888  had  the  largest  number  of  frost 
days;   and  that  1890  itself  was  one  of  the  three  mild 


Fkbbdary  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE, 


45 


winters.  Those  ten  wint<?i-s  show  a  total  of  657  frost 
days,  being  107  over  the  average. 

In  the  ten-winter  group  about  lSo6,  seven  out  of  the 
ton  were  also  severe;  but  the  total  excess  was  only  GO. 
At  the  minimum  '73.  we  find  six  winters  mild  and  four 
severe  (total  deficiency  2S). 

Tliis  pronounced  peak  of  cold  (about  1890),  how  is 
it  to  be  accounted  for?  Speculation  seems  vain,  till  we 
know  more  about  ocean  currents,  cosmic  influences,  and 
other  things. 

Then,  there  is  the  other  crest  of  the  curve  in  1856; 
and  we  may  note  the  fact,  that  its  distance  from  1890 
is  just  34  years,  reminding  us  of  Bruckner's  pei'iod,  with 
an  average  of  35  years. 

Once  more,  we  find  that  in  the  sixties  and  seventies, 
the  cold  of  those  ten-winter  groups  is  generally  slight, 
while  the  X.  and  E.  wind  gives  way  to  more  genial 
currents,  and  rain  is  abundant.  A  pi'ovalencc  of 
northerly  wind,  it  may  be  noted,  probably  con-esj)onds 
with  frequent  areas  of  high  pressure  in  the  west  of 
these  islands,  and  a  prevalence  of  easterly  winds,  with 
high  pressure  systems  in  the  north  (the  circulation  in 
such  areas,  in  our  hemisphei-e,  being  with  the  hands 
of  a  watch).  Many  interesting  points  in  the  behaviour 
of  such  systems  have  been  lately  brought  out  by 
Van  Bebber. 


um    '-i 

r    a 

X. 

6 

■60     '4 

'6S    " 

'     B 

'80    '1 

8    SZ    6 

in 

■*) 

so 

r 

^. 

y*", 

^, 

70 

47 

^ 

i^ 

J 

E 

V 

\ 

J 

fip 

^ 

r 

•W 

T7 

s 

1 

/ 

40 

?fi 

V 

r' 

A 

.V 

Zl 

y** 

« 

?4 

43 

/ 

7^ 

lA 

\ 

1 

c 

7? 

\ 

u 

?1 

\ 

I 

I 

1 

1 

ir 

?f} 

\ 

h 

h 

"A 

/ 

1 

19 

' 

^ 

/ 

V 

m 

V 

i 

V 

1/ 

' 

/Ofl 

n 

UJ 

V 

>^ 

11 

V 

.v 

m 

f^ 

^J 

S3 

i 

'so 

.*' 

^^ 

' 

V 

1 

r^ 

/  j 

J 

> 

r 

A1 

V 

« 

n 

\ 

<V> 

s 

A 

rl' 

A 

\    ^ 

^ 

^ 

IS 

\ 

^ 

70 

'6 

0 

E.  Frost  days  in  lieart  of  France,  smoothed.  F.  Verj  cold  days, 
Genera,  smoothed.      Gr.  Frost  days,  Geneva,  emoothed. 

It  may  be  interesting  if  we  turn  for  a  moment  to 
look  at  the  state  of  things  on  the  Continent.  E  is  the 
curve  derived  from  that  of  frost  days  in  the  heart  of 
Fi-ance  (Pare  ae  Baleine),  and  G  the  same  for  Geneva 
(with  different  scale) ;  while  F  represents  very  cold 
days  at  Geneva;    days,  viz.,  in  which  the  thermometer 


did  not  rise  beyond  freezing  point.  All  three  arc 
obtained  in  tlie  same  way  as  liefore,  each  point  repre- 
senting the  average  of  ten  years.  These  curves  all  show  a 
long  trough  between  two  high  waves  as  before  ;  the  later 
waves  in  each  case  culminating  about  1890  or  1891, 
as  in  London;  but  the  earlier  wave  somewhat  earlier 
than  in  the  London  curves.  Furtlicr  details  may  be 
left  for  the  consideration  of  the  reader. 

Reverting  to  the  London  curves,  do  they  throw  any 
light  on  the  future! 

If  we  take  the  curve  B  as  roughly  representing 
Braekner's  period  of  35  years,  and  accept  his  evidence 
showing  that  this  period  may  be  traced  back  in  one  way 
or  another  through  about  two  centuries  at  least,  we 
might  pei'haps  rea,sonably  look  for  some  kind  of  repeti- 
tion of  the  descent  from  1856  to  1873  (i.e.,  17  years), 
bringing  us  to  a  minimum  about  1907;  this  being 
followed  by  a  general  rise  to  another  maximum  about 
192-1. 

We  are  evidently  now  in  a  period  of  declining  cold ; 
and  the  decline  in  those  averages  has,  so  far,  been 
rapid.  Wo  can  hardly  suppose  this  decline  will  be 
continuous  (i.e.,  without  temporaiy  rise)  to  the  supposed 
minimum,  nor  is  it  likely  to  be  so  rapid  as  it  has  been 
since  1890  ;  and  in  any  case  it  would  be  difficult  to  fix,  in 
advance,  with  much  precision,  the  character  of  the  in- 
dividual winters  covered  by  it.  But  at  least  it  seems 
probable  that,  for  a  good  many  years  to  come,  wo  shall 
not  be  visited  with  such  an  accumulation  of  cold  as 
that  in  the  ten  vears  about  1890. 


IHtcrosfopg. 

By  JiMiN  II.  CodKi;,  f.l.s.,  F.ri.s. 

MicuiiPiioToGR.M'HV  is  now  used  by  microscopists  so  exten- 
sively for  educational,  medical,  and  other  professional  pur- 
poses, that  we  propose  to  incorporate  in  these  columns  notes  on 
new  apparatus  and  methods  dealing  with  this  branch  of  micro- 
scopy. We  shall  therefore  be  pleased  to  hear  from  readers 
interested  in  the  subject,  and  shall  be  glad  to  receive  from  them 
notes  of  any  improvised  laboratory,  apparatus,  or  devices  in 
manipulation  that  they  may  have  adopted.  Such  ajiparatns  and 
devices  are  frequently  of  real  practical  v.alue,  but  being,  perhaps, 
obviou.sly  simple  to  their  originator,  it  does  not  occur  to  him 
that  they  may  be  of  use  to  his  fellow-workers. 

Micro-photography  is  one  of  the  simplest  and  best  methods 
known  for  making  permanent  records  of  microscopic  studies. 
It  is  not,  however,  so  universally  used  as  it  should  be,  and  this, 
not  .so  much  for  the  few  difficulties  that  it  offers,  as  on  account 
of  the  mistaken  ideas  as  to  the  cost  of  the  ajjparatus  required. 
Good  work  may  be  done  by  a  patient  and  skilful  manipulator 
with  an  ordinary  camera,  or  any  other  makeshift  arrangement  ; 
but  such  good  work  would,  in  all  probability,  be  rendered  still 
more  valuable  by  the  use  of  apparatus  specially  designed  for 
the  work.  The  question  of  cost  can  no  longer  be  considered 
.seriously  as  an  obstacle  to  its  practice. 

There  are  now  several  makers  who  are  prepared  to  sell  well- 
made  cameras  for  photo-micrographic  work  at  prices  consider- 
ably less  than  the  cost  of  an  ordinary  camera.  Messrs.  Griffiths, 
Highgate  Square,  Birmingham,  have  a  particularly  good  appa- 
ratus, consisting  of  a  well-made  bellows  camera,  extending  from 
twelve  to  thirty  inches,  and  attached  to  a  neat  base,  carrying 
camera,  microscope,  and  conden.sers.  The  object  is  readily 
focussed  in  any  position  by  means  of  a  long,  adjustable  brass 
rod  which  is  attached  to,  and  runs  the  %yhole  length  of  the 
camera,  and  which  is  connected  with  the  milled  head  of  the  fine 
adjustment  screw  of  the  micro.scope  by  means  of  a  silk  thread 
passing  over  a  grooved  wheel  at  the  end  of  the  rod.  It  is  made 
in  half-plate  size  with  carriers  for  smaller-sized  plates,  and  its 
price  places  it  wichin  the  reach  of  all. 

The  photography  of  living  bacteria  and  other  cultures  cannot 
be  successfully  accomplished  with  a  horizontal  camera.     ''''•» 


The 


46 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[Februaby  1,  1900. 


use  of  an  upright  apparatus  is  the  best,  but  it  is  open  to  many 
objections,  chief  among  which  are  its  instabilit}',  the-  difficulty 
of  focussing,  and  the  fatigue  it  occasions  the  operator.  Mr. 
Brightman,  Colston  Street,  Bristol,  has  deyised  a  useful  and 
substantial  support  (see  Fig.),  which  overcomes  these  difficulties, 


EUvatjtfit' 


^y//.'.''J;iM 


Sojck  'Vtjci\- 


and  enables  the  photographer  to  successfully  operate  with  his 
apparatus  at  an  angle  of  45''  to  the  vertical.  The  arrangement 
is  a  good  one,  and  is  already  in  use  in  medical  circles  in  Bristol. 

One  important  habit  which  the  microscopist  should  cultivate 
is  that  of  making  copious  notes  of  observations.  He  .should 
never  be  without  his  memorandum  or  note  book.  No  more 
profitless  work  can  be  imagined  than  collecting  natural  history 
specimens  and  material  without  some  specific  aim  or  object. 
Every  observation  made  should  be  carefully  recorded,  and  the 
date  of  capture,  locality,  and,  where  possible,  the  food-plant, 
should  always  be  attached  to  the  specimens  when  these  are 
mounted.  For  field  memoranda  the  use  of  a  stylographic  pen 
is  advisable,  as  pencil  writing  is  apt  to  rub  and  efface  in  time 
by  the  motions  of  the  body.  A  larger  record  book  for  more 
extended  notes  should  be  kept  at  home  for  biological  details. 
When  studying  insects,  for  instance,  notes  on  adolescent  states, 
which  it  is  intended  to  rear  to  the  imago,  cannot  be  too  carefully 
made,  or  in  too  much  detail.  The  relative  size,  details  of 
ornamentation  and  structure,  dates  of  transformation  from  one 
state  to  another  —  indeed  everything  that  pertains  to  the 
biography  of  the  species — should  be  noted  down,  for  where 
exact  data  are  so  essential,  little  or  nothing  should  be  trusted  to 
mere  memory. 

In  photographing  wood  sections  without  a  lens,  Herr  Fomm 
places  a  piece  of  tinfoil  on  one  side  of  the  section  and  the  film 
surface  of  a  piece  of  bromide  paper  against  the  other  side.  A 
good  impression — showing  clearly  the  rings  and  rays  of  the 
wood — is  produced  in  about  a  half  a  minute  when  a  metallic 
point  negatively  charged  by  an  influence  machine  is  brought 
within  two  inches  of  the  paper.  It  is  explained  that  the  paper 
becomes  negatively  charged,  and  a  photographically  active  glow- 
light  is  produced  between  it  and  the  wood.  It  is  proposed  to 
try  this  method  for  copying  drawings  and  for  other  purposes. 

Mr.  F,  E.  Rowley  gives  some  valuable  hints  on  the  collection 
and  preservation  of  diatoms  in  a  recent  issue  of  Natural 
Science.  In  collecting,  a  spoon  attached  to  a  stick  may  be  used 
for  skimming  the  brown  diatomaceous  ooze  off  the  surface  of 
the  mud  ;  a  drag  net  serves  this  purpose  in  the  case  of  forms 
occurring  at  greater  depths,  e.g.,  Surr/rella.  The  latter  should 
be  placed  with  water  in  shallow  glass  vessels  sheltered  from 
direct  sunlight.  The  diatoms  will  appear  in  masses  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  mud  after  twelve  hours.  Transfer  them  by  means 
of  a  pipette  to  the  fixing  fluid.  Fleming's  chromo-aceto-osmic 
acid,  and  sublimate,  in  aqueous  or  alcoholic  solution,  is  recom- 
mended as  being  the  best  reagent  for  demonstrating  the  delicate 
structural  features  of  the  nucleus  and  cytoplasm  during 
division.  The  chromatic  elements  of  the  nucleus  are  well 
shown  by  picro-sulphuric  acid  followed  by  hematoxylin.  The 
arrangement  of  the  cytoplasm,  the  chromatophores,  and  other 
inclusions  in  the  cell  may  be  well  brought  out,  in  unstained 
preparations,  by  a  one  per  cent,  osmic  acid  solution.      A  solu- 


tion of  iodic  alcohol  (45  per  cent.)  is  recommended  for  the  study 
of  the  so-called  "  red  granules  "  of  Biitschli,  which,  by  the  fore- 
going method,  stain  well  after  fixing. 

Large  forms  receive  a  somewhat  different  treatment.  They 
are  removed  individually  with  the  aid  of  a  capillary  tube  and  a 
dissecting  microscope,  and  are  transferred  to  the  filing  bath. 
The  solution  is  decanted  oil  after  fifteen  minutes  and  the  objects 
are  passed  through  water  and  alcohol,  of  strengths  increasing  to 
the  absolute  point.  This  extracts  oil  and  the  colouring  matter 
of  the  chromatophores.  The  preparation  is  then  passed  through 
alcohols  of  decreasing  strength  into  distilled  water,  after  which 
it  is  stained  in  a  weak  solution  of  Delafield's  haematoxylin. 
The  material  is  then  passed  .successively  through  35,  70,  95  per 
cent,  and  absolute  alcohol  into  clove  oil  and  finally  mounted  in 
dammar. 

[All  communications  in  reference  tn  this  Column  should  be 
addressed  to  Mr.  J.  IT.  Cool-e  at  the  Office  of  Knowledgk.] 


NOTES   ON   COMETS   AND    METEORS. 

By  W.  F.  Dekning,  f.b.a.s. 

No  new  comet  has  been  discovered  during  the  last  three  months. 
Giacobini's  comet  (first  seen  on  September  29th,  1899)  is  now 
invisible,  and  Holmes's  comet  some  time  since  passed  beyond 
the  range  of  ordinary  instruments.  An  ephemeris  by  Zwiers  is 
given  in  Ast.  Xach.  3610,  and  from  this  it  appears  that  the 
position  of  Holmes's  comet  on  February  5th,  1900,  will  be 
R.A.  2h.  40m.  40s.,  Dec.  -f  39'^  14  37  ,  or  about  5  degrees 
west  of  R  Persei  (Algol). 

Fini.ay's  Comet. — This  object  was  discovered  in  September, 
188G,  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  it  was  soon  found  to  be 
moving  in  an  elliptical  orbit,  with  a  period  of  little  more  than 
six  and  a-half  years.  Mr.  Finlay  redetected  the  comet  in  July 
1893,  and  it  is  now  again  near  its  perihelion,  but  M.  Schulhof, 
of  Paris,  has  recently  investigated  the  orbit,  and  finds  that  the 
comet  is  not  likely  to  be  seen  before  190(5.  In  August  of  that 
year  it  will  be  comparatively  near  to  the  earth,  the  distance 
separating  the  two  bodies  being  less  than  20  milhons  of  miles. 

The  Shower  of  Leonids  in  1899.  —  The  comparative 
deficiency  of  meteors  at  the  middle  of  last  November  has  led  to 
the  suggestion  that  the  ])Osition  of  the  stream  may  possibly 
have  been  disturbed  by  jilanetary  attraction.  Though  this 
particular  shower  has  been  irregularly  providing  us  with  briUiant 
displays  during  the  last  thousand  years,  there  is  certainly  evidence 
to  show  that  the  meteor-group  has  been  sufficiently  disturbed  to 
enable  it  to  pass  almost  clear  of  the  earth.  From  computations 
undertaken  by  Dr.  Downing  and  his  assistants  at  the  Xautical 
Almanac  Office,  it  apjiears  that  the  large  planets  Jupiter 
and  Saturn  have  exercised  considerable  influence  upon  the  orbit 
of  the  swarm  which  visited  us  in  1866,  and  that  at  its  return  in 
1889  it  must  have  passed  about  l,300,o00  miles  inside  the  earth's 
orbit.  Next  year  the  conditions  wiU  be  still  more  unfavourable, 
whence,  if  the  theoretical  deductions  are  quite  rehable,  there 
wiU  be  a  poor  display,  unless  the  meteors  are  richly  dispersed 
in  a  direction  away  from  the  sun.  Indeed,  the  opinion  seems 
gaining  ground  that  the  shower  is  practically  lost  to  the  present 
generation  of  observers.  There  is,  however,  sufficient  doubt  in 
the  matter  to  encourage  the  hope  that  the  meteors  may  reveal 
themselves  either  in  1900  or  1901,  and  particularly  in  the  latter 
year.  There  was  a  fine  display  in  1868,  though  it  was  little 
expected.  We  have  perhaps,  in  recent  years,  regarded  our 
prospects  of  witnessing  a  bright  reappearance  of  the  phenomenon 
in  too  favourable  a  light,  when  all  the  circumstances  are  con- 
sidered. At  a  single  station  the  chances  are  always  great  that 
the  shower  will  escape  observation.  During  the  last  thousand 
years  very  few  brilliant  rettu'us  have  been  observed  in  England. 
Historical  records  do  not  furnish  descriptions  of  showers  in 
1833,  1799,  1766,  1733,  or  in  many  previous  years  when  the 
Leonid  comet  was  probablj'  near  its  perihelion.  Had  the  event 
occurred  some  mention  ot  it  would  certainly  have  been  pre- 
served. But  notwithstanding  prevalent  doubts,  and  the  failure 
of  recent  attempts,  we  should  redouble  our  efforts  to  witness 
the  shower  in  the  two  or  three  ensuing  years,  for  even  should 
it  fail  to  present  a  conspicuous  as]iect,  it  will  be  possible  to 
obtain  negative  evidence  of  a  useful  kind.     It  must  be  remem- 


FxBSCAKv  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


47 


b«red  that  displavs  took  jilacc  in  002,  1002,  1101, 1202  and  tr.02, 
80  that  we  need  not  despair  of  sceini;  tlie  meteors  until  after 
the  return  of  1W2,  for  exactly  three  periodical  revolutions  of 
the  meteor  jroup  are  completed  in  a  century*. 

Bright  Mkteiir  of  Novkmbeu  I'.i,  IS'.tO.— At  8h.  oini.  a 
meteor,  equal  to  Jupiter  in  ap]>.arent  lustre,  w.as  seen  by  Mr. 
T.  W.  Backhouse  at  Siiiulerland,  and  hy  Mr.  C.  L.  Brook  at 
Meltham,  near  Iludderstield.  It  moved  slowly  and  was  yellowish- 
white  in  colour.  The  paths  indicate  a  radiant  at  (io"  +  28*^  on 
the  northern  boundary  of  Taurus,  near  the  star  Psi.  At  its 
first  appearance  the  meteor  was  about  8')  miles  high,  over  a 
point  in  the  sea  40  miles  east  of  Hornsea,  on  the  Yorkshire 
coast.  When  it  disappeared  it  was  42  miles  over  Driffield,  and 
had  completed  a  path  of  08  miles  in  three  seconds. 

FiRKUAI.l.     VISIBLK     IN     SlNSllINE,      J.\Nt'Al!Y     9,      1900. —  At 

2h.  55m,  p.m.  on  Januarj'  9  last,  when  the  sun  was  shining 
brightly  in  a  cloudless  sky,  a  fireball  of  remarkable  size  and 
lustre  was  seen  at  many  places  in  England.  Descriptions  of  its 
appearance  have  been  received  from  Brighton,  Eastbourne, 
Lewes,  and  Worthing  (Sussex),  Penshurst  and  Beckenham 
(Kent),  Guildford  and  Reigate  (Surrey),  and  other  places.  All 
the  observations  come  from  the  S.E.  region  of  England.  A 
preliminary  reduction  of  the  materials  indicates  that  the  radiant 
was  situated  between  Aquila  and  Sagittarius,  and  that  the  fire- 
ball descended  from  59  to  27  miles  iluring  its  fiight  of  about 
140  miles  over  the  English  Channel.  Its  motion  was  very  rapid, 
and  the  general  direction  of  its  observed  course  from  S.W.  to 
N.E.  This  phenomenon  reminds  us  of  the  large  meteor  which 
passed  over  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire  on  February  8,  1894,  at 
28  minutes  after  noon. 

The  Meteors  of  Biel.^'.s  Comet. — In  our  last  month's 
"  Notes  "  it  was  mentioned  that  the  astronomers  of  the  Vienna 
.  Observatory  counted  i)7  meteors,  most  of  which  were  from 
Andromeda,  on  the  evening  of  November  2;)rd.  From  a 
communication  in  .Int.  Ndch.  3612,  it  appears  that  obsei-vations 
were  continued  on  Xoveml)er  24th,  when  240  meteors  were  seen 
in  the  five  hours  ending  lOh.  .'iOm.  The  maximum  occurred 
at  8h.,  when  the  horary  rate  of  apparition  was  about  80. 

The  January  Qcadrantids.— Prof.  A.  S.  Herschel,  of 
Slough,  obtaiaed  a  very  successful  observation  of  these  meteors 
on  the  night  following  January  2nd,  1900.  Between  lib.  and 
16Jh.  he  saw  130  meteors,  and  registered  the  jiaths  of  80  of 
them.  The  Quadrantids  furnished  about  four-fifths  of  the  total 
number  seen.  During  the  night  two  very  fine  meteors  were 
recorded  as  follows  : — 

Time  14h.  5Hm.,  Mag.  3  x  ?.,  Path  95°  -f  ."-O"  to  87'  +  38°. 
„     16h.  17m.,      „       =?.,      „     35 '^-1-52°  to  45° +  40°. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Besley,  of  Clapliam  Common,  S.W.,  also  watched 
the  progress  of  this  shower  on  January  2nd.  Between  llh.  38m. 
and  13h.  he  counted  about  thirty  meteors,  and  nearly  half  of 
these  were  Quadrantids,  with  a  radiant  at  230°  +  54°.  At 
llh.  59m.  he  registered  a  1st  magnitude  meteor,  which  was  also 
seen  by  Prof.  Herschel  at  Slough.  From  a  projection  of  the 
combined  paths  the  radiant  comes  out  at  228°  +  53°,  so  that  it 
was  a  true  Quadrantid.  The  meteor  fell  from  57  to  40  miles, 
and  had  a  length  of  path  of  about  44  mile?,  which  it  traversed 
in  2  seconds. 


THE  FACE   OF   THE  SKY  FOR  FEBRUARY. 

By  A.  Fowler,  f.r.a.s. 

The  Sun. — On  the  1st  the  sun  rises  at  7.41  and  sets 
at  4.47;  on  the  28th  he  rises  at  6.50  and  sets  at  5.36. 
Few  sun  spots  are  likely  to  be  observed.  Observers 
interested  in  the  Zodiacal  Light  should  keep  a  watch 
for  it  in  the  west  during  the  early  evenings. 

The  Moon. — The  moon  will  enter  first  quarter  at 
4.23  P.M.  on  the  6th,  will  be  full  at  1.50  p.m.  on  the 
14th,  and  will  enter  last  quarter  at  4.44  p.m.  on  the 
22nd.  There  is  no  new  moon  this  month,  according  to 
the  ordinaiy  civil  reckoning.  Kappa  Piscium,  mag.  5.0, 
will  be  occulted  on  the  2nd  ;  disappearance  at  6.56  p.m. 
at  lOl*'  from  the  north  point  (65°  from  the  vertex), 
reappearance  at  7.43  p.m.  at  210°  from  the  north  point 


(172°  from  the  vertex).  Delta  Arietis,  mag.  4.5,  will  be 
occulted  on  the  6th;  disappearance  at  8.36  p.m.  at  127° 
from  the  north  point  (93°  from  the  vertex),  reappear- 
ance at  9.24  p.m.  at  211°  from  the  north  point  (17.5° 
from  the  vertex). 

The  Planets. — Mercury  will  bo  in  superior  con- 
junction with  the  sun  at  0  p.m.  on  tho  9th,  and  will 
afterwards  bo  an  evening  star.  Towards  the  end  of 
the  month  he  will  come  into  a  favourable  position  for 
observation,  setting  on  tho  28th  an  hour  and  twcnty- 
fhrco  minutes  after  tho  sun.  Ho  will  then  be  in  tho 
south-western  part  of  Pisces,  away  from  bright  stars, 
at  6.30  P.M.  he  will  be  about  8  degrees  above  the  horizon 
and  6  degrees  south  of  west. 

Venus  is  an  evening  star,  and  will  be  a  striking  object 
in  the  western  sky  after  sunset.  At  the  middle  of  tho 
month  tho  planet  crosses  tho  equator  and  will  then 
set  about  8.30  p.m.,  eight^tenths  of  the  disc  being  il- 
luminated. The  planet  enters  Pisces  in  the  early  part 
of  the  month  and  approaches  the  eastern  part  of  that 
constellation  towards  the  end. 

Mars  is  too  near  the  sun  for  observation. 

Jupiter  is  a  brilliant  object  in  the  morning  sky.  On 
the  23rd,  at  4  a.m.,  he  is  in  conjunction  with  the  moon, 
and  1°  31min.  to  the  north,  the  moon  then  being  at 
nearly  half  phase.  He  is  in  quadrature  with  the  sun 
at  6  P.M.  on  the  28th.  About  the  middle  of  the  month 
he  rises  shortly  before  3  a.m.  During  the  month  he 
describes  a  short  direct  path  in  the  most  southerly  part 
of  Ophiuchus. 

Saturn  is  also  a  morning  star,  rising  on  the  14th  at 
about  4.37  a.m.  During  the  month  he  describes  a  short 
direct  path  in  the  western  part  of  Sagittarius. 

Uranus  is  also  a  morning  star,  rising  at  the  middle  of 
the  month  about  3.6  a.m.  He  is  in  the  southern  part 
of  Ojjhiuchus,  nearly  midway  between  Antares  and  Eta 
Opliiuchi  and  about  4°  east  of  Jupiter  at  the  middle  of 
the  month. 

Neptune  is  an  evening  star,  setting  at  the  middle  of 
the  month  about  midnight.  His  path  is  a  short 
westerly  one  through  the  Milky  Way  in  Taurus;  at 
the  middle  of  the  month  he  is  1°  north  of  Zeta  Tauri 
and  three-quarters  of  a  degree  following  that  star. 

The  Stars. — About  9  p.m.,  at  the  middle  of  the 
month,  Ursa  Major  will  be  in  the  north-east,  Arcturus 
rising  in  the  north-east,  Leo  will  be  a  little  south  of 
east,  Cancer  and  Hydra  in  the  south-east,  Gemini  and 
Auriga  nearly  overhead,  Canis  Minor  and  Canis  Major 
near  the  meridian,  Orion  a  little  west  of  south,  Taurus 
in  the  south-west,  Aries  and  Perseus  in  the  west,  and 
Andromeda  and  Cassiopeia  towards  the  north-west. 

Convenient  minima  of  Algol  will  occur  at  10. .57  p.m. 
on  the  13th,  and  7.46  p.m.  on  the  16th. 


C^fss  Column. 

By  C.  D.  LococK,  b.a. 

Communications  to  this  column  should  bo  addressed 
to  C.  D.  LococK,  Netherfield,  Camberley,  and  bo  posted 
bv  the  10th  of  each  month. 


Solutions  for  January  Problems. 
(J.   T.   Blakemore.) 

No.    1. 
1.  Q  to  KB2,  and  mates  next  move. 
[There     is    unfortunately     another     solution     by     1. 


48 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[Febbuaby  1,  1900. 


Q  to  KKt6,  this  ill  fact  being  the  solution  discovered  by 
almost  all  our  correspondents] 

No.  2. 
1 .  Q  X  P,  and  mates  next  move. 
Correct  Solutions  of  both  problems  received  from 
E.  Servante,  Capt.  Forde,  Alpha,  W.  de  P.  Crousaz, 
G.  C.  (Teddington),  J.  W.  Mevjes,  W.  J.  Allen  (bo*^h 
keys),  H.  Le  Jcune,  H.  S.  "  Brandreth,  K.  W.  J. 
Baddeley. 

Bernard  Linton. — December  solutions  received  too 
late  to  acknowledge.  No.  1  is  incorrect,  a-s  vou  inav 
have  seen. 

J.  Baddeley. — Nevertheless  the  solver,  as  you  say, 
"has  only  himself  to  please";  and  as  it  is  better  to 
read  Homer  with  a  translation,  than  not  at  all,  so  the 
solver  who  cannot  master  a  problem  from  the  diagram 
is  justified  in  moving  about  the  pieces.  The  question 
in  fact  must  apparently  dejjend  on  the  solver's  ability. 

We  revive  below  two  ancient  Problems  well  worthy 
of  resurrection.  Our  solvers  will  not  have  such  an 
easy  time  as  they  have  had  for  the  last  two  months. 


PROBLEMS. 

No.  1. 

Blaci  (3). 


White  (?i. 

White  mates   in   three  moves. 
No.    2. 

Bucx  (6). 


f7/    'M 

mm-       wA        »//       ,  /////'/ 

%      'mm,      m 


^^    ^^'-^^^      r 


Siffl    *  ^ 


i  MM     &     m 


White  (9) 

White  mates  in  three  moves. 

Both  the  above  are  by  the  late  J.  G.  Campbell,  one  of 
the  strongest  players,  as  -/ell  as  one  of  the  ablest  com- 
posers of  the  last  generation. 


CHESS    INTELLIGENCE. 


The  Austro-Hungarian  National  Tournament  at 
Vienna  the  prizes  for  which  were  bequeathed  by  the 
late  Baron  Kolisch,  resulted  in  a  victory  for  Geza 
Maroczy,  who  scored  9  games  out  of  IL  The  second 
and  third  prizes  were  divided  between  C.  Schlechter  and 
a  new  player  named  Brody.  Alapin  took  the  fourth 
prize,  the  other  scores  being  Marco,  Wolff,  and  Zinke 
6,  Kolve,  5,  Popice,  4i,  Albin,  4,  Schwarz  and  Prock 
bringing  up  the  rear.  It  is  unfortunate  that  ill  health 
prevented  Charousek  from  competing.  The  next  inter- 
national tournament  begins  at  Paris  on  May  15.  The 
prize  fund  already  amounts  to  16,000  francs. 

On  January  13  Kent  County  gained  a  handsome 
victory  over  Hampshire  by  11  ^f  games  to  4.^,  the  match 
being  in  the  first  round  of  the  Southern  Counties'  Chess 
Union  Championship.  This  result  points  to  a  most 
gratifying  improvement  in  the  play  of  the  Kentish 
team.  Mr.  Hart-Dyke  defeated  Mr.  J.  H.  Blake  at 
board  No.  1. 

At  the  City  of  London  Chess  Club,  Mr.  Lawrence 
still  retains  a  strong  lead  with  81  out  of  a  possible  9. 
Mr.  W.  Ward  has  scored  8  out  of"  10,  and  Mr.  Herbert 
Jacobs  7  out  of  9.  The  remainder  are  beginning  to 
tail  off. 

The  death  is  announced  of  Dr.  Max  Lange,  the  well- 
known  player  and  theoretician,  at  the  age  of  67.  His 
name  will  always  be  remembered  in  connection  with  the 
Max  Lange  variation  of  the  Guioco  Piano  ojjening. 

The  Northern  Counties  Chess  Union  has  issued  its 
new  programme,  which  contains,  among  other  items,  a 
^challenge  to  the  Southern  Union  to  a  match  by  corre- 
spondence with  50  players  aside,  and  a  congress  to  be 
held  in  Manchester  on  Easter  Monday. 

A  National  Chess  Union  is  also  in  process  of  forma- 
tion, with  the  object  of  filling  the  place  of  the  old 
British  Chess  Association,  which  has  practically  been 
defunct  for  many  years. 


The  following  has  been  sent  to  us  for  publication :  — 
to  the  chess  editor. 

Dear  Sir, — We  shall  be  extremely  obliged  if  you  will 
kindly  announce  to  the  readers  of  your  Chess  Column 
that  we  are  distributing  Copies  of  the  Wall  Sheet 
"  Laws  for  the  Regulation  of  Games  played  over  the 
Board,"  being  Part  II.  of  the  British  Chess  Code  (Re- 
vised Edition).  These  are  intended  for  use  in  Chess 
Clubs,  Reading  Rooms,  Chess  Resorts,  &c.  Should  any 
any  of  your  Readers  desire  this  Wall  Sheet,  they  are 
requested  to  send  the  Address  of  Club  or  Room  in  which 
Chess  is  played  to  the  British  Chess  Company,  Stroud, 
Glos.,  and  a  Copy  will  be  sent  without  charge. 
Yours  faithfully, 

The  British  Chess  Co. 

For  Contents  of  the  Two  last  Numbers  of  "  Knowledge,"  see 
Advertisement  pages. 


The  yearly  bound  Tolnines  of  Knowi.edqe,  cloth  gilt,  8a.  6d.,  poet  free. 
Bindm?  Cases,  Is.  6<i.  each  ;  post  free,  Is.  9d. 

Subscribers'  numbers  bound  (including  case  and  Index),  23.  6d.  each  volume. 
Index  of  Articles  and  Hlustrations  for  1891,  1892,  1894,  1895,  1896,  1897,  and 
1898  can  be  supplied  for  3d.  each. 
All  remittances  should  be  made  payable  to  the  Publisher  of  *•  KHOWLsnaE,** 


"Knowledge"   Annual    Sabscription,   throughout   the    world, 
78.  6d.,  post  free. 

Communications  for  the  Editors  and  Books  for  Review  should  he  addressed 
Editors,  "  Knowi.edgk,"  336,  High  Holbom,  London,  W.C. 


March  1,  1900.] 


KN  O WLEDGE 


49 


llLtiSTRATED  MAG.\Z1NE 

Founded  by  RICHARD    A.    PROCTOR. 


LONDON:    MARCH    1,   1900. 


CONTENTS. 

The  Coming  Eclipse  of  the  Sun.  Bt  E.  Waltee 
MArypER,  F.ii-A.s.  

Maps  showing  the  Path  ot  the  Moon  s  Shadow.   (^Plate) 

Electric  Auto- Portraits.  l!y  Alex.  1'uubbdbn.  (Illus- 
frate<l) 

Polarity  in  Magic  Squares.— II.  By  E.  D.  Littlb.  (Illus. 
trated)    

Plants  and  their  Food.  — II.  By  n.  II.  W.  Peaesos,  m.a. 
(Illustrated)       

Notices  of  Books  

Books  Rkceitbd        

British   Ornithological   Notes.     Conducted  by  Haebt  F. 

VTlTHBBBT,   P.Z.S.,    M.B.O.U.     ... 

Astronomy  without  a  Telescope.— II.  The  Zodiacal 
Light.     Hy  E.  Waltee  ilArxDBB   f.R.a.s.     (Illustrated) 

Letters : 

The  Eaewig  as  a  Benefactoe.  By  Waltee  Wesche... 
Some    CuBiors    Lu>ab    Phenomeka.         By    Walter 

Williams,  m.b 

Thb  CoxsTiirESTs  OF  THE  SuN.  By  Col.  E.  E.  Maekwick 
Obseetations  of  Vabiable  Stabs.  By  David  Fljxeet 
Is  the  Stellas  Unitebse  Finite  ?  By  C.  E.  Inqlis,  b.a. 
Seal  IX  Suffolk.    By  Jos.  F.  Green       

Some  Wild   Indian  Tribes.     By  K.  Lydekkee 

Photographs  of  Toda  Man  and  Girl,  and  a  Vedda  Man 
and  Woman.     (I'lat,) 

Microscopy.     By  John  H.  Cooke,  f.l.s.,  p.g.s 

Notes  on  Comets  and  Meteors.  By  W.  F.  Dbnnino, 
F.B.A.8 '       

The  Face  of  the  Sky  for  March.    By  A.  Fowleb,  j.e.a.s. 

Chess  Column.    By  C.  D.  Locock,  b.a.         


PAOE 

:>i 

51! 

55 

58 
60 

60 

61 

64 

64 
64 
65 
65 
67 
67 

C9 


71 
71 


THE   COMING   ECLIPSE  OF  THE   SUN. 

By   E.   Walter   Maunder,   f.r.a.s. 

The  great  success  which  attended  the  exjjcditions  that 
went  out  to  watch  the  Indian  Eclipse  of  1898,  will,  il 
is  to  be  hoped,  have  quickened  the  interest  in  eclipse 
work,  and  will  lead  to  that  of  the  coming  May  being 
observed  yet  moi-e  thoroughly.  Political  events  have 
drawn  attention  into  other  directions,  but  it  is  so 
seldom  that  so  good  an  opportunity  is  afforded  to  tha 
inhabitants  of  these  Islands  to  observe  an  eclipse  with 
so  little  or  so  easy  travelling,  that  it  would  be  a  great 
misfortune  if  the  occasion  were  not  utilized  to  thj 
utmost. 

The  path  of  the  eclipse  is  as  follows: — It  begins  on 
the  Pacific  Coast  of  Mexico,  where  the  eclipse  begins 
at  sunrise ;  the  shadow  track  crosses  the  north-west 
angle  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  strikes  the  United 
States  in  Louisiana.  Travelling  in  a  north-easterlv 
direction  it  passes    over   New   Orleans,    and    traverse* 


in  succession  the  states  of  Mississippi,  Alabama, 
Georgia,  South  C;u-olina,  North  Carolina,  and  reaches 
the  Atlantic  at  Cape  Henry  in  Virginia;  Columbus 
in  Georgia,  Raleigh  in  North  Carolina,  and  Norfolk 
in  Virginia  being  the  chief  towns  near  the  central  line. 
Then  the  eclipse  crosses  the  Atlantic,  and  the  longest 
duration  of  totality  takes  place  when  it  is  a  little  losK 
than  half-way  across,  conic  350  miles  cast  of  New- 
foundland. 

Tho  shadow  traik  iie.^t  louclies  land  in  Portugal,  at 
a  seaside  resort  named  Ovar,  some  fifty  miles  south  of 
Opoi-to.  The  eclipse  is  total  for  a  few  seconds  at 
Oporto  itself  as  it  lies  just  within  the  .shadow  track. 
Crossing  the  Peninsula  to  tho  Mediterranean  coast,  wi 
find  a  few  miles  south  of  the  port  of  Alicante,  a  quaint 
semi-Moorish  littlo  town  named  Elche,  and  a  straight^ 
line  joining  Elcho  with  Ovar  very  nearly  represents 
tho  path  of  the  central  shadow. 

The  ti'aek  then  crosses  the  sea  again,  this  time  acrosi 
the  Mediterranean,  and  tho  central  line  meets  tho 
African  coast  almost  precisely  at  Cape  Matifou,  the 
eastern  horn  of  the  bay  on  the  western  side  of  which 
stands  the  city  of  Algiers.  The  line  then  passes  east- 
waixl,  nearly  bisecting  the  province  of  Tunis,  and 
entering  the  Gulf  of  Cabe,-;,  skirts  the  coast  of  Tripoli, 
and  ends  at  sundown  as  i(-  reaches  the  eastern  shore  of 
the  Gulf  of  Sidra. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  that  there  are  two 
great  regions  where  the  eclipse  may  be  observed,  the 
one  on  the  west  of  the  Atlantic,  where  the  eclipse  takes 
place  before  local  noon,  the  other  on  the  east  of  tho 
Atlantic,  where  it  takes  place  after  local  noon 

It  is,  of  course,  always  a  matter  of  great  importanc» 
that  tho  sun  should  not  be  near  the  horizon  at  tho  timo 
of  totality;  the  chance  of  cloud  being  so  much  greater 
in  the  case  of  a  low  sun,  and  atmospheric  absorption 
necessarily  intei-fering  to  a  greater  extent.  We  may, 
therefore,  leave  out  of  consideration  that  part  of  the 
shadow  line  which  lies  in  Mexico,  and  commence  witb 
it  as  it  enters  tho  United  States,  near  New  Orleans. 
Here  the  sun  will  bo  30'^  high  at  the  time  of  mid- 
eclipse,  which  will  take  place  at  about  7.30  a.m.,  'oca'. 
time,  and  totality  will  last  for  78  seconds.  At  Cape 
Henry,  on  Chesapeake  Bay,  the  sun's  altitude  will  be* 
47°,  the  local  time  8.49  a.m.,  and  the  duration  of 
totality  106  seconds.  On  the  line  joining  these  two 
stations,  the  altitudes,  local  times  and  durations  of 
totality  may  be  inferred  pretty  closely  from  their  dis- 
tances from  the  two  extreme  stations.  Thus,  at  Union 
Point  in  Georgia,  nearly  midway  between  them,  we 
find  the  sun's  altitude  39^,  the  local  time  8h.  Sm.  a.m. 
and  the  duration  92  seconds. 

Cape  Heni-y,  Virginia,  gives  us  the  longest  duration 
for  any  land  station  for  this  eclipse,  but  when  we  raiso 
the  question  of  weather  probabilities  we  find  that 
neither  the  Atlantic  nor  the  Gulf  Coasts  of  the  Unito,< 
States  are  very  promising.  The  weather  Bureau  o! 
the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  has  care- 
fully collected  the  cloud  statistics  of  a  largo  number  of 
stations,  with  the  result  of  showing  that  the  interior 
of  Soutli  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Alabama,  where  the 
shadow  track  crosses  the  southern  end  of  the  Appala^ 
chian  Mountains,  offers  much  the  best  prospects,  and 
the  chances  of  a  clear  sky  seem  to  diminish  in  pro- 
portion as  the  coast  is  approached  in  either  direction. 
In  all  tho  three  states  named  tho  weather  conditions 
seem  as  favourable  as  can  possibly  be  expected. 

Crossing  to  Europe,  we  find  the  sun  42°  high  at 
Ovar,   the   local   timo  3.28   p.m.,   and   the   duration   of 


50 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[Makch    Ir-  1900. 


totality  94  seconds.  At  Cape  de  Santa  Pola,  on  the 
east  coast  of  Spain,  near  Elclie.  the  altitude  has 
diminished  to  34°.  the  duration  to  79  seconds,  and  the 
local  time  of  mid-totality  is  4.11  p.m.  As  in  the 
United  States,  corresponding  particulars  may  be  in- 
feiTed  for  any  intermediate  place  from  its  distance? 
from  these  two  extreme  stations. 

So  far  as  the  weather  conditions  are  concerned,  th^ 
prospects  iu  Portugal  are  much  the  least  favourable, 
the  stations  on  the  western  slops  of  the  Serra 
D'Estrella  generally  suffering  from  the  drawback  that 
the  aft.ei-noons  are  cloudy  at  that  time  of  the  year. 
Broadly  speaking,  so  fai'  as  at  present  known,  the 
weather  in  Spain  would  seem  to  be  likely  to  be  all  that 
can  be  desired,  whether  on  the  central  table-laud  or 
down  near  the  coast  neai-  the  department  of  Alicante. 

When  we  cross  to  Algeria  we  find  the  sun's  altitud.3 
very  nearly  the  same  as  at  New  Orleans  ;  29° 
instead  of  30°,  and  the  duration  is  only  71  seconds. 
The  mid-eclipse  takes  place  here  at  4.31  p.m  ,  loca' 
time.  It  is  not  likely  that  any  observers  from  England 
will  go  further  east. 

The  weather  probabilities  not  greatly  favoiu-ing  Portu- 
gal, and  especially  the  coast,  probably  but  few  parties 
will  try  that  counti-y.  It  ought  certainly  not  to  b^ 
entirely  neglected,  for  the  experience  of  fonner  eclipses 
has  shown  again  and  again  how  completely  the  mosi 
careful  cloud  forecasts  will  sometimes  be  falsified  by 
the  event.  Two  railways  run  north  from  Lisbon  the 
one  along  the  coast  through  Coimbra  will  give  accesi 
to  Ovar  on  the  coast,  or  to  Viseu  inland ;  the  other, 
striking  inland  towards  Salamanca,  will  lead  to 
Sabugal.  These  three  places  seem  to  be  the  mosi 
accessible  on  the  central  line  in  Portugal. 

In  Spain  the  principal  places  on  or  near  the  central 
line  and  accessible  by  rail  are  Plasencia,  Navalmcral, 
and  Oropesa.  All  three  can  be  reached  by  rail  frorn^ 
Lisbon  or  Madrid.  Talavera  de  la  Eeina  is  the  pi-in- 
cipal  town  upon  this  line,  but  the  duration  here  is  not 
quite  50  seconds,  Talavera,  though  within  the  shadow, 
being  a  good  deal  north  of  the  central  line.  Further 
east,  Toledo  just  escapes  the  total  phase,  being  a  few 
miles  north  of  the  northern  limit  of  the  shadow,  and 
from  this  point  onwards  till  we  reach  the  coast  no 
tcwns  of  great  importance  are  intersected  by  the  line  of 
central  eclipse,  though  two  railway  lines, — on  the  more 
easterly  of  which  is  Alcazar,  a  considerable  railwav 
junction,  15  miles  north  of  the  central  line, — run  south 
from  Madrid  and  meet  at  Ciudad  Real  after  crossing 
the  shadow  track.  But  by  far  the  most  accessible 
places,  especially  for  those  with  any  considerable  equip- 
ment, are  Alicante  and  Algiers.  Neither  are  quite  on 
the  central  line,  but  the  duration  at  Alicante  will  bs 
72  seconds  and  that  at  Algiers  66,  and,  so  far  as  it  is 
possible  to  predict,  the  probability  of  a  very  pure  skv 
is  great  for  the  neighbourhood  of  both  cities. 

So  far  as  at  present  arranged  the  distribution  of  the 
English  ofiicial  parties  will  be  somewhat  as  follows:  — 

The  Astronomer-Royal  and  Mr.  Dyson,  from  the 
Roj^al  Observatory.  Greenwich,  will  probably  occupy  a 
s.ation  in  Portugal  near  Ova'-.  Sir  Ncrman  Lockyer, 
who  will  be  accompanied  by  Mr.  A  Fowler  and  per- 
haps other  assistants  froji  the  Sou^  'i  Kensington  Ob- 
servatoiy,  will  take  his  place  near  Alicante;  whilst 
Algeria  has  been  chosen  bv  Mr.  Evershed,  and  Prof. 
Turner  and  Dr.  Common  will  probably  choose  the  same 
district. 

The  British  Astronomical  Association  are  engaging 
the    splendid    st<>amer    "  Tagus,"    of    the    Royar  Mail 


Steamship  Co.  s  line,  to  t.ake  observers  to  Alicante  and 
Algiers  direct  from  England,  and  have  arranged  to 
call  at  Cadiz  for  the  convenience  of  those  who  wish  to 
observe  the  eclipse  at  Alcazar,  and  to  combine  with  it 
a  tour  in  .Southern  Spain.  A  second  expedition,  under 
the  leadership  of  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Bacon,  f.r..\.s.,  will  pro- 
ceed to  the  United  States,  probably  taking  their 
station  at  Newberry,  South  Carolina. 

The  most  important  items  in  the  programme  of  ob- 
servations as  yet  determined  upon  appear  to  be  Sir 
Norman  Lockyer's  scheme  for  obtaining  the  "  Flash  " 
spectrum  with  a  very  mucli  larger  solar  image  than  ever 
attempted  before;  Mr.  Evei-shed's,  to  prolong  the 
"  Flash  "  by  choosing  a  station  near  the  eage  of  the 
shadow;  and  Dr.  Common'^,  to  imitate  Mrs.  Maunder's 
photographs  of  the  coronal  sti-eamers  with  much  moro 
powerful  instruments. 

It  may  be  assumed  that  the  numerous  methods  of 
observation,  photographic  or  visual,  carried  out  or 
attempted  in  joast  eclipses,  will  be  again  tried  next 
May.  Photogi-aphs  of  the  corona  will  be  taken  on  all 
scales,  from  that  giving  the  sun  a  diameter  of  4  inches, 
such  as  the  Astronomer-Royal  obtained  in  India  with 
the  Thompson  heliogi-aph  of  the  Royal  Observatory, 
Greenwich,  to  that  which  gives  the  sun  a  breadth  of 
but  a  vei-v  small  fraction  of  an  inch. 

It  may  be  again  emphasized  here  that  those  photo- 
graphers whose  object-glasses  have  an  effective  ratio  of 
aperture  to  focus  not  exceeding  1  to  15  or  16,  will  be 
well  advised  to  discard  any  form  of  equatorial  mount 
or  driving  clock,  with  its  liability  to  shake,  and  in- 
sidious temptation  to  overexpose,  and  rigidly  fixing 
the  camera,  to  give  exposures  not  exceeding  one  second 
as  a  maximum. 

Both  before  and  after  totality  a  series  of  photo- 
graphs should  be  taken  of  the  Partial  Phase.  Since 
but  one  photograph  has  as  yet  been  ob+ained  of  the 
Corona  after  totality  was  well  over,  no  definite  rule.: 
can  be  laid  down  as  to  the  style  of  instrument  that 
should  be  employed.  Therefore  in  this  next  eclipse  all 
sorts  of  cameras  might  be  pressed  into  the  sei-vice,  and 
some  range  of  exposiu-e  should  be  given.  One  thing 
is  certain;  'hat  in  all  cases  the  development  must  be 
canied  out  with  the  special  object  of  restraining  the 
high  lights  and  giving  r  opportunity  for  the  feeble 
radiations  to  register. 

Mr.  Nevil  Maskelyne  will  kinematograph  the  corona 
at  his  station  in  America.  A  most  interesting  and  in- 
structive use  for  the  kiaematograph  in  the  coming 
eclipse  would  be  its  adaptation  to  the  experiments 
which  Miss  Gertnide  Bacon  carried  out  in  India  on 
the  illumination  of  the  landscape  during  the  Partial 
Phase.  In  a  series  of  five  photographs,  taken  at  equal 
intervals.  Miss  Bacon  found  the  curious  fact  confirmed 
(hitherto  believed  to  be  an  optical  illusion)  that  the 
illumination  returned  more  rapidly  after  eclipse  than 
it  diminished  before  eclipse.  The  kinematogi'aph,  if 
used  for  this  pui-pose,  would  give  a  more  even  and  con- 
tinuous series,  and  if  it  were  possible  to  use  more 
than  one  in  the  same  locality,  would  decide  whether 
the  same  effect  held  good  when  the  instrument  was 
pointed  in  the  direction  from  which  the  shadow  was 
approaching   and   towards   which   it   was   receding. 

Akin  to  this  observation  is  that  of  the  general  il- 
lumination of  the  corona,  which  may  be  determined 
by  very  simple  photographic  sensitometcrs.  In  India 
this  was  determined  photographically  by  Mr.  E.  W. 
Johnson  (using  a  sensitometer  constructed  by  Mr. 
Gare)  and  by  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Bacon,  and  visually  by 


KnoirMi/e. 


THE     SOLAR     ECLIPSE     OF     MAY    27th-28th,    1900. 


Maps  showing  the  Path  of  the  Moon's  Shadow  during  the  EcHpse. 


{Repiodvced  in  )...T..iissiO«  from  llic  "  Xaulical  AhMmic"  Vircvlnr,  No.  17.) 


M.uini  1.  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


51 


Mr.  T.  W.  Baokhoiiso  and  Dr.  Irwin  Shar]3,  at  Biixar, 
and  by  myself  at  Talni,  by  comparing  it  witli  tlic 
evening  twilight  illumination. 

Spectrosoopic  obsei-\'a*ions  of  all  sorts  will  be  made. 
from  those  with  giant  slit  spectroscopes  or  object-glass 
prisms  to  those  with  the  humble  but  portable  prismatic 
opera-glass.  Observei-s  with  the  latter  will  probably 
confine  themselves  to  th3  shape  of  the  Corona  as  seen 
in  the  green  corouium  ring,  the  red  and  blue  hydrogen 
and  the  yellow  helium  rings.  To  attain  the  same 
object  without  a  spectres -ipic  apparatus,  Mr.  Shackle- 
ton  suggests  that  it  would  be  well  to  photograph  the 
corona  by  light  as  nearly  iiionochroniatic  as  possible, 
obtaining  this  pai-tly  by  using  a  film  of  special  colour 
sensibility  and  partly  by  the  use  of  a  colour  screen. 

There  are  two  classes  of  work  that  have  been  very 
generally  omitted  from  systvmatic  observation  in  recent 
eclipses.  These  are  the  ob^srvations  of  the  shadow  bands, 
of  which  very  little  is  as  yc*  known,  and  the  visual  study 
of  a  small  portion  of  the  inner  corona.  The  latter  is 
especially  important  for  the  true  undei-standing  of  the 
curious  formations  that  in  photographs  appear  to  en- 
wrap the  brighter  prominences  and  which  lie  at  the 
base  of  the  great  rays  and  the  polar  plumes.  Only  a 
very  small  portion  should  be  attempted  by  any  one 
observer  since  the  time  of  totality  is  very  short,  but 
the  study  of  that  portion  should  be  thorough. 

Not  very  many  English  observers  will  seek  the 
American  portion  of  the  shadow  track,  and  for  these 
there  is  only  one  method  of  reaching  their  station, 
i.e.,  by  a  voyage  across  the  Atlantic.  For  the  eastern 
observers  there  are  many  ways  of  travelling.  By  sea, 
English  astronomers  can  join  the  British  Astronomical 
Association's  expedition,  or  go  by  regular  lines  to 
Bordeaux,  Santander,  Lisbon,  Cadiz,  Gibraltar,  Malaga, 
or  Algiers,  from  which  ports  they  may  travel  inland  by 
rail  to  the  central  line,  or  .'n  the  case  of  Algiers  observe 
the  eclipse  at  the  port  itself.  For  those  wfto  shirk 
the  Bay  of  Biscay,  it  is  possible  to  travel  overland 
through  Paris  direct  to  Madrid  from  whence  several 
railway  lines  cross  the  path  of  shadow,  or,  by  taking 
ship  at  Marseilles,  to  cross  the  Mediterranean  to 
Algiers.  For  the  overland  travellers,  the  chief  difficul- 
ties will  be  in  the  transport  of  their  instruments,  and 
113  the  number  of  frontiers  (which  rpell  custom-houses 
and.  perchance,  disaster  to  photographic  plates')  which 
must  be  crossed. 


ELECTRIC    AUTO-PORTRAITS. 

By  Alex.  Thurburn. 

Since  Mr.  Brown,  of  Belfast,  described  the  figures 
he  obtained  by  electric  action  on  photographic  dry 
plates  in  "  The  London,  Edinburgh,  and  Dublin  Philo- 
sophical Magazine "  for  December,  1888,  accounts  of 
similar  experiments  with  plates  have  from  time  to  time 
appeared,  of  which  by  far  the  most  striking  are  those 
contained  in  Lord  Armstrong's  fascinating  and  mag- 
nificently illustrated  book,  "  Electric  Movement  in  Ai»- 
and  Water."  I  am,  however,  not  aware  of  any  such 
experiments  having  been  tried  with  sensitized  papers, 
although  they  yield  interesting  results,  and  suggest 
various  problems,  when  the  figures  thus  produced  are 
compared  with  the  corresponding  ones  on  plates.  If  two 
photographic  plates  are  placed  back  to  back  between 
the  terminals  of  a  discharger  connected  to  a  sufficiently 
powerful  induction  coil,  and  a  single  discharge  is  made 
to  strike  on  them,  and  the  platea  are  then  developed 


the  image  produced  on  the  plate  which  faced  the 
])ositive  terminal  resembles  in  size,  but  is  different  i.i 
form,    from    that   produced    on    the    plate    which    faced 


Flo.   1. — Noniiiil  po.sitive  on  glajss. 

the  negative  terminal.  The  latter  can  be  easily  re- 
cognised by  the  frond-like  markings  which  form  so 
large  a  part  of  it,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  illustrations 
1  and  2.  But  if,  instead  of  glass  plates,  we  substitute 
sensitized  papers  with  a  piece  of  glass  between  them  to 
prevent  their  being  pierced  by  the  spark,  the  negative 
figure  will  b©  much  smaller  than  the  positive,  and  will 


Fia. 


-Nununl  iicf;iiti\i-  ou  glass. 


contain  no  trace  of  fronds.  Such  a  negative  is  shown 
bv  Fig.  3.  The  coi-responding  positive  figure  was  nearly 
three   times  larger   in  diameter,   and   the   difference   in 


5-2 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[March  1,  1900. 


size  is  sometimes  far  greater  than  this.  It  is  unnecessary 
to  rcjiroduce  the  positive  figure,  as  it  does  not  differ  in 
such  a  marked  degree  from  the  iJOsitive  figures  obtained 
on  plates.  The  substitution  of  films  for  plates  does  not 
make   much    difference    in   the   images   got   in   respect 


FiO.  3. — JTornml  negative  on  paper. 

either  of  their  forms  or  the  coiTespondence  in  size  o( 
the  positives  and  negatives. 

The  smaller  size  of  Fig.  3,  as  compared  with  the 
companion  positive  figure,  appears  to  be  owing,  in  part, 
at  all  events,  to  the  greater  penetrative  power  of  the 
discharge  proceeding  from  the  negative  terminal,  which 
carries  a  portion  of  the  electricity  through  the  gelatine, 
and  into  and  beyond  the  pa2)er  support,  so  that  only 
a  part  of  it  produces  visible  effects-  by  acting  on  the 
silver  in  the  sensitive  emulsion.  This  may  be  proved 
by  placing  two  sensitized  jiapers  (b  and  c)  on  each  side 
of  a  piece  of  glass,  a  film  of  gelatine  over  each,  and 
above  the  gelatine  films  two  other  sensitized  papers 
(a  and  d),  and  insei-ting  the  arrangement  between  the 
terminals  of  the  discharger,  a  and  b  being  on  the  side 
next  the  positive   terminal.     If  a  single   discharge   be 


7 


Fig.  4. — Negative  on  Nikko  paper  with  Leydeii  jar  iu  circuit. 


caused  to  pass  between  the  temiinals,  the  negativs 
electricity  will  pass  through  d,  and  its  underlying 
gelatine  to  c  to  a  greater  extent  than  the  positive  does 


through  A  and  its  film  to  b,  and  will  thus  produce  a 
larger  figure  on  c  than  that  on  b,  while  the  negative 
figure  on  d  will,  for  the  same  reason,  be  smaller  than 
the  positive  one  on  a.  In  several  cases  I  found  tha 
paper  b  a  complete  blank,  while  c  showed  a  well-marked 
image. 

It  would  also  ajjpear  that  the  form  of  the  image  repre- 
sented by  Fig.  2,  as  well  as  the  smaller  size  of  the 
negative  images  on  paper,  is  dependent  on  this  more 
effective  action  of  the  negative  side  of  the  discharge. 
In  the  first  place,  the  negative  fronds  do  not  aijpear, 
even  on  plates,  unless  the  action  of  the  discharge  is 
strengthened  by  induction,  as  has  been  shown  by  the 
experiments  both  of  Mr.  Brown  and  Lord  Armstrong ; 
and  even  if  the  inductive  action  be  preserved,  but  the 
strength  of  the  current  be  reduced,  the  resulting  figures 
will  not  only  be  smaller  in  size,  but  be  wanting  in  the 
characteristic  branching  character  of  the  positive  and 
the  fronds  of  the  negative. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  normal  form  of  the  negative 
figure  on  plates  may  be  more  or  less  closely  reproduced 
on  sufficiently  rapid  sensitized  papers  if  the  discharge 
on  them  be  condensed  by  connecting  a  Leyden  jar  with 
the  t«nninals  of  the  coil,  so  as  to  act  as  a  shunt.  The 
figures  thus  obtained  show,  in  addition  to  the  fronds, 
tlie  ordinary  rayed  paper  form  of  the  negative  discharge 
(see  Fig.  4),  which  appears  to  be  produced  by  a  poi'tion 
of  the  cun-ent  which  passes  directly  to  the  paper  without 


Fig  5  ^Exterior  paper  negative  witli  Levden  jar. 

jjroceeding  along  the  shunt  wires  that  lead  to  the  jar. 
If  two  pieces  of  paper  be  used,  one  above  the  other,  as 
in  the  quadruple  sets  just  described,  this  direct  current 
will  be  too  feeble  to  penetrate  the  outer  paper  d,  while 
the  other  portion  of  the  cuiTent,  condensed  by  the 
Leyden  jar,  will  pass  through  D,  and  act  solely  on  c. 
D  will  thus  show  only  the  ordinary  paper  figure  (Fig.  5), 
and  c  will  show  one  composed  entirely  of  fronds  (Fig.  G). 
The  fronds  can,  however,  be  produced  on  paper  witii 
greater  ease  and  certainty  by  other  methods.  If  oil  be 
Sf)read  on  the  back  of  sufficiently  rapid  paper,  so  as  to 
make  it  translucent,  before  it  is  exposed  to  the  discharge, 
the  negative  image  will  then  be  covered  with  fronds 
as  handsome  as  those  produced  on  glass,  and  it  will  also 
be  of  equal  size  with  the  positive  image,  which,  for  its 
part,  will  contain  the  branchings  chai'acteristic  of  posi- 
tives on  glass  plates.  The  same  results  may  be  obtained 
in  a  smaller  degree  by  tiu-ning  the  sensitized  side  of 
the  paper  which  is  neai-  the  negative  terminal  towards 
the  glass,  or  by  keeping  the  sensitized  side  outwards, 
and  covering  it  with  a  thin  sheet  of  glass,  gelatine,  or 
the  like.  In  the  last  mentioned  case  the  images  are 
somewhat  bluiTed,  and  the  fronds  sometimes  very  small, 


Mabch  1, 1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


53 


though  the  fig^iircs,  as  a  whole,  ai'e  lai'ge,  as  in  other 
eases  where  frouds  arc  produced. 

As  the  ablest  electriciaus  axe  not  yet  agreed  as  to  what 
is  the  real  nature  of  electricity.  I  shall  not  presume  to 
cuter  on  a  discussion  involving  this  question,  but  if  any 
readei^s  iutei'csted  in  such  speculations  will  refer  to 
Lord  Armstrong's  "  Electric  Movement  in  Air  and 
Water.  "  they  will  probably  be  struck  with  how  readily 
the  theoiy  broached  by  him  lends  itself  to  an  explana- 
tion of  the  experiments  above  described.  The  eonccn- 
trative  cluu-aeter  of  the  neg<itivo  current,  as  opposed 
to  the  dispersive  chai-acter  of  tho  positive,  which  is 
involved  in  his  theory,  fits  in  well  both  with  the  more 
penetrative  power  of  the  former,  and  also  with  its  being 
less  eiisily  diverted  by  resistances  when  moving  in  the 
plane  of  the  paper,  and  thus  forming  smoother  curves 
when  the  homogeneous  nature  of  the  support  for  the 
sensitive  film  admits  of  this. 

The  method  of  receiving  the  spark  discharge  on  a 
photographic  plate  may  also  be  employed  to  show  the 
oscillatory  character  of  the  discharge  of  a  Leyden  jar. 
As  is  well  known,  this  discharge  is  not  one  simple 
operation,  but  if  we  suppose  the  inside  to  be  charged 
positively,  then,  when  tho  jar  is  discharged,  this  positive 
chai-ge  does  not  merely  leave  the  inside,  but  surges  over 
to  the  outside  and  charges  it  positively,  instead  of 
negatively,  as  it  was  before.  This  new  positive  charge 
on  the  outside  then  surges  back  to  the  inside,  and  this 


1  \ 


Fig.  6. — Negative  lying  belon'  Fig.  5. 

oscillatory  process  is  repeated  with  inconceivable 
rapidity  until  the  oscillations  gradually  die  away. 
Fig.  7  is  taken  from  a  plate  which  faced  the  negative 
terminal,  and  yet  it  wnll  be  seen  that  the  positive  mark- 
ings from  the  oscillation  caused  by  the  Leyden  jars 
extend  nearly  as  far  as  the  negative  ones.  Even  when 
there  is  no  Leyden  jar  in  the  circuit,  there  may  be 
oscillations  iu  the  discharge  of  sufficient  strength  to 
show  themselves  on  the  plates.  On  closely  examining 
Fig.  2,  there  will  be  seen  small  positive  twigs  projecting 
from  some  of  the  main  lines,  while  negative  frouds  may 
be  traced,  though  less  easily,  on  Fig.  1.  I  have  found, 
in  general,  that  the  superior  efficiency  of  the  negative 
discharge  assei-ts  itself  here  also,  so  that  the  effects  of 
its  return  as  a  positive  charge  are  more  easily  recog- 
nized in  the  negative  plates  than  are  those  of  the  negativ2 
return  swing  of  the  positive  charge  on  tho  positive 
plates.     When  the  Wehnelt   interrupter   was   used   in- 


stead of  the  ordinary  contaio  muker,  then,  eveutlmugii 
there  was  no  Leyden  jar  introduced,  tho  glass  plates 
showed  the  central  rayed  figures,  in  addition  to  the 
normal   positive   branches   and   negative   fronds.     As   I 


FlO.  7. — Glass  negative  with  two  Leydeu  jars,  showing  oscillations. 

had  cut  out  the  condenser  when  using  the  Wehnelt 
interrupter,  these  rayed  figures  were  probably  produced 
by  the  spark  at  "  make,"  and  the  normal  ones  by  the 
spark  at  "  break."  If  the  spark  be  allowed  to  pass 
freely  between  the  terminals  of  the  coil,  with  no  plate 
or  other  obstacle  interposed,  the  portion  which  produces 
the  rayed  figures  will  be  seen  to  be  of  a  dull  magenta 
colour,  while  the  other  portion  has  the  usual  white 
colour.  Oscillations  were  well  shown  on  some  of  the 
images  produced  with  the  Wehnelt  interrupter.  It 
will  be  seen  that  these  experiments  can  easily  be  re- 
produced, and  any  one  who  repeats  them  under  varying 
conditions  will  find  that  they  exhibit  a  number  of 
details  which  it  would  be  of  more  interest  for  readers  to 
work  out  for  themselves  than  to  have  them  minutely 
described  for  them. 


POLARITY    IN    MAGIC    SQUARES.-II. 

By    E.    D.    Little 

IV.  Natural  Chain.— The  numbers  12  3-156789 
may  of  course  be  arranged  in  the  form  of  a  square  in 
such  a  way  that  every  two  successive  numbers  in  tho 
series  shall  occupy  contiguous  positions  in  the  square, 
as  in  the  following  examples:  — 


1 

2 

3 

6 

5 

4 

7 

8 

9 

6 

1 

2 

7 

5 

3 

8 

9 

4 

F/g  5  Fig  6. 

It  will  at  once  be  seen  that  the  fir.st  of  these  squares 
only  requires  the  transposition  of  4  and  G  to  become 
identical  with  the  Natural  Square,  and  that  the  other 
by  the  transposition  of  2  and  8  becomes  the  Magic 
Square.  The  only  difference  in  principle  between  the 
two  squares  is  that  1  in  the  first  is  placed  in  a  corner 


5i 


KNOWLEDGE, 


[Maboh  1,  1900. 


position,   and   in   the   o 
row. 

Bj-  pushing  out  the 
rows  and  columns,  so 
circles  or  octagons  we 
tical,  and  obtain  a  fi 
Natural  Chain,  eqiiall 
Circle  or  Octagon,  and 
the  transposition  of  tw 
6  in  one  case,  2  and  8 


ther   in   a  middle   position,   of  a 

middle  positions  of  the  outside 
as  to  convert  the  squares  into 
may  take  the   two  figures   iden- 

gure    which    may    be    called    the 

y  convertible  into  the  Natural 
tlie  Magic  Circle  or  Octagon  by 

o  opposite  even  numbers,  4  and 

in  the  other. 


Fig  7, 


The  law  of  polarity  between  the  Natural  Circle,  or 
Octagon,  and  the  Magic  Circle,  or  Octagon,  is  of  course 
pi-ecisely  the  same  as  that  of  polarity  between  th.5 
Natui-al  and  Magic  Squares,  but  it  admits  of  a  differ- 
ent exjsression. 

For  in  the  Circle,  or  Octagon,  the  external  rows  and 
columns  of  the  squares  have  become  arcs,  or  triangles, 
while  the  middle  rows  and  columns,  as  well  as  the 
middle  diagonals  have  become  diameters.  The  polarity 
of  the  two  figures  may  therefore  be  stated  as  follows:  — 

In  the  Natural  Circle  the  Natural  Rows  and  Columus 
have  become  four  arcs  each  equal  to  a  quadrant  and 
two  diameters :  the  Magic  Rows  and  Columns  have 
become  four  arcs  each  equal  to  three  quadrants  and  two 
diameters.  In  the  Magic  Square  the  statement  must 
be  reversed. 

In  the  Natural  Octagon,  the  Natural  Rows  and 
Columns  have  become  four  obtuse  angled  triangles, 
each  on  a  side  of  a  square,  and  two  diameters;  the 
Magic  Rows  and  Columns  have  become  four  acute 
angled  triangles,  each  on  a  side  of  the  square,  and  two 
diameters.  In  the  Magic  Octagon  the  statement  must 
be  reversed. 

In  the  Natural  Ti-iads  in  either  figure  an  even  num- 
ber forms  the  vertex  of  a  triangle,  in  the  Magic  Triads 
an  odd  number  forms  the  vertex. 

This  connection  of  a  Natural  Figure  with  its  com- 
plementary Magic  Figure  through  the  intermediary 
Natural  Chain  leads  to  the  enquiry  whether  there  is 
any  other  Natural  Figure  connected  thus  closely,  or 
more  so,  with  its  complementary  figure,  and  to  the  dis- 
covery that  12  3  4  5  6  7  can  be  arranged  as  a  natural 
chain  in  a  figure  which  may  be  described  as  perfectly 
natural,  and  at  the  same  time  perfectly  magic. 

If  a  hexagon  be  formed  of  six  equilateral  triangles 
placed  with  their  vertices  at  a  point,  the  numbers 
12  3  4  5  6  7  may  be  placed  as  in  figure  10,  where 


Fig  10 

The  numbers  form  a  continuous  chain,  all  the  links 
of  which  are  of  equal  length. 


Each  of  the  five  natural  triads,  or  triads  of  numbers 
in  natural  order,  lies  on  three  successive  positions, 
1—2—3,  2—3—4,  3—4—5,  4—5—6,  5—6—7. 

Each  of  the  five  magic  triads  or  triads  of  numbers 
having  equal  Summation  (12)  lies  on  three  successive 
positions,  1--1— 7,  1—5—6,  2—4—6,  2—3—7,  3—4—5. 

It  is  somewhat  surprising  that  this  figure  was  not 
adopted  by  the  Ancient  Mystics  and  Astrologers  as  a 
jjerfect  presentment  of  the  sacred  and  jjlanetary  number 
seven  combined  with  the  equally  sacred  and  funda- 
mental number  twelve. 

V.  Paths. — We  have  already  had  occasion  to  regard 
the  Series  123456789  as  a  recurring  Series,  and 
on  the  same  principle  we  may  regard  a  number-square 
as  capable  of  extension,  without  alteration  in  its 
character,  by  repeating  its  rows  and  columns  m 
their  original  order.  Let  the  Natural  and  Magic 
Squares  of  3  then  be  extended,  first  by  repeating  two 
rows  above  and  below  the  square,  and  then  by  re- 
peating two  columns  of  the  resulting  rectangle  of 
numbers  to  the  right  and  left. 

We  shall  then  have  the  squares  shown  in  the  follow- 
ing figures  11,  12,  13,  14,  15,  16. 


5 

6 

4 

5 

6 

4 

5 

8 

9 

7 

.\ 

9 

7 

8 

2 

3 

,< 

2    '\ 

' 

2 

5 

< 

4 

<^ 

> 

5 

8 

9 

'< 

sy 

7 

8 

2 

3 

1 

V 

3 

1 

2 

5 

6 

4 

5 

6 

4 

5 

■-s 

3 

7 

5 

3 

7 

5 

9 

4 

Z    ^3^T1 

2 

9 

1 

8 

X 

1 

X 

e 

1 

5 

< '  X| »  > 

5 

9 

.^,7. 

9 

1  1 

8 

6    V    8 

6 

1 

5 

3 

7 

5 

3 

7 

5 

Fig.  II. 


Fig.  JZ. 


Fig  13. 


Fig.  14. 


5 

6 

4 

5 

6 

4 

5 

8 

9 

7 

8 

9 

J< 

,8 
2 

2 

3 

1 

^^ 

K 

? 

5 

6 

K 

r 

4 

5 

8 

9^- 

r 

8 

9 

7 

8 

A 

3 

1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

5 

6 

* 

5 

6 

4 

5 

5 

3 

7 

5 

3 

7 

5 

9 

4 

2 

9 

4 

2 

.3 

1 

8 

6 

'/ 

-8l 

1 

5 

3 

^A 

7 

S 

9 

,t 

y 

^9 

4 

2 

9 

1^ 

8 

6 

1 

8 

6 

1 

5 

3 

7 

5 

3 

7 

5- 

Fig   15 


Fig  16. 


In  Figs.  11,  12,  we  see  that  in  the  extended  Natural 
Square  the  Magic  Square  is  latent,  with  its  rows  and 
columns  in  Bishop's  paths,  while  in  the  extended  Magic 


U\nrn  1,  19(X1.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


Hi) 


Siiuaif  luf  uauiial  square  is  latent  in  exactly  tlic  same 
way. 

lu  Figs.  13,  14,  each  Square  is  seen  to  be  latent  in 
the  othor  with  its  rows  and  columns  in  Knight's  paths. 

In  Figs.  15,  16,  each  square  is  seen  to  bo  latent  in 
the  other  with  its  rows  (or  columns)  in  Knight's  paths, 
and  its  columns  ^or  rows)  in  Bishop's  paths. 

Polarity  of  direction  with  regard  to  paths  is  thus  es- 
tablished. 

VI.  XoT.KTlo.N. — If  each  number  of  the  Natural 
Square  is  denoted  by  a  combination  of  two  letters 
A,  B,  or  C,  and  a,  b,  or  c,  one  denoting  the  row,  and 
the  other  the  column  of  the  Natural  Square  in  which 
the  number  occurs,  the  notation  of  the  Natural  and 
Magic  Squares,  Fig.  2  and  Fig.  1,  will  resiJcctively 
be:  — 

A;v  Ab  Ac  Be   Aa  Cb 

Ba   Bb   Be     and     Ca   Bb   Ac 
Ca  Cb   Cc  Ab   Cc   Ba 

Now  let  the  Magic  Square  Fig.  1  bo  written  in  similar 
notation :  — 

Aa     Ab     Ac 
Ba     Bb     Be 
Ca      Cb     Cc 
the  notation  of  the  Natural  Square  will  then  be;  — 
Ab     Ca     Be 
Cc     Bb     Aa 
Ba     Ac     Cb 
which  is  seen  to  be  precisely  the  same  as  the  notation 
of  the  Magic  Square  in   terms  of  the   Natural   Square, 
except  that  the   rows   of  one   arc   the   columns  of  the 
other. 

If  the  rows  and  columns  of  either  of  these  squares 
formed  from  the  other  are  examined  it  will  be  found 
that  in  any  row  or  column  of  either,  every  row  and 
column  of  the  other  is  represented.  Or  to  put  it  in 
another  way,  evei-y  capital  letter  and  every  small  letter 
is  found  in  every  row  and  column  of  either  square. 

The  existence  of  a  law  under  various  aspects,  and  the 
essential  unity  of  the  law,  has  now  been  as  fully  illustra- 
ted as  our  space  permits.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  if  a 
square  of  higher  dimensions  is  subjected  to  the  same 
sort  of  analysis  many  more  illustrations  of  the  same 
law  are  discovered,  but  their  very  multiplicity  is  rather 
a  disadvantage  than  otherwise.  It  is  the  simplicity 
of  the  3  squares  which  makes  it  such  a  good  "  subject.' 
Under  whatever  form  the  law  may  appear  in  greater 
squares  we  may  be  siu-e  that  the  same  principles  under- 
lie it  in  all  cases.  'WTiatever  rules  have  been  heretofore 
devised,  or  may  be  devised  hereafter,  for  the  construc- 
tion of  magic  squares — must  be  based  upon  the  same 
principles. 

♦ 

PLANTS   AND   THEIR   FOOD.-II. 

By   H.   H.    W.   Pearson,    m.a. 

We  have  seen  that  more  than  half  of  the  substance  of 
a  plant  is  composed  of  Carbon.*  Carbon,  therefore,  is 
the  most  important  constituent  of  plant  food,  and  we 
will  now  consider  whence  and  in  what  form  it  is  ob- 
tained. The  forms  in  which  this  element  is  found  in 
Nature  are  not  numerous,  although  there  is  an  immense 
quantity  of  it.  It  exists  in  the  pure  form,  as  is  well 
known,  in  Diamond  and  Graphite  (of  which  "  lead " 
pencils  are  made) ;  combined  with  other  elements  it  is 
found  in  great  abundance  in  the  air  as  Carbon  dioxide 

•  Kkowledok.  January,  1900. 


gas,t  and  in  the  earth  in  the  form  of  Carbonates  (e.g., 
Dolomite,  Limestone,  Chalk,  &c.);  it  also  occurs  nearly 
all  over  the  eai'th's  surface  as  organic  mattei",  which  is 
the  result  of  the  alteration  and  decay  of  the  dead 
bodies  of  animals  and  plants.  Plants  obtain  their 
Cavlon  mainly  from  the  Carbon  dioxide  in  the  air. 

"  Organic  "  subst;'«nces  were  so  called  because  it 
was  thought  that  they  could  only  bo  produced  in  the 
couree  of  the  pi'occsses  of  life  in  a  living  animal  or 
plant.  They  were  thereforo  considered  to  be  of  an 
essentially  different  chai'acter  from  simpler  substances 
— such  as  Carbon  dioxide,  Nitric  Acid,  &c. — which  the 
chemist  could  prepare  in  his  laboratory.  In  1828, 
however,  a  German  chemist  succeeded  in  preparing  arti- 
ticially  a  solid  compound  called  "  Urea,"  whick,  before 
that  time,  was  supposed  to  bo  produced  only  in  the 
body  of  a  living  animal.  Since  then  many  more  of  tho 
so-called  organic  substances  have  been  fabricated  oy 
chemists.  We  now  believe  that  in  the  course  of  time 
the  chemist  will  be  able  to  prepare  ai-tificially  all  tho 
substances  which  are  found  in  animals  and  plants,  or 
at  least,  compounds  which  are  chemically  identical 
with  them.  The  term  "  organic  "  can  therefore  no  longer 
be  used  in  tho  sense  in  which  it  was  at  lirst  applied 
to  these  substances,  but  as  a  matter  of  convenience  it 
is  still  customary  to  use  the  term  to  include  the  very 
large  number  of  compounds  which  Carbon  makes  with 
other  chemical  elements,  although  many  of  them  are 
now  quite  as  easily  made  as  a  simple  inorganic  sub- 
stance. For  our  present  purposes  we  may  say  that  an 
organic  substance  is  a  compound  of  Carbon  and  Hy- 
drogen (or  Nitrogen),  which  usually  contains  Oxygen 
as  well,  and  frequently  other  elements  (e.g.,  Pho.sphorus 
and  Sulphur)  in  addition. 

Certain  plants,  such  as  the  Fungi,  obtain  the  whole 
of  their  Carbon  from  organic  matter  which  they  ilud  in 
the  soil  or  other  substances  upon  which  they  grow. 
Others,  however,  which  contain  the  green  colouring 
matter,  chlorophyll,  in  their  leaves,  derive  at  least  part 
of  their  Cai-bon — it  may  be  all — from  the  Caibon 
dioxide  in  the  air.  It  is  with  these  green-leaved  plants 
that  we  are  most  generally  familiar.  The  green  colour, 
although  present,  is  in  some  cases  masked  by  other  tints, 
as  in  the  leaves  of  the  common  red  cabbage  and  the 
"  copper "  beech.  For  the  present  we  shall  consider 
the  Carbon  food-supply  of  green  plants  only. 

Air  contains  a  very  small  proportion  of  Carbon 
dioxide.  It  was  found  dui-ing  1898  that  in  the  air 
of  the  Royal  Gardens,  Kew,  at  a  height  of  4  feet 
6  inches  from  the  ground,  there  were  from  2.7  to  3 
parts  of  Carbon  dioxide  in  10,000  pai-ts  of  air.t  Thus, 
although  the  stock  of  Carbon  in  the  atmosphere  taken 
in  the  aggregate  is  immeasurably  large,  it  is  in  an 
extremely  diluted  condition,  and  we  cannot  easily  form 
any  idea  of  the  va.st  amount  of  air  which  must  be 
drained  of  its  Carbon  in  order  to  supply  the  needs  of 
the  world's  green  vegetation.  It  has  been  calculated 
that  in  attaining  its  full  size,  a  single  tree  havini?  a 
di7  weight  of  11,000  lbs.  has  abstracted  a.11  the  Carbon 
from  over  15  million  cubic  yai-ds  of  air.§ 

The  Carbon  thus  taken  from  the  atmosphere  is  not. 


t  Carbon  dioxide  is  that  constituent  of  the  air  whieh  eauscs  lime 
water,  exposed  in  an  open  dish,  to  become  "  milky."  A  few  other 
gases  which  contain  Carbon  arc  also  found  m  the  atmosphere  in 
certain  localities,  e.r/.,  Marsli  gas. 

I  Presidential  Address  to  the  Chemical  Section  of  the  Briti:<h 
Association,  Dover,  189'J. 

§  "  A  Text-book  of  Botany,"  by  Strasburger,  Noll,  Scheuck,  and 
Schimper  (English  translation;,  p.  19(i. 


5G 


KNOWLEDGE 


[Maech  1,  1900. 


however,  lost  to  it,  but  sooner  or  later  finds  its  way  back 
again  in  the  form  of  Carbon  dioxide  from  the  lungs  of 
animals  and  from  burning  or  decaying  organic  sub- 
stances. From  every  coal  fire  Carbon  returns  into  the 
air  from  whence  it  was  taken  by  the  vast  forests  which 
flourished  untold  ages  ago.  There  is  thus  maintained 
a  continuous  circulation  of  Carbon,  from  its  gaseous 
form  (Carbon  dioxide)  to  the  more  or  less  solid  state  in 
animals  and  plants ;  here  it  is  presented  in  an  organic 
form,  sooner  or  later  to  be  destroyed,  once  more  setting 
the  Carbon  free  to  rejoin  the  air  as  Carbon  dioxide. 

The  knowledge  which  we  at  present  possess  of  Carbon 
dioxide  in  its  relation  to  green  plants  is  the  result  of 
the  patient  labours  of  manv  investigators  extending  ove/ 
a  long  period.  As  an  example  of  the  methods  which 
have  been  used  to  throw  light  upon  this  problem,  it  will 
be  interesting  to  notice  one  historic  experiment.  In 
1844  a  French  chemist  tried  to  prove  that  Carbon 
dioxide  is  actually  taken  from  the  air  bj-  green  leaves. 
He  placed  a  leaf-bearing  branch  of  a  vine  in  a  large 
glass  vessel,  which  was  afterwards  closed  so  that  no  air 
could  enter  or  leave  it  except  through  two  tubes.  He 
then  passed  a  very  slow  stream  of  air  through  it  by 
way  of  these  tubes.  It  was  found  that  the  air  which 
left  the  vessel  during  the  daytime  contained  less  Carbon 
dioxide  than  that  which  entered  it ;  from  this  he  rightly 
concluded  that  some  had  been  removed  by  the  leaves 
of  the  vine.  It  is  now  well  known  that  all  green 
leaves  remove  Carbon  dioxide  from  the  air  during  the 
day.  Although  it  is  impossible  to  see  this  actually 
taking  place,  it  is  not  difficult  to  observe  two  other 
phenomena  which  almost  always  go  on  at  the  same 
time.  As  Carbon  dioxide  enters  the  leaf  Oxygen  gas 
leaves  it  and  solid  starch  is  fomied  within  its  cells. 
By  means  of  a  little  simple  manipulation  it  is  quits 
easy  to  observe  the  appearance  of  the  one  and  thj 
escape  of  the  other. 

Let  us  first  consider  the  escape  of  Oxygen.  A  small 
green  water-plant[|  should  be  placed  in  a  glass  flask 
or  test-tube,  which  is  quite  filled^y  with  water.  The 
glass  vessel  is  then  turned  upside  down  and  made  to 
stand  upon  its  open  end  in  a  tray  of  water.  Sunlight 
is  now  allowed  to  fall  upon  the  plant,  and  almost 
immediately  minute  bubbles  are  seen  to  form  upon 
various  parts  of  it;  these  rise  and  collect  at  the  top  of 
the  vessel.  By  using  the  proper  chemical  tests  this 
gas  can  be  shown  to  be  almost  pui-e  Oxvgen.  The  same 
thing  happens  in  green  leaves  gi'owing  in  the  air;  but 
in  this  case  the  chem^al  action  evades  observation. 

To  show  the  presence  of  starch  in  a  gi-een  leaf  requires 
a  little  more  time.  It  is  well  known  that  if  a  drop  of  a 
solution  of  Iodine  be  placed  upon  a  few  granules  of 
starch,  a  blue  stain  is  produced.  Upon  this  fact  is 
founded  the  method  by  which  we  find  out  whether  a 
leaf  contains  starch  or  not.  A  thin  leaf  (such  as  the 
common  Nasturtium  or  Indian  cress,  Tropceolum  majus) 
is  boiled  for  about  one  minute  in  water,  and  then  placed 
in  spirits  of  wine  until  all  the  chlorophyll  is  dissolved 
out,  and  the  leaf  becomes  colourless.  It  should  thon 
be  placed  in  a  weak  solution  of  Iodine.**  If  the  leaf 
contains  starch  it  will  be  stained  blue  or  black ;    if,  how- 


|l  The  so-called  "  CsDadian  "  water-weed.  Elodea  canadensis,  is 
ciiiivenient  for  the  purpose.  All  natural  waters  contain  dissolved 
t'arbon  dioxide,  from  which  submerged  green  plants  obtain  their 
supplies. 

•^  ''  Quite  filled,"  so  that  when  turned  upside  down  no  bubble  of 
air  should  be  present  in  the  water. 

*»  "  Tincture  of  Iodine  "  diluted  with  water  until  it  has  the  colour 
of  dark  beer. 


e\er,    no    starch    was   present,    the   Iodine   would   only 
colour  it  light  vellow  or  brown. 

Inside  the  cells  of  the  leaf  the  Carbon  dioxide  is 
decomposed  —  that  is,  separated  into  its  elements, 
Carbon  and  Oxygen.  Oxygen  escapes  and  the  Carbon 
enters  into  combination  with  Hydrogen  and  Oxygen 
(which  have  come  from  the  roots  in  the  form  of  water 
and  mineral  salts),  and  an  organic  substance  is  formed. 
This  series  of  changes — in  the  coxu'se  of  which  the 
Cai-bon  of  Carbon  dioxide  becomes  Carbon  of  an  or 
ganic  compound — is  spoken  of  as  the  "  Assimilation  of 
Carbon  dioxide,"  or,  more  briefly,  "  Assimilation." 
Of  the  intemiediate  steps  of  this  series  of  changes  very 
little  is  known.  We  do  not  know,  for  instance,  what 
is  the  first  organic  substance  to  be  formed,  but  it  is 
nearly  always  the  case  that  starch  appears  in  the  leaf 
very  soon  after  it  commences  to  assimilate.  This  fact 
provides  a  means  of  studying  the  conditions  under  whicli 
a  green  leaf  will  assimilate,  for,  as  we  have  seen,  it  is 
qtiite  easy  to  find  out  whether  starch  is  present.  If, 
for  example,  we  put  a  growing  plant  into  a  dark  cellar 
for  several  hours  and  then  test  its  leaves  with  Iodine, 
we  find  no  starch.  Here  is  a  proof  that  leaves  do  not 
assimilate  in  the  dark,  from  which  it  follows  that,  in 
Nature,  assimilation  goes  on  only  during  the  daytime. 
A  leaf  contains  more  starch  at  sunset  than  at  anv  other 
time  of  the  day,  as  would  be  expected;  in  the  night 
the  starch  which  was  formed  during  the  day  is  removed, 
and  in  the  early  morning  a  leaf  contains  very  little 
or  none  at  ail. 

That  the  formation  of  starch  takes  place  in  the 
light  and  not  in  darkness  can  be  shown  in  a  very 
striking  manner  by  means  of  a  photogi'aphic  negative.!  f 
A  leaf  is  emptied  of  its  starch  by  keeping  the  plant  on 
which  it  grows  in  the  dark  for  several  hours.  It  is 
then  laid  flat  on  some  support  and  covered  by  a 
negative  and  exposed  to  sunlight  for  some  hours.  On 
testing  it  for  starch  with  Iodine,  a  print  of  the  negative 
will  be  obtained ;  those  parts  which  were  beneath  tho 
dark  portions  of  the  negative  being  uncoloured,  for 
tbey  contain  no  starch;  the  light  parts  of  the  negative 
will  be  represented  by  starch  stained  black  by  Iodine. 

Assimilation  only  goes  on  in  the  gi-een  parts  of  a 
plant.  The  leaves  of  many  ornamental  plants  ari 
variegated — that  is,  they  are  not  green  all  over,  but 
"  dashed  '  with  white  or  some  other  colour.  If  such 
a  leaf — e.g.,  variegated  Ivy — is  pulled  at  the  end  of 
a  summer's  day  and  tested  for  starch,  the  white  parts 
will  not  be  coloiu-ed  blue  by  Iodine,  but  all  the  stai'ch 
will  be  found  in  the  green  parts.  It  is  therefore  only 
the  green  parts  of  the  leaf  which  are  able  to  assimilate 
Carbon  dioxide;  in  other  words,  the  power  of  assimi- 
lation resides  in  the  chlorophyll,  which  posseess  this 
power  only  when  the  leaf  containing  it  is  in  the  light. 

We  have  now  to  consider  how  aii-  and  the  Carbon 
dioxide  which  it  contains  find  their  way  into  the  leaf. 
Simple  as  this  problem  appears  on  paper,  it  is  only 
since  1895  that  it  has  been  at  all  clearly  understood. 
The  cells  which  form  the  upper  suiface  of  a  leaf  are 
in  most  cases  brick-shaped,  and  fit  together  like  tiles  in 
a  pavement,  leaving  no  openings  between  them.  On 
the  lower  side,  however,  numerous  very  minute  pores 
between  the  cells  lead  into  the  interior  of  the  leaf. 
These  openings  are  called  'Stomata"  (from  the  Greek 
word.  Stoma,  a  mouth)  ;  each  stoma  is  surrounded 
by  two  special  guard-cells,  which  under  some  circum- 
stances alter  their  shape  so  much  as  to  close  or  nearly 

•H-  W.  Gardiner,  in  Nature,  Vol.  XLI.  (1890),  p.  16. 


Makch  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


close  tlio  opening  between  them.  Sometimes  stomata 
are  found  on  the  uppei*  sido  of  the  leaf ;  in  most  cases, 
however,  they  are  more  abundant  on  the  lower,  and,  as 
a  rule,  aie  quite  absent  from  the  upper. 


Fig.  1. — A  Surface  View  of  a  portion  of  an  Iris  Leaf  showing  the 
Stomata.     s,  a  Stomata;   o,  the  Guard-cells  surrounding  it.      x   100. 

They  are  found  in  great  numbers,  as  the  following 
figures  show.  The  Poeony  leaf  has  none  on  its  upper 
side,  while  on  the  lower  there  have  been  counted  13,790 
per  square  inch;  in  the  leaf  of  the  Cheixy  laurel 
(Prunus  Laurocerasus)  there  are  none  on  the  upper  sido, 
but  90,000  per  square  inch  on  the  lower.  It  seems 
natiu'al  to  suppose  that  the  gases  of  the  atmosphere 
enter  the  leaf  by  way  of  the  stomata,  and  such  is  indeed 
thfe  case,  although  it  is  only  within  the  last  five  years 
that  this  fact  has  become  known.  Previously  it  was 
always  stated  that  Carbon  dioxide  entered  through  the 
walls  of  the  close-fitting  cells  of  the  upper  side.  A 
complete  proof  of  the  fact  that  it  enters  by  the  stomata 
requires  a  very  complicated  piece  of  apparatus. ||  A 
simple  demonstration  is,  however,  easily  made.  A  plant 
whose  leaves  have  all  their  stomata  on  the  lower  side — 
e.g.,  the  Nasturtium  mentioned  above,  or  Syringa 
(Philadelphus  coronarius) — is  placed  in  the  dark  until 
all  its  starch  has  disappeared.  A  thick  layer  of 
vaseline  is  then  smeared  over  half  of  the  lower  surface 
of  one  or  more  leaves.  In  this  way  the  stomata  of  the 
smeared  half  of  the  leaf  are  closed  so  that  no  air  can 
enter  them.  The  plant  is  now  placed  in  the  light  and 
allowed  to  remain  there  for  some  hours.  The 
"  vaselined  "  leaves  are  afterwards  removed  and  tested 
with  Iodine  in  the  usual  manner.  Starch  is  found 
only  in  those  portions  of  the  leaves  whose  stomata  were 
not  closed  by  vaseline.  No  assimilation  then  takes 
place  where  the  stomata  are  blocked  against  the  en- 
trance of  Carbon  dioxide,  which  shows  that  they  are 
literally  the  "  mouths "  by  way  of  which  the  plant 
receives  its  Carbon. 

The  stomata  open  into  passages  which  wind  about 
among  the  cells  of  the  leaf.  The  air  which  enters  passes 
roimd  and  between  these  cells,  giving  up  to  them 
Carbon  dioxide  and  receiving  from  them  Oxygen  and 
the  vapour  of  the  water  which  passes  out  through  the 
stomata.  Inside  the  cells  are  protoplasm  and  cell  sap, 
as  in  the  living  cell  already  described. §§  In  the  semi- 
liquid  protoplasm  are  embedded  numerous  green  oval 
bodies  called  "  chloroplasts."  These  are  distinct  masses 
of  protoplasm  which  contain  the  chlorophyll,  and  to 
them  is  due  the  green  colour  of  the  leaf.  It  is  withia 
the  chloroplasts  that  the  process  of  assimilation  goes 
on ;  if  they  are  observed  under  the  microscope  while 
the  leaf  is  assimilating,  minute  granules  of  starch  may 

Xt  F.  F.  Blackman,  1' hilosophical  Traiisacliotu  of  the  Soyal 
SoeUty,  1895. 

§§  KxcwiEDQE,  January,  1900. 


be  seen  to  appear  in  uu^ni.  i.ivi,  >\v  aic  able  to  identify 
the  exact  spots  where  this  wonderful  process  of  the 
conversion  of  inorganic  Carbon  into  organic  is  carried 
on.  It  is  upon  the  work  performed  in  these  minute 
chloroplasts  that  the  whole  organic  world — plants  and 
animals — depends  for  its  supply  of  Carbon ;  for  animais 
as  well  as  those  plants  and  parts  of  plants  wliich  con- 
tain no  chlorophyll  can  only  obtain  their  Carbon  from 
organic  substances. 


Fio.  2.— A   portion  of  a    Trans-        Fio.    3.— -V    small    part    of 
verse  Section  through  a  Leaf  of  tlie     Fig.  2,  enlarged,    s,  a  Stoma. 
Cherry   Laurel,      s,  a  Stoma.      I  c,     G,  Guard-Cells,      x  400. 
spaces  between  the   cells  into  wliich 
stomata  open.      x   100. 

What  is  the  secret  of  this  remarkable  power  which 
chlorophyll  possesses?  To  this  question  no  satisfactory 
answer  can  at  present  be  given.  Before  the  processes 
which  are  carried  on  in  the  chloroplasts  can  be  under- 
stood we  must  learn  much  more  about  protophism  thaa 
is  yet  known.  We  have  seen  that  chlorophyll  cannot 
decompose  Cai'bon  dioxide  and  build  up  organic  sub- 
stances in  the  dark.  If  we  try  to  decompose  Carbon 
dioxide  by  artificial  means  we  find  that  it  is  difficult, 
and  can  only  be  effected  by  a  very  high  temperature. 
The  heat  wliich  we  apply  is  transformed  into  another 
form  of  energy,  which  forces  apart  the  atoms  of  Carbon 
and  Oxygen  and  so  bi-iugs  about  the  decomposition. 
The  separation  of  these  elements  when  tliey  are  com- 
bined in  the  form  of  Carbon  dioxide  is  only  possible 
when  there  is  a  supply  of  energy  from  outside.  When 
it  takes  place  in  the  chloroplasts  of  the  leaf,  this  energy 
is  undoubtedly  derived  from  light.  Ordinary  sunlight, 
however,  is  incapable  of  effecting  the  change  by  itself. 
In  passing  through  a  solution  of  chlorophyll,  whita 
light  undergoes  alteration,  some  of  its  constituents  being 
absorbed  by  the  chlorophyll  and  others  passing 
through.  The  secret  of  the  decomposition  of  Carbon 
dioxide  in  the  chloroplasts  lies  in  this  fact,  viz.,  that 
some  of  the  constituent  colcurs  of  sunlight  are  arrested 
and  others  transmitted  by  the  chlorophyll.  In  ths 
present  state  of  knowledge  it  is  impossible  to  go  farther 
than  this  without  becoming  involved  in  speculations 
which  are  insufficiently  supported  by  practical  experi- 
ment. We  must  for  the  present  rest  content  with  the 
statement  that  the  assimilation  of  Carbon  dioxide  goes 
on  only  in  protoplasm  which  contains  chlorophyll,  and 
under  the  influence  of  light. 

All  green  plants,  under  favourable  conditions,  assimi- 
late Carbon  dioxide,  and  undoubtedly  obtain  the  greater 
part  of  their  Carbon  in  this  way;  it  is,  however,  by  no 
means  certain  that  some  of  it  docs  not  come  from  organic 
substances  in  the  soil.     We  shall  have  another  occasion 


58 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[Maech  1,  1900. 


to  refer  to  this  question,  which  has  been  much  debated, 
and  is  still  undecided.  We  know,  however  of  some 
green  plants  which  certainly  use  organic  substances  as 
the  source  of  part  of  their  Carbon.  Some  have  con- 
trivances by  which  they  capture  insects,  from  whose 
bodies  thev  afterwards  draw  organic  nourishment; 
among  these  are  the  Bladderwort  (Utricularia  vulgaris) 
and  the  Sundew  (Drosera  rotundifolia),  both  of  which 
are  British  plants.  Others  are  more  oi  less  dependent 
upon  living  plants  for  part  of  their  organic  food  sup- 
plies; these  are  called  "parasites,"  and  include  such 
well-known  plants  as  "  Eyebright "  (Euphrasia  offici- 
nalis), and  the  "Yellow  rattle"  (Rhinanthus  Cnsta- 
galli),  whose  roots  atta<:h  themselves  to  the  roots  of 
other  plants.  Many  ground  orchids  are  known  to 
live  partly  upon  organic  substances  which  are  foiind 
in  the  humus  of  the  soil ;  plants  such  as  these,  which 
derive  more  or  less  of  their  nutriment  from  dead  or- 
ganic substances,  are  known  as  "  Saprophytes.  ' 


floticcs  of  Boofts. 

. • 

"  Animal  Biology.''  An  Elementary  Text-Book.  By  C.Lloyd 
Morgan  F.K.s.  Third  edition.  Revised.  (Longmans.:  8s.  M. 
Professor  Lloyd  Morgan's  httle  book  was  first  pubhshed  twelve 
years  a^o  and"  was  written  to  meet  the  requirements  of  students 
preparintr'  for  the  Intermediate  Science  and  Preliminary 
Scientifi?  Examinations  of  the  London  Tmversity.  But  since 
the  appearance  of  the  book  the  syllabuses  for  these  examinations 
have  been  altered,  and  the  opportunity  of  the  demand  for  another 
edition  has  been  taken  to  modify  the  contents  of  the  volume  so 
that  it  mav  stiU  serve  its  original  purpose.  But  though  the 
anatomy  of  the  bird  has  disappeared  from  the  syllabus,  we  are 
glad  the  chapter  on  this  subject  has  been  retained,  for  its 
inclusion  mav  tempt  the  undergraduate  to  read  it  and  so  obtain 
a  broader  view  of  the  animal  kingdom  than  a  rigid  adherence 
to  examination  requirements  would  secure.  Professor  Morgan's 
book  retains  nearly  aU  the  excellent  quahties  for  which  it  has 
become  widely  known,  and  the  number  of  illustrations  has  been 
increased  The  early  chapters  of  the  first  edition,  dealing  in 
succession  with  general  anatomy,  physiology,  histology,  and 
embryology,  have  given  place  to  a  more  formal  treatment  of  the 
frog  doc'fi'sh,  amphioxus,  rabbit  and  pigeon,  in  separate  chapters. 
Similarfv.  in  the  new  edition,  a  single  chapter  on  physiology 
takes  the  place  of  separate  chapters  on  nutrition  and  metabohsm, 
the  heart  and  circulation,  and  the  brain  and  nerves.  It  is  very 
questionable  whether  the  new  arrangement  is  an  improvement. 
In  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  one  of  the  charms  of  the  older 
order  was  that  a  constant  comparison  was  inevitable,  and  the 
continual  insistence  upon  hkenesses  and  differences  was  a  source 
of  stimulation  which  we  fear  may  be  absent  from  the  new 
edition.  But  at  the  same  time  we  have  no  hesitation  m  heartily 
recommending  the  book  as  a  clear,  exact,  up-to-date  introduction 
to  animal  biology.  Tndoubtedly  the  volume  will  retain  its 
position  as  one  of  the  best  means  of  arriving  at  a  knowledge  of 
the  subjects  of  which  it  treats. 

"  Optics.  A  Manual  for  f-tudents."  By  A.  S.  Perciviil,  m.a.,  m.b. 
(10s.  net.)  "Handbook  of  Optics  for  Students  of  Oplithalmoloj;y." 
Bv  W.  N.  Suter.  B.A.,  M.  D.  (London:  Macmillan  i.  Co.,  Limited. 
Xew  York  :  The  MacmiUan  Company.  1899.)  It  is  recorded  in  the 
Annals  of  Cambridge  CniversitT  that  once  in  answer  to  "  State  and 
prove  Taylor's  Theorem  "  a  questionist  replied  that  he  did  not  just 
then  recollect  how  it  was  done,  but  that  it  would  be  found  on  page  72 
of  Todhunter's  'Differential  Calculus."  It  is  all  very  well  for  a 
student  to  Umit  his  idea  of  the  use  of  a  text  book  by  its  usefulness 
for  examination  purposes,  and  by  so  studyinc  it  from  cover  to  cover  to 
fc-m  an  index  in  his  head  of  its  contents,  but  it  is  by  no  m°ans  well 
for  the  author  to  neglect  or  ignore  the  far  larger  body  of  students 
whose  acadenuc  examinations  are  receding  rapidly  into  the  past,  and 
«hose  present  life  is  so  full  of  practical  questions  that  they  have  no 
time  to  read  through  a  whole  book  or  chapter  of  irreleTant  matter  to 
find  the  answer  that  they  seek.  So  in  the  first  of  these  t«o  books  on 
the  science  of  optics  for" ophthalmic  students  the  great  fault  we  have 
to  find  with  Mr.  Percival's  excellent  treatise  is  the  omission  of  any 
sort  of  index  to  the  text.     Dr.  Suter  has  not  made  this  omission. 


His  book  is  smaller,  more  elementary,  but  perhaps  more  practical. 
The  difference  may  be  thus  expressed  : — Mr.  Percival  has  written  a 
text-book  for  students.  Dr.  Suter  a  manual  for  oculists,  ilr.  Percival's 
book  is  delightful  reading ;  he  explains  most  lucidly  the  wave-theory 
of  Ught,  and  from  its  principles  deduces  the  laws  of  reflexion, 
refraction,  diffraction,  dispersion,  and  caustics.  The  reader  clearly 
understands  the  reasons  for  ametropia,  aphakia  or  astigmatism,  but  in 
the  case  of  the  last  would  find  it  difficult  to  look  for  anything  about 
it,  unless  he  had  already  read  through  the  entire  book.  Perhaps 
the  ordinary  oculist  would  understand  better  how  to  draw  out  a 
prescription  for  glasses  from  Dr.  Sut^r's  explanations.  On  the  other 
hand.  Dr.  Suter  leaves  out  all  about  first  princip'.es,  and  takes  for 
granted  as  much  as  is  possible  of  the  theory.  Taken  together,  these 
two  manuals  would  form  a  very  excellent  addition  to  an  oculist's  or 
even  an  astronomer's  hbran. 

"An  Easy  Guide  to  the  Constellations  with  a  Star  Atlas."  By  the  Eev. 
James  Gall.  (London:  G^U  &  Inglis,  25,  Paternoster  Square.  190U.) 
We  are  glad  to  see  a  new  and  enlarged  edition  of  this  Uttle  book,  and 
would  desire  a  wide  circulation  for  its  admir-ably  clear  maps  and 
descriptions  of  the  constellations  and  then*  principal  stars.  Seeing, 
however,  that  it  is  a  new  ecUtiou,  we  regret  to  see  retained  in  it  one 
or  two  theories  wliich  have  no  basis  in  fact,  or  are  absolutely  wrong. 
Foi-  instance,  the  theory  is  quoted  that  connects  the  naming  of  Libra 
with  the  equal  balancing  of  day  and  night  at  the  equinoxes  (p.  13), 
and  on  p.  38  we  have  again  dragged  in  the  modern  myth  of  a  central 
sun  in  the  Pleiades.  There  seems  to  be  some  discord  between  the 
map  29  of  the  constellations  and  the  constellation  figures ;  one  of 
them  has  been  turned  through  90"  with  respect  to  the  other.  And  why 
should  poor  Cassiopeia,  a  queen  and  enthroned,  be  made  to  bear  the 
loss  of  her  garments  as  well  as  of  her  daughter  ? 

■■  Science  and  Faith ;  or  Man  as  an  Animal,  and  Man  as  a 
Member  of  Society,  with  a  discussion  of  Animal  Societies."  By 
Dr.  Paid  TopinarS.  Translated  from  the  Author's  MS.  by  T  J. 
McCormack.  (Kegan  Paul.)  It  is  somewhat  difficidt  to  realise 
for  what  class  of  readers  the  first  portion  of  this  volume  is  in- 
tended, since  in  the  account  of  the  relationship  of  man  to  the 
lower  animals  (which  to  the  trained  naturalist  is  superfluous)  the 
terms  employed  are  so  technical  as  to  be  quite  beyond  the  com- 
prehension of  the  "  man  in  the  street."  Moreover,  the  naturahst 
himself  wiU  take  exception  to  some  of  the  terms  used — notably  the 
proposal  (p.  6)  to  designate  the  Old  World  monkeys  as  Pithe- 
cidae,  no  such  genus  as  Pithecus  existing.  Again,  a  mispriat  like 
Archeul  (p.  14)  instead  of  Acheul ;  and,  still  more,  the  expression 
■"  nineteen  vertebra "  (p.  16)  instead  of  "  nineteen  dorso-lumbar 
vertebne,"  wiU  tend  to  somewhat  shake  confidence  in  the  accuracy 
and  capacity  of  the  translator.  But  let  this  pass.  The  work,  as 
a  whole,  may  be  regarded  as  the  extreme  development  of  anthi'o- 
pology  from"the  point  of  view  of  a  French  free-thinker  ;  canyin" 
it,  indeed,  out  of  the  domain  of  physical  into  that  of  psychical 
science.  As  we  glean  from  the  preface,  the  author's  object  is  to 
demonstrate  that  anthropology,  supposing  it  not  to  concei-n  itself 
with  societies,  discovers  in  "man  an  animal  only ;  man  in  his 
primitive  stage  is  perforce  subjective,  and  by  a  rigorous  natural 
logic  egocentric ;  the  law  of  self-preservation,  as  determining  his 
conduct,  both  towards  nature  and  his  fellow-animals,  is  paramount 
with  him.  Sociologically  considered,  therefore,  man's  animality, 
his  inherited  egocentrism,  is  the  source  of  aU  social  difficulties. 
And  this  real  or  apparent  contradiction  between  the  individual 
and  society,  between  social  evolution  as  it  is  and  as  it  should  be, 
constitutes  the  problem  for  solution.  It  has  to  be  demonstrated 
firstly,  how  man  has  evolved  from  an  egocentric  to  a  sociocentnc 
animal,  and,  finallv,  what  guide  does  the  past  furnish  for  the 
future.  The  answe'r,  in  a  word,  is  that  a  rationally  and  sociocen- 
tricaUy  acquired  ego,  mechanical  in  its  habits  and  super-indivi- 
dual in  its  impulses,  is  to  be  substituted  for  the  primordial,  self- 
seeking  animal  ego.  Although  we  are  not  concerned  to  enquire 
whether  the  learned  author  is  right  or  wrong  in  his  conclusions, 
we  may  venture  to  suggest  that  some  at  least  of  his  doctrines  are 
not  of"a  verv  comforting  or  hopeful  nature.  As  an  example,  we 
quote  the  foUowing  passage  from  page  261  :  "  How  on  our  planet 
was  the  first  granule  of  protoplasm  formed?  The  end,  so  far  as 
we  are  concerned,  we  know.  Our  earth  will  cease  to  be  habitable. 
It  will  grow  cold,  will  doubtless  lose  its  atmosphere,  its  humidity, 
and  wiU  resemble  our  present  moon.  Evolution,  from  haying  been 
prot^ressive,  wiU  become  stationary,  then  retrogressive.  Some  day, 
as  Huxley  has  asserted,  the  Uchens,  the  diatoms,  and  protoeoccus 
will  be  the  only  Uving  beings  adapted  to  the  conditions  and 
finallv  there  will  be  nothing.  As  for  our  sun,  when  it  shaU  have 
exhausted  its  present  store  of  fuel,  when  it  shall  have  become 
habitable,  and  shall  have  had  its  ascendmg  and  descending  evolu- 
tions, and  lost  also  its  human  phase,  it,  too,  in  its  turn  will  become 
a  dead  star  lost  in  space,  and  other  systems  will  begin  and  wdl 
shme  for  a  period,  to  end  as  the  others  have  ended.  And  to  what 
purpose  is  it  aU?"  With  the  remark  that  the  author  considers 
it  to  be  our  wisest  course  to  humbly  confess  our  inadequacy  and 


March  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


59 


take  refuge  in  agnosticism,  we  venture  to  delegate  the  further  con- 
sideration of  wliat  is  certainly  a  verv  remarkable  work  to  the  per- 
sonal judgment  of  our  reader^. 

"Kgyptian  Magic."  By  E.  A.  Wallis  Rudge,  m.a.  (Kegan 
Paul.)  Illustrated.  5s.  6d.  Magical  names,  spells,  enchant 
ments.  formulse.  pictures,  figures,  amulets,  and  the  ])erformance  of 
ceremonies  accompanied  by  the  utterance  of  words  to  jnoduce  so- 
called  sujiernatural  results,  have  held  men  and  women  in  awe, 
more  or  less.  thr.  ushout  all  ages.  Still,  it  will  be  a  revelation  to 
many  who  peruse  the  pages  of  this  book  to  find  how  lofty  was  the 
spiritual  character  of  the  Kgyptians  who  flourished  at  the  dawn  of 
history  —  a  strange  religion  mixed  incongruously  with  magical 
ceremonies,  which  savoured  of  gross  and  childish  sui)erstition.  In 
those  early  days  "  unscrupulous  but  clever  men  took  advantage 
of  the  ignorance  of  the  general  public,  ami  pretemled  to  knowledge 
of  the  .supernatural,  and  laid  claim  to  the  possession  of  power 
over  gods,  and  spirits,  and  demons.  Such  false  knowledge  and 
power  they  sold  for  money  ...  to  further  any  sordid  transaction, 
or  wicked  scheme,  which  the  dupe  wished  to  carry  out."  The 
volume  is  the  second  of  a  series  on  Egypt  and  Chaldea,  and,  we 
think,  a  most  desirable  series  on  matters  relating  to  the  archa»o- 
logy,  history,  language,  and  religion  of  the  Egyptians,  Assyrians, 
and  Babylonians. 

"The  Rise  and  Development  of  the  Liquefaction  of  Gases." 
By  Dr.  Willett  L.  Hardin.  (Macmill.an.)  Illustrated.  6s.  As 
the  literature  on  this  subject  is  in  the  main  scattered  in  generally 
inaccessible  publications  of  learned  societies,  ,and  ,as  the  roof  of 
the  whole  fabric  has  been  put  on  by  the  researches  of  Pictet. 
Cailletet,  Dewar,  and  others,  it  is  fitting  that  the  complete  story 
■should  be  gathered  within  the  limits  of  a  handy  volume.  The 
ground  covered  is  more  or  less  common  to  most  of  the  scienoe.s — 
chemistry,  physics,  mechanics,  and  so  on  ;  therefore,  a  distinct 
individuality,  as  it  were,  in  the  form  of  a  separate  treatise  is  a 
desideratum.  Considering  the  immense  difficulties  to  be  en- 
countered in  such  .an  undertaking — a  legion  of  sources  to  consult, 
great  discretion  in  the  selection  of  facts,  and  .acute  insight  neues- 
s.ary  for  the  abridsment  of  detached  articles — Dr.  Hardin  has  done 
his  work  well.  The  result  is  a  book  which  will  satisfactorily 
meet  the  requirements  of  the  popular  reader,  and  certainly  prove 
a  most  valuable  accession  to  the  necessarily  limited  library  of  all 
science  stndents  who  aspire  to  .academic  honours.  Its  utility  is 
immensely  augmented  by  the  free  use  of  references  to  original 
memoirs,  all  along  the  line,  from  Faraday's  liquefaction  of  chlorine 
in  the  year  1823,  to  Professor  Dewar's  mo.st  recent  papers  on 
hydrogen,  as  well  as  to  the  earlier  researches  of  Van  Helmont  and 
others  on  gases,  as  far  back  as  the  sixteenth  century. 

"The  Advance  of  Knowledge."  By  Lieut.  Col.  W.  Sedgwick. 
(George  Allen.)  6s.  A  thoughtful  work  in  which  the  author 
valiantly  grapples  with  problems  of  overwhelming  magnitude.  A 
quotation  from  Buckle  indicates  the  trend  of  the  writer's  attitude 
as  regards  the  advance  of  knowledge.  He  says — "  '  Our  facts  have 
outstripped  our  knowledge,  and  are  now  encumbering  its  march. 
The  publications  of  our  scientific  institutions,  and  of  our  scientific 
authors,  overflow  with  minute  and  countless  details,  which  per- 
plex the  judgment,  and  which  no  memory  can  retain.  In  vain 
do  we  demand  that  they  should  be  generalised  and  reduced  into 
order.  Instead  of  that," the  heap  continues  to  swell.'"  AH  this 
is  pregnant  with  truth,  but,  alas  !  what  does  it  mean  ?  Is  it  not 
equivalent  to  saying — enough,  ye  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of 
water,  let  us  now  fashion  our  "materials,  and  build  our  scientific 
temple?  Colonel  Sedgwick  has  herein  done  something  in  this 
direction,  as  may  be  gathered  from  a  short  extract.  He  says  : 
"When  a  mason  dresses  a  stone  for  building,  we  know  that  the 
stone  will  lose  some  of  its  weight.  .  .  .  Thus  we  see  that  the 
atom  has  fared,  in  the  preparation  it  has  undergone  for  molecule- 
building,  as  the  stone  fares  when  it  is  prepared  for  wall-building. 
.  .  .  We  can  perceive  that  it  (the  atom)  has  fared  in  undergoing 
preparation  for  molecule-building  much  in  the  same  way  as  a 
piece  of  metal  sometimes  fares  .at  the  hands  of  a  smith." 
The  reader  who  follows  in  the  wake  of  our  .author  must  be  pre- 
pared for  dizzy  heights  and  oppressive  depths  like  these  in  the 
murkv  regions  of  speculation  traversed. 

"Common  Objects  of  the  Microscope."  By  the  late  Rev. 
.T.  G.  Wood.  Second  Edition.  Revised  by  lE.  C.  Bousfield. 
(Routledge.)  Is.  An  old  friend  in  new  clothes.  The  work  of  the 
reviser  must  have  been  a  task  of  no  mean  order  to  preserve  the 
identity  of  the  original,  seeing  that  it  is  thirty-sLv  vears  since  the 
book  &st  appeared,  and  considering  the  great  strides  which  have 
been  effected  in  microscopical  science  during  that  period.  Never- 
theless the  volume  in  its  new  garb  wiU,  we  think,  more  than  sus- 
tain its  former  reput<ation,  and  continue  to  pliiy  the  part  of 
"  guide,  philosopher,  and  friend "  to  thousands  of  miuroscopists 
in  tbeir  initial  efforts  to  unravel  the  mysteries  of  Nature  by  me.ans 
of  the  magic  tube.  To  the  four  hundred  objects  figured  in  the 
first  edition  very  many  new  illustrations  have  been  added — es- 
pecially in  the  popular  department  of  pond  life. 


"Newton's  Laws  of  Motion."  By  Prof.  P.  G.  Tait.  (Black.) 
Is.  6d.  net.  Professor  Tait  olfors  a  ratlier  curious  apology  for 
issuing  this  book.  The  laws  of  motion  are,  of  course,  of  funda- 
mental importance  in  the  study  of  natural  philosophy — -"its  unique 
basis."  as  he  says.  "  llcncp  the  imperative  necessity  that  the 
student  should,  to  some  extent,  be  his  own  teacher  in  this  all  im- 
portant special  region."  True;  l)ut  at  the  same  time  the  student 
must  always,  and  in  every  subject,  "  be  to  some  extent  his  own 
teacher."  In  a  three-year  course  of  science  if  "all  important 
special  regions"  were  amplified,  as  in  this  case,  the  student  would  be 
appalled  at  the  number  of  hooks  to  be  perused  and  llie  ground  lo 
be  traversed.  So  long  as  Die  day  continues  to  be  only  of  twenty- 
four  hours'  duration,  students  having  so  much  to  accomplish  in  a 
limited  time  cannot  afford  to  linger  over  luxuries.  If  someone 
would  only  find  a  means  of  slowing  down  the  earth's  spin  on  its 
axis  the  sun  would  not  return  lo  the  horizon  so  quickly,  and  we 
should  then,  iierhajis.  be  able  to  dispense  with  those  books  "pre- 
sented in  a  form  adapted  to  parrot-like  repetition." 

"  The  Wonders  of  Modern  Mechanism."  Third  Edition.  By 
Charles  H.  Cochrane.  (Lippincott.)  Illustrated.  6s.  Mr. 
Coclirane's  book  is  already  known  as  a  ])opular  exposition  of  the 
scientific  researches  .and  engineering  triunii)hs  of  the  nineteenth 
centurv,  together  with  a  glimpse  into  the  future,  aided  by  in- 
ferences drawn  from  the  lines  of  research  upon  which  great 
minds  are  i)ent.  When  we  mention  that  all  the  chief  features  of 
electricity,  flving  m.achines,  submarine  boats,  canals,  bridges,  steel 
making,  "sug.ar  refining,  photography,  .and  a  host  of  other  things 
are  dealt  with  in  a  volume  moderate  in  size,  it  will  be  re.adily 
understood  tliat  the  reader  accompanies  the  author  in  a  balloon 
voyage,  so  to  spe<ak,  and  gets  only  a  bird's-eye  view  of  human 
activity  in  the  busy  world  below.  "  But  it  is  a  very  picturesque 
and  instructive  view,  and  we  can  recommend  the  book  to  all  those 
who  .are  familiar,  by  name,  with  the  marvellous  innovations  of  the 
age,  yet  who  are  too  busy  to  follow  the  press  in  detail. 

"Sylvia  in  Flowerland."  By  Linda  Gardiner.  (Seeley.) 
Illustrated.  3s.  6d.  An  attempt  to  popularize  .among  girls  .and 
boys  one  of  the  many  sciences.  The  device  employed  is  of  the 
.l^sop's  Fables  order  :  the  foxglove,  nettles,  bees,  spiders, 
and  other  occupants  of  the  garden,  are  invested  with  the  power 
of  speech.  Some  beautiful  pl.ates  by  H.  E.  Butler  adorn  the 
text  "Beauty  .and  the  Bee."  "Plants  on  Tour,"  "Ten  Little 
Rose  Plants,"  '"  Jumping  Seeds."  are  titles  of  chapters  which  speak 
for  themselves.  A  laboured  effcjrt  to  make  the  plants  tell  their 
own  storv  is  often  too  olitrusive.  We  should  like  to  see  more 
of  that  naive  element,  which  tends  to  conceal  tlie  real  motives  of 
the  .actor,  infused  into  the  .author's  style. 

"A  Manual  of  Zoology."  By  the  late  T.  J.'ffcry  Parker.  B.SO 
P.E.S.,  and  William  A..IIaswell,  D.SC,  r.B.S.  (Macmillaii.)  10s.  (>d. 
The  cencral  plan  of  tliis  manual  is  similar  to  that  f,>ll(i\vcil  in  llic 
large"'  Text-book  of  Zoology  "  by  the  .=amc  authors,  wliicli  has  already 
been  reviewed  in  these  columns.  The  present  volume  provides  a 
course  of  work  in  zoology  suitalilc  for  students  preparing  f<ir  the  highest 
''chool  esamiiiations  or  for  preliminary  university  work.  The  autliors 
wisely  decided  U>  restrict  the  range  of  subjects  by  neglecting  certain 
clashes  of  existing  atiiiiials  and  omitting  references  Ui  extinct  genera. 
Similarly  the  subj.-ct  of  eniliryology  is  only  lightly  touclied  upon. 
The  text  is  accompanied  by  about  three  hundred  beautiful  illustra- 
tions some  of  these,  showing  the  circulation  in  different  types,  being 
coloured  in  red  and  blue.  Starting  with  tlie  phylum  Protozoa,  the 
Rliizopoda  are  first  described,  the  Mastigoplioni,  tlie  Infusoria,  and 
the  Sporozoa  being  then  taken  in  order.  After  a  section  dealing  with 
the  general  chara.-teristics  of  the  Mefazoa,  separate  cliapters  are 
devoted  to  the  chief  phyla  from  the  Porifera  to  the  Chordala.  The 
treatment  is  explicit  throughout,  and  the  book  is  sure  to  gain  a  wide 
popularity. 

"  Experiments  on  Animals,"  By  Stephen  Paget.  With  an  Intr.>. 
duction  by  Lord  Lister.  (T.  Fisher  Unwin.)  fis,  Tliere  are  two 
sides  to  every  question,  and  very  often  popular  sentiment  la  on  the 
wrong  side.  While  it  is  ditTicult  to  come  across  a,  person  wlio  in  a 
case  of  painful  emergency  is  unwilling  te  take  every  advantage  of  the 
most  recent  expert  opinion,  it  is  unfortunately  quite  easy  to  iliseover 
people— more  especially  people  distinguished  in  walks  of  hte  other 
than  scientific— who  make  a  duty  of  denouncing  and  disparaging  the 
self-denying  work  of  an  army  of  devoted  physiologists  who  un- 
i^rudrdncly  devote  their  energies,  and  in  many  cases  their  chances 
of  w"ealth,  to  the  work  of  scientific  experimenting  having  lor  its 
object  the  conquest  of  all  the  physical  ills  to  which  human 
flesh  has  up  to  the  present  seemed  to  be  the  natural  l.i-ir. 
•ind  in  this  work  of  denunciation,  ignorance  and  misrepresentation 
often  pky  a  verv  large  part.  Knowing  this  we  heartily  welcome 
Mr  Paget's  little  "volume.  It  will  now  be  possible  for  the  earnest  man 
or  woman  who  comes  within  the  sphere  of  lulluenee  of  the  enthusiaslic 
and  ill-informed  popular  exponent  of  modern  researches,  m  which 
experiments  on  animals  take  a  part,  to  learn  the  actual  facts  ot  the 


60 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[Mabch  1,  1900. 


case,  and  we  mav  expect  that  tlie  uhiquitoiis  agitator  will  no  longer 
have  the  simple  task  of  rousing  indignation  in  the  popular  mind  by 
distorted  and  erroneous  aeeounts  of  wliat  is  being  done.  Mr.  Paget's 
twehe  \ ears'  work  as  Secretarr  to  the  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Medicine  by  Eesearchhave  afforded  liim  unique  opportunities 
to  become  conversant  with  such  investigations,  and  tliat  he  has  fully 
availed  himself  of  his  chances  Lord  Lister's  introduction  amply  testifies. 
AVe  trust  the  book  will  soon  become  widely  circidated  and  carefully 
studied  by  those  pei-sons  wlio  have  been  led  to  believe  that  our  leading 
physiologists  revel  in  experiments  remarkable  only  for  wanton  cruelty 
and  the  absence  of  useful  results.  Mr.  Paget's  book  is  just  wliat  was 
necessary  to  disprove  such  stati'ments  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  persons 
amenable  to  reason. 

"Telephofcographv:  A  n  Elementary  Treatise  on  the  Construction 
and  Application  of  the  Telephotographie  Lens."  Bv  Thomas  R. 
Dallmeyer,  f.r.a.8.  Illustrated.  ISs.  net.  (London  :  Wm.  Heine- 
mann.y  Little  has  been  written  about  telephotogra])hy,  and  nothing 
has  before  appeared  comparable  to  tliis  eminently  scientific  treatise. 
It  was  not  until  the  year  1891  that  workable  telephotographie 
instruments  were  designed,  and  that  designed  by  Mr.  DaUmeyer  was 
the  only  one  in  this  country.  Since  then  much  has  been  done,  and 
pliotographers  who  are  provided  with  a  good  bellows  camera  and 
])ortrait  lens  can,  by  fixing  a  tele-attachment  to  their  lens,  obtain  a 
verv  considerable  magnification.  In  this  book  Mr.  Dallmeyer  treats 
the'subject  in  a  full  and  masterly  manner.  Beginning  with  elementary 
facts  regarding  the  properties  of  light  and  the  formation  of  images 
in  a  camera  by  means  of  a  pin-hole,  he  shows  the  effect  on  rays  of 
light  in  their  passage  through  a  lens.  Then,  by  explaining  the 
elements  of  a  positive  and  a  negative  lens,  tlie  author  demonstrates 
the  practicability  of  forming  an  enlarged  image  by  a  combination  of 
the  two.  In  other  chapters  the  improved  perspective  rendering  given 
by  the  telephotographie  lens  is  dealt  with  and  its  practical  applications 
arc  described.  The  illustrations  are  excellent, and  include  such  different 
subjects  as  sun-spots,  glaciers  ten  miles  distant,  architecture,  and 
natural  history.  By  placing  an  ordinary  photograph  by  the  side  of  a 
tele-photograph,  the  two  great  advantages  of  the  latter  are  clearly 
shown,  namely,  large  magnification  and  true  perspective.  The  only 
fault  we  have" to  find  with  tlie  work  is  that  mathematical  formulae  are 
too  much  in  evidence.  The  book  is  well  worth  reading,  not  only  by 
the  students  of  this  interesting  subject,  but  by  aUwho  intend  making 
use  of  tlie  telephotograpliic  lens. 

"On  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Art-EnameUing  upon  Metals." 
By  Henry  Cun^^lg'hame,  m.a.  (A.  Constable.)  6s.  net.  Our  national 
workshops,  says  the  author  of  this  attractively  produced  volume,  are 
becoming  filled  with  "  hands,"  not  men.  Unfortunately  one  of  the 
prices  we  have  to  pay  for  the  wonderful  development  of  machinery, 
which  will  always  be  pointed  out  as  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
characteristics  of"  the  passing  century,  is  the  sacrifice  of  initiative  on 
the  part  of  the  individual  workman.  Where  a  man  has,  day  by  day, 
to  give  his  whole  attention  to  some  single  step  in  a  long  series  of  pro- 
cesses through  which  an  article  passes  during  its  manufacture,  there  is 
little  opportunity  for  him  to  develop  originality — that  prime  necessity 
for  the  true  art-craftsman.  One  of  the  consequences  of  these  t<'nden- 
cies  is  the  introduction  of  the  sorry  substitute  — stamped  metal — for 
making  jewellery,  a  practice  which,  as  Mr.  Cunynghame  points  out, 
deprives  modern' work  of  most  of  its  artistic  value.  Imbued  %vith  the 
laudable  desire  of  placing  within  the  reach  of  the  workman  the  informa- 
tion necessary  for  the  making  of  enamels,  the  author  has  collected 
much  valuable  material  on  this  interesting  branch  of  technology.  As 
Mr.  Cunynghame  has  studied  German,  French,  and  Italian  authorities, 
as  well  as  books  in  English,  and  in  addition  is  a  practical  worker  in 
enamels,  his  book  cannot  fail  to  be  useful.  The  volume  is  clearly 
printed  and  lavishly  illustrated. 

"  Babylonians  and  Assyrians.  Life  and  Customs."  By  the  Eev. 
A.  H.  Sayee.  (Ninimo.)  "  5s.  net.  "  There  is  nothing  new  under  the 
sun,"  is  the  ejaculation  whieli  rises  to  the  lips  after  the  most  cursory 
glance  at  Prof.  Sayce's  interesting  book.  Many  persons  regard  Ictter- 
wTiting  as  a  modern  invention,  and  speak  as  if  the  correspondence  of 
Cicero  and  Pliny  represented  the  earliest  examples  of  what  is  at 
present  verv  coinmonly  considered  a  plague.  Yet  in  the  volume 
before  us  we  can  read  of  the  private  correspondence  of  a  prince  who 
took  part  in  the  campaign  against  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  !  Moreover, 
tlie  original  documents  tlieniselves,  written  on  clay,  have  been  foiuiil, 
and  one  of  them  rests  in  the  Museum  of  Constantinople !  That  we 
should  possess  the  autograph  letters  of  a  contemporary  of  Abraham  is, 
indeed,  what  Prof.  Sayce  calls  a  romance  of  historical  science.  Again, 
everybody  surely  regards  the  present  statu,s  of  wonu'ii,  with  their  high 
school  and  university  training,  as  at  least  a  consummation  on  which 
we  moderns  liave  a  right  to  congratulate  ourselves.  Yet  the  ladies  of 
Babylon  could  read  and  write  as  well  as  the  men,  and  the  women  were 
in  other  respects  on  an  equal  footing.  One  or  two  letters  from  the 
hand  of  a  lady  of  Babylon  show,  too,  that  she  took  an  active  part  in 
politics.     In  "the  present  time  of  intellectual  activity  in  this  coiuitry, 


the  chapter  dealing  with  the  education  of  the  Babylonians  is  of 
especial  interest.  Girls  shared  in  the  education  given  to  their 
brothei-s.  The  instruction  imparted  was  in  many  respects  similar  to 
that  which  is  common  in  modern  schools.  Copy-books  with  head-lines 
were  known ;  one  of  the  copies  states  "  He  who  would  excel  in  the 
school  of  the  scribes  must  rise  like  the  dawn."  Reading  books  were 
in  use.  Geography,  literature,  grammar,  spelling,  all  were  taught ; 
and  judging  from  the  minuteness  of  some  of  the  cuniform  characters, 
and  the  magnifying  glass  which  Layard  discovered  at  Nineveh,  short- 
sight  was  a  familiar  defect.  Considerations  of  space  forbid  otlier 
examples,  but  equally  interesting  ones  could  be  multiplied  indefinitely. 
Prof.  Sayce's  book  is  as  fascinating  as  it  is  scholarly,  and  we  heartily 
advise  our  readers  to  obtain  it. 

Messrs.  Thornton  and  Pickard  (Altrincham)  send  us  their  catalogue 
of  photographic  appliances.  That  the  shutters  made  by  this  firm 
are  still  the  finest  in  the  market  is  fully  borne  out  by  the  continued 
public  appreciation  of  them.  We  would  draw  attention  to  the  focal- 
plane  shutter,  which  is  an  ingenious  piece  of  work — an  adjustable  slit 
in  the  roller  blind  makes  exposures  of  from  one-twentieth  to-one 
thousandth  of  a  second  possible. 


BOOKS    RECEIVED. 

The  Hlory  of  Life  s  Mechanism.    By  H.  W.  Conn.    (NewBes.)    Is. 

The  Principles  of  Mechanics.  By  Heinrich  Hertz,  translated  by 
D.  E.  Jones,  B.sc,  and  J.  T.  Wallcy,  M.A.     (MacnuUan.)     10s. 

Malaii  Magic.  By  Walter  William  Skeat.  (Macmillan.)  Illus- 
trated.     21s.  net. 

The  Witness  of  Creation.  By  M.  Cordelia  Leigh.  (Jarrold.) 
Illustrated.     2s.  6d. 

Journal  of  Researches.  Vol.  II.  By  Charles  Darwin.  (Ward, 
Lock. )     28. 

A  Soak  of  Whales.  By  F.  E.  Beddard,  f.e.s.,  (Murray.) 
Illustrated.     63. 

TextBook  on  Palaontology.  By  Karl  Von  Zittel,  translated  by 
Chas.  E.  Eastman,  PH.D.     (Macmillan.)     Illustrated.     253.  net. 

Matriculation  Directory.     No.    XXVII.,  January,  1900.      (Clive.) 

The  Practical  Electrician's  Pocket  Book  and  Diary,  19tlO. 
(Rentell  &  Co.)     Is. 

The  Railways  of  Ungland.  Fifth  Edition.  By  W.  M.  Acworth. 
(Murray).     Illustrated.     10s.  6d. 

Artificial  Wood  in  Decoration ;  Stained  and  Leaded  Glass ; 
Marcjueiry ;  Church  Decoration.  Useful  Arts  and  Crafts  Series. 
(Dawbarn  &  Ward. )     6d.  each. 

Church  Decoration  (Temporary).  No.  14  of  "Useful  Arts  and 
Handicrafts  Series."     (Dawbarn  &  Ward,  Limited.)     6d. 


Conducted  by  Habby  F.  Witherby,  f.z.s.,  m.b.o.u. 

Thrush's  Nest  made  op  Moss. — On  February  4th, 
while  out  ferreting  for  rabbits,  I  saw  a  last's  year'.s 
thrush's  nest  of  an  emerald  green  colour.  It  was  made 
entirely,  except  the  mud  lining,  of  the  beautiful  bright 
moss  that  abounded  on  the  ti-unks  of  the  ash  saplings 
around.  One  day  last  month,  in  this  same  cover,  m/ 
host  saw  13  brown  owls  fly  off  one  tree.  —  Jos.  F. 
Green,  Benacre  Hall,  "Wrentham. 


March  I,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


61 


Bewick  Swaxs  in  Suffolk. — On  February  3rd,  a 
keeper  informed  us  a  herd  of  wild  swans  were  on  Bonacro 
Broad,  so  my  host,  his  son,  and  myself  went  down  there 
with  guns  and  opera-glass js.  We  counted  seven,  and  as 
one  appeared  to  be  wounded  we  shot  it.  It  was 
Bewick's,  and  measured  6  feet  2  inches  across  wings. 
4  feet  total  length,  but  only  weighed  9  lbs.,  cwing  no 
doubt  to  having  in  some  way  been  wounded.  Until 
we  disturbed  them  they  were  making  a  loud,  short. 
barking  noise,  and  pulling  up  weeds  from  tht  bottop. 
of  tlie  broad  which  the  coots  around  them  seemed  to 
enjoy  very  much.  Of  course  the  smaller  size  of  Bewick  s 
swan  will  always  define  it  from  the  whooper,  but  when 
only  one  of  the  two  species  is  to  hand,  .and  no  scales, 
the  orange  patch  on  the  base  of  the  bill,  stopping  at 
the  nostrils  in  Bewick's,  and  continuing  on,  in  an 
oblique  line,  in  the  whooper,  will  readily  show  tin 
difference.  I  have  noticed  that  paintings  represent 
both  these  swans  with  black  marginal  rims  to  their 
eyes,  like  the  mute  swan,  whereas  they  arc  really 
orange. — Jos.  F.  Green. 

Kite  in  Kent. — On  the  23rd  of  November,  1899,  a 
kite.  Milvus  regalis,  6  feet  across  the  wings,  was 
shot  by  a  keeper  at  Swinyficld  Miller,  2i  miles  from 
Folkestone.  It  was  on  a  hare.  It  had  been  noticed 
in  the  locality  for  about  a  month,  and  mistaken  for  an 
eagle. — Jos.  F.  Green. 

YeUow-hilled  Cuckoo  (Cocci/zus  americanus)  in  Walfs.  (Ibis, 
January,  1900,  p.  219.)  Mr.  George  Dickiuson,  in  a  letter  to  the 
Ibis,  sa_T9  that  a  specimen  of  this  Amerioau  species  was  picked  up 
dead  at  Craig-y-dou.  on  the  sliores  of  the  Menai  Straits,  on  November 
10th,  1899.  This  is  the  seventh  occurrence  of  this  species  in  various 
parts  of  the  British  Islands,  but  it  is  scarcely  possible  that  any  of 
them  arrived  here  from  America  of  their  own  accord.  They  have 
all,  witliout  doubt,  escaped  from  confinement,  probabh'  on  board  sliip. 

Rough-legged  Buzzard  near  Londonderry.  (Irish  NaiuraUst, 
February,  190«_),  p.  50.)  Mr.  D.  C.  Campbell  records  that  a  male 
of  this  species  was  shot  by  Mr.  W.  Kilpatrick,  at  Campsic,  near 
Londonderry.  This  is  apparently  its  second  occurrence  in  Co.  Dcrry, 
and  tlie  eleventh  in  Ireland. 

All  contributions  to  the  column,  either  in  the  way  of  notes 
or  photographs,  shouhi  he  foruardcd  to  Harry  F.  Witherby, 
at  1,  Eliot  Place,  Blackheath,  Kent. 


ASTRONOMY   WITHOUT  A   TELESCOPE. 

By   E.   Walter   Maunder,   f.r.a.s 
XL— THE    ZODIACAL   LIGHT. 

On  the  strict  principle  of  order,  the  Zodiacal  Light 
should  not  come  first  amongst  the  subjects  which  I 
propose  to  take  up  in  this  series  of  papers,  yet  as  the 
time  of  the  year  has  come  round  when  the  Light  is  best 
seen  it  may  be  well  to  neglect  the  question  of  strict 
order  and  give  it  precedence. 

The  earliest  English  description  of  the  Zodiacal 
Light  of  which  I  know  was  given  by  Dr.  Childrey  at 
the  end  of  his  Britannia  Baconica,  published  in  1660. 
It  is  as  follows  : — • 

"There  is  a  thing  which  I  must  needs  recommend  to  the 
Observation  of  Mathematical  ilen,  which  is  that  in  Fehruarxj  and 
for  a  little  before  and  a  little  after  that  Month  (as  I  liave  observed 
several  Tears  together) ,  about  6  in  the  Evening,  when  the  Twilight 
has  almost  deserted  the  Horizon,  you  shall  sec  a  plainly  discernible 
way  of  the  Twilight  striking  u])  towards  the  Pleiades  or  .Seven 
Stars,  and  seeming  almost  to  toudi  tlicm.  It  is  to  be  observed  anv 
clear  Night.  Tliere  is  no  such  AVay  to  be  obser\  cd  at  any  other 
time  of  the  Year  that  I  can  perceive,  nor  any  other  Way  at  that 
time  to  be  perceived  darting  up  elsewhere.  And  I  bidicve  it  hath 
been  and  will  be  constantly  visible  at  that  time  of  the  Year." 

This  description  of  the  Zodiacal  Light  is  quite  suffi- 
ciently accurate  for  our  ordinary   English   experience. 


In  the  tropics,  however,  it  is  seen  far  more  constantly, 
and  attains  a  brilliancy  pnd  distinctness  of  which  we 
seldom  have  any  example  bcio  There  not  only  during 
spring,  but  more  or  less  di>iing  the  whole  year,  if  the 
western  sky  be  watched  :<ftcr  sunset,  a.s  the  twilight 
fades  out,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  twilight  which  at 
frst  seemed  to  be  a  pretty  regular  .nrch  in  the  west, 
begins  to  show  a  tongue  of  somewhat  greater  brightness, 
which  becomes  clearer  and  clearer  as  the  background 
of  the  sky  around  becomes  darker,  until  at  length 
it  stands  out  defined  as  a  great  nebulous  patch  of  ligiit. 
troadest  and  brightest  near  the  horizon  and  f.-icling 
gradually  away  to  the  right  and  left  and  towards  its 
apex.  At  its  brightest  part,  and  when  best  seen,  it 
often  much  out«shincs  the  Milky  Way  by  as  much 
perhaps  as  a  couple  of  magnitudes — that  is  to  say, 
about  six  times;  or  about  as  much  brighter  than  the 
Milky  Way  as  the  latter  is  in  excess  of  the  average 
brightness  of  the  sky.  But  such  a  degree  of  brightness 
is  confined  quite  to  the  centre  of  the  light  and  to  the 
portion  nearest  the  sun;  its  borders  melt  indefinitely 
away  until  they  are  no  brighter  than  the  background 
of  the  sky. 

The  shape  of  the  Zodiacal  Light  varies.  It  is  broadest 
close  to  the  horizon,  where  it  may  be  as  wide  as  2.5° 
or  even  30°,  and  tapers  somewhat  quickly  at  first.  At 
60°  or  70°  from  the  sun,  it  has  become  much  naiTower, 
and  its  edges,  so  far  as  they  can  bo  discerned,  arc  nearly 
parallel. 

It  is  easy  to  see  why  this  beautiful  and  mysterious 
object  is  so  much  better  seen  in  the  tropics  than  in  the 
temperate  zone.  The  twilight  is  so  much  moi-e  pro- 
longed in  the  latter,  and  the  Light  is  of  so  elusive  a 
character,  that  a  throe  days'  old  moon  is  sufficient  to 
blot  it  out.  It  cannot,  therefore,  be  seen  here  ncarlv 
so  soon  after  sundown  as  in  the  tropics,  partly  because 
the  ecliptic  with  which  its  axis  nearly  coincides  is 
lower  in  our  skies  than  in  equatorial  regions,  and 
partly  because  our  twilight  is  so  much  more  prolonged. 
If  we  take  it  that  it  is  aot  until  about  an  hour  and  a 
half  to  two  hoiu's  after  sunset  that  we  can  see  the 
Light  in  this  country,  then  at  the  end  of  February  or 
the  beginning  of  March  we  shall  have  the  point  of 
intersection  of  the  ecliptic  and  equator  upon  the 
horizon  just  about  the  time  when  the  Light  is  begin- 
ning    to     show     itself.        And.     as     the     accompanying 


Inclination  of  tlie  Ecliptic  when  tlie  Kquinoctial  and  Solstitiid  Points 
are  on  the  West  Horizon. 

diagram  will  show,  the  angle  which  the  ecliptic  makes 
with  the  horizon  is  greatest  at  this  time  of  the  year; 
so  that  the  Zodiacal  Light  rises  up  more  abruptly  into 
the  sky  than  at  any  other  time,  and  its  briglitness  is 
therefore  least  affected  by  Uio  absorption  of  the  lowest 
strata  of  our  atmosphere. 

Although  the  Zodiacal  Light  has  been  more  or  less 
under  observation  for  some  three  centuries, — the  great 
Kepler  having  carefully  observed  it,  with  the  result 
of   convincing   himself   that  it  was  the   atmosphere   of 


62 


KNOWLEDGE 


[Makch  1,  1900. 


the  sun, — the  nature  of  the  Light  still  remains  more 
or  less  of  a  mystery.  We  do  not  know  yet  whether  it 
lies  in  the  plane  of  the  ecliptic,  or  of  the  sun's  equator, 
or  between  the  two,  or  whether  even  its  plane  may  not 
shift  from  time  to  time.  It  seems  to  vary  in  brightness, 
both  according  to  the  seasjn  of  the  year,  and  from  one 
year  to  anothei-,  but  the  determinations  of  its  bright^ 
ness  are  usually  far  too  vague  and  rough  for  any 
definite  period  to  have  been  yet  fixed  for  its  changes. 

So  that  we  have  in  the  Zodiacal  Light  the  great 
anomaly  of  a  vast  astronomical  object  requiring  no 
observatory  and  no  telescope  for  its  observation  ;  and 
not  only  requiring  none  but  permitting  none  ;  and  yet 
to-day,  when  astronomy  has  lasted  5,000  years,  we  are 
still  in  ignorance  of  many  of  the  most  fundamental 
facts  respecting  it. 

This  is  due  without  doubt  to  the  difficulties  which 
a.ttend  its  observation.  Not  that  those  difficulties  are 
in  the  .least  insuperable,  but  they  are  very  real.  We 
will  suppose  that  someone  has  noticed  the  Light  for  the 
first  time,  and  desires  to  make  a  record  of  what  he 
sees.  It  at  once  strikes  liim  that  a  mere  eye-sketch  of 
it  is  of  very  little  good  indeed;  he  must  place  it  with 
respect  to  the  stars.  In  all  probability  most  of  those 
which  would  be  naturally  used  to  define  the  outline  of 
the  Light  are  unfamiliar  to  him.  He  has  therefore  to 
have  recourse  to  the  star  atlas.  He  painfully  identifies 
the  stars  one  by  one,  but  each  recourse  to  the  atlas, 
which  must  necessarily  be  examined  in  the  Light, 
dazzles  his  eyes  for  his  open-air  work.  He  finds,  there- 
fore, that  the  process  of  recording  what  he  has  seen 
is  a  very  slow  and  tedioiis  one,  and,  dicsatisfied  with 
what  he  has  done,  speedily  gives  up  the  work.  So 
that  it  happens  that  the  names  of  the  men  who  have 
done  really  useful  work  in  this  field  may  be  counted 
almost  on  the  fingers  of  one  hand. 

Yet  this  difficulty  can  be  siu-mounted  without  much 
trouble.  First  of  all  and  beyond  everything,  he  who 
would  become  "an  astronomer  wi^hrut  a  telescope" 
must  learn  his  stars.  They  form  the  very  alphabet  of 
the  language  which  he  has  to  learn,  and  a  little  trouble 
spent  here  will  soon  repay  itself.  Next,  the  difficulty 
of  recording  his  obsei-vations  in  the  dark  may  be  got 
over  in  several  ways.  It  is  possible  to  learn  to  write 
in  the  dark  with  sufficient  clearness,  and  such  little 
dodges  as  having  sets  of  cards  prepared,  ruled  with  lines 
made  by  drawing  a  penknife  across  the  back  of  the 
card  and  cutting  it  partly  but  not  entirely  through, 
will  be  found  helpful.  Or  the  note  book  may  be 
placed  so  that  the  rays  from  a  ruby  photographic  lamp 
may  fall  upon  it.  If  the  eyes  are  carefully  screened 
from  the  direct  light  of  tlie  lamp,  it  will  be  found  that 
the  page  may  be  lighted  up  quite  sufficiently  for  the 
pui-pose  of  writing  without  the  sensitiveness  of  the 
eye  to  the  faint  Zodiacal  glow  being  much  affected.  If 
a  chart  is  needed  for  comparison  with  the  sky  this 
might  be  done  by  tracing  the  map  of  the  region  re- 
quired from  some  star  atlas  on  to  a  piece  of  tlun  card- 
board and  pricking  little  holes  for  tJie  stars.  A  lamp 
can  be  used  behind  the  card,  to  show  these,  or  a  piece 
of  card  painted  with  lumincus  paint  might  be  placed 
underneath.  Many  similar  dodges  for  getting  over  this 
initial  difficulty  will  suggest  themselves  to  those  who 
seriously  take  up  the  wo"k. 

But  it  will  be  objected,  since  the  Zodiacal  Light  is 
seen  so  much  better  in  the  tropics  than  here,  what  is 
the  use  of  trying  to  observe  it  in  England?  There  is 
great  use.  Take  for  example  one  question  ;  the 
question  of  its  variability   in   brightness   from   year  to 


year.  In  a  way  this  could  be  as  definitely  determined 
from  observations  made  in  England  as  from  those  made 
in  any  other  single  country.  A  careful  record  year  by 
year  for  a  term  of  years  of  the  number  of  days  when 
the  atmospheric  conditions  were  favourable,  and  when 
the  Zodiacal  Light  was  well  seen,  seen  faintly,  or  not 
seen  at  all,  would  soon  show  as  to  whether  there  was 
any  periodicity  in  its  variation,  and,  if  so,  whether  it 
varied  with  the  suiispot  tycle  or  aot  ■  just  as  Hofrath 
Schwabe's  record  of  the  da.ys  when  the  sun  was  seen 
to  be  free  from  spots  in  each  year  was  quite  as  effective 
in  determining  the  sunspot  variation  and  the  length 
of  its  period  as  exact  measurements  of  the  areas  of  all 
the  spots  would  have  Doen.  In  a  certain  sense  our 
less  favourable  position  would  serve  as  a  kind  of  photo- 
meter of  the  brightness  of  the  Light,  and  our  very 
hindrance  might  transform   itself  into  a  help. 

Then,  a  more  important  point,  observations  in  one 
latitude  alone  are  not  sufficient.  We  want  to  ascertain, 
either  what  is  the  amount  of  parallax  which  the  Light 
shows  or  else  that  it  has  no  perceptible  parallax  at 
all.  Then,  the  degree  to  which  its  apparent  outline 
is  affected  by  atmospheric  absoi-ption  is  even  more  im- 
l  ortant,  as  othei-wise  we  cannot  tell  whether  an  ap- 
parent shift  in  its  plane  is  real  or  not.  For  both 
these  enquiries  it  is  necessaiy  that  observations  should 
be  made  in  several  distinct  latitudes.  It  is  for  this 
puiioose  that,  in  1898,  the  British  Astronomical  Asso- 
ciation initiated  a  Zodiac il  Light  Section,  in  order  to 
enlist  the  co-operation  of  observers  in  many  lands, 
under  the  directorship  of  Captain  P.  B.  Moles- 
worth,  R.E.,  Trincomali,  Ceylon,  who  has  prepared  a 
set  of  eight  ecliptic  charts  to  assist  in  the  study  of  the 
Light. 

The  principal  points  for  observation  in  Zodiacal 
Light  work  are,  first  of  all,  to  note  the  character  of 
the  evening.  The  magnitude  of  the  faintest  stars 
visible  in  the  west  should  be  recorded.  The  visibility 
of  the  Milky  Way,  and  the  distinctness  with  which  its 
lifts  and  streamers  can  b"-  made  out,  would  be  most 
useful  for  comparison.  The  evidence  must  be  clear 
that  there  is  no  mist  or  dust  veil  to  hinder  observation, 
and  here,  it  may  be  added,  that  the  dwellers  in  towns 
are  necessarily  too  severely  handicapped  to  enter  upon 
this  class  of  work.  The  smoky  atmosphere  and  the 
glare  of  street  lights  are  fatal  to  so  delicate  a  research. 

The  Light  itself  should  then  claim  attention.  It  will 
be  perhaps  easiest,  first  of  all,  to  map  out  its  extreme 
border,  and  this  will  often  be  best  detected  by  looking 
a  little  way  from  the  Light.;  '  partially  averted  vision  " 
having  a  distinct  advantage  for  very  faint  objects. 
Then  a  definite  area  of  the  Milky  Way  may  be  taken 
as  a  standard,  and,  so  far  as  possible,  the  outline  of  the 
Iiiglit  where  its  brightness  equals  that  of  the  selected 
area  of  the  Milky  Way  .'hould  be  'aid  down.  Search 
should  be  made  in  the  pai-t  of  the  ecliptic  imme- 
diately opposite  the  sun  to  detect  the  Gegenschein 
Ci-  Counterglow,  the  faint  diffused  light  which  travels 
through  the  heavens  in  opposition  to  the  sun.  It 
should  be  seen  whether  the  Zodiacal  Light  extends  to, 
and  is  merged  in  the  Counterglow,  or  whether  there  is 
a  space  of  dark  sky  between  them ;  and  here  it  will 
he  found  useful  to  take  foi  reference  some  of  the 
darkest  regions  of  the  sky  which  may  be  available. 
The  position  of  the  apex  of  the  Light  is  very  im- 
portant, and  at  this  season  of  the  year  it  should  be 
especially  noted  whether  the  Light  can  be  definitely 
traced  beyond  the  Pleiades.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that    that    group     does     seenf     to    exercise     a    strong 


Mabch  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


63 


attractive  influence  upon  the  Zodiacal  Light,  probably 
apparent  oulv,  but  on  that  account  the  exact  position 
of  the  apex  relative  to  the  cluster  is  worthy  of  the 
very  strictest  attention. 

Keen  eyesight,  patienc,  and  a  small  star-atlas  are, 
therefore,  all  the  equipment  that  is  required  for 
ZocTiacal  Light  work.  The  description  of  the  work 
may  not  seem  inviting,  yet  when  once  it  is  takeu  up, 
the'  looking  for  that  str.iiige,  beautiful,  yet  faint  and 
elusive  glow  will  be  found  full  of  interest,  and  the  more 
its  peculiaa-ities  are  followed  up.  the  more  will  the  souse 
cf  its  mvsteriousness  be  realized,  ••uid  the  greater  will 
be  the  desire  to  contribute  something  which  may  ex- 
plain its  secret. 


heavens.  Facing  round  due  west  we  notice  low  down 
four  stai-s  placed  at  the  angles  of  a  gi'cat  square  in  the 
sky.  The  square  of  Pegasus.  At  this  moment  the 
square  is,  as  it  were,  balanced  on  one  of  its  points,  and 
the  point  furthest  round  to  the  left  iis  we  face  it  is 
marked  by  Gamma  Pegasi,  the  st;u',  Algenib.  A 
straight  line  from  the  Pleiades  to  Algenib  passes 
through  Alpha  Arietis,  Ilaiual,  the  brightest  star  in 
the  Ram.  liamal  is  neai-ly  midway  between  the 
Piciades  and  Algenib,  but  a  little  nearer  the  former. 
Two  stars,  ius  shown  in  the  diagram,  near  Ilamal, 
make  with  it  a  characteristic  little  figure,  a  small 
mangle  with  a  very  obtuse  angle.  These  arc  Ueta 
pud  Gamma,  the  other  stars  in  the  Ham's  head. 


HiaON 


SOUTH 
The  HeavL'ns  at  0.30  p.m.   ou  March  G,  fruiii  the  Latitiido  of  Loudon. 


The  constellations  through  which  the  Zodiacal  Light 
runs  at  the  beginning  of  March  are  those  of  Pisces 
and  Aries,  right  up  to  the  Piciades  on  the  borders  of 
Taurus.  Neither  of  these  two  constellations  are  at  all 
conspicuous,  and  they  are  therefore  not  the  best  with 
■which  to  begin  a  study  of  the  constellations,  but  they 
may  be  picked  out  without  much  difficulty  by  noting 
their  near  neighbours. 

At  this  season  of  the  year  the  Pleiades,  "  glittering 
like  a  swarm  of  fireflies  tangled  in  a  silver  braid," 
have  just  passed  the  southern  meridian  and  are  still 
vtry  high  in  the  sky.  They  are  known  to  everyone, 
nor  is  there  any  possibilitv  of  mistaking  them,  since 
they   fonn  the  compactest   little   cluster   in   the   whole 


If  wc  draw  a  straight  'iiic  downwards  from  llainal 
at  right  angles  to  that  joining  Haiiial  and  the  Pleiades, 
and  equal  to  it  in  length,  we  come  to  Alpha  Piscium, 
or  Okda,  meaning  the  "  knot  of  the  two  threads." 
The  reason  of  the  name  run  eaJiily  be  recognised,  for 
two  irregular  lines  of  somewhat  faint  stars  both  meet 
together  at  Okda,  the  one  runs  from  Okda  to  the  right 
nearly  parallel  to  the  horizon  at  first  and  then  bending 
down"  towards  it,  the  other  curving  somewhat  upwards, 
also  to  the  right.  These  two  streams  make  up  the 
bulk  of  the  constellation  of  the  Fishes,  and  it  is  across 
the  two  constellations  of  the  Fishes  and  the  Ram  that 
the  evening  Zodiacal  Light  streams  upwards  towards 
the  Pleiades  at  this  season  of  the  yeai". 


64 


KNOWLEDGE 


[Mabch  1,  1900. 


Hcttcrg. 

[The  Editors  do  not  hold  themselveB  reeponflible  for  the  opinioLs  or 
etatementa  of  correspon dents.] 

THE   EARWIG  AS  A  BENEFACTOR. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — Our  commoa  earwig  (Foi-ficula  auricularia)  is 
usually  thought  to  be  an  unmitigated  nuisance  to  the 
gardener;  it  is  coruidered  destructive  to  fruit,  it 
damages  dahlias,  and  is  supposed  to  have  a  weakness 
for  exploring  the  cavities  of  the  human  ear. 

I^s  scientific  reputation  is  better;  it  was  found  to 
be  carnivorous,  preferring  dead  insects  to  fruit  or  vege- 
table food,  and  it  has  the  amiable  habit  not  hitherto 
observed  in  other  insects,  of  brooding  over  and  rearing 
its  young.  I  have  several  times  mounted  the  whole 
insect  as  a  slide  for  the  microscope :  one  of  these  shows 
the  food  in  an  undigested  state,  and  I  was  surprised  to 
find  on  careful  examination  and  comparison,  that  the 
stomach  was  full  of  Aphides  (green  fly,  plant  lice),  in 
a  more  or  less  disintegrated  condition.  The  identifica- 
tion was  placed  beyond  doubt  by  the  discovei-y  of  several 
of  the  characteristic  tubes  through  which  the  Aphis 
exudes  the  "  honey  dew."  In  another  earwig  I  found 
the  scales  of  a  Lepidopterous  insect  together  with  the 
remains  of  Aphis  in  a,  more  digested  condition. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  eai-wig  is  nocturnal  in  its 
habits,  and  I  would  much  like  to  know  if  any  of  your 
readers  have  actually  seen  the  insect  commit  the  damage 
it  is  usually  credited  with,  or  if  the  evidence  is  purely 
circumstantial.  In  any  case  earwigs  must  do  a  certain 
amount  of  good  by  the  destruction  of  the  plant  lice, 
and  ought  to  have  a  measure  of  that  tolerance  extended 
to  them  that  is  bestowed,  or  ought  to  be  bestowed,  on 
the  Syrphus  fly,  the  Lady  Bird  (Coccinella  Septem- 
puncta),  and  the  larvae  of  the  Lacewing  fly  (Chrysopa), 
on  account  of  their  habit  of  preying  on  these  pests. 

South  Hamjistead.  Walter  Wesche. 

SOME    CURIOUS  "lunar    PHENOMENA. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — In  last  week's  issue  of  "  Nature "  several 
correspondents  are  quoted  as  having  sent  descriptions 
of  solar  halos  and  parhelia  obsers-ed  from  various  parts 
of  Sussex  and  Surrey  on  Thui'sday,  January  11th,  be- 
tween 9.30  and  11.30  a.m.  The  following  account  of  an 
unusual  lunar  phenomenon  occurring  on  the  same  day 
at  5  P.M.  may  prove  interesting.  I  was  driving  home 
from  Beddgelert  when  the  moon's  peculiar  appearance 
attracted  my  notice.  The  moon  was  just  at  that  moment 
partly  obscured  by  a  thin  cloud,  but  it  was  plainly 
visible  that  surrounding  and  touching  the  disc  there 
was  a  distinct  girdle  about  twice  the  moon's  diameter  in 
breadth.  When  the  cloud  passed  the  sight  was  beautiful 
beyond  words.  The  well-illuminated  disc  had  the  usual 
opaque  markings — "  the  man  in  the  moon  "■ — almost 
in  high  relief,  while  surrounding  it  there  was  a  belt  of 
golden  hue,  which  in  its  turn  was  encompassed  with  a 
magnificent  aureole  of  many  colours,  of  which  red,  blue, 
and  violet  predominated,  the  whole  showing  the  moon 
in  the  height  of  its  glory. 

On  the  15th  inst.  the  moon  presented  a  distinctly 
green  appearance,  with  a  shai-p  halo  surrounding  it  at 
an  unusually  great  distance. 

In  view  of  the  exceptionally  wet  weather  in  this 
district,  ever  since  the  12th  inst.,  it  would  be  interesting 
to  know  how  far  atmospheric  influences  go  to  account 
for  such  appearances. 

Portmadoc.  North  Wales.     Walter  Williams,  m.b. 
Jauuaiy  24th,  1900. 


THE    CONSTITUENTS    OF    THE    SUN. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — With  reference  to  the  excellent  article  on  the 
above  subject  by  Mr.  A.  Fowler,  may  I  be  permitted 
to  make  a  few  remarks  with  special  reference  to  Fig.  3 
accompanying  the  article  ?  This  pictm-e  is  entitled 
■'  A  solar  comparison,  showing  how  the  presence  of 
carbon  in  the  Sun  is  demonsti  ated.  (1)  Carbon  flutings 
in  electric  arc,  with  iron  impui-ity.    (2)  Solar  spectrum." 

Now  an  examination  of  the  two  spectra  pictured 
here  (which  I  presume  are  re-productions  of  photo- 
graphs) by  no  means  suggests  to  me  an  identity  with 
one  another.  I  certainly  see  that  three  bright  lines  in 
(1)  coincide  very  completely  with  three  dark  ones  in 
(2),  both  as  regai-ds  appeai-ance  and  position;  but  these 
three  lines  are  apparently  due  to  iron.  None  of  the 
other  (dark)  lines  in  (1)  seem  to  have  their  counterpart 
in  (2).  In  fact  I  cannot  see  a  single  satisfactory  co- 
incidence. How  then  can  the  comparison  of  the  two 
spectra  in  question  be  said  to  demonstrate  the  presence 
of  cai-bon  in  the  sun  ? 

I  always  understood,  especially  in  earlier  days  of 
spectroscopy,  that  the  exact  coincidence  of  many  bright 
lines  in  a  spectrum  of  a  terrestrial  substance,  both  in 
thickness  and  in  position,  with  a  similar  number  of  the 
dark  Fraunhofer  lines  constituted  an  enormously 
favoui'able  argument  for  the  existence  of  that  substance 
in  the  Sun. 

Thus  we  read  at  p.  246  of  Schellen's  "  Spectrum 
Analysis"  (translated  by  J.  and  C.  Lassell) : — "A 
glance  at  Fig.  91,  in  which  the  coincidence  is  shown  of 
more  than  sixty  of  Kirchoff  s  observed  lines  of  iron,  with 
as  many  dark  lines  in  various  parts  of  the  solaa-  spectrum 
between  C  and  F,  justifies  the  conclusion  that  those 
dark  lines  are  to  be  ascribed  to  the  absorptive  effect  of 
the  vapour  of  iron  present  in  the  atmosphere  of  the 
sun.  The  likelihood  that  such  a  coincidence  of  sixty 
lines  is  a  mere  chance,  bears  a  proportion  to  the  suppo- 
sition that  these  lines  really  make  known  the  presence 
of  iron  in  the  sun's  atmosphere,  according  to  the 
doctrine  of  probabilities,  1  to  2/60,  or  in  other  words 
in  the  ratio  of  1  to  1,152,930,000,000,000,000." 

The  figure  referred  to  in  this  excerpt,  is  more  or  less 
academical,  being  a  woodcut.  The  upper  portion  re- 
presents the  solar  spectrum  on  a  small  scale ;  the  lower 
the  spectrum  of  iron,  bright  lines  on  black  background. 
Each  dark  line  of  iron  in  the  solai-  sijecti-um  is  con- 
tinued through  the  second  spectrum  as  a  bright  line. 
As  there  are  57  of  these  coincidences  (not  65  as  stated 
under  the  plate),  the  effect  to  the  eye  is  most  remark- 
ably convincing. 

Since  the  date  of  this  work  (1872)  great  advances 
have  been  made  in  ths  knowledge  of  the  variations  in 
terrestrial  spectra  which  can  be  produced  under  differ- 
ent conditions  in  the  laboratory,  and  the  apparently 
rigid  and  exact  coincidences  formerly  laid  down  must 
be  considerably  modified  in  the  light  of  present  know- 
ledge. Without  denying  the  existence  of  many  terres- 
trial elements  in  the  sun,  I  would  like  as  a  layman  and 
one  not  vei-sed  in  the  practical  study  of  spectra  in 
powerful  instruments  to  ask  Mr.  Fowler  whether  two 
photographed  spectra  of  an  element  and  of  the  sun  re- 
spectively can  be  produced  in  juxtaposition  so  as  to 
show  to  the  eye  as  complete  and  convincing  a  set  of 
coincidences  as  was  given  in  the  woodcut  referred  to, 
which  was  evidently  based  on  measurements  only.  Or 
are  the  lines  of  any  one  element  in  the  solar  spectrum 
so  intermingled  with  those  of  other  elements  that  it  is 


Mabch  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


65^ 


impossible  to  soo  the  coiucidcuce  as  a  whole  ?  That  is, 
is  it  only  bv  the  coinpai'isou  of  each  line,  ouc  aftei" 
another,  with  its  couuterpart  iu  the  solar  spectrum, 
that  the  assurance  is  obtained  that  the  element's 
spectrum  is  reallv  contained  iu  and  forms  part  of  the 
solar  spectrum  '. 

Devonport,  E.  E.  Makkwick,  Uol. 

14th  January,  1900. 

[Unless  Col.  Markwick  has  written  "  dark  "  when 
intending  to  write  "  bright  "  in  the  sentence  "  none  of 
the  other  (dark)  lines  in  (1)  seem  to  have  their  counter- 
pai-t  iu  (2),  "  I  fear  he  is  labouring  under  a  slight 
misapprehension.  In  the  case  of  carbon,  as  for  other 
substances,  its  identification  depends  upon  the  coin- 
cidence of  bright  lines  obtained  terrestrially  with  the 
dark  ones  of  the  solar  spectrum.  Viewed  iu  this  way, 
a  considerable  number  of  the  bright  lines  which  build 
up  the  carbon  fluting,  commencing  at  Lambda  3883,  are 
seen  to  correspond  with  dark  ones  in  the  sun,  and  the 
presence  of  carbon  among  the  solar  elements  is  cleai-ly 
demonstrated  bv  the  photograph.  The  apparent  darK 
lines  between  the  bright  members  of  the  carbon  flutings 
are  simply  dark  interspaces  and  naturally  do  not  agree 
with  solar  lines. 

I  may  add  that  photogra])hic  demonstrations  of  the 
presence  of  many  chemical  elements  in  the  sun  arc  just 
as  convincing,  and  certainly  more  satisfactory,  than  the 
diagram  to  which  Col.  Markwick  refers,  but  believing 
these  to  be  sufficiently  well  known,  I  purposely  selected 
an  illustration  of  the  detection  of  a  substance  requiring 
more  careful  investigation.  In  the  ease  of  carbon  the 
component  lines  are  crowded  together  and  in  the  sun 
are  superposed  upon  lines  belonging  to  other  substances, 
so  that  the  correspondence  is  not  so  obvious  as  in 
many  other  illustrations  which  might  have  been 
given. — A.  Fowler.] 


OBSERVATIONS    OF    VARIABLE    STARS. 

TO    THE   EDITORS    OF    KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — My  estimates  of  the  movement  of  S.  S.  Cygni 
at  Its  last  appearance  are  as  follows,  viz.  : — • 

Mag. 

...       .S-6o 

...       8-8.J 

...      8  85 

Nov.    1  &  2.  Cloudy. 

„  '        (  10(>0  or 

•■      **•  ~"  ■[      less. 


1899.  H.  Miifr.  1899.  H. 

Oct.  21.         —  ...Invisible.       Oct.  30.  7.45  p.ni 

„    25.  7.30  p  111.  .  805               „    ;jl.  7.45     „ 

„    26.  7.30     8  35  „    31.  9.00     „ 

.,    23.  7.00     ,.  ...  835 

.,    28.  8.00     „  ...  8-35 

.,    29.  7.30    „  ...  855 


Since  August  11  I  have  seventy-one  observations  of 
S.  XJ.  Cygni  (Muller  and  Kempf's  variable),  period 
3d.  20h.  15m.  21s.,  varying  from  6m.  57  to  7m.  37,  an  1 
though  at  first  apparently  irregular,  experience  has 
shown  it  to  be  an  evenly  moving  star,  within  the  range 
of  the  field  glass  at  all  phases,  and  an  attractive 
object  for  amateurs.  At  the  minimum  phase  it  appears 
on  many  occasions  to  remain  at  the  same  light  for 
twenty-four  hours,  and  then  rise  rapidly  to  maximum. 
The  fact  is  that  in  its  near  approach  to  minimum  and 
rise  from  that  phase  it  takes  twenty-four  hours  to  fall 
and  to  rise,  or  to  change,  less  than  one  step  0.1.  That 
is  to  say  when  the  star  reaches  about  7m.  34  it  takes 
twenty-four  hours  to  fall  to  7m.  37  and  rise  again  to 
7m.  34.  So  one  who  has  no  photometer  may  announce 
a  minimum  some  time  before  that  j'hase  is  reached,  or 
after  the  star  has  passed  it.  This  is  shown  by  Prof. 
Pickering's  curve.  There  have  been  similar  occuiTcnces 
at  maximum  more  than  once,  but  they  have  not  been  ob- 
served so  often  nor  have  thev  been  so  marked. 


S.  Virginis  was  an  uubieady  star  at  its  last  appear- 
ance;   its  changes  were  estimated  as  follows:  — 


1899. 

Juno 

3. 

4, 

5 

7. 

14. 
17. 
20. 
25. 
26. 
27. 

29. 

30. 

.luly 

1. 

•> 

3. 
6. 

Mill,-. 

;iu-oo 

10  (HI 
9-10 
'J  23 
',)  10 
8-50 
8-35 
8-30 
8  13 
800 
7  90 
7  70 
7  9J 
7-85 
7-75 


l'<9fl. 

Jiilv    8. 

„  '      9. 

„  10,11. 

„  12, 14,  1.-),  17. 

„  22,  23  maximiiiii. 

„  29,  30,  31. 
Aup.    1. 

•J 

"        4^  5.  '.'.'. 

6. 
„        9,  lo. 
„       11. 
„      20,21. 

„    rs. 


Miiir. 
7-60 
7-40 
7-23 
G95 
»)-80 
7  03 
7  15 
713 
725 
7  35 
7-30 
7-90 
7-80 
7  87 
805 

2G,    so 


The  computed  date  of  maximum  was  June 
the  star  was  26  days  late.  The  weather  during  nearly 
the  whole  of  the  summer  period  was  not  favourable  for 
observations  in  the  southern  skies,  and  so  R.  Hydrse 
being  further  south  was  more  difficult  of  observation. 
The  best  I  could  do  is  appended  :  — 


R.    llYDRyE, 

18i)9. 

Mu^'. 

ij^as. 

Mai.'. 

May  31. 

7-'15 

July  10. 

G70 

June    1. 

7-I0 

.,     13. 

6  65 

„       3. 

7-30 

„     14 

6-40 

.,       4. 

715 

„     29. 

5-65 

July     1-5. 

710 

„     30. 

5-50 

„       6. 

7-.0 

Aug.    1. 

5  40 

„      9. 

OW) 

,.       2,  5,  6. 

5  00 

The  maximum  was  due  August  8,  and  compared  willi 
former  ajipearances  is  jjrobably  late  again. 

D.wiD    Flanehy. 
Memphis,  Tenn..  U.S.A., 

•    18   November,    1899. 


IS   THE   STELLAR   UNIVERSE   FINITE  ? 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — I  have  followed  lately  with  great  enjoyment, 
the  interesting  discussion  on  this  most  interesting 
subject.  There  is,  however,  one  mo.st  fundamental  point 
which  has  not  yet  been  elucidated,  and  in  connection 
with  this  I  beg  leave  to  say  a  few  words. 

Mr.  Burns  stated  and  Mr.  Maunder  and  Mr.  Hill 
have  challenged  the  statement  that — "  If  the  number 
of  stars  were  infinite,  we  should  have  the  whole  skv  a 
blaze  of  light.'  The  unqualified  statement  is  certainly 
a  bold  assumption,  and  a  little  careful  consideration, 
combined  with  a  little  mathematical  analysis,  will  soon 
show  to  what  extent  the  assumption  is  justifiable. 

The  problem  resolves  it.self  into  the  integration  or 
summing  up  of  an  indefinitely  great  number  of  indefi- 
nitely small  quantities.  Will  the  yield  be  necessarily 
indefinitely   great?     May   it   not   bo   a   finite   quantity? 

There  is  a  kind  of  struggle  going  on  between  the 
greatness  of  the  number  and  their  sniallness  in  size. 

To  take  an  actual  example,  if  wc  consider  a 
series  of  quantities,  one,  a  half,  a  quarter,  an  eighth, 
and  so  on,  each  term  becomes  smaller  and  smaller, 
and  oven  if  we  take  an  infinite  Dumber  of  tenns 
of  this  series  and  add  them  together  the  total 
cannot  exceed  two.  In  this  case  the  infinite  small- 
ncss  of  the  terms  has  so  counteracted  the  infinite 
greatness  of  their  number  that  the  total  yield 
is  a  finite  quantity.  Now  may  it  not  be  likewise  in 
the  case  of  an  infinite  stellar  universe?  May  not  the 
infinite  number  of  the  stars  be  so  counteracted  by  their 
infinite    smallness   in    apparent   size,    that,    no    matter 


66 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[March  1,  1900. 


how  vast  a  region  of  space  we  consider,  the  yield  of  light 
cannot  exceed  a  definite  amount?  We  ai'e  faced  in  fact 
with  the  question  which  the  machinery  of  the  integral 
calculus  has  been  constructed  to  answer.  What  is  the 
value  of  infinity  multiplied  by  zero?  Such  a  product 
IS  called  by  mathematicians  an  indeterminate  form  ; 
indeterminate  since  its  value  cannot  be  ascertained 
until  we  know  by  what  process  the  infinitely  great 
was  reached,  and  likewise  the  infinitely  small.  In  the 
particular  case  before  us,  the  infinitely  great  was 
reached  by  receding  further  and  further  into  space, 
which  also  brought  about  the  infinite  smallncss  of  each 
individual  star.  A  connection  clearly  exists  between 
the  growth  in  number  and  the  diminution  in  size,  and 
this  connection  entirely  depends  on  the  manner  in  which 
the  stars  are  distributed  throughout  space.  This  is  a  point 
which  Mr.  Maunder  has  made,  and  it  cannot  be  too 
strongly  emphasized.  Without  considering  first  the 
method  of  distribution,  it  is  perfectly  futile  to  attack 
the  problem,  in  fact  there  is  no  problem  to  attack.  We 
must  first  postulate  a  particular  formation,  and  then, 
and  only  then,  can  we  apply  rigid  mathematical 
reasoning. 

The  formation  which  naturally  occurs  to  us  first,  is 
that  of  a  uniform  distribution.  This  distribution  may 
be  obtained  by  considering  the  stars  distributed  on  con- 
centric spheres  whose  radii  increase  by  equal  steps. 
Then  the  number  of  stars  on  any  one  spherical  arrange- 
ment would  vai-y  as  the  area  of  the  sphere,  but  the 
apjjarent  disc  of  each  star  would  vary  inversely  as  the 
area  of  the  sphere,  since  it  varies  inversely  as  the  square 
of  the  radius.  Thus  the  growth  in  number  would 
exactly  balance  the  decrease  in  size,  and  the  luminous 
area  contributed  by  each  spherical  distribution  would 
be  the  same.  This  contribution  is  c^uite  finite,  therefore 
by  taking  enough  distributions  we  can  obtain  any 
desired  yield  of  light,  enough  for  instance  to  completely 
fill  *]ie  heavens.  The  above  argument  is  quite  inde- 
pendent of  the  size  or  distance  apart  of  the  stars,  and  it 
leads  us  to  the  very  interesting  fact,  that  granted  the 
perfect  transmissibility  of  the  ether,  and  non-inter- 
ference by  dark  bodies,  then  no  matter  how  diffused 
the  stars  are  through  space,  so  long  as  that  distribution 
is  maintained  to  an  infinite  distance  in  all  directions,  thj 
appearance  of  the  heavens  ought  to  be  complete  bright- 
ness. All  we  require  is  that  at  no  region  of  space  shall 
the  density  of  star  distribution  become  indefinitely 
small.  It  may  fluctuate,  but  it  must  not  become  ever 
indefinitely  small.  Assuming  that  stars  are  a  million 
miles  in  diameter,  and  spaced  uniformly  twenty  billion 
miles  apart,  I  find  that  a  region  of  space,  ten  thousand 
trillion  miles  in  radius,  would  be  sufficient  to  com- 
pletely fill  the  heavens  with  light  to  an  observer 
at  the  centre. 

Let  us  now  take  the  case  where  the  stars  thin  out  in 
numbers  as  the  distance  from  the  eai-th  increases.  In 
order  to  give  numerical  results,  let  us  again  assume  that 
the  stars  are  all  a  million  miles  in  diameter,  and  that 
those  nearest  the  earth  are  spaced  twenty  billion  miles 
apart.  If  the  number  of  stai-s  per  unit  volume  of  space 
varies  inversely  as  any  positive  power  of  the  radius,  we 
get  a  distribution  which  progressively  thins  out.  We 
have  just  dealt  with  the  case  in  which  this  index  power 
is  zero.  When  powers  other  than  zero  are  assumed,  the 
problem  resolves  itself  into  a  simple  case  of  integration. 
As  the  powers  increase  from  zero  upwards,  the  rate  at 
which  the  density  of  distribution  falls  off  increases,  and 
consequently  a  greater  and  greater  region  of  space  must 
be  included  in  order  to  block  every  direction  with  a 


star.  When  the  index  power  is  uni+y,  or  in  other  words 
when  the  density  of  distribution  varies  inversely  as  the 
radius,  this  distance  is  so  stupendously  great  that  I  am 
almost  afraid  to  mention  it.  One  followed  by  twenty 
billion  noughts,  and  then  multiplied  by  twenty  billion, 
will  almost  suffice.  It  is  clear  we  are  nearing  the  law 
of  disti'ibution  when  it  will  be  necessary  to  include  an 
infinite  region  of  space  in  order  to  occupy  all  directions 
with  a  star.  This  stage  is  reached  when  the  index  of 
the  power  exceeds  unity  by  only  one  five  hundred 
billionth.  If  the  law  of  distribution  gives  an  ever  so 
slightly  quicker  rate  of  thinning  out,  we  cannot,  even 
by  considering  an  infinite  region  of  sjiace,  gather  up 
enough  to  make  the  heavens  a  complete  blaze  of  light. 

In  fact,  all  infinite  distributions  fall  into  two 
classes  : — • 

(1)  Those  in  which  all  directions  are  blocked  by  stars, 

(2)  Those  in  which  interstellar  spaces  exist ; 

And  the  law  of  distribution  which  fonns  a  link  be- 
tween these  two  classes,  occurs  when  the  power  of  the 
radius  very  slightly  exceeds  unity. 

When  the  power  is  two,  interstellar  spaces  so  vastly 
exceed  the  luminous  area,  that  only  about  one  forty 
billionth  of  the  heavens  is  illuminated.  It  is  very  in- 
structive to  note  how  an  exceedingly  small  change  in 
the  law  of  distribution  produces  an  exceedingly  great 
difference  in  the  amount  of  the  heavens  illuminated. 

There  is  another  question  which  should  be  considered 
in  connection  with  this  subject.  When  we  assume  a 
progressively  decreasing  density  of  star  distribution, 
might  not  the  same  reason,  which  in  some  cases  makes 
it  impossible  to  obtain  more  than  a  finite  amount  of 
illumination,  also  prevent  us  from  obtaining  more  than 
a  finite  number  of  stai-s  ?  The  answer  is,  that  if  the 
density  varies  inversely  as  the  radius  raised  to  a  power 
greater  than  three,  then  indeed  the  number  of  stars  in 
infinite  space  will  be  finite.  With  a  less  rapid  thinning 
out  the  number  is  infinite. 

We  have  seen  that  the  distances  dealt  with  in  con- 
nection with  this  problem  are  absolutely  stupendous; 
so  great,  in  fact,  that  the  life  of  a  star-  would  be  a  mer^i 
nothing  compai'ed  with  the  length  of  time  occujiied  by 
its  light  in  coming  to  us.  This  brings  up  the  considera- 
tion that  if  such  vast  regions  of  space  are  to  be 
considered  then  the  probability  of  any  one  direction 
being  occupied  by  a  brigat  star  is  exceedingly  remote. 
In  fact,  dark  stars  ought  to  outnumber  bright  stars  by 
millions  or  billions  to  one.  Thi«i  being  true,  at  first 
glance  one  would  expect  that  eclipses  of  bright  suns 
would  be  a -common  occurrence.  But  a  moment's  re- 
flection shows,  that  as  far  as  the  visible  stars  are  con- 
cerned, the  interstellar  spaces  are  so  vastly  greater  than 
the  spaces  occupied  by  bright  surs,  that  dark  stars 
might  outnumber  them  by  billions  to  one  without 
making  an  eclipse  probable.  It  would  only  be  in  the 
more  distant  depths  of  s,)ace,  depths  so  profound  that 
our  most  mighty  telescopes  could  never  identify  single 
stai-s  therein,  that  the  blocking  out  of  light  by  the 
dark  bodies  would  have  effect.  For  instance,  in  the 
homogeneous  distribution  we  first  considered,  although 
all  directions  would  be  blocked  by  stai-s,  yet  it  may  be, 
only  an  infinitesimal  proportion  of  these  are  bright 
stars.  This  theoi-y  for  accounting  for  the  black  back- 
ground to  the  bright  stars  has  not,  I  think,  been 
brought  up  in  the  recent  interesting  discussion,  and  it 
seems  to  me  to  be  worthy  of  a  place  in  Mr.  Burns'  list 
of  possible  hypotheses. 

Charles   E.    Inglis,    b.a. 

Kings  College,  Cambridge. 


Kiumlediii. 


.<-?i:' 


*\>-'- 


A     TODA     MAN. 


A     TODA     BEAUTY. 


-o^; 


'1 


\ 


\ 


/ 


/ 


V, 


A     \  11)1)  A      WAN. 


A     VEDDA     WOMAN. 


SOME     WILD     INDIAN      TRIBES. 


MxBCH  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


r.7 


SEAL    IN    SUFFOLK. 

TO    THE    EDITO;;*    OV    KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — I  had  a  seal  (Phc^a  vituliiai  given  mc  to-day 
tliat  was  shot  bv  a  coastguard  yesterday  at  Dunwicli. 


Ii  was  uudor  a  boat  on  tat  beach, 
and  weighed  76  lbs. 

Benacre  Hall,  \Vi-eutham. 
Febi-uaiy  9th,  1900. 


It  was  4  feet  long, 
Jos.    F.    Green. 


SOME   WILD    INDIAN   TRIBES. 

By  R.  Lydekker. 
To  the  great  majority  of  Englishmen  (not  even  ex- 
cluding a  large  proportion  of  those  who  have  made  the 
East  their  temporary  home)  the  native  inhabitants  of 
India  and  Ceylon  are  typified  by  civilised  and  more  or 
less  cultured  races,  such  as  the  sleek  Parsi  of  Bombay, 
the  studious  Bengali  Babu,  the  large-turbaned  Madrassi, 
the  haughty  Rajput,  or  the  warlike  Sikh.  And  compara- 
tively few  are  aware  of  the  existence  in  vai'ious  districts 
of  both  the  peninsula  and  the  island  of  a  number  of  wild 
tribes,  some  of  whom  are  little,  if  at  all,  better  than 
savages,  while  others  have  acquired  certain  of  the  arts 
and  practices  of  civilization.  Of  all  these  jungle  peoples 
perhaps  the  most  generally  known  are  the  Gonds,  who 
give  their  name  to  the  great  Gondwana  countn'  of 
Central  India,  and  who  are  some  of  the  best  hunters 
and  trackers  in  the  world. 

But  it  is  not  to  them  that  the  attention  of  the  reader  is 
invited  in  the  present  article,  the  greater  portion  of  which 
is  devoted  to  the  wild  tribes  inhabiting  the  Nilgiri  and 
Anamalai  ranges  on  the  western  side  of  the  Madras  penin- 
sula, between  Travancore  on  the  south  and  Mysore  to  the 
north.  In  the  "  Blue  Mountains,'  which  is  the  English 
equivalent  of  the  name  first  mentioned,  roam  the  tiger, 
the  sambar  deer,  and  the  great  Indian  wild  ox,  or  gaur, 
while  they  are  also  the  home  of  the  now  rare  Nilgiri  wild 
goat.  On  the  clearances  amid  the  dense  and  luxuriant 
primeval  forest,  or  on  the  open  grass-lands  of  the  hill-tops, 
dwell  a  number  of  interesting  aboriginal  wild  tribes, 
among  whom  the  Todas  and  the  Kotas  ai'e  perhaps  those 
whose  names  are  the  least  unfamiliar  to  European  ear3. 
Indeed  it  is  possible  that  some  of  my  readers,  other  than 
Anglo-Indians,  may  have  actually  seen  a  live  Toda,  since 
a  member  of  that  tribe  was  formerly  with  Barnum  and 
Bailey's  show,  during  the  life  time  of  '  Jumbo  " ;  this 
individual,  after  his  return  to  his  native  jungle,  posing 
as  an  authority  among  his  fellows  on  all  foreign  mat- 
ters. Recently  the  various  wild  tribes  of  the  Madras 
hills  were  the  subject  of  a  special  study  by  my  friend 
Dr.  Edgar  Thurston,  Director  of  the  Madras  Museum , 
the  results  of  his  investigations  being  published  in  a 
series  of  interesting  and  well  illustrated  memoirs  issued 
by  the  Museum.  It  is  from  these  memoirs  that  the 
following  information  regarding  the  characteristics  of 
these  people  is  chiefly  culled. 

With  regard  to  the  affinities  of  the  Todas  and  their 
kindred,  it  seems  quite  evident  that  they  have  nothing 
to  do  with  either  Negroes  or  Australians ;  while, 
although  some  have  thought  that  they  may  retain  cer- 
tain traces  of  a  Mongol  strain,  it  is  pei-fectly  clear  that 
thev  cannot  be  classed  among  that  great  section  of  the 
human  race.  On  the  other  hand,  they  evidently  appear 
to  belong  to  a  low  type  of  the  noble  Caucasian  stock, 
a-id  may  be  affiliated'  to  the  gi-eat  group  of  Dravidian- 
speaking  peoples,  who  probably  populated  a  great  por- 
tion of  India  previous  to  the  incursion  of  the  higher 
Arvan  hosts  from  the  northward. 

Physically  the  Todas  are  decidedly  a  fine  race,  the  men 
standing  rather  above  the  medium  height,  and  the  mem- 


bers of  this  sex  differing  markedly  from  all  the  neigh- 
bouinng  hill  tribes  by  their  regular,  handsome,  and 
almost  classic  features,  which  have,  indeed,  been  com- 
pared to  the  Ancient  Roman  type,  altliough  in  certain 
instances  they  display  a  somewhat  Jewish  cast.  But 
the  most  characteristic  feature  of  these  people  is  the 
luxuriance  of  raven-black  hair  on  the  scalp  and  face ; 
although  this  great  hirsute  development  is  less  marked 
than  ill  the  Ainus  of  the  Island  of  Yezo,  Japan,  who 
likewise  appear  to  belong  to  the  Caucjusian  stock.  As 
is  excellently  shown  in  the  accompanying  illustration, 
the  men  wear  the  hair  parted  in  the  middle,  and 
hanging  down  almost  or  quite  to  the  shoulders.  In  the 
men,  the  colour  of  the  skin  is  a  dirty  copper-brown, 
much  darker  than  that  of  the  women,  which  h;is  boon 
described  as  of  a  cafe-au-lait  tint  on  the  chest  and 
limbs.  When  young  some  of  the  women,  who  dress 
their  hair  in  glossy  ringlets,  are  decidedly  good- 
looking  ;  their  glistening  eyes  and  white  teeth  forming 
crood  points  although  the  rest  of  the  face  is  spoiled  by 
the  rather  large  mouth  and  thick  lips.  But  even  such 
claims  to  beauty  as  a  Toda  maiden  possesses  are  but 
transient,  and  the  girl  soon  degenerates  into  a  hideous 
hag  One  other  noteworthy  feature  of  the  Toda  men 
is  the  great  development  of  the  brow-ridges,  which  com- 
municates a  somewhat  scowling  expression  to  the  fore- 
head, likewise  well  exhibited  in  the  photograph. 

The  latter  also  displays  the  dress  of  the  men,  whun 
consists  of  a  garment  of  thick  cotton  cloth,  with  inter- 
woven stripes  of  red  and  blue,  hanging  in  gracetul  folds 
from  the  shoulders  to  the  knees,  and  having  one  end 
thrown  over  the  left  shoulder.  The  women's  outer 
garment  is  of  the  same  simple  typo,  but  is  thrown  over 
both  shoulders,  and  grasped  in  front  by  the  hand.  Every 
native  race,  it  is  said,  has  a  distinctive  and  recognisable 
odour  of  its  own,  and  this  is  certainly  verified  in  the  case 
of  the  Todas,  in  which  this  odour  is  by  no  means  grate- 
ful to  European  nostrils.  It  is  said  to  be  mainly  due  to 
the  rancid  butter,  or  ghi,  which  they  arc  in  the  habit  o. 
applying  to  their  clothes  for  the  purpose  of  preserving 

them.  ,      , 

Being  thus  well  clothed,  the  Todas  can  scarcely  be 
reckoned  as  savages  ;  and  under  missionary  instruction 
they  learn  to  read  and  write  without  much  difficulty. 
They  never  carry,  and  indeed  apparently  do  not  possess, 
ai-ms  of  any  kind,  being  an  essentially  pastoral  people, 
living  chiefly  on  the  milk  and  butter  derived  from  the 
herds  of  buffaloes  they  keep.  They  have  many  more  or 
less  noteworthy  customs,  some  of  which  arc  declining 
and  tending  to  die  out  under  the  civilizing  influences  ot 
the  British  Government.  Formeriy,  female  infanticide 
was  extensively  practised,  with  the  natural  result  that 
the  numbers  of  the  women  were  greatly  inferior  to  those 
of  the  opposite  sex.  Consequently,  polyandry  was  the 
general  custom  ;  and  although  there  is  now,  owing  to 
the  abolition  of  infanticide,  no  need  for  this  peculiar 
practice,  yet  it  is  still  retained  among  some  of  the  poorer 
members  of  the  tribe,  who  are,  however,  extremely  loth 
to  acknowledge  its  existence. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  so  many  aboriginal  tribes  tend 
to  dwindle  in  numbers,  if  not  to  disappear  altogether 
when  brought  into  contact  with  civil.zmg  influences  it 
is  interesting  to  learn  that  this  is  not  the  case  with  the 
Todas,  wlo  during  the  last  thirty  years  have  shown  a 
tendency  to  increase;  their  ^.^"^^^rs  being  six  bunded 
'  and  ninety-three  in  1871,  six  hundred  and  seventy-three 
in  1881,  and  seven  hundred  and  thirty-s.x  ten  years  later. 
Previous  to  marriage,  which  is  regarded  as  binding,  the 
morality  of  these  people  cannot  by  any  means  be  de- 


68 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[March  1,  1900. 


scribed  as  of  a  high  grade;  and  when  any  advantage  is  to 
be  gained  by  stating  a  falsehood,  no  Toda  (.-ousiders  him- 
self bound  to  adhere  to  the  truth.  As  already  said, 
Todas  are  a  pastoral  people,  and  they  display  a  rooted 
antipathy  to  manual  labour  of  any  description.  So 
strongly  is  this  trait  developed,  that  in  the  case  of  a 
convict,  the  gaol  authorities,  finding  it  impossible  to 
make  him  work  without  resorting  to  severe  measures, 
polved  the  difficulty  by  appointing  him  an  overseer.  This 
is  clearly  an  instance  where  idleness  paid. 

Todas  dwell  in  small  villages,  or  hamlets,  each  of  which 
is  called  a  man,;,  and  usually  includes  five  buildings; 
three  of  the  latter  being  used  as  habitations,  while  the 
fourth  forms  a  "  dairy-temple,"  and  the  fifth  a  calf-pen. 
The.se  huts  are  generally  about  eighteen  feet  in  length  bv 
ten  in  height,  and  nine  in  width  ;  the  interior  being  from 
eight  to  fifteen  feet  square,  and  of  sufficient  height  to 
permit  a  man  to  move  without  knocking  his  head  against 
the  roof.  They  are  neatly  built  of  bamboos,  fastened  with 
rattan  and  thatched  ;  the  arched  roof  reaching  the 
ground  at  the  sides.  The  ends  are  closed  by  wooden  panel- 
ling, placed  within  the  margins  of  the  roof.  "  The 
entrance,  or  doorway,  measures,"  according  to  Dr. 
Shortt's  account,  "  thirty-two  inches  in  height  and 
eighteen  inches  in  width,  and  is  not  provided  with  any 
door  or  gate,  but  the  entrance  is  closed  by  means  of  a 
solid  slab  or  plank  of  wood,  from  four  to  six  inches  thick, 
and  of  sufficient  dimensions  to  entirely  block  up  the 
entrance.  This  sliding  door  is  inside  the  hut,  and  so 
arranged  and  fixed  on  two  stout  stakes,  buried  in  the 
earth,  and  standing  to  the  height  of  two  and  a-half  to 
three  feet,  as  to  be  easily  moved  to  and  fro.  There 
are  no  other  openings  or  outlets  of  any  kind  either  for 
the  escape  of  smoke,  or  for  the  free  ingress  and  egress 
of  atmospheric  air.  The  doorway  itself  is  of  such 
small  dimensions  that  to  effect  an  entrance  one  has  to 
go  down  on  all  fours,  and  even  then  much  wriggling  is 
necessary  before  an  entrance  is  effected."  Needless  to 
say  when  the  visitor  has  succeeded  in  passing  i-he 
barrier  he  is  not  impressed  by  the  freshness  of  the 
atmosphere  of  the  interior  !  On  one  side  of  the  in- 
terior is  a  raised  platfomi  covered  with  deer-skins,  and 
used  as  a  sleeping  place,  while  the  fire-place  is  opposite. 

There  are  many  curious  ceremonies  on  the  occasions 
of  birth,  marriage,  and  death,  of  %vhich  space  does  not 
admit  of  mention,  and  I  accordingly  pass  on  to  say 
something  concerning  the  dairy-temple,  or  tirieri.  It 
must  be  premised  that  the  religion  of  the  Todas  is  a 
simple  primitive  faith,  superadded  to  which  is  a  large 
strain  of  Hinduism;  and  to  this  latter  is  due  the  cult 
of  the  cow,  here  represented  by  the  buffalo. 

In  addition  to  the  dairy-temjjle  in  each  mand.  there 
are  certain  special  settlements  of  this  class,  each  of 
which  is  supervised  by  a  couple  of  black-clad  monks  or 
palals,  while  the  work  of  ■'■he  establishment  is  carried 
on  by  two  herdsmen,  or  kaltamaks.  Such  an  establish- 
ment comprises  one  hut  for  the  palals,  a  second  for  the 
kaltamaks,  a  large  and  a  small  cattle-pen  for  the  sacred 
herd,  and  the  temple  itself  ;  the  latter  containing  the 
sacred  bell  or  mani,  and  the  dairy  apparatus.  The 
most  sacred  member  of  the  herd  is  the  bell-cow,  whose 
office  descends  to  the  eldest  female  offspring,  failing 
which  a  cow  is  imported  from  another  tirieri.  A  palal 
must  be  a  bachelor  ;  and  it  is  his  duty  to  send  the 
herd  out  to  graze,  to  salute  them  on  their  departure 
and  return,  to  make  butter,  and  to  offer  prayers.  Truly 
a  somewhat  mixed  order  of  functions.  No  one  but  a 
palal  or  a  kaltamak  is  permitted  to  enter  the  sacred 
enclosure  ;      but   one  of   the  former  is  accustomed  at 


certain  times  to  bring  butter  and  milk  outside  the 
establishment  for  sale  to  the  ordinary  Todas  or  their 
neighbours  the  Badagas.  Superfluous  bulls  from  the 
herd  become  the  perquisites  of  the  kaltamaks,  by  whom 
they  are  sold  to  Todas  or  Badagas.  Of  such  animals 
as  die  the  flesh  is,  however,  given  to  the  tribe  of  Kotas, 
who  are  carrion-eaters,  and  have  no  prejudices  as  to 
the  sacred  character  of  the  cow  and  its  kindred. 

It  is  from  the  aforesaid  Kotas  that  the  Todas  acquire 
their  iron  axes  and  knives,  as  well  as  their  earthen- 
wai-e  utensils  ;  the  flesh,  horns,  and  hides  of  the  deceased 
buffaloes  being  the  quid  pro  quo.  The  Todas  consider 
themselves  vastly  superior  to  either  the  Kotas  or 
Kurumbas,  both  of  which  are  neighbouring  hill-tribes. 
When  a  Kota  meets  a  Toda,  he  acknowledges  the 
superiority  of  the  latter  by  kneeling  down  and  raising 
his  foot  to  his  own  head.  On  the  other  hand,  when 
a  Toda  encounters  a  Kurumba  the  latter  bows,  and  is 
patted  on  the  head  by  the  former. 

The  Kotas  (literally  mountaineers),  who  number  a 
little  over  a  thousand  individuals,  inhabit  seven 
villages  in  the  Nilgiris,  one  of  which  is  situated  in  the 
Wynad  district.  They  build  huts  of  mud,  wood,  or 
stone,  roofed  with  thatch  or  tiles,  and  divided  into 
living  and  sleeping  apartments  ;  the  huts  themselves 
being  arranged  in  long  streets.  As  already  said,  the 
Kotas  are  carrion-eaters,  and  there  are  few  more  dis- 
gusting sights  than  to  see  one  of  these  men  carrying 
part  of  a  decomposed  buffalo  to  his  home.  They  are 
also  hard  drinkers,  and  have  no  caste.  Their  redeeming 
quality  is  that  they  are  excellent  artificers,  catering 
for  the  wants  of  all  the  neighbouring  tribes.  They  are 
excellent  blacksmiths,  and  make  very  serviceable  axes, 
knives,  etc.  Formerly  they  smelted  the  iron-ore  of 
the  country,  but  now  purchase  scrap-iron  brought  up 
from  the  plains.  They  ai'e  likewise  good  practical  agri- 
culturists. 

Unlike  the  Todas,  who  never  hesitate  to  meet  Eu- 
rojicans  frankly,  the  Kota  women  bolt  into  the  jungle 
at  the  sight  of  a  white  face.  And  as  they  are  filthily 
dirty  and  by  no  means  handsome,  this  is  perhaps  no 
great  disadvantage.  The  men  ai-e  much  less  good 
looking  and  also  less  hairy  than  the  Todas,  wearing 
their  thick  wavy  hair  parted  in  the  middle  and  tied  in 
a  knot  behind,  while  they  trim  their  beards  short  and 
wax  their  moustaches.  Both  men  and  women  wear 
bangles.  They  are  a  lighfc-hearted  people,  enjoying 
dances  and  other  tamashas. 

Of  such  others  of  the  Nilgiri  tribes  as  can  be  men- 
tioned at  all,  our  notice  must  be  of  the  briefest.  The 
Kurumbas,  who  populate  much  of  the  Wynad  district, 
are  the  great  woodcutters  and  collectors  of  forest  pro- 
duce of  the  region.  In  1870,  Col.  King  gave  the  fol- 
lowing not  over-pleasing  picture  of  the  Kurumbas  :  — 
"  Their  chief  food  is  wild  roots  and  berries,  or  grains 
soaked  in  water,  with  occasional  porcupines  and  pole- 
cats. Their  dwellings  are  nothing  more  than  a  few 
branches  piled  up  together  like  heaps  of  dead  brush- 
wood, in  a  plantation,  often  simply  holes  or  clefts 
among  the  rocks.  Their  clothing  is,  with  the  males, 
a  small  dirty  cloth  round  the  loins;  and  with  the 
females,  a  rag  thrown  on  any  way  that  its  condition 
and  size  render  most  available.  The  appearance  of  these 
rude  people  is  wretched,  and  even  disagreeable.  Low- 
in  stature,  they  are  also  ill-made ;  the  complexion  is  of 
an  unhealthy  hue,  and  their  heads  are  thinly  covered 
with  mangy-looking  hair.  They  have  bleai-ed  eyes,  a 
rather  wide  mouth,  and  often  projecting  teeth.  Spare 
to  leanness,  there  is  also  a  total  absence  of  any  apparent 


March  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


69 


muscle,  and  the  arms  and  legs  are  as  much  like  black 
sticks  as  human  limbs.  No  such  ceremony  a.s  marriage 
exists  among  these  people,  who  live  together  like  the 
brute  creation."  AYith  the  opening-up  of  the  Wynad 
as  a  coffee-growing  district,  the  condition  of  the  Nilgiri 
Kurumbas,  who  arc  employed  as  labourers,  has  consider- 
ably improved,  and  therefore  the  above  picture  is  of  all 
the  more  value.  But,  with  their  dark  skins  and  broad 
noses,  they  are  still  a  low-grade  people;  and  as  such 
to  be  distinguished  from  the  light-skinned,  aquiline- 
nosed  Ura  Kurubas  of  Mysore. 

Of  an  equally  low  grade  with  the  Nilgiri  Kurumbas 
are  the  Ka<lii-s  of  tlie  Anamalai  Hills,  and  the  range 
extending  thence  into  Travancore.  They  are  especially 
characterized  by  their  comparatively  short  bodily 
stature,  the  very  dark  colour  of  the  skin,  the  breadth 
and  flatness  of  the  nose,  and  the  somewhat  thickened 
and  protruding  lips.  In  spite,  however,  of  these  dis- 
tinctly Negro-like  features,  the  Kadirs  display  their 
affinity  with  the  Caucasian  stock  in  their  curly,  as 
opposed  to  woolly,  hair,  as  well  as  by  the  absence  of 
decidedly  projecting  jaws.  A  Kadir  may  also  be  re- 
cognized at  the  first  glance  by  reason  of  the  curious 
custom  of  chipping  the  front  teeth,  which  is  universally 
practised  by  the  members  of  both  sexes. 

Nearly  allied  to  the  Kurumbas  are  the  Kulas  of  the 
Nilgiris;  indeed,  so  closely  do  the  members  of  these 
two  tribes  resemble  each  other  that  the  managers  of 
coffee  estates  are  unable  to  state  definitely  how  they 
distinguish  between  them.  Leaving  then  the  Kiilas 
with  this  bare  mention,  we  pass  on  to  the  distinctly 
higher  Badagas  (Northerners)  of  the  Nilgiris,  of  whom 
there  were  twenty-nine  thousand  odd  in  the  last  census, 
against  a  little  over  twenty-four  thousand  in  the 
previous  enumeration.  As  the  Todas  are  the  pastoral, 
and  the  Kotas  the  artizan  population  of  the  Nilgiris, 
so  the  Badagas  are  the  agriculturists  of  the  region. 
They  live  in  large  villages,  generally  situated  on  some 
low  hillock,  and  comprising  rows  of  well-built  and  well- 
roofed  houses,  surrounded  by  fields  of  millet  and  other 
grain.  They  are  also  well  dressed,  and  as  their  religion 
and  other  customs  are  of  the  Hindu  type,  they  scarcely 
come  under  the  designation  of  wild  tribes,  and  may 
accordingly  be  dismissed  without  further  mention. 

Passing  into  Ceylon  we  find,  however,  a  tribe  of 
thoroughly  wild  people  in  the  Veddas,  who  are  de- 
cidedly lower  in  their  physical  characters  than  any  of 
the  Indian  Dravidians,  and  whose  customs  certainly  do 
not  give  them  claim  to  any  higher  position.  In  stature 
the  Veddas'  are  unusually  small,  the  height  of  the  men 
averaging  only  five  feet  two  inches,  and  of  the  women 
not  more  than  four  feet  ten  inches.  Although  the 
exact  shade  varies  somewhat  on  different  parts  of  the 
person  of  the  men,  the  general  colour  of  the  skin  is 
dark  brown.  In  person  the  Veddas  are  strongly  built, 
but  they  show  distinct  evidence  of  a  low  grade  in  the 
exce.ssive  relative  length  of  the  limbs,  long  arms  being 
a  distinctly  ape-like  character.  The  foot,  too,  is  remark- 
able for  its  flatness,  having  scarcely  any  well  defined 
instep.  The  hair,  which  is  unkempt,  and  uncombed, 
varies  considerably  in  length  in  different  individuals, 
reaching,  in  some  instances,  to  below  the  shoulder,  but 
in  others  being  considerably  shorter;  it  may  be  either 
nearly  straight  or  waved,  but  is  never  of  the  woolly 
or  frizzly  type  characteristic  of  Negroes.  Still  it  must 
be  remembered  that  this  feature  is  not  absolutely 
decisive  of  non-relationship  with  Negroes,  as  it  occurs 
in  the  Australians.  And  the  broad  "  squab  "  noses, 
and  large  pouting  lips  of  the  Veddas  show,  as  in  our 


illustrations,  a  tendency  towards  the  Negro  type.  Very 
char.act.eristic  of  the  men  is  the  development  of  the 
beard  into  a  stubbly  chin  tuft-,  the  mouslache  being  also 
short  .and  bristly. 

Armed  with  bows  and  arrows  and  adzes,  the  Veddas 
wander  in  their  native  forests  in  a  st.ate  of  almost  or 
complete  nudity.  They  are  rapidly  diminishing  in 
numbers,  and  before  long  are  only  too  likely  to  disap- 
pear for  ever.  For  their  customs,  the  reader  must 
refer  to  the  exhaustive  work  by  Drs.  P.  and  F.  Sar.i.sin, 
to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  the  photographs  of  these 
extremely  primitive  and  interesting  people. 


iitifvosropw. 

By  JiiiiN   H.  CoiiKi:,  r.i,.s.,  F.ri.s. 

f'ollections  of  material  kept  in  damp  places,  or  in  a  moist 
atmosphere,  are  very  liable  to  mould,  and  under  snch  conditions 
it  is  ditJicult  to  avoid  this  evil.  (!arl)olic  acid  is  reconiinended, 
but  J\[r.  .\slimead,  who  has  kejit  a  larye  collection  in  the  moist 
climate  of  Florida,  has  found  the  use  of  napthaline  much  more 
satisfactory.  Mr.  II.  H.  Smith,  who  has  had  more  extensive 
experience  in  the  tropics,  prefers  the  carbolic  acid.  Mouldy 
specimens  may  be  cleaned  by  washing,'  with  carbolic  acid  applied 
with  a  fine  camel's  hair  brush. 

Asphalt,  dissolved  in  spirits  of  turpentine,  is  one  of  the  best 
mediums  for  sealing  cells,  and,  provided  that  no  tr.aces  of  the 
mounting  medium  are  left  on  the  edges  of  the  cells  before 
applying  the  solution,  the  cement  will  keep  unchanged  for  years. 

The  projiagation  and  growth  of  diatoms  are  influenced  to  a 
marked  extent  by  meteorological  conditions.  They  increase 
most  rapidly  during  those  seasons  of  the  year  when  the  water  is 
in  circulation  thioughout  the  vertical  currents.  The  vertical 
currents  keep  the  diatoms  near  the  surface,  where  the  light 
stimulates  their  growth,  and  where  there  is  an  abundance  of  air 
and  food. 

The  forms  of  microscopic  crystals  may  bo  accurately  repro- 
duced on  glass  by  etching  with  fluoric  acid.  Interesting  and 
beautiful  effects  may  be  obtained  by  crystallizing  various  salts 
in  a  thin  layer  on  a  glass  slip  which  has  been  well  warmed  to 
prevent  tl  e  cryst.als  from  dissolving,  and  then  exposing  the 
glass  to  the  action  of  the  vapour  of  fluoric  acid  for  three  to  five 
minutes. 

Many  Aphides  and  Coccids  are  covered  with  a  waxy  secretion 
which  interferes  very  materially  with  their  easy  examination. 
To  remove  this  waxy  secretion  jilace  the  insect  on  a  piece  of 
])latinum  foil  and  pass  it  once  over  the  flame  of  the  alcohol 
lani]).  The  wax  melts  at  a  surprisingly  low  temperature,  and 
leaves  the  insect  perfectly  clean  for  study.  'J'liis  method  is 
particularly  useful  in  the  removal  of  the  waxy  cocoon  of  the 
pupiB  of  male  Coi-i-iJir,  and  is  quicker  and  more  thorough  than 
the  use  of  any  of  the  chemical  wax  solvents  which  have  been 
suggested. 

Oil-immeri'ion  objectives  require  much  care  in  use.  A  small 
quantity  only  of  the  fluid  should  be  employed,  and  then  wiped 
oft  as  soon  as  |)03Pible  when  finished  with.  The  removal  of  the 
pre])aied  cedar  oil,  which  is  generally  u.sed,  should  bo  effected 
with  blotting  paper,  and  the  lens  cleaned  by  first  breathing  on 
it  and  afterwards  wiping  lightly  with  a  piece  of  clean,  soft  linen. 
To  keep  the  immersion  fluid  unchanged  it  ought  not  to  be 
ex])0sed  to  the  air  for  any  length  of  time,  as  free  access  of  air 
results  in  thickening  and  consequent  alteration  of  the  refractive 
index. 

A  kind  of  combin,ation  telescope  and  microscope  has  been 
worked  out  by  a  French  microscojjist  for  studying  live  insects 
and  their  habits.  The  new  apparatus  is  called  the  "  tolemicro- 
scope,''  and  is  really  a  small  telescope  having  an  objective 
formed  of  two  achromatic  lenses,  which  can  bo  moved  nearer 
together  or  separated  by  sliding  the  tubes.  For  the  purpo.se 
intended,  the  magnifying  power  necessary  is  only  llj  to  15 
diameters.  Besides  serving  for  watching  insects  moving  on  the 
ground,  the  instrument,  it  is  stated,  is  admirably  adapted  for 
use  as  a  field  glass. 


70 


KNOWLEDGE 


[Makch  1,  1900. 


Microscopists,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  will  hail  with  satis- 
faction the  resolutions  that  have  recently  been  adopted  by  the 
Council  of  the  Royal  Microscopical  Society  to  standardize  the 
Tarious  parts  of  the  microscope  and  its  accessories.  A  beginning 
has  already  been  made,  for  the  details  of  which  we  are  indebted 
to  the  courtesy  of  the  Council.  The  standards  adopted  in  1S82 
have  been  withdrawn,  and  the  size  for  the  inside  diameter  of 
the  sub-stage  fitting  has  been  fixed  at  l'b'27  inches  (38'786  mm.). 
The  gauges  for  standardizing  eye-pieces  will,  in  future,  be  the 
internal  diameter  of  the  draw-tubes  ;  the  tightness  of  the  fit 
being  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  manufacturers.  Four  sizes 
of  the  intern.al  diameters  of  the  draw-tubes  have  been  fixed  as 
follows  :~No.  1,  9173  inch  (23-300  mm.).  This  is  the  Con- 
tinental gauge.  No.  '-',  1'04  inches  (26'4iri  mm.),  is  the  mean  of 
the  sizes  used  by  the  English  trade  for  students  and  small 
microscopes.  Xo.  3,  1'27  inches  (32'258  mm.),  is  the  mean  of 
the  sizes  used  for  medium-sized  binoculars  and  other  microscopes 
.  of  a  similar  class.  No.  4,  1-41  inches  (3;r814  mm  ),  is  the 
maximum  size  for  long- tube  binoculars.  The  sub-stage  gauge 
is  that  which  has  been  used  by  the  English  trade  for  many  years 
past,  the  variation  among  difEerent  makers  being  not  more  than 
a  few  thousandths  of  an  inch.  We  hope  to  be  able  shortly  to 
give  the  standard  gauges  of  the  eye-piece  cap  and  of  other 
apparatus.  The  plugs  and  ring  gauges  of  all  of  the  above  may 
be  inspected  bj*  the  puljlic  at  the  Society's  rooms. 

With  all  the  diversity  of  interesting  lines  of  research  that  are 
offered  to  the  student  of  botany  to-day,  there  is  none  more 
inviting  to  a  student,  or  better  adapted  to  bring  into  activity 
all  the  I'esources  of  his  judgment,  than  the  systematic  study  of 
the  species  of  some  limited  group,  provided  this  is  properly 
combined  with  a  study  of  the  morphology,  development,  and 
ecologic  relations  of  such  a  related  series.  The  Fungi  and 
Mycetozoa  offer  themselves,  in  a  special  degree,  as  a  field  for 
thorough  and  oi'iginal  systematic  study,  and  students  of  these 
groups  will  therefore  be  glad  to  hear  that  Professor  Lucian 
Underwood,  of  Columbia  University,  has  .just  issued,  in  book 
form,  an  admirable  exposition  bearing  on  the  moulds,  mildews 
and  mushrooms. 

A  simple  and  effective  method  for  removing  air  bubbles  from 
microscopic  mounts  is  suggested  l)y  P.  S.  Proctor  in  the 
Pharmiireiitlcal  Journul.  A  small  syringe,  having  a  glass 
barrel,  vulcanite  mounts,  and  leather  packing  to  the  piston,  is 
the  only  apparatus  required.  Select  one  that  is  as  nearly  as 
possible  air  tight,  unscrew  the  top  and  remove  the  piston. 
Close  the  nozzle  with  a  small  piece  of  beeswax,  half  fill  the 
barrel  with  distilled  water,  and  into  this  drop  the  section  or 
tissues  to  be  treated.  Replace  the  piston  and  screw  on  the  top. 
The  syringe  being  inverted  and  the  plug  of  wax  removed,  the 
air  is  driven  out  of  the  barrel  by  raising  the  piston  till  the  water 
begins  to  flow  out  of  the  nozzle,  after  which  close  the  aperture 
with  the  finger  and  lower  the  piston.  A  partial  vacuum  is  thus 
formed,  and  the  air  rapidly  escapes  from  the  cells  of  the  tissue, 
collecting  in  the  point  of  the  .syringe.  By  removing  the  finger 
and  raising  the  piston  the  lilierated  air  is  forced  out  :  this  may 
be  repeated  several  times  as  long  as  air  is  being  expelled  from 
the  material.  The  same  mode  of  operating  is  applicable  to 
objects  that  are  to  be  mounted  in  Canada  balsam  if  oil  of 
turpentine  be  used  instead  of  water,  and  if  the  objects  to  be 
mounted  are  quite  dry  before  immersion  in  the  turpentine. 

[All  commtiii/catioim  in  rfference  to  thin  Column  should  be 
(idilri'sxed  to  Mr.  J.   II.  Coohf.  at  the  Office,  of  Knowlehgi:.] 


NOTES   ON   COMETS   AND   METEORS. 

By  W.  F.  Denning,  f.r.a.s. 

New  Comet. — The  announcement  has  just  been  made  (,l,s7. 
\(irh.  3()1S)  that  Giacobini  at  Nice  discovered  a  new  comet  on 
.January  Sl'st  in  R.A.  44"  2iV,  Dec.  9"  .06'  south.  The  position 
of  the  object  was  therefore  between  the  stars  i)  and  ^  Eridani. 
The  comet  is  moving  slowly  to  the  north-west. 

During  the  last  few  months  the  firmament  has  apparently 
been  free  of  comets  visible  in  small  telescopes.  We  have 
now,  however,  approached  a  season  when  clearer  skies  and  more 
genial  weather  arc  likely  to  encourage  the  search  for  these 
bodies. 


PERioniCAL  Comets. — These  form  a  singularly  interesting 
class,  in  which  we  have  witnessed  a  rapid  increase  of  numbers 
in  recent  years.  The  comets  of  short  period,  belonging  to 
the  Jovian  group,  revolving  in  times  varying  from  3'3  to 
about  9  years,  now  include  about  thirty  members,  though  only 
half  of  these  have  received  satisfactory  verification  by  having 
been  detected  at  two  or  more  returns  to  perihelion.  The 
following  is  a  list  of  the  approximate  dates  of  expected  returns 
of  these  bodies  during  the  few  ensuing  years  : — 

Comet. 

De  Vico-Swift 
Barnard  (1884) 
Brorsen 
Denning  (1894) 
Encke 

Brooks  (1S8G) 
Swift  (1895) 
Tempel-Swift 
Perrine  (1896) 
Spitaler  (1890) 
Faye 

Brooks  (1889) 
Pons-Winnecke 
D' Arrest 
Encke 
Tempel  (1873) 

The  January  Meteors. — Prof.  Herschel,  whose  important 
observation  of  the  Quadrantids  on  January  2nd  has  been  already 
referred  to  (Knowi.ehoe,  February,  1900),  has  thoroughly 
reduced  his  results,  and  finds  that  several  showers  were  actively 
and  distinctly  visible  on  the  night  mentioned.  The  special 
shower  of  Quadrantids  formed  about  one-third  of  the  total 
number  (80)  of  meteors  registered.  The  various  radiants 
determined  were  : — 


Liist.  ottserved 
Perihelion  Piissage. 

Periotl  ill 
Teiu-s. 

Next  Return. 

1894,  Oct.  12th 

.5-855 

1900,  Aug. 

1895,  June  3rd 

5-398 

1900,  Sep. 

1879,  Mar.  30th 

5-456 

1901,  J.in. 

1894,  Feb.  9th 

7-477 

1901,  Aug. 

1898,  May  26th 

3-303 

1901,  Sep. 

188C>,  June  6th 

5-£95 

1902,  Jan. 

1.S95,  Aug.  20th 

7-220 

1902,  Nov. 

1897,  June  4th 

5-534 

1902,  Dec. 

1896,  Nov.  24th 

6-441 

1903,  Apl.-May 

1890,  Oct.  26th 

6-378 

1903,  July 

1896,  Mar.  19th 

7-566 

1903,  Oct. 

189(1,  Nov.  4th 

7-073 

1903,  Nov.-Dec. 

1898,  Mar.  20th 

5-818 

1904,  Jan. 

1897,  May  21st 

6-691 

1904,  Jan. -Feb. 

1.S98,  May  2i!th 

3-303 

1904,  Sep. 

1899,  June  18th 

5-211 

1904,  Oct. 

Sliower. 

Meteors. 

Eadiant  Poiuts 

Quadrantids 

...        29 

229"   -t-   52" 

p  Boiitids 

8 

286"  +  34" 

y  Ursa;  Minorids 

6 

242"  +  75° 

J  Coronids 

8 

243"  -1-  29" 

/i  Herculids 

6 

257"  +  44" 

^  Draconids 

7 

26(i"  +  65" 

The  chief  dis])lay  of  the  epoch  in  Quadrans  is  generally  of 
very  short  duration,  but  it  seems  to  have  been  unusually  pro- 
longed and  conspicuous  this  year.  The  meteors  were,  however, 
most  .abundant  on  the  morning  of  January  3rd.  An  observer 
at  Chalfont,  in  Buckinghamshire,  says  that  between  6h.  and 
6h.  30m.  a.m.  on  the  date  given  there  were  several  fine  .shooting 
stars  which  "had  tails  and  burst  like  rockets."  On  the  morning 
of  January  4th  there  were  also  many  meteors.  Mr.  Robert 
Service,  of  Dumfries,  reports  that  he  started  for  a  drive  at 
6  a.m.,  and  between  that  hour  and  daylight  he  counted  moi-e 
than  thirty  very  fine  meteors,  hardly  one  being  under  1st  mag- 
nitude. The  prevailing  colour  was  yellow.  One  brilliant 
meteor  descended  through  Leo  and,  after  bursting,  left  a  streak 
which  remained  visible  for  quite  a  minute.  Something  of  the 
display  was  also  seen  in  the  evening  of  January  2nd  by  Mr. 
J.  H.  Bridger,  at  Farnborougli,  and  Sir.  T.  H.  Astbury,  at 
V/allingford,  and  two  Quadrantids  appearing  at  6h.  20m.  and 
6h.  41m.  were  observed  at  both  stations. 

Of  fifteen  meteors  mapped  by  Prof.  Herschel  on  the  nights 
of  January  24th,  25th  and  27th,  several  pretty  bright,  slow 
ones  indicated  a  r.adiant  in  the  extreme  south-west  region  of 
Camelopardalus  at  about  43°  +  63°.  One  of  the  meteors  which 
a]ipeared  on  January  25th,  lib.  10m.,  was  fortunately  also 
recorded  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Bridger,  at  Faruborough,  and  a  com- 
parison of  the  two  observations  leads  to  the  following  results  : — 

Height  at  beginning,  sixty-five  miles,  over  a  point  two  miles 
south-east  of  Atherstone,  Warwick. 

Height  at  ending,  forty-four  miles,  five  miles  north  of  Rugby. 

Length  of  observed  path,  twenty-six  miles. 

Velocity,  thirteen  miles  per  second. 

Earth  point,  four  miles  north-west  of  Olney,  Bucks. 

Eadiant  point,  45°  -1-  62". 

The  shower  is  apparently  the  same  as  G.C.  XLVII.,  with  a 
mean  position  at  50"-4  +  C2°-9. 


M.«cH  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


71 


Another  meteor  was  observod  by  Prof.  Horschcl,  at  Slough, 
and  Mr.  A.  King,  at  Leicester,  on   .Tanuarv  "JTth,  at   llh.  l(hu. 
It  h.ad  a  radiant  \t  9S^  -  lit'\  and  fell  from  a  height  of  fifty 
seven  to  forty-five  miles. 

SiiowEits  ov  Leomus  ami  AxpnoMEPES. — It  is  a  remark- 
able fact  that  after  the  present  year  the  two  great  November 
displays  will  be  due  on  almost  the  same  day  of  the  year  though 
there  is  a  considerable  ditferonce  of  period,  the  Leonids  .arriving 
on  Xovember  loth,  and  the  Bielan  meteors  on  November  17th. 
And  another  curious  ciroumsfcmce  in  connection  with  these 
comet;iry  showers  is  that  five  periods  (t)-6G  years)  of  the  latter 
accurately  represent  one  period  {■'•'y.)  years)  of  tlie  former. 
The  Leonids  complete  throe  revolutions  and  the  Bielids  rifteen 
revolutions  in  a  century.  Brilliant  displays  may  possibly  come 
as  follows  : — 


1900.  Leonids. 

1901.  Leonids. 
190J.  Biehds. 
1912.  Bielids. 
1918.  Bielids. 


192.5.  Bielids. 
19,32.  Bielids. 

Leonids. 
Leonids. 
Leonids. 


193S. 
1934. 

1935. 


THE    FACE   OF   THE   SKY    FOR    MARCH. 

By    A.    Fowler,    f.r.a.s. 

The  Sun. — Ou  the  1st  the  sun  rise3  at  6.48  and  sets 
at  5.38;  on  the  31st  he  rises  at  5.40  and  sets  at  6.29. 
The  sun  entei-s  Aries,  and  Spring  commences  on  the 
21st  at  2  A.M. 

Observers  who  are  favoured  with  clear  western  skies 
may  expect  to  see  the  Zodiacal  Light  in  the  carlv 
evening. 

The  AIoon. — The  moon  will  be  new  at  11.25  a.m.  on 
the  Lst,  will  enter  first  quarter  at  5.34  a.m.  on  the  8th 
will  be  full  at  8.12  a.m.  on  the  16th,  will  enter  la.st 
quarter  at  5.37  a.m.  on  the  24th,  and  will  be  again 
new  at  8.31  p.m.  on.  the  30th.  The  following  are  the 
most  interesting  occultations  :  — 


a 

o   . 


^ 

a 

■= 

S  "^ 

1  "■' 

<o-t 

as 

or 

.2t: 

."• 

Z 

1 

•5 

«° 

< 

S 

» 

o 

o 

o 

d.  h. 

Uar.  5 

40  Arietis 

«1 

6.22  P.M. 

1  in? 

M* 

7.  7  P.M. 

20S 

171 

4    8 

,.       9 

Neptune 

6.13  P.M. 

101 

107 

7.3+  P.M. 

268 

249 

7     8 

„     10 

/Geminorum 

5-2 

l.«  A.M. 

98 

o~ 

2.40  A.M. 

299 

260 

9  15 

..     11 

D.M.-He" 

1679 

6  5 

7.:«  P.M. 

Hi 

m 

8.14  P.M. 

:i.53 

4 

10    9 

.,  n 

Saturn 

8.3.5  i.M. 

77 

56  i 

9.4<i  A.M. 

2.55 

225 

22  22 

The  Planets. — Mercury  is  well  placed  as  an  evening 
star  during  the  early  part  of  the  month,  reaching  his 
greatest  elongation  of  18°  16  minutes  east  on  the  8th 
at  11  A.M.,  when  he  sets  an  hour  and  forty-nine  minutes 
after  the  sun;  at  6.45  p.m.  he  will  be  alsout  7  degrees 
above  the  horizon  and  3  degrees  south  of  west.  Tho 
apparent  diameter  of  the  planet  on  the  1st  is  6" ;  on 
the  8th  7". 2;  and  on  the  12th,  8".2.  One  may  ex 
pect  to  observe  the  planet  to  advantage  during  thj 
first  twelve  days  of  the  month ;  Venus  will  be  about 
20  degrees  east  of  Mercury. 

Venus  will  be  a  very  conspicuous  object  in  the  western 
sky  throughout  the  month  in  the  early  evening.  A;; 
the  middle  of  the  month  she  sets  at  9.54  p.m.,  nearly 
four  hours  after  the  sun,  seven-tenths  of  the  disc  being 
then  illuminated.  At  the  beginning  of  the  month 
she  is  in  the  western  part  of  Pisces,  but  passes  into 
Aries  about  the  llth  and  into  Taurus  about  the  30th 
During  the  month  the  apparent  diameter  increases  from 
14".8  to  18".0. 

Mars  does  not  rise  until  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
before  sunrise,  and  cannot  therefore  be  observed. 

Jupiter   continues   as    a   morning   star,    rising    about 


1.54  A.M.  on  the  1st  and  about  midnight  on  the  3 lst. 
His  path  is  a  short  direct  ono  in  Ophiuchus  until 
the  27th,  when  he  is  stationary.  At  the  middlo  of  the 
month  the  apparent  diameter  of  the  planet  is  36". 2. 

Saturn     remains     a     morning     stai',     rising     about 

2.55  A.M.  on  the  ]5tli.  During  the  month  he  describes 
,t  short  direct  path  in  the  western  part  of  Sagittarius. 

Uranus  is  also  a  morning  star,  rising  shortly  after 
1  .\.M.  at  the  middlo  of  the  month.  He  remains 
nearly  midway  between  Antares  and  Eta  Ophiuch". 
He  is  in  quadrature  on  the  3rd  and  stationary  on  the 
i7th.  At  the  end  of  the  month  ihe  planet  will  be 
about  1°  south  of  Jupiter  and  1  }P  west. 

Neptune  may  still  be  picked  up  in  the  early  cvenine 
by  diligent  obsci-vcrs ;  at  the  middle  of  the  month  ho 
sets  about  10  p.m.  Ho  is  stationary  on  tho  5tli  and  in 
quadrature  on  the  15th.  At  the  middlo  of  the  mont'i 
he  is  1°  north  of  Zet.a,  Taiiri  and  .'!  minutes  (45') 
following  that  star. 

The  Stars. — About  the  middle  of  the  month,  at 
9  p.m.,  Aries  will  be  nearly  setting  a  little  north  of 
west,  Taunis  will  be  neai'ly  due  west,  Orion  in  the 
south-west,  Capella  high  up  in  tho  west,  Sirius  low 
down  about  30°  south  of  west,  Procyon  and  Gemini 
higher  and  a  little  nearer  tho  meridian.  Cancer  on  the 
meridian,  Leo  pretty  high  up  in  the  south-oast.  Arc- 
turns  to  the  cast,  Hercules  and  Vega  low  down  in  the 
north-east. 

Minima  of  Algol  will  occur  on  the  Stii  at  9. .31  p.m., 
on  the  28ih  at  U.12  p.m.,  and  on  the  31i?t  at  8  p.m. 


€1)CS9  Column. 

By  C.  D.  LococK,  b.a. 


Communications  for  this  column  should  be  addressed 
to  C.  D.  LococK,  Netheriield,  Camberley,  and  be  posted 
bv  the  10th  of  each  month. 


Solution.s    of    February    Problems. 
(J.  G.  Campbell.) 

No.    1. 

Key-move — 1.  B  to  Kt«q. 
If  1    .   .   .  P  X  Kt,  2.  Q  to  QR7,  etc. 

1   ...  K  X  Kt,  2.  Q  X  P.  etc. 

1    ...   K  to  l<:2,       2.  Q  X  Pch. 
1   .   .   .    IMo  B4,        2.  QxP. 
[It  is  noticeable  that  the  White  QB  is  used  only  to 
make    the    key-move.      This    would    be    considered    an 
cffence    against    the    law    ot    economy    in    a    modern 
problem.] 

No.    2. 

Key-move— 1.  Q  to  Kt<). 
If  1  .  .  .  PxQ,  2.  K  toB2,  etc. 

1   ...   P  to  B3,        2.  Kt  to  Kt7(h,  etc 
1  ...  Kt  to  K3,      2.  R  to  B3,  etc. 
Other  variations  lead  to  shor*--  mates. 
Correct  Solutions  of  ix-th   problems  received   from 
J.   Baddeley,   Alpha,   Capt.    Fordo,   W.   Nash,   K.   W.  ; 
all    of   whom    speak   of   the   two   problems    in    terms    of 
admiration. 

Of  No.  1  only,  from  E.  Servantc,  H.  S.  Brandreth, 
n.  Le  Jcune,  W.  J.  Allea. 

H.  S.  Brandreth. — Yonr  main  variation  in  No.  2 
being  incoiTect  you  are,  peiliaps  unjustly,  not  credited 
with  its  correct  solution,  although  you  have  given  the 


72 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[March  1,  1900. 


correct  key.  After  1.  Q  to  Kt6,  PxQ  ;  2.  B  x  KtP, 
Black  replies  2.  .   .  .  P  to  B6. 

W.  J.  Allen. — You  wi'.i  .see  that  you  are  right  in 
your  conjecture  as  to  the  aifficulty  of  the  .second  move 
in  No.  2.  It  is,  in  fact,  as  you  suggest,  harder  to  find 
than  the  key,  which  is  rather  the  sort  of  move  that  a 
modern  solver  would  be  likely  to  try  first,  on  the  chance 
of  its  being  correct. 

E.   Hervante,   H.   Le   Jbune,   W.    de   P.    Crousaz. — 

1.  Q  to  K2  will  not  solve  No.  2.     E.g  .  1 Kt  to  K5, 

threatening  a  check  :  ths  only  defence  against  tlie 
threatened"  2.  Q  to  QKt2  and  2.  Kt  to  KtTch.  In 
the  latter  case  the  Knight  is  able  to  interpose  at  QB4, 
after  2.  .  .  .  K  x  Kt,  3.  B  to  KtGch.  It  is  a  very  near 
and   beautiful    "  try." 

W.  Nash. — Both  problems  in  half-an-hour  from  the 
diagram  would  seem  to  show  that  the  "  rust  "  is  very 
easily  removed. 

Capt.  Forde. — Your  account  of  previous  experiences 
\;ith  No.  1  is  very  interesting.  Your  friend's  advice 
to  "  try  the  least  likely  move  "  was  evidently  well 
judge<l. 

PROBLEM. 
By   J.   K.    Ma?meikan    (Rcpton). 

Buci   (.'!). 


^     »3     WW     fm 


i 


I    m. 


i    m 


"^mF^^w"^ 


White  tl'). 
White  mates  in  three  moves. 

Mr.  W.  A.  Shinkman,  of  Grand  Kapids,  U.S.A.,  pro- 
ba.bly  the  greatest  composer  of  long  sui-mate  problems 
in  the  world,  has  sent  the  following  fine  specinicn  of 
ids  work.  It  is  useless  to  give  it  a  diagram  as  self-made 
poblems  are  caviare  to  the  Knot/ledge  baud  of 
solvers.  Perhaps,  howeve-,  they  may  be  induced  to 
examine  the  solution  appended,  and  see  for  themselves 
the  beautiful  possibilities  of  this  class  of  problem.  The 
position  is  :  — 

White— K  at  KR6,  Q  at  QB8,  R  at  QR2,  Kt  at  Q.5, 
P  at  KR7. 

Black — K  at  Ksq,  B  at  Qsq.  White  compels  Black 
to  mate  in  13  moves. 

Mr.  Shinkman  sent  no  solution  with  his  ''  puzzle." 
but  the  following  is  no  doubt  the  composer's  beautiful 
intention  :  — 


'Whitf, 

1.  P  to  R8.  becomes  Kt. 

2.  R  to  KB2ch 

3.  Kt  to  KB7 

4.  K  to  R7 

6.  K  to  R8. 

G.  Kt  to  KKt5  dis.  ch 

7.  R  to  KKt2  ! 

8.  Kt  to  QB7 


Black. 

1.  K  moves. 

2.  K  to  K  or  Ktsq 

3.  K  to  Esq 

4.  K  moves 

5.  K  moves 

6.  K  moves 

7.  K  moves 

8.  K  to  K2 


9.  Q  to  KGch 

10.  Q  to  Qtich 

11.  Kt  to  R7ch 

12.  Q  to  KB(!ch 

13.  R  to  Kt7ch. 


9.  K  to  Bs(i 

10.  B  to  K2 

11.  K  to  B2 

12.  BxQch 

13.  B  X  R  mate. 


The  Chess  Editor  confesses  without  shame  that  he 
did  not  solve  this  fi-om  the  diagram,  but  by  a  process 
of  "  looking  backward  "  from  a  finish  which  should  be 
worthy  of  Mr.  Shinkman.  After  it  had  become  evident 
that  a  new  Knight  shoul  1  be  manauvred  to  KR7,  the 
great  difficulty  was  in  the  play  of  the  Rook.  The 
second  move  especially  was  quite  unexpected,  leading, 
as  it  does,  to  the  extremely  subtle  seventh  move,  but 
the  most  wonderful  feature  of  the  problem  is  the  ab- 
sence of  any  alternative  solution,  if  this  is  indeed  the 
case. 


Social  Chess.  By  James  Ma.son.  (Horace  Cox.) 
Mr.  Mason's  latest  work  en  Chess  is  a  neatly  bound 
little  volume  of  170  pages.  It  consists  for  the  most 
part  of  a  collection  of  131  very  short  and  brilliant 
games,  each  of  them  annotated  and  illustrated  by  a 
ciiagram,  so  that  its  progress  can  geneially  be  followed 
without  the  aid  of  a  chess-board.  The  names  of  the 
winners  fairly  represent  the  present  century,  ranging 
as  they  do  from  Napoleon  I.  to  E.  Lasker.  The  names 
of  the  losers  are  considerately  withheld.  Photographic 
descriptions  of  "  Social  Chess-men  "  ancient  and  modern, 
and  an  interesting  and  very  amusinj  history  of  the 
game  form  the  remainder  of  the  work.  Mr.  Mason's 
interpolated  notes  to  the  game  quoted  from  an  ancient 
vriter  are  in  the  happiest  style  of  botii  writers.  There 
is  an  index  of  openings  as  well  as  of  winners  of  games. 
The  price  is  2s.  6d.  net. 


CHESS    INTELLIGENCE. 


The  Anglo-American  Cable  Match  takes  place  on 
March  23rd  and  24th,  tlie  British  f^eam  playing  in  the 
International  Hall  of  the  Monico  Restaurant,  Picca- 
dilly Circus.  The  two  preceding  dayj  are  to  be  devoted 
to  the  cable  match  between  a  combined  team  of 
Oxford  and  Cambi-idge  Universities  and  a  team  repre- 
senting the  American  Universities. 

In  the  South-Eastern  division  of  the  S.C.C.U.  Surrey 
have  defeated  Sussex  and  lost  to  Hampshire.  Should 
Hampshire  succeed  in  defeating  Sussex  they  will  tie 
with  Surrey  for  the  leadership  of  that  section. 

The  late  Professo--  Ruskiii'  took  a  great  interest  in 
Chess,  more  particularly  in  very  short  and  lively  games, 
such  as  those  of  Mr.  Bird.  He  was  the  originator  of 
the  expression  "  Social  Chess,"  the  title  of  Mr.  Mason's 
book  reviewed  above.  Professor  Ruskiu  was  a  Vice- 
President  of  the  British  Chess  Association,  and  the 
annual  donor  of  the  "  Ruskin  "  Prize,  consisting  of  a 
toUcction  of  his  works. 

For  Contents  of  the  Two  last  Numbers  o*  "  Knowledge,"  see 
Advertisement  pages. 

The  yearly  bound  volomes  of  Knowlkdqe,  cloth  gilt,  8b.  6d.,  poet  free. 
Bindine  Cases,  Is.  fid.  each  ;  post  free,  is.  9d. 

Subscribers'  numbers  bound  (iucludmsr  case  and  Index),  23.  6d.  each  volume. 
Index  of  Articles  and  lUustrationB  for  1891,  1892,  1894,  1895,  1896,  1897,  and 
1898  can  be  supplied  for  3d.  each. 
All  remittances  should  be  made  payable  to  the  Publisher  of  "  Knowlidof." 


"Knowledge"    Annual    Sabscription,   throughout   the    world, 
7b.  6d.,  post  free. 

Communications  for  tbe  Editors  and  Books  for  Eoriew  should  be  addressed 
Editors,  "  Knowij!do«,"  336,  High  Uolbom,  Loudon,  W.C. 


April  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


r. 


ILLUSTRATED  MAGAZINE 

iSClENCE,  LITERATIJRE  AAm^ 

Founded  by  RICHARD    A.    PROCTOR. 


LONDON:    APEIL    ^,   1900. 


CONTENTS. 


Tlie  Karkinokosm,  or  World  of  Crustacea. — 
Little  Wonders  and  Queer  Blunders,  By  (lie  Iter. 
Thomas  R.  K.  Stebbikg,  m. a.,  f.b.s.,  f.l.s.,  f.z.s. 
(lUuxtrafed)       

Sir  John  Sibbald  on  Suicide.    By  Dr.  J.  ti.  McPiikrsox, 

V.H.S.E. 

The  Evolution  of  Simple  Societies.  —  II.  The  Pastors 
of  the  Steppes.  l!_v  Trof.  .\i.i-bi:i)  C.  Uadoox.  ma.. 
D.si-.,  y.u.!-.         ...  .  

The  Photography  of  Clouds.  I!v  Eiokxe  Axtomadi, 
F.B.A.s.      (Illustrated) 

Cloud  Photographs  taken  at  M.  Flanimarion  s  Obser- 
vatory, Juvisy.  France.     [Plate.) 

Mme.  Ceraski  s  Second  Algol  Variable    By  Kdwakd  C, 

PlCKEKINO 

Astronomy  without  a  Telescope.  —  III.  The  Northern 
Stars.     i!y  K.  Wai.tkr  >rArXDER.  f.r.a.s.     (Illustrated) 

Earthquake-Sounds.    By  Chakles  Davison,  sc.d.,  i-  g  s. 

Letters  : 

Is  THE  Universe  Infinite?    By  W.  H.  S.  Monck 
Is  THE  Stkllab  Univbrsk  Finite?   By  AVm    .-Indekson 
Ihb  Constituents  of  the  Scn.    By  CoK  K.  E.  Mabk  wick 
Note  by  A.  Fowler,  f.e.a.s. 

Notices  of  Books  

Books  Received 

British   Ornithological   Notes.     Conducted  by  Habhy  F. 

WlIHBEBT,   P.Z.a.,    M.B.O.TT.     ... 

Obituary : 

Charles  Piazzi  Smtth        

Across  the  Downs.     By  Gebnville  A.  J.  Colk,  m.b.i.a., 

F.G  s.     (Illustrated) 
The    Mud-Nest    Building    Birds    of   Australia.     I'.y  1). 

Le  Sodkf,  r.M.z.s.      (Illiisf rated)      "     ... 

Microscopy.     By  John  H.  Cooke,  f.l.s.,  f.g.s. 

Notes  on  Comets  and    Meteors.      Bv  W.  F.  Denning, 

F.B.A.8 ■ 

The  Face  of  the  Sky  for  April.     By  A.  Fowleb,  f.e.a!s. 
Chess  Column.    By  C.  D.  Locock,  b.a 


7:i 
70 

7i> 
7'J 

M 

81 
83 

S3 
86 

8() 
86 

88 

88 

8'.) 

89 

92 
94 

94 
9.5 
9.j 


THE    KARKINOKOSM,    OR    WORLD    OF 
CRUSTACEA. 

By  the  Kev.  Thomas  K.  R.  Stebbing,  m.a.,  f.k.s.,  f.l.s., 
F.Z.S.,  Author  of  "  A  History  of  Crustficca,"  "  The 
Naturalist  of  Cumhrae,"  "  Report  on  the.  Aniphi/uuhi 
collected  by  H.M..S.  '  ( 'hallenyer,'  "  etc. 

LITTLE    WONDERS    AND    QUEER    BLUNDERS. 

LixN^us  was  no  longer  in  the  land  of  the  living 
Lamarck  had  attained  to  middle  life,  Latreille  was 
almost  a  young  man,  Cuvier  was  in  his  boyhood 
bavigay  and  Sabine,  if  still  babies,  were  at  any  rat^ 
already  born,  before  the  least  inkling  had  reached  the 
scientific  world  of  that  remarkable  group  of  Crustacea 
to  which  the  readers  attention  is  now  invited.  When 
the  inkling  came  at  last,  it  came,  not  as  might  have 
been  expected,  from  Sweden  or  Germany  or  France 
but  from  Russia.     For  though  it  may  be,  and  has  been' 


suggested  that  Germany  u,,.,  ,,,,  ,.i,,a,  l.y  a  year  tliu 
Teutonic  oracle,  issued  by  tin-  celebrated  Johann 
Uiristiau  Jabricius,  is  so  oUscme  (liat  nobodv  to  (his 
c!ay  can  tell  for  certain  what  was  iutcuihHl  by'  it  Uul 
the  German  twilight  or  the  Ru.s.sian  dawn  wa's  followed 
in  nearly  forty  years  only  by  one  faint  nuivcni^-  ray 
which  issued  from  our  own  Devonshire.  Then  a  clearer 
light  shone  out  of  America,  again  witli  no  responsive 
gleam  during  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  eenturv  except  a 
titful  shimmer  from  France.  To  this  day  "you  might 
search  through  a  hundred  intellectual  '  salons,  and 
examine  the  students  of  innumerable  schools  and 
colleges,  without  finding  any  appreciable  percentage 
of  persons  who  could  give  a  reasonable  account  of  the 
Cumacea. 

Nevertheless  it  was  not  in  inaccessible  Russian  but 
in  Latin  that  Ivan  Lepekhin  described  his  species  in 
1780;  in  1818  the  American,  Sav,  wrote  of  Diastylis 
arenarius  in  the  English  tongue;  and  during  the 
last  fifty  or  sixty  years  a  large  number  of  kindred 
forms  have  been  discussed  m  various  European 
languages.  In  the  productive  effort  of  this  latter  period 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland  can  claim  to  'lave  worked 
early  and  worked  well,  though  they  cannot  pre- 
tend 'o  compete  with  Dano-Norwegian  "science,  led  by 
such    ca[)tains  "        ■.      —  -     - 

iSars. 


as    Heiirik    Kroyer    and    Georg    Ossian 


%=i*^ 


FiG,   1. — yaniin.slaci'S  .siihiiii  Siii-j.      Pliili|ipiiio  I,«l;iijtls. 
from  Sars. 

After  this  historic  preamble,  not  to  raise  false  hopes, 
it  is  right  to  explain  that  these  Cumacea  have  less  of 
.ZEsops  bull-frog  about  them  than  any  other  order 
of  the  Malacostraca.  Some  of  them,  like  certain  of 
the  crabs  and  family  members  of  all  the  other  orders, 
dwindle  down  to  absurdly  tiny  proportions;  but  none 
of  them  ever  swell  themselves  out  to  that  menacing 
magnitude  which  many  groups  occasionally  display.  In 
a  comjjetition  of  length,  they  cannot  with  their  cham- 
pion species  stretch  to  an  inch  and  a  half.  Into  a 
competition  of  breadth  they  have  no  temptation  <  .i 
enter.  They  are  essentially  of  a  spare  habit.  Though, 
like  the  lobster  and  the  shrimp,  they  are  conspicuously 
long-tailed  (macrurous)  crustaceans,  in  that  very  respect 
tiiey  differ  most  strikingly  from  the  Macrura  proper. 
The  tail  is  not  a  muscular  meat-supplying  appendage, 
but  slender,  and  adapted,  like  the  tail  of  a  scorpion, 
for  sudden  and  variously  divergent  wrigglings  and  con- 
tortions. Insignificant  in  size,  however,  as  they  are, 
their  enormous  numbers  in  the  North  Sea  potently 
help  to  fatten  the  shoals  of  herrings.  This  is  one  of 
the  reasons  for  thinking  that  the  sjjccies  which  Fabricius 
in  1779  called  Gammarus  csca,  the  Food  Gammarus, 
was   a   Cumacean.      The   name   Gammarus   is    now   re- 


71 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[April  2,  1900. 


stricted  to  tbe  Amphij^oda,  as  no  doubt  it  already  was 
in  the  intention  of  Fabricius  himself.  Lepekhin  in 
the  following  year  called  a  Cumacean  species  Oniscus 
scorpioides,  recognizing  by  the  sj^ecific  name  the  like- 
ness to  a  scorpion,  but  using  a  generic  name  now  re- 
stricted to  some  of  the  terrestrial  Isojjoda,  known  as 
woodlice,  and  bearing  little  resemblance  to  the  tribe 
under  discussion,  wliich,  but  for  the  "  relict  "  fauna 
of  the  Caspian,  might  be  called  exclusively  marine. 

The  segmentation  of  the  body  and  the  number,  suc- 
cession, and  character  of  its  appendages  jsrove  ths 
Cumacea  to  be  a  true  Malacostracan  order.  Tli  3 
carapace  overarches  the  appendages  as  far  as  the  third 
maxillipeds,  usually  leaving  exposed  five  pairs  of  trunk- 
legs,  so  that  in  this  respect  the  Cumacea  are  inter- 
mediate between  the  higher  forms  (Brachyura  and 
Macrura),  in  which  all  these  limbs  are  as  a  rule  covered 
by  the  carajsace,  and  the  lower  (Isopoda  and  Amphi- 
poda),  in  which  not  five  but  seven  pairs  of  limbs  are  lefc 
exposed  The  integument  is  almost  always  firmly  crus- 
taceous.  which  excites  surprise,  because  generally  such 
obduracy  of  covering  is  met  with  not  in  puny  forms  but 
in  those  of  considerable  size,  and  not  always  in  them. 
On  the  other  hand,  no  surprise  bubbles  ujs  at  the  ob- 
sei-vation  that  these  creatures  have  no  head,  that  is, 
no  head  sejjarated  from  the  thorax,  because  the  astonish- 
ing thing  would  be  to  meet  with  a  crab  or  a  cumacean 
or  a  crustacean  of  any  kind  possessing  a  well-turned  neck, 
except  as  an  anomaly  or  an  abnormality.  All  the  same, 
our  first  English  observer.  Colonel  Montagu,  good 
naturalist  as  he  was,  let  himself  be  deceived  into  think- 
ing that  in  his  specimen  "  the  head  or  fore  part  was 
wanting.  '  He  had  some  excuse,  since  this  novel  object 
was  only  a  quarter  of  an  inch  long,  nor  could  he  find  in 
it  either  eyes  or  antenuje.     He  named  it  Cancer  scor- 


FlG.  2. — Psemlocniiia  campi/Icispuiilea  Sars.      Caspiau  Se:i. 
From  t-ars. 

pic)idts,  thus  independently  in  a  second  species  recog- 
nizing the  likeness  to  a  scorpion,  while  absurdly  placing 
i  t  in  the  genus  Cancer  as  if  it  were  a  little  crab — hoping 
perhaps  with  a  mop  to  stem  the  tide  of  progress  which 
has  been  persistently  comminuting  the  original  genus 
Cancer,  an  amorphous  lump,  into  scores  and  hundreds 
of  more  or  less  shapely  genera. 

Montagu  could  find  no  eyes  in  his  small  specimen. 
The  explanation  of  this  may  be  that  the  small  median 
eye  with  its  eight  lenses  had  been  accidentally  obscured. 
In  the  Cumacea,  as  in  other  orders  of  crustaceans,  there 
are  species  which  see  and  there  are  sightless  species.  It 
•will  be  remembered  also  that  the  Malacostraca  are  divided 
into  two  great  groups,  the  Stalk-eyed  and  the  Sessile- 
eyed.  The  strange  thing  is  that  for  a  great  many  years 
the  scientific  world  could  not  come  to  an  agreement  on 
the  knotty  point,  whether  the  Cumacea  belonged  to  the 
former  group  or  to  the  latter.     If  they  had  no  eyes  at 


all,  well  and  good,  there  was  no  need  to  argue  about  the 
stalks.  But  successive  writers,  Lepekhin,  Milne-Edwards, 
Goodsir,  affirmed  that  they  had  eyes,  and  Say,  thouga 
he  could  not  see  them,  took  their  presence  for  granted. 
Kroyer  began  by  examining  species  that  were  really 
blind.  About  the  same  time  Goodsir  investigated  species 
that  really  had  eyes.  Then  Erichson,  in  1844,  expressed 
what  he  supposed  to  be  Goodsir's  opinion  by  saying, 
'■  the  stalked  ej-es  are  very  small  and  concealed  under 
the  carapace  (which  no  doubt  was  the  cause  of  Kroyer 's 


Fig.  3. — Cumella  limicola  Sars.     E_ve>  aud  front  of  Carapace. 
From  Sars. 

no*-  finding  them)."     Kroyer,  for  his  part,  in  1846,  be- 
lieved the  eyes  to  be  what  one  might  call   an  ocular 
delusion;    and  so  he  says,  "  Goodsir  thought  that  there 
must  be  eyes  to  be  found  in  the  creature  and  he  therefore 
found  them."     Goodsir  unhapi^ily  perished  in  an  Arctic 
expedition,  and  was  never  able  to  defend  or  explain  his 
clearly  printed  statement  that  "  the  eyes  in  this  tribe 
are     exceedingly    small,     they     are    pedunculated,     but 
sessile.''     It  is  amusing  to  notice  how  this  remark  has 
been    treated    by    subsequent    writers.        Erichson    and 
De  Kay  accept   the  epithet   "  pedunculated  "   and  ignore 
the  qualifying  words  "  but  sessile,  "  which  seem  to  come 
from   the   lips   of   Mr.    Facing-both-ways.     Kroyer   and 
Bell  cannot  av/ay  with  a  description  which  is,  as  they 
rightly  say,  a  contradiction  in  terms.     But,  look  you,  in 
spite  of  this,  in  1870,  Anton  Dolirn  found  or  fancied  in 
a  larval  form   a  little   downward   bent   eyestalk,   which 
at  a  later  stage  was  completel)'  enclosed  by  the  carapace. 
This  he  offers  as  an  olive  branch,  a  symbol  of  peace,  be- 
tween the  disputants,  saying.  "  Curiously  both  sides  are 
right, — as  already  before  me  Henry   Goodsir  expressed 
it,  '  the  eyes  are  pedunculated,  but  sessile.   "   He  seems 
to  forget  that  Goodsir  was  concerned  not  with  immature 
but  with  full-grown  forms.       With  a  boldness  greater 
than  Dohrn's,  Eugene  Hesse,  in  1868,  described  an  adult 
cumacean    as    having    eyes    which    "  are    not    precisely 
sessile,    nor   yet   completely    pedunculated ;       they    hold 
the  mean  between  the  one  thing  and  the  other."  What 
could  be  more  accommodating,  what  more  pacificatory  ■ 
And,   after  all,  the  whole   controversy  hangs  on  a  mis- 
pi-int,  as  suggested  by  Fritz  Muller  in  1865.     Nothing, 
I  think,  in  this  uncertain  world  can  be  more  absolutely 
certain   than  that   Goodsirs  intention  was   to  say   that 
the  eyes  are  "  not  pedunculated,  but  sessile,"  in  accord- 
ance with  the   obvious   fact.     Only,   the   printer  or  the 
penman     left     out     the     inconsiderable     word     "not." 
Goodsir  goes  on  to  say  of  the  eyes  that  "  they  are  placed 
very  close  together,"  and  that  "  they  are  covered  by  the 
shell,"    arrangements  not   absolutely   incompatible   with 
the    possession    of    stalks,    though    alien    to    it,    but   the 
plates  which  accompany  his  description  exhibit  sessile- 
eyed   species  with  the  most  uncompromising   plainness. 
No  man   in  his   senses   would   describe   a  new   scientific 
object    as    "  long,    but   short,"    or   "  black,    but    white,  " 
without  some  explanatory  signal  that  he  was  indulging 
in  a  whimsical  paradox. 


Apbil  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


lo 


Xot  the  eyes  alone  excited  eontroversy.  A  question 
was  raised  whether  these  peculiar  little  animals  wero 
iinything  more  than  larval  forms  and,  what  is  almost 
more  peculiai-  than  the  animals  themselves  is,  that  th-; 
justly  illustrious  Henri  Milne-Edwards,  down  at  least 
to  1S64,  was  still  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  argument. 
Though  he  had  himself  with  some  care  introduced  a 
Cumacean  to  European  science  in  182S,  though  hii 
attention  was  repeatedly  called  to  the  subject,  though 
he  had  the  writings  of  Goodsir,  Kioyer,  and  Spenc;^ 
Bate,  conclusively  showing  the  right  view,  he  remained 
obdurate.  With  him  was  L.  Agassiz,  with  him 
apparently,  though  in  less  demonstrative  fashion, 
were  Dana  and  Huxley.  They  all  agreed  in  sup- 
posing the  Cumacea  to  be  immature  forms,  and  they 
were  all  wrong.  In  fact  the  Cumacean  at  birth  al- 
ready resembles  its  mother,  except  that  the  last  pair 
of  trunk-legs  is  as  yet  undeveloped.  A  natural  warn- 
ing against  the  larval  hypothesis  lay  also  in  the 
strong  sexual  dimorphism  of  these  animals.  The  males 
are  distinguished  from  the  females  by  the  great  length 
to  which  their  second  antenna;  arc  developed,  by  having 
exopods  or  swimming-branches  attached  to  all  the  firsc 
four  pairs  of  trunk-legs,  and  having  plcopods  on  th? 
Prst  five,  or  some  of  the  first  five,  segments  of  the  pleon 
Not  often  are  all  these  distinctions  available  together, 
but  always  one  or  more  of  them.  The  superior  swim- 
ming power  of  the  male  makes  him  often  at  night  t•im^.' 
a  victim  to  the  tow-uet  sweeping  the  surface  of  the  sea, 
while  his  less  agile  mate  is  lying  in  safety  far  below. 

Some  of  the  species  show  an  almost  balloon-like  expan- 
sion of  the  front  part.  But,  be  it  corpulent  or  slim, 
its  contents  are  much  the  same,  and  worthy  of  investi- 
gation. For  this,  however,  they  present  a  task  of  some 
delicacy,  being  soft  and  easily  damaged  goods  packed  m 
and  attached  to  a  rather  unyielding  and  brittle  case. 
This  lielps  to  account  for  the  strange  muddle  which 
P.  J.  van  Beneden  made  in  1861,  for,  while  examining 
different  species,   he  seems  to   have   lost   two   pairs   of 


Fig.  4. — Cyclaipoides  ferox  (Fisclicr).     Bay  of  Biscay  ami 
Mediterranean.     From  .Sars. 

the  appendages  and  not  to  have  definitely  known 
which  two  pairs  he  had  lost.  At  the  same  time, 
by  the  general  excellence  of  his  work,  he  created  a  confi- 
dence which  misled  Claus  into  believing  that  in^  thi 
Cumacea  two  pairs  were  really  missing.  That  is  not  the 
fact.  Everything  is  in  order.  Those  who  dissect  with 
the  needful  skill  will  find  in  the  Cumacean  a  heart  and 
"  liver,'  ovarial  or  seminal  ducts,  intestinal  canal,  gang- 
lionic nerve-chain,  thinly  partitioned  branchial  cham- 
bers, eyes  (or  no  eyes),  two  pairs  of  antennae,  mandibles, 
two  pairs  of  maxillae,  three  _  of  maxillipeds,  and  com- 
monly five  pairs  of  trunk-legs.  Of  all  these  the  su- 
premely interesting  objects  are  the  first  maxillipeds. 
These  somewhat  leg-like  jaws  have  in  their  standard 
features  nothing  to  call  for  special  remark  here.  The 
accessories  are  the  essentials.  Every  Malacostracan 
appendage,  as  the  reader  knows,  may  possess  an  epipod 
on  the  first  and  an  exopod  on  the  second  joint,  but 
these  are  often  inconsiderable,  evanescent,  or  wholly 
wanting.  In  these  Cumaicean  maxillipeds  they  are  large 
and  of  the  first  importance,  coalesced  into  a  powerful 


organ,  stretching  backward,  stretching  iui„,,i,i.  <i,  ..'s- 
sential  to  the  life  of  the  Cumacean  as  they  nre  in  some 
respects  unique  in  Malacostracan  structure.  The  hinder 
part  forms  a  great  branchial  lamina,  commonly  ampli- 
fied by  numorows  leaflets  or  vesicles  on  its  surface. 
The  forepart  ends  in   a  pellucid   nienibiauo.     iii  .some 


FlO.  .5.— One  maxilliped  of       Fxo.  0. — Maxillic  and  first  maxiUipeds 
first    pair    of    Diasti/Us  of    Dia-i/i/lis   sciilpla  Sars.      From 

scujpla,  in  lateral  view.  Sars. 

species,  when  the  animal,  alive,  and  lying  still,  is  viewej 
in  sea  water,  the  pair  of  pellucid  ends  will  be  seen  lo 
shoot  forward  at  the  front,  and  then  to  be  in  turn 
withdrawn.  When  advanced,  they  form,  with  the 
frontal  projection  of  the  carapace,  a  closed  but  yielding 
tube  through  which  the  water  of  respiration  is  ex- 
pelled. When  retracted,  they  fold  over  to  preclude  the 
return  of  the  used-up  water,  while  the  maxillae  make 
way  for  a  fresh  stream  to  bathe  the  branchial  blade. 
This  apparatus  is  not  constructed  precisely  in  the  sanu 
way  in  all  the  families  of  the  group,  and,  though  th ; 
most  singular  part  of  the  organism  both  in  stnicturc 
and  mode  of  action,  it  is  not  the  only  part  worthy  of 
notice.  But  space  is  less  at  our  command  than  speci- 
mens are  at  the  command  of  the  student.  To  them 
above  all  he  should  have  recourse,  as  well  as  to  the 
copious  literature  by  which  this  subject  is  now  illumina- 
ted. Among  the  more  recent  writers,  A.  M.  Norman, 
H.  J.  Hansen  and  Jules  Bonnier  arc  conspicuous,  but 
all  the  pens  and  pencils  of  all  the  authors  on  this  sub- 
ject have  not  produced  enough  to  equal  what  has  been 
done  by  G.  O.  Sars.  As  for  specimens  to  examine,  thi 
sands  of  the  shore,  the  dcptlis  of  the  sea  and  its  sur- 
face, are  now  known  to  yield  these  creatures  in  abund 
ancc,  so  that  there  is  no  longer  need  to  wonder  and 
blunder  over  solitary  examples,  though  the  need  for 
seeing  eyes  and  open  minds,  for  caution  and  for  cour- 
age, remains  the  same  ;is  of  old. 


76 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[April  2,  1900. 


SIR   JOHN   SIBBALD   ON   SUICIDE. 

By     Dr.     J.     G.     McPherson.     f.e.s.e.,     Mathematical 
Examiner  in  the  University   of  St.  Andrews 

At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh. 
Sir  John  Sibbald,  retired  Commissioner  on  Lunacy, 
gave  some  very  interesting  results  of  his  examination 
of  the  statistics  of  suicide  in  Scotland  for  many  years. 
And  the  most  startling,  though  at  the  same  time  the 
most  comforting,  was  his  conclusion  against  the  opinions 
of  all  who  had  not  carefully  investigated  the  case,  as  to 
the  increase  of  suicide.  He  found  that  it  was  not  really 
on  the  increase. 

He  first  drew  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  statistics 
of  Scotland  showed  the  increased  number  of  suicides 
during  May,  June,  and  July,  compared  with  November, 
December,  and  January.  This  coincides  with  the  result 
of  statisticians  in  other  countries.  The  winter  deciease 
was  not  owing  to  the  deterrent  of  cold  water  by  ch  own- 
ing, but  in  the  other  forms  of  wounding,  poisoning,  and 
hanging. 

In  regard  to  the  comparative  influence  of  town  and 
countiy  life  on  the  occurrence  of  suicide.  Sir  John 
found  that  suicide  was  not — as  was  generally  supposed — 
more  frequent  in  towns.  In  fact,  the  annual  rate  j^er 
million  of  population  in  the  eight  principal  towns  of 
Scotland  was  somewhat  lower  than  the  rate  in  mainland 
rural  districts. 

He  found  great — even  remarkable — diflferences  in  the 
rates  foi-  different  parts  of  Scotland,  the  counties  all 
along  the  east  coast  having  higher  rates  than  those 
along  the  west  coast.  The  average  rate  for  the  whole 
of  Scotland  (from  1877  to  1894)  was  55  per  million  of 
population.  The  lowest  rates  were  for  the  Highland 
counties  lying  north-west  of  a  line  drawn  from  the 
Moray  Firth  to  the  Firth  of  Clyde.  The  rate  for 
Inverness  was  as  low  as  27  ;  whereas  in  Kincardine,  on 
the  east  coast,  the  rate  was  as  high  as  92.  This  showed 
that  the  Scotch  statistics  bore  out  the  statement  of 
previous  writers — that  suicide  was  far  less  common 
among  the  Celtic  ra«e  than  among  the  Teutons,  being 
a  more  dreamy  and  less  determined  race,  and  that  in 
this  "espect  the  Highlanders  and  other  Celtic  people 
were  more  like  women. 

Medical  men  are  of  opinion  that,  although  the  pro- 
portion of  the  male  sex  who  committed  suicide  was  large 
in  comparison  with  the  female  sex,  women  had  quite 
as  strong  suicidal  tendencies  as  men,  if  not  stronger, 
but  they  lacked  the  courage  to  put  their  feelings  into 
effect.  Hence,  though  the  tendency  may  be  as  strong  in 
the  Highlander  as  in  the  Teuton  or  the  Roman,  he  had 
not  the  courage  of  his  suicidal  conviction. 

Until  Sir  John  gave  us  the  result  of  his  extensive  in- 
vestigation, it  was  held  by  most  observers  that  suicide 
has  been  increasing  to  a  great  and  perhaps  alarming 
extent  in  recent  years.  The  average  rate  for  the  vears 
1865-1869  was  40  in  Scotland  and  67  in  England, 
whereas  the  average  rate  for  the  years  1890-1894  was  up 
to  54  in  Scotland  and  86  in  England — an  increase  of 
35  and  2B  per  cent,  respectively  in  thirty  years.  Two 
factors  come  in  to  account  for  this.  The  state  of  public 
feeling  as  to  suicide  has  changed  ;  the  belief  that  an 
act  of  suicide  necessarily  involved  disgrace  has  greatly 
diminished  since  suicide  has  been  recognised  to  be,  to  a 
great  extent,  the  result  of  mental  disease;  and,  in  con- 
sequence of  this  change  of  opinion,  efforts  to  conceal  its 
occurrence  have  correspondingly  decreased.  That  is  one 
reason.  The  second  is  that  as  suicides  have  increased, 
accidents  have  decreased.  In  the  onlv  case  where  suicide, 


by  the  strict  police  and  registration  machi-:ery  under 
statute,  is  now  impossible  to  be  concealed,  viz.,  by  hang- 
ing, the  rate  during  that  period  is  unchanged  :  it  stands 
fixed  at  16  per  cent,  in  Scotland  and  26  per  cent,  in 
England.  That  is  an  important  fact.  But  turning  to 
the  suicides  by  the  other  method.s — poisoning,  wounding, 
and  drowning — it  is  found  that  almost  exactly  as  these 
rates  have  increased,  the  rates  for  accidents  from  the 
same  causes  have  decreased.  Similar  results  are  shown 
from  the  English  statistics — that  the  total  increase  in 
the  rates  of  suicide  by  wounding,  poison,  and  drowning 
is  exactly  counterbalanced  by  a  total  decrease  in  the 
rates  of  accident  from  the  same  causes.  Accord'ngly 
the  alleged  increase  of  suicide  is  not  proven. 

Dr.  Clouston,  one  of  the  highest  authorities  on  mental 
diseases,  followed  this  up  by  mentioning  a  very  curious 
fact — that  the  average  rate  of  suicide  between  the  ages 
of  fifty-five  and  seventy  is  greater  than  that  between 
fifteen  and  fifty.  He  stated  his  decided  opinion  that 
sexual  influences  mainly  accounted  for  the  difference. 
He  showed  that  up  to  fifty  a  man  or  woman  is,  or 
should  be,  full  of  life,  vigorous,  and  healthy ;  conse 
cjuently  possessed  of  a  strong  desire  for  the  reproduction 
of  the  race ;  and  that  while  possessed  of  that  feeling  he 
or  she  had  no  desire  to  die,  but  rather  a  strong  desire  to 
live.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  later  years  the  body 
became  less  vigorous,  the  blood  less  easily  inflamed,  and 
consequently  sexual  feeling  became  less  strong,  and  the 
wi.sh  to  live  gradually  passed  away  and  the  tendency  to 
suicide  became  stronger. 

Dr.  Clouston  was  also  of  opinion  that  excess  of  alcohol 
led  to  a  condition  of  brain  which  frequently  led  to 
suicide.  It  was  not  so  much  wori-y  as  drink  that  was 
the  prevailing  incentive.  Alcohol,  over-indulged  in, 
produced  the  paralysis  of  the  great  human  vital  in- 
stinct of  self-preservation. 

Sir  John  Murray  instanced  another  aspect  of  suicide, 
and  related  a  cui'ious  spectacle  of  which  he  was  a  witness 
a  good  many  years  ago  in  China.  A  large  numbfr  or 
youths  were  being  examined  for  some  Chinese  degreo. 
The  examination  was  held  along  the  bank  of  a  river, 
each  candidate  having  a  small  temporary  booth  fitted  up 
for  him  on  the  bank.  The  opposite  bank  was  lined 
with  thousands  of  spectators;  and  when  an  unlucky 
candidate  failed  to  pass,  he  was  expected  to  walk  into 
the  river  and  end  his  disgrace. 

It  was  pointed  out  by  Dr.  Clouston  that  German 
authors  held  that  the  Roman  Catholic  portions  of  their 
Fatherland  did  not  show  so  many  suicides  as  the  Protes- 
tant 25art..  There  they  had  the  moral  and  religious 
element  coming  in,  which  prevented  men  and  women 
from  committing  suicide,  even  when  they  were  diseased 
and  felt  suicidal.  And  Sir  John  Murray  expressed  his 
opinion  on  this  that  it  would  always  hold  good  that  in 
those  countries  where  they  had  individual  responsibility, 
as  they  had  in  all  Protestant  countries,  for  opinions  and 
for  religious  beliefs,  there  necessarily  they  would  have  a 
disturbance  more  frequently  resulting  in  suicide  than 
in  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  where  they  had  the  firm 
idea  of  corporate  responsibility. 


THE    EVOLUTION    OF    SIMPLE    SOCIETIES. 

By  Professor  Alfred  C.  Haddon,  m.a.,  d.sc,  f.r  s. 

II.— THE  PASTORS  OF  THE  STEPPES. 

In  my  first  article,  in  the  Febi'uai-y  number  of  Know- 
ledge, I  bi-iefly  described  the  social  condition  of  huiiiinj; 
folk,  more  particularly  those  of  the  tropical  forests  of 


Aprii.  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


77 


South  America,  as  these  exhibit  a  very  simple  social  or- 
ganisation, but  I  do  not  wish  it  to  be  understood  that  I 
consider  all  other  human  societies  were  necessarily 
evolved  from  similar  societies  t«  that  which  I  described. 
It  may  have  been  so  ;  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  to 
mv  mind  no  reason  why  pastoral  or  agricultural  com- 
munities mav  not  have  independently  arisen  in  some 
cases  from  a  stage  of  simple  exploitation  of  natural 
resources.  This  I  would  regard  as  an  earlier  stage  than 
that  of  hunting,  employing  that  term  to  indicate  the 
quest  of  beasts,  birds,  and  fishes  ;  whereas  in  what  may 
be  termed  "  simple  exploitation  '  the  natural  vegetable 
products  of  the  forests  and  jungle  form  the  greater 
portion  of  the  sustenance  of  savages  at  this  primitive 
grade. 

I  now  propose  to  describe  the  social  condition  of 
perhap.-;  the  most  permanent  and  stable  of  all  simplo 
societies — that  of  the  pastors.  The  materials  for  this 
study  have  been  gathered  from  a  series  of  articles  by 
M.  P.  Bureau,  in  ''  La  Science  Sociale,"  Vols.  V.  and 
VI.,  as  well  as  from  a  paper  by  M.  E.  Demolins  in 
Vol.  I.,  and  from  other  sources.  At  present  I  am  not 
concerned  with  the  manner  in  which  the  herding  of 
cattle  may  have  arisen,  but  with  the  life  of  pastora' 
peoples  on  the  steppes  of  Asia,  and  of  these  the  Ka!ka.s 
may  be  taken  as  typical,  as  it  is  generally  admitted 
that  these  people  ai-e  veiy  pure  representatives  of  the 
Mongolian  race,  and  have  maintained  the  old  stjie  of 
life. 

Environment. — The  country  inhabited  by  the  Kalkai 
is  the  northern  portion  of  the  great  Central  Asiatic 
plateau.  It  forms  an  immense  basin,  of  which  the 
border  attains  an  altitude  of  13,000  to  16,000  feet,  and 
in  places  much  higher  still.  It  extends  from 
latitude  45°  N.  to  51°  N.,  and  from  longitude 
90°  E.  to  120°  E.  This  ai-ea  has  an  extent  of  about  500 
miles  from  north  to  south,  and  1250  miles  from  east  to 
west ;  it  is  bounded  on  three  sides  by  mountains,  and 
on  the  south  by  the  Ganghin  Daban  hills,  which  protect 
the  fertile  plains  to  the  north  from  the  inroads  of  the 
sand  of  the  Desert  of  Gobi. 

One  can  understand  that  in  a  country  so  clearly  cir- 
cumscribed its  inhabitants  can  more  easily  retain  the;'* 
primitive  character,  foreign  influences  penetrate  with 
difficulty,  and  the  whole  people  will  presei-ve  their 
homogeny  and  similarity  of  customs. 

The  altitude  de*^ermines  the  peculiar  cliinate,  which  is 
inordinately  cold,  snow  persisting  on  the  ground  dunng  ;r 
greater  part  of  the  year.  Thus  we  have  the  two  charac- 
ters of  a  steppe — (1)  the  production  of  grass;  {2^  the 
more  or  less  complete  exclusion  of  other  vegetation. 
This  is  caused  by  a  short  season  of  humidity  regularly 
intervening  each  year  between  a  barren  winter  and  a 
summer,  the  dryness  of  which  stops  the  growth  of  all 
vegetation.  This  intermediate  season  suffices  for  the 
growth  of  grass  but  is  insufficient  for  the  young  shoots 
of  trees. 

Le  Play  has  pointed  out  that  the  snow  persists  on  the 
plain  after  it  has  disappeared  on  the  slopes  of  the  same 
region,  owing  to  the  heat  of  the  sun  in  early  spring 
melting  the  superficial  snow,  and  the  water  filters  down 
into  the  deep  layers,  when  it  freezes  in  the  night  and 
forms  a  more  compact  and  resistant  layer.  At  length 
the  time  arrives  when  the  snow  has  vaniihed,  the  soil, 
thoroughly  soaked  with  water,  is  suddenly  exposed  to  an 
already  elevated  temperature.  The  grass  grows  imme- 
diately with  an  extraordinary  rapidity  on  the  incompar- 
ably fertile  plain. 


In  several  days  in  the  spring  the  grass  grows  as  hig'' 
as  the  waist,  and  were  it  not  for  the  dryness  and  heat 
of  the  summer  it  would  everywluno  attain  the  height 
of  a  man,  as  it  docs  in  favourable  spots  ;  but  soon  its 
roots  become  dry,  and  the  grass  lies  flat  on  the  ground 
until  the  return  of  spring  Having  noticed  tiiat  the 
old  grass  smothers  that  which  is  sprouting,  tlio  Kalkas 
sometimes  set  fire  to  it  at  the  advent  of  spring  The 
fertility  of  the  soil  resembles  that  of  the  famous  "  black 
earth  "  of  Russia  and  the  "  yellow  earth  "  of  China 
The  fertility  is  increased  by  the  abundance  of  water. 

These  conditions,  so  favourable  to  the  growth  of  grass, 
are  by  no  means  advantageous  for  agriculture.  The  soil 
i.->  fertile  enough,  but,  owing  to  the  altitude,  the  climate 
is  too  severe  for  grain  to  ripen. 

Winter  extends  for  throe-fourths  of  the  year,  tiierc  is 
practically  neither  spring  nor  autumn,  tropical  neat 
succeeds  without  transition  to  arctic  cold.  Hue  states 
that  in  the  country  of  the  Kalkas  the  cold  is  so  teirible 
that  during  the  greater  part  of  the  winter  the  mercury 
of  the  thermometer  freezes.  There  are  also  extra  )rdinary 
diurnal  changes  of  temperature,  and  consequently  great 
atmospheric  disturbances  and  tremendous  sto^-ms  arise 
both  in  winter  and  summer.  No  wonder  then  that  suc'i 
20od  agriculturists  as  the  Chinese  have  failed  to  cuU;vate 
the  soil. 

The  seeds  of  trees  spread  over  the  plain  before  the 
winter  season  do  not  remain  inert;  sometimes  ihey 
even  germinate  before  the  grass ;  but  they  rarely  raise 
themselves  to  a  height  of  above  four  inches.  Sooa 
swamped  in  the  grass  they  are  stifled,  or,  at  least, 
blanched.  Those  that  preserve  some  traces  of  life  are 
killed  by  the  blazing  sun,  which,  having  withered  th.^ 
grass,  makes  itself  felt  on  the  parched  ground.  Thi*! 
embryo  forest  perishes  annually,  because  it  cannot  find 
ill  the  steppe  either  the  necessary  room  for  growth  or 
sufficient  rainfall ;  but  in  favourable  positions  thet'e  are 
forests  of  pine,  fir,  larch,  and  black  birch  ;  the  aspen 
and  cedar  are  rarer.  In  any  case  the  wood  is  of  '^oor 
quality. 

The  most  important  animal  of  the  steppe  is  the  horse. 
Wild  horses  ai-e  spread  over  the  whole  region,  and  are 
so  active  that  they  escape  from  the  arrows  of  the  most 
skilful  hunters.  Often  they  move  in  compact  troops, 
and  when  they  meet  tamed  horses  they  surround  them 
and  force  them  to  take  flight.  Cattle  and  sheep  are 
very  numerous,  and  Nature  not  only  provides  them  with 
abundant  fodder  but  has  spread  salt  in  profusion  all 
over  the  country.  The  Kalka  sheep  are  especially 
famous.  The  camel  and  dromedary  are  scarce ;  the 
pad  of  their  feet  is  badly  adapted  for  walking  on  the 
harsh  crust  of  the  snow.  They  arc  only  used  as  beasts 
of  burden. 

There  arc  a  few  wild  as.ses,  boars  are  found  in  the 
wooded  western  districts,  and  wild  goats  sometimes 
■-ppear  in  immense  flocks.  There  is  other  game,  such 
as  deer,  antelope,  hares,  birds,  etc.  These  ai-e  auto- 
rjiatically  kept  in  check  by  bears,  tigers,  and  wolves  the 
latter  being  the  worst  enemy  to  man. 

Occupation. — From  the  foregoing  account  it  is 
evident  that  the  population  has  only  two  methods  of 
sustenance — hunting  or  herding.  In  the  analogous 
prairies  of  North  America  the  Red-Skins  adopted  the 
former  mode  of  life,  or  perhaps  it  would  be  more  correct 
to  say  that  the  absence  of  the  horse  compelled  them  to 
hunt  bison;  but  in  Asia  the  presence  of  the  horse  ren- 
dered it  possible  for  the  Mongols  to  tend  large  herds. 
Mr.    T.    W.    Atkinson    describes    his   first   visit   to   a 


78 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[April  2,  1900. 


Kirghis  chief,  who  possessed  more  than  2,000  ho'ses, 
('000  sheep  and  goats,  1,000  oxen  and  cows,  and  106 
oaniels.  Even  these  were  far  short  of  the  total  number 
of  animals  belonging  to  the  patriarch  chief. 

Each  day  this  patriarch  had  to  provide  for  the  fodder 
and  water  of  nearly  10,000  beasts.  The  pr-iblem  would 
bo  insoluble  for  a  sedentary  people,  but  the  Kalkas  find 
fin  easy  solution  in  their  mobility.  The  l.irge  Pocks 
radiate  from  the  central  "  aoul,"  directed  by  men  on 
horseback.  This  has  to  be  accompanied  b)'  periodic 
migration.  The  route  is  not  taken  by  chance,  it  rcjuires 
all  the  experience  and  wisdom  of  the  patriarch  How- 
ever well  watered  may  be  the  country,  the  abundance 
of  water  is  far  from  equalling  that  of  the  pasturage, 
and  the  flocks  cannot  go  long  without  the  one  as  well 
as  the  other.  It  is  then  that  the  immense  importanc? 
of  snow  is  appreciated.  It  permits  the  nomads  to  \nilise 
the  forage  of  the  more  elevated  parts  and  fui'nish'.'t:  them 
with  the  wherewithal  to  water  their  beasts:  f'.;i'her,  in 
covering  over  the  gra«s,  and  thus  preserving  it  trom 
contact  with  the  air,  it  constitutes  a  kind  of  iminensa 
store-house  of  fodder  ;  it  is,  in  fact,  a  huge  natural  system, 
of  ensilage,  which  the  horse  can  reach  with  his  hooi 
whenever  he  has  need.  Without  this  protection  the 
grass,  exposed  to  all  the  inclemencies  of  the  atmosphere, 
would  rapidly  perish,  and  the  flocks  would  be  deprived 
of  all  nourishment  during  the  winter.  The  experience 
of  the  patriarch  leads  him  to  select  the  most  sheltered 
valleys  in  the  south  for  the  winter  and  the  most 
northerly  and  shaded  plains  for  the  summer. 

The  actual  care  of  the  flocks  is  neither  a  fatiguing 
nor  difficult  work.  Most  often  it  suffices  to  sit  with 
crossed  legs  on  a  tussock  in  quietness  and  peace  The 
great  tranquility  of  the  steppe  and  the  limitless  horizon 
predispose  the  mind  to  meditation,  and  the  inaction  of 
the  body  tends  to  idleness.  Hue  says  :  "  The  appearance 
of  the  prairies  of  Mongolia  excites  neither  jov  not 
sorrow,  but  rather  a  mixture  of  both,  a  melancholic 
and  religious  sentiment,  a  feeling  that  regards  heaven 
rather  than  earth,  which  by  degrees  elevates  the  soul 
without  making  it  entirely  oblivious  to  matters  here 
below." 

On  the  other  hand,  very  often  it  is  necessary  for  the 
herder  to  throw  himself  on  a  horse  and  rapidly  pursue 
a  straying  animal  or  some  beast  of  prey.  It  is  no  small 
matter  to  guard  a  lierd  of  more  than  300  liead  of  large 
cattle.  A  saddled  horse  is  always  fastened  at  the 
entrance  of  each  sentry  tent  ;  at  the  least  signal  the 
horsemen,  from  eight  to  a  dozen  in  number,"  rapidly 
take  the  direction  of  the  fugitive.  Then  commences 
for  our  Kalkas  a  giddy  course  that  may  last  for  stvei-a! 
dnys.  They  do  not  go  to  the  encampment  for  news  of 
the  straying  beasts,  but  whenever  they  meet  a  lama  they 
dismount  and  prostrate  themselves,  and  say  with  deep 
feeling,  "  Man  of  prayer,  we  come  to  ask  you  to  draw 
a  horoscope;  your  powers  and  knowledge  are  limitless, 
ir,dicate  to  us  where  we  should  go  to  recover  our 
horses  "  ;    and  again  they  fly  like  the  wind. 

^  The  Kalkas  have  also  to  protect  their  flocks  from 
Nature  herself.  When  the  winter  hurricane  tears  up 
the  snow,  and  the  plain  resembles  a  sea  in  its  fury,  the 
frightened  animals  break  loose  in  all  directions, '  and 
the  camels  increase  the  universal  tumult  with  their  cries. 
"  Then  the  intrepid  herdsmen  courageously  fly  to  the 
succour  of  their  flocks;  one  sees  them  bounding  from 
one  side  to  the  other,  to  encourage  the  animals  by  their 
cries  and  to  conduct  them  to  the  shelter  of  some  hill  " 
(ITuc.) 


The  second  aspect  of  the  pastoral  life  explains  the 
agility  and  remarkable  suppleness  which,  in  all  times, 
have  made  the  nomads  the  finest  horsemen  in  the  world. 
The  daily  necessity  of  pursuing  animals  in  flight  has 
given  muscular  vigour  and  insensibility  to  fatigue  which 
i^;  astonishing;  but  it  has  not  developed  a  capacity  for 
walking,  this  a  Kalka  considers  as  humiliating.  Th? 
senses  of  sight,  hearing  and  smell  are  wonderfully  acute 
and  trained. 

The  work  of  the  men  is  essentially  attractive,  it  is 
more  of  a  recreation  than  a  labour ;  but  it  is  by  no 
means  so  for  the  women.  The  food  these  nomads  prefer  is 
milk  and  various  preparations  from  it.  All  the  milking 
is  done  twice  daily  by  the  women,  except  that  of  the 
mares,  who,  being  more  restive,  are  milked  by  the  men. 
At  foaling  time  these  women  have  yet  more  to  do ;  the 
care  of  the  sick  animals  also  falls  to  their  charge. 

The  work  of  the  house  is  exclusively  woman's  sph.ere 
There  are  the  boiled  and  fermented  preparations  of 
milk,  the  making  of  butter-  and  cheese.  The  women 
have  to  fetch  in  skin  vessels  the  water  for  tea,  for  this  is 
the  drink  the  Mongols  j^i'efer.  They  cook  and  smoke 
the  meat.  They  collect  argols  (cakes  of  dried  dung)  for 
fuel,  which  are  dried  in  the  sun  ;  the  collecting  of  argols 
in  winter  is  especially  difficult.  Each  family  group  is 
isolated,  and  consequently  each  group  has  to  nake 
nearly  all  that  is  needed.  Fortunately  the  pastoral 
life  furnishes  in  abundance  the  raw  material  of  these 
domestic  manufactures  in  the  wool  and  hair  of  their 
herds  and  in  their  grease  and  hides.  The  manufactures 
are  executed  at  home,  and  for  the  sole  needs 
of  the  home;  naturally  these  fall  to  the  women. 
Much  of  this  is  hai'd  work,  especially  the  tanning 
of  leather  and  the  fulling  of  wool.  The  giease 
of  animals  is  utilised  as  an  illuminant  and  mixed  with 
ashes  to  form  a  soap.  Several  plants  or  tea  furnish 
dyeing  materials.  With  the  tanned  skins  the  women 
make  water  bottles,  clothes,  shoes,  saddles  and  harness. 
The  fabrics  of  wool  and  camels'  hair  serve  for  milking 
clothes,  whilst  felt  gives  the  family  sijacious  and  warm 
tents  which  protect  it  from  the  rigours  of  winter. 

All  the  labours  of  shifting  camp — of  lowering  and 
pitching  the  tents — fall  to  the  women.  This  is  very 
prduous  work,  as  the  tents  are  large,  with  three  felted 
coverings,  and  it  is  especially  hard  when  the  tents  are 
frozen  in  winter.  The  Kalka  country  is  not  exactly 
a  paradise  for  women. 

Property. — There  is  no  individual  ownership  of  land 
The  soil  belongs  to  the  nation,  and  to  enjoy  its  use 
it  is  necessary  to  belong  to  the  nation  or  to  formally 
obtain  a  concession.  A  Kalka  can,  however,  camp 
where  he  likes  provided  he  does  not  interfere  with  anyou'O 
else.  Thus  the  temporary  possession  of  land  imposes 
the  obligations  of  neighbourhood  and  a  respect  for  the 
jileasure  of  others.  Each  must  see  that  his  animals 
do  not  throw  into  disorder  the  flocks  o4  a  neighbour 
or  provoke  them  to  flight.  When  there  is  a  prairie 
fire  every  one  must,  on  pain  of  death,  turn  out  to  ex- 
tinguish it.  Concessions  are  not  always  irrevocable,  as 
the  Chinese  have  experienced.  One  day  a  patriarch, 
renowned  for  his  courage  and  wisdom,  assembled  the 
IMongols  of  the  neighbourhood,  and  said  :  "  The  Kitas 
possess  themselves  of  our  land,  they  steal  our  cattle  and 
villify  us;  since  they  no  longer  act  nor  speak  like 
brothers  we  must  expel  them  "  The  Chinese  did  not 
obey  the  decree  ordering  their  expulsion,  so  one  day 
they  were  driven  away.  According  to  a  Chinese  re- 
gulation   the  chiefs   chosen    by   the    Emperor   to   be   the 


Apeil  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


79 


intermediaries  of  his  Government  should  be  the  pro- 
prietors of  the  entire  soil  ;  it  does  not  appear  that  this 
theory  has  at  present  ajiy  practical  consequence. 

While  landed  property  is  unknown,  moveable  property 
in  cattle  attains  a  considerable  development,  as  the 
animals  require  continual  care  and  watching  they  neces- 
sarily become  an  object  of  individual  property.  Of  all 
the  animals  the  horse  takes  front  rank  ;  it  is  caressed 
and  extolled  with  affection  in  song ;  money  is  often 
lavished  on  the  harness.  When  a  traveller  asked  a 
patriarch,  the  proprietor  of  several  thousand  horses,  why 
he  did  not  sell  some  every  year,  he  replied,  '  Why 
should  I  sell  that  which  gives  me  pleasure  ?  I  have  no 
need  for  money,  and  if  I  had  it,  I  should  shut  it  up  in 
a  box  where  no  one  would  sec  it.  But  when  my  horses 
traverse  the  steppe,  whoever  sees  them  knows  that  they 
belong  to  me.  and  that  I  am  rich."  The  theft  of  flocks, 
especiallv  of  horses,  is  still,  more  than  the  usurpation 
of  pasturages,  one  of  the  causes  of  the  interminable  wars 
vhich  trouble  the  tranquility  of  the  steppe.  The  owner 
ship  of  a  flock  is  such  a  necessity  for  a  Kalka  that  he 
cannot  imagine  a  man  capable  of  living  without  owning 
beasts.  It  is  needless  to  point  out  what  an  element  of 
stability  and  security  the  family  finds  in  this  property, 
which,  apart  from  disaster  or  epidemics,  ensures  sub- 
sistence. 

The  Family. — The  pastoral  occupation  has  permitted 
the  old  men  to  preserve  their  authority  ;  they  alone  have 
the  necessary  experience  and  wisdom  for  it,  and  it  i.s 
by  no  means  an  easy  matter  to  command  four  or  five 
hundred  persons.  As  their  authority  is  uncontested, 
so  it  is  accompanied  by  absolute  respect. 

The  pastoral  art  scarcely  tends  towards  the  develop- 
ment of  riches  and  luxury,  but  does  tend  to  maiixiain 
between  men  an  almost  complete  equality,  and  the  isola- 
tion of  families  emphasises  the  ties  of  blood. 

As  husband,  the  patriarch  receives  by  right  the  respect 
and  most  attentive  care  of  his  wife,  and  as  the  Kalka 
has  not  arrived  at  the  idea  of  the  relations  of  master 
and  servant  he  marries  as  many  wives  as  he  can  afford 
in  order  to  have  plenty  of  service,  but  as  the  husband 
has  to  pay  to  the  parents  of  the  bride  a  large  price  in 
beasts,  polygamy  is  a  luxury  that  is  accessible  only 
to  the  rich  and  powerful. 

The  children  have  a  profound  veneration  for  the 
father,  and  have  to  go  on  their  knees  when  they  address 
him  and  receive  orders  from  him.  Filial  piety  is  the 
first  of  the  duties,  and  the  "  Holy  Doctrine  "  teaches 
that  it  is  better  to  honour  father  and  mother  than  to 
serve  even  the  spirits  of  heaven  and  earth.  When  the 
time  has  come  to  marry,  the  wish  of  the  patriarcn  is 
sufficient  to  constrain  a  son  even  against  his  will.  It  is 
rare  that  a  young  man  can  consult  his  taste  the  first 
time  that  he  marries.  As  to  the  young  girls,  they  are 
not  even  allowed  to  have  a  wish. 

As  the  depository  of  the  traditions  of  the  ancestors, 
the  patriarch  faithfully  transmits  them  to  those  around 
him,  and  all  listen  with  respect.  He  is  the  supreme 
judge  of  all  the  members  of  the  aoul,  and  he  has  full 
authority  to  punish  offenders.  On  sacred  days  he  offers 
milk  and  mutton  to  the  image  of  Buddha,  which  is 
placed  at  the  back  of  the  tent. 

The  first  wife  enjoys  wide  liberty  and  great  power, 
the  whole  responsibility  of  the  household  falls  upon  her 
and  also  the  education  of  the  young  children.  It  is 
therefore  important  that  she  should  be  capable,  and  that 
her  character  should  be  such  that  she  can  get  on  well 
with  the  other  women.     Such  are  doubtless  the  reasons 


why  the  patriarch  chooses  his  sons'  first  wives — the 
comfort  and  well-being  of  the  community  is  of  more  im- 
portance than  the  predilections  of  a  lad. 

Government. — There  is  no  government  external  to 
the  family.  The  patriarch  combines  the  functions  of 
father,  teacher,  magistrate,  priest,  and  sovereign.  The 
sole  grouping  above  the  family  is  the  tribe  ;  but  it  is 
more  an  union  of  several  families  of  cominon  origin  thau 
a  fixed  territorial  grouping.  The  tribe  is  mobile  like 
the  family.  The  central  government  has  not  a  more 
real  existence.  It  is  at  most  a  kind  of  nominal  and 
vague  jirotectorate  that  is  exercised,  partly  by  Russia, 
and  in  part  by  China.  It  manifests  itself  by  the  claim 
for  a  tribute,  which  is  rarely  collected  owing  to  the 
difiiculty  at  getting  at  these  singular  tributaries. 

Peace  reigns  among  the  pastors.  These  men,  so 
dreaded  in  the  numerous  raids  they  have  made  in  other 
countries,  are  quiet,  sociable,  and  hospitable  in  the 
stejipe,  where  they  have  no  foreign  comjjetition  to  fear. 

The  E.xpansion  of  the  Herdeks. — The  pastors  of  the 
prairies  are  apt  to  swarm,  but  they  are  not  qualified  to 
organise  invasion  or  to  remain  masters  of  the  conquered 
country;  but  this  aspect  of  their  life  will  be  dealt  with 
on  a  future  occasion. 

♦ 

THE    PHOTOGRAPHY    OF    CLOUDS. 

By  Eugene  Antoniadi,  f.r.a.s. 
A  FEW  days  after  the  publication  of  the  paper  on 
Clouds"  in  the  September,  1899,  issue  of  Knowledge, 
the  writer  received  a  number  of  letters  from  English 
meteorologists  and  photographers,  asking  him  to  give 
some  further  details  on  the  method  used  in  photographing 
cloud  forms  at  Juvisy.  Hence  the  excuse  for  the  present 
complementary  notes. 

The  first  point  to  be  attended  to  in  cloud  photography 
h  to  have  the  camera  and  plates  always  ready,  so  as  to 
be  in  a  position  to  immediately  photograph  any 
evanescent  atmospherical  phenomenon.  Trivial  as  the 
statement  appears,  it  is  of  paramount  importance.  In 
fact,  without  this  precaution  the  negatives  of  rainbows 
solar  halos,  lunar  coronje,  etc.,  would  probably  never 
have  been  secured  at  Juvisy.  As  a  rule,  the  persistence 
of  fine  cloud  effects,  or  of  the  optical  phenomena;  of  the 
atmosphere  are  of  very  short  duration,  and  the  loss  of 
time  involved  in  fetching  plates  or  engaging  in  other 
preparatory  work  at  the  last  moment,  is  often  a  source 
ff  disappointment;  for  instance,  to  see  a  bv'ght  rainbow 
fade  off  and  vanish  when  "  everything  is  ready,"  pro- 
duces a  tantalizing  effect  too  galling  to  bo  endured  more 
than  once  when  economy  of  time  will  serve  as  a  pre 
ventive  medicine. 

It  has  been  found  that  the  number  of  days  yielding 
interesting  forms  of  clouds  is  but  a  limited  one.  Long 
weeks  succeed  each  other  without  our  recording  a  single 
typical  cloud.  Occasionally,  however,  we  may  observe 
the  richest  forms  undergoing  rapid  and  singularly  beau- 
tiful transitions. 

With  regard  to  the  choice  of  an  apparatus,  it  may  be 
said  that  all  cameras,  large  or  small,  and  mounted  or 
tinmounted,  can  be  employed  in  cloud  photography  A 
large  angle  lens  will  be  generally  found  more  serviceable, 
enabling,  as  it  does,  the  student  to  photograph  clouds  of 
large  dimensions,  a  considerable  arc  of  the  rainbow,  or 
ordinary  halos  of  22°  radius  as  nearly  complete  circles. 
But  it  is,  of  cour5;c,  preferable  to  have  a  variety  of 
object  glasses,  capable  of  being  indifferently  and  rapidly 
adapted  to  the  camera,  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
cloud  to  be  photographed. 


80 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[April  2,  1900. 


The  glass  should,  of  course,  be  provided  wioh  a  shutter 
adapted  to  varying  speeds.  At  Juvisv,  an  ordinary 
Tl'ornton-Pickard  shutter,  with  a  maximum  speed  of 
1/80  second,  has  been  found  very  useful.  Ifond  cameras, 
supplied  with  speed  regulators,  act  in  an  cqti.ally  i^atis- 
factory  manner. 

If  a  cell  containing  a  vcUow  solution  be  used  as  a 
screen  destined  to  quench  or  attenuate  the  blue  of  th? 
sky,  the  distance  separating  the  glasses  need  not  be 
smaller  than  J-inch,  or  greater  than  ^-inch.  Bichromate 
of  potash,  mixed  with  a  few  drops  of  chlorhydric  acid, 
yields    beautiful     yellows.       At    the     Bureau    Central 


Fio.   1.— Fibivd   C'in-us,  tS!l9,  .Vugnst,  Id.  2h.  JOni.,  luiul  time. 

Meteorologique,  M.  Angot  uses  cells  ^-inch  thick  and 
containing  more  or  less  saturated  solutions  of  bichromate, 
according  to  the  varying  intensity  of  the  clouds.  The 
most  coloured  mi.xture  contains  10  per  cent,  of  the 
yellow  substance;  another  5,  and  a  third  2i  per  cent, 
only.  The  first  screen  is  advantageous  on  feeble  con- 
trasts, such  as  light  cirri  near  the  horizon,  or  in  hazy 
skies.  The  5  per  cent,  solution  is  generally  the  most 
serviceable  on  ordinary  cirri.  The  last  screen  is  chiefly 
used  on  cumuli.  Should  the  contrast  between  tlv^ 
silvery  crests  of  the  cumuli  and  the  dark  blue  sky  be 
very  marked,,  then  the  coloured  screen  laight  be"  dis- 
pensed with  altogether. 

The  proper  time  to  give  to  the  exposure  is  the  be- 
ginner's stumbling  block.  In  fact,  the  question  is  of  a 
vei7  complex  character,  inasmuch  as  it  depends  on  a 
large  number  of  factors,  such  as  the  angle  of  the 
object  glass,  the  diameter  of  the  stop,  the  sensibility  of 


the  plates,  the  saturation  of  the  screen,  the  luminosity 
cf  the  cloud,  the  sun's  altitude,  etc.  Laying  down  a  rule 
for  the  exposure  is  an  impossibility  under  «uch  circum- 
stances. But  the  reader  may  be  interested-  in  the  data 
accompanying  the  annexed  photographs. 


Fig,  2.— CiiTus  with  Wisps,  1899,  August,  Id.  2h.  3.5ra.,  local  time. 

Plate.  Fig.  1. — Cirro-cumuli  trausitintfl  across  the  Sun  ; 
following  and  preceding  wet  weather.  Photograplijtaken 
with  an  object  glass  10-1  in.  aperture  and  312  in.  focal 
length.  No  yellow  screen.  Stop=^^ .  Exposure  =  j'j 
seeoud. 


Fio.  3.— Cloud  Ripples,  lHt»9,  September,  25(1.  2li.  23iii..  loe.il  time. 

Plate,  Fig.  2.— -Gigantic  thunderstorm  Cumuli  during 
hot,  showery  weather.  Same  object  glass.  Slight  yellow 
screen.     S:top=j.C.     Exposure=A  second. 

Fig.  1  (text). — Cirrus  in  biinds,  attending  a  barometric 
fall  after  fine  weather.  Same  oliject  glass.  Strong  vellow 
screen.  Stop  =  J-.  Exposure=l  second  ;  lengthened  on 
account  of  the  yellow's  absorption. 


Knoirledi/f. 


i 

J- 

» 

^^^^^^^^^^^^B^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^'^BL. 

HrW^ 

1       1 

^HPI^^^^^^HHB^E^^^^^HKjlJ^' 

"(r.^H^^^^^H 

^p                   "^'td 

5^  '  ^^^w^              '  "'^^VS^     ^JjjWj^ 

^^^^H 

b            "^^^ti 

■^^^  iuSrsBE^ 

^»jp^^H 

K^^g 

-HP^^^^^?^;^ -'^ 

^'^^i^^tiJi 

"^ 

-^iZsX^^S^S^S^  - -5 ' 

WJKB^^aimi^S^^^S^^^  "^    -^^^f* 

-        1 

~  ^'^^SC^fei^^'^'^B^^^^^^I 

mp 

I 

•*^^ 

^ 

F^ 

Fig.  I. — Cirro-iMimiili  pa><<ins  hc'fori-  tlie   Sun,  lS9y,  Septi>mhi>r,  2>il.  -tli.  3111.,  Mean   Local  Time. 


Fir;.  2.-T),.inr1..r-t..nTi  Cumiili  rolliiiif  ;vr  Piiri-.  IS!)!),  SriitcmliiT,  2^.1    3li.  2in.,  Lnciil  Tim.'. 

CLOUD     PHOTOGRAPHS     TAKEN     AT     M.     FLAMMARIONS 
OBSERVATORY,    JUVISY,     FRANCE. 


April  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


81 


Fig.  2. — CiiTus  ia  wisps.  Same  object  glass.  Strong 
yellow  sereeu.     Stop  =  j'j-     Exposure=l^  secoucl. 

Fiij.  3. — Uuilulatetl  Cirro-t-umuli,  seen  iluriui,'  a  sjiell  of 
suushiue  duriii;4  niiuy  weather.  Same  objeet  glass.  Mean 
coloured  screen.     Stop=/j.     Eximsure  1±  second. 

It  is  thus  obvious  that  as  far  as  cxposui-c  is  concerned, 
continued  practice  will  be  the  safest  guide.  The  student 
should  also  bear"  in  mind  that  with  a  long  focus  glass. 
rapidly  moviiig  clouds,  such  as  scud  flying  before 
heavier  masses  dm'ing  a  gale,  should  be  photographed 
with  very  short  exposures  only,  if  he  seek  to  avoid  the 
disagreeable  effect  of  dimness  due  to  the  clouds'  motion. 

(To  bf  continued.) 


MME.  CERASKIS  SECOND  ALGOL  VARIABLE. 

Another  remai-kablo  variable  star  of  the  AJgol  class  has 
been  discovered  by  Mme.  Ceraski,  and  is  announced  in 
the  Astron.  Nach.  151,  223.  The  position  for  1900  is 
E.  A.  =  19  h.  42m.7,  Dec.  =  +32^  28'.  From  an 
examination  of  the  Draper  Memorial  photographs  of  this 
star,  it  appears  that  while  the  star  has  its  full  bright- 
ness on  45  of  them,  on  several  of  the  early  photographs 
it  is  so  faint  that  they  must  have  been  taken  when  the 
star  was  near  minimum.  The  Moscow  photographs 
furnish  the  means  of  detennining  the  period  from  an 
interval  of  four  years,  the  Harvard  photographs  increase 
this  interval  to  nine  years.  The  period  is  6d.  Oh.  8m. 8. 
The  period  diffei-s  so  little  from  exactly  6  days  that  for 
a  long  time  the  minima  cannot  be  observed  in  certain 
longitudes.  Accordingly,  while  valuable  obsei-vations 
may  be  obtained  next  autumn  in  Europe,  or  better  still 
in  Asia,  minima  cannot  be  obsei-ved  in  Amei-ica  until 
the  following  year. 

Five  stars  of  the  Algol  class,  S  Caucri,  U  Cephei, 
AV  Delphini,  +  45^3062,  and  the  present  star  are.  es- 
pecially interesting,  owing  to  the  lai'ge  variation  in  their 
light,  which  amounts  to  about  two  magnitudes  in  each 
case.  It  is  remarkable  that  two  of  these  were  found 
by  Mme.  Ceraski,  and  one  by  her  distinguished  husband. 

Edwakd   C.  Pickering. 

Harvard  College  Observatorv, 
February  12th,  1900. 


ASTRONOMY  WITHOUT  A  TELESCOPE. 

By  E.  Walter  Maunder,  f.r.a.s. 

III.— THE      NORTHERN      STARS'. 

The  stars  wear  a  very  different  aspect  to  the  astronomer 
with  a  telescope  and  the  astronomer  without.  The 
former,  deep  in  his  observatory  dome,  sees  but  a  narrow 
slice  of  the  sky  through  the  open  shutter,  and  the  starry 
groupings  as  such  have  little  or  no  significaLce  for  him. 
If  he  wishes  to  bring  a  star  within  the  field  of  his 
instrument,  he  does  not  as  a  rule  seek  it  out  first  on  the 
sky,  and  thers  aim  his  telescope  at  it  like  a  rifle  by  its 
sights.  Instead  he  refers  to  his  catalogue,  reads  therein 
the  right  ascension  and  declination  of  the  object,  turns 
his  instrument  iintil  its  circles  are  set  to  the  readings 
indicated  by  the  catalogue,  and  then,  last  of  all,  moves 
his  dome  round  until  the  shutter  opening  is  opposite 
the  object  glass.  The  names  of  the  stars,  the  constel- 
lations in  which  they  are  found,  have  therefore  very 
little  significance  for  him.  The  important  things  for 
him  to  know  are  the  hour,  minut<i  and  second  to  which 


the 


ncc  and  luinule  to 


the  one  circle  must  be  set; 
which  the  other. 

Not  so  with  his  brother  worker,  lie  stands  out  under 
the  open  heaven ;  no  graduated  circles  guide  his  gaze 
to  this  s'ar  or  that,  For  him,  if  ho  will  know  precisely 
to  what  part  of  the  heavens  he  is  directing  his  attention, 
it  is  necessary  to  be  able  to  recognise  the  individual 
stai-s.  In  this  work  differences  of  brightness  and  colour 
are  no  small  help,  but  by  themselves  would  be  perfectly 
inadequate  guides  to  the  recognition  of  the  great 
majority  of  the  stars.  That  by  which  one  star  can  be 
recognised  from  another  is  in  most  cases  its  grouping 
with  the  rest.  The  knowledge  of  such  grouping,  a 
perfect  and  quick  recognition  of  the  figures,  I'ea'  or 
imaginary,  which  the  stars  make  up  amongst  themselves, 
in  a  word  a  knowledge  of  the  constellations,  is  the  first 
essential  for  the  direct  observer.  It  was  so  from  the 
very  beginning.  The  first  astronomers  necessarily  ha<l 
no  telescopes,  and  equally  of  necessity  the  first  £reat 
astronomical  enterprise  was  the  dividing  out  of  the 
heavens  into  constellations,  the  ascribing  certain 
imaginary  figures  to  particul.ir  groups  of  stars,  and  the 
bestowal  of  names  upon  individual  stars  themselves 

The  same  necessity  makes  itself  felt  in  every  branch 
of  science.  Before  any  progress  can  be  made  the  objects 
recognised  in  that  science  must  be  named.  Until  they 
are  named  they  are  undistinguished  and  undistinguish- 
able.  So  far  as  we  are  concerned  they  remain  without 
properties,  one  might  almost  say  without  existence  ;  once 
named,  a  knowledge  of  their  properties  and  peculiari- 
ties begins  and  a  whole  new  field  of  research  is  opened 
out. 

And  even  without  this  further  knowledge,  how  great 
an  interest  is  given  to  any  object  by  the  fact  that  wo 
know  its  name.  Take  some  town  children  out  into  the 
country,  and  set  them  to  gather  wild  flowers,  how  in- 
stantly they  ask  their  names,  and  how  much  (heir 
beauty  is  increased  in  their  sight  when  those  names  are 
taught  them.  And  so  to-day  we  are  continually  hearing 
the  complaint  of  Carlyle  rejjeated  : 

"  Why  did  not  somebody  toacli  me  the  constelhiUons,  and  make 

lue  at  home  in  the  starry  heavens,  wliii.-h  are  always  overhead  and 

wliich  I  don't  half  know  t<j  this  day-'" 

So  the  work  of  learning  the  stai-s,  though  it  may  in- 
volve some  self-denial,  and  brings  no  reward  in  the  shape 
of  "  magnificent  spectacles,"  has  a  chanii  of  its  own. 
The  silent  watchers  from  heaven  soon  become  each  one 
a  familiar  friend,  and  to  any  imaginative  mind  the  sense 
that  he  is  treading  the  same  path  as  that  traversed  by 
the  first  students  of  Nature  will  have  a  strange  charm. 
With  the  "  Poet  of  the  Breakfast  Table  "  he  will  feel 
himself  linked  to  the  great  minds  of  the  deep  uu 
measured  past. 

"  I  am  as  old  as  I'">;yiit  to  myself; 

"  Krother  to  them  tliat  squared  the  I'yr.imids. 

"  liy  the  same  stars  I  wat<-li." 

However  often,  therefore,  the  work  of  teaching  thi 
constellations  may  have  been  undertaken,  it  forms  an 
inseparable  portion  of  my  present  task. 

To  us  in  England,  with  our  high  northern  latitude,  the 
stars  which  never  set  arc  the  first  the  study  of  which 
we  should  undertake.  They  are  always  present,  they 
cover  more  than  one-third  of  the  entire  sky  visible  to 
us  at  any  moment.  They  include  many  conspicuous 
stars,  and  form  an  admirable  guide  to  the  constellations 
beyond  the  circumpolar  region.  Constantly  revolving 
round  the  pole  they  form,  as  it  were,  a  magnificent 
dial  plate,  marking  at  the  same  time  the  jsrogress  both 
of  the  night  and  of  the  year. 


82 


KNOWLEDGE 


[April  2,  1900. 


The  chief  constellation  of  this  region  is  the  Great 
Bear,  the  leading  stars  of  which  are  the  Seven,  which  have 
won  the  attention  of  all  races  of  men  in  all  ages.  The 
seven  stai'S  of  the  Plough  or  Charles'  Wain  (the  waggon, 
that  is  to  say,  of  the  churl  or  peasant)  are  known  to 
everyone,  and  form  the  inevitable  starting  point  for  the 
study  of  the  constellations.  Of  these  seven  stars, — which, 
at  midnight  on  the  fii'st  of  April  are  practically  over- 
head, the  greater  pai't  of  the  constellation  being  already 
on  the  downward  path  towards  the  west, — the  two  first 
are  Alpha  and  Beta,  the  second  pair  Gamma  and  D^lta, 
the  foiu-  making  up  the  body  of  the  plough,  whilst 
Ep.silon,  Zeta,  and  Eta  form  the  handle.  Delta  is  dis- 
tinguished as  being  much  the  faintest  of  the  seven. 
Zeta  by  its  close  companion  Alcor  visible  to  any  ordi- 
narily good  sight. 


Alpha  are  commonly  known  as  the  "  Pointers,"  for  as 
the  "  poet  "  sings  : 

"  Wliere  yonder  radiant  hosts  ndorn 

The  northern  evening  sky. 
Seven  shirs  :i  splendid  glorious  train 

First  fix  the  wandering  eye. 
To  deck  great  Ursa's  shaggy  form 

Those  brilliant  orbs  combine, 
And  where  the  first  and  second  point 

There  see  Polaris  shine." 

A  straight  line  from  Beta  through  Alpha  jjoints  very 
nearly  up  to  the  pole  of  the  sky,  the  distance  being 
just  a  little  greater  from  Alpha  to  the  pole  than  from 
Alpha  to  Eta,  and  close  to  the  pole  shines  the  Pole 
star,  a  brilliant  of  the  second  magnitude,  and  placed 
at  the  end  of  the  tail  of  the  Lesser  Bear  as  Eta  is  at 
the  tip  of  that  of  the  Greater. 


The  Chief  Circumiiolar  Stars,  midninht,  A]iril  1st,  I'JUU. 


Regarding  the  constellation  as  the  "  Great  Bear,"  the 
four  stars  in  the  body  of  the  Plough  make  the  Innd- 
cjuarters  of  the  animal,  whilst  the  handle  becomes  the 
bear's  tail.  The  feet  of  the  bear  are  clearly  pointed  out 
by  a  curious  set  of  three  pairs.  Iota  and  Kappa  make 
the  first,  Lambda  and  Mu  the  second,  Nu  and  Xi  the 
third.  These  form  the  great  jjlantigrado  feet  of  the 
animal,  and  are  "  the  does'  leaps  "  of  the  Arabs. 

A  line  drawn  from  Zeta  through  Alpha  and  carried 
forward  the  same  distance  the  other  side  brings  us  to 
the  fourth  magnitude  star  Theta  at  the  point  of  the 
creatui'o's  snout.  These  stars  enable  the  boundaries 
of  the  constellation  and  the  figure  which  it  is  supposed 
to  represent  to  be  easily  detected  in  the  sky.     Beta  and 


The  chief  stars  of  the  Little  Bear,  like  those  of  the 
Greater,  are  seven  in  number,  and  in  arrangement  form 
p   rough  and  fainter  copy  of  the  Plough.     Between  the 
two  bears  it  is  easy  to  trace  out  an  irregular  winding 
line   of    fairly    bright   stars.     This    is    the   Dragon     th? 
Serpent  of  the  following  lines  from  "  Aratus  "  : 
"  Between  tliese  two,  like  to  a  river's  branch, 
A  niiglity  prodigy,  the  Serpent  twines 
Its  bendings  vast  around;  on  either  side 
His  coil  they  move  and  shun  the  dark  blue  sea. 
But  o'er  the  one  his  lengthy  tail  is  stretched, 
The  other's  wrapped  in  coil."* 

Alpha  Draconis,  sometimes  called  Thuban  or  Rssta- 
*  Brown's  "  Aratus,"  p.  16, 


April  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


83 


ban,    lies    midway    between    Zeta    Ursse    Majoris    auct 
Gamma  Ursie  Minoris. 

Starting  from  Epsilon  Ursse  Majoris,  the  star  in  the 
Great  Bear's  tail  nearest  the  root,  and  crossing  the  North 
Pole,  we  find  on  the  further  side  of  the  Polo,  right  upon 
the  sparkling  background  of  the  Milky  Way,  here  almost 
at  its  broadest,  five  stai-s  in  the  shape  of  a  W,  the  prin 
cipal  stars  of  the  constellation  Cassiopeia,  the  "  Lady  m 
her  Chair.  "  At  midnight  on  the  first  of  April,  this  group 
is  low  down  in  the  north;  the  W  being,  as  it  were, 
written  in  a  dropping  line  from  left  to  right,  that  is 
from  west  to  east,  as  if  scrawled  by  a  tired  writer.  The 
lettering  of  the  stars  is  nearly  but  not  quite  in  the  re- 
verse order  of  writing.  Reading  from  left  to  right  they 
come  Epsilon,  Delta,  Gamma,  Alpha,  Beta,  the  three 
last  named  being  distinctly  brighter  than  the  other  two. 

Starting  from  Cassiopeia,  and  following  the  Milky 
Way  towards  the  west,  we  find  a  number  of  stars 
mai-king  out  the  spine  of  the  Galaxy,  and  bending  down 
in  an  elegant  curve  to  the  bright  somewhat  yellow  star 
m  the  north-west.  The  stai's  in  this  curve  are  the  prin- 
cipal members  of  the  constellation  Perseus,  and  the 
bright  yellow  star  at  the  end  of  the  curve  is  Cai)ella. 
Alpha  in  the  constellation  Auriga.  It  is  a  star  im 
possible  to  mistake,  since  close  beside  it  is  a  very  pretty 
little  right-angled  triangle  of  moderately  bright  stars. 

Following  the  Milky  Way  towards  the  east,  we  find 
a  bright  star  in  the  centre  of  the  Galactic  stream  and 
about  as  far  from  Cassiopeia  on  the  east  as  Capella  is 
on  the  west.  This  is  Deneb,  Alpha  in  the  constellation 
Cygnus,  and  it  forms  the  head  of  a  magnificent  cross  of 
slars.  A  little  further  along  the  Galaxy  we  coma  to 
another  star  not  quite  so  bright,  but  of  a  slightly  warmer 
tinge.  This  is  Gamma,  the  star  which  marks  where  the 
two  beams  of  the  cross  intersect.  Above  and  below 
Gamma  are  other  stars,  making  up  a  magnificent 
curving  line,  the  transvei-se  beam  of  the  cross,  or,  'f  we 
prefer  so  to  regard  it.  the  upper  outline  of  the  out- 
stretched wings  of  the  Swan.  A  straight  line  from  Alpha 
through  Gamma  and  along  the  spine  of  the  Milky 
Way,  leads  through  a  succession  of  considerable  stars  to 
Beta,  which  marks  the  Swan's  beak,  or  the  root  of  the 
cross. 

Somewhat  above  the  Swan  and  further  to  the  east, 
and  making  very  nearly  a  right-angled  isosceles  triangle 
with  Beta  and  Gamma,  the  right  angle  being  at  Beta, 
is  a  splendid  steel  blue  star,  Vega,  the  rival  of  Capella 
in  brightness,  the  two  being  claimants  for  the  premier- 
ship of  the  northern  heavens.  The  five  bright  stars 
■v^hich  wait  upon  Vega  in  its  immediate  neighbourhood, 
and  of  which  the  nearest,  Epsilon,  is  a  very  close  double 
to  keen  sight,  make  up  with  it  the  constellation  of  Lyra, 
a  constellation  which  lies  for  the  most  part  outside  the 
circumpolar  circle  for  the  latitude  of  London. 

The  chief  guiding  stars,  therefore,  for  the  northern 
keavens,  are  the  well-known  Plough,  the  scarcely  less 
distinctive  little  W  of  Cassiopeia  on  the  <  pposite  side 
of  the  Pole,  and  the  two  great  brilliants  between  ihem 
on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left,  Capella  and  Vega. 
All  these  are  continually  visible  for  Scotland  and  the 
North  of  England;  for  the  southern  part  of  our  is'and 
Vega  is  lost  for  a  short  time  when  due  north. 

Only  one  important  group  among  the  northern  con- 
stellations has  now  been  left  undescribed.  This  is 
Cepheus,  the  Ethiopian  king,  a  constellation  of  no  great 
brilliancy  or  distinctiveness,  and  lying  between  the 
Dragon  and  Ca.ssiopeia;  the  feet  of  the  figure  are  sup 
posed  to  stand  on  the  Pole  of  the  sky. 


The  accompanying  map  shows  the  position  of  the 
circumpolar  region  with  regard  to  the  north  horizon  at 
midnight  on  the  first  of  April.  Tho  figures  ranged 
round  tho  circumference  of  the  map  show  the  position 
of  tho  north  point  of  tho  horizon  for  hourly  intervals 
of  the  day  and  night  at  that  time  of  the  year.  For  other 
dates  in  the  year  we  can  find  its  position  noarly  enough 
by  remembering  that  for  cvci^  month  later  in  the  year 
that  we  take  wc  must  also  take  two  hours  earlier  in  the 
evening  to  obtain  stars  in  the  same  position,  or  if  W3 
take  a  single  day  later  in  the  year  then  wc  must  choose 
our  time  four  minutes  earlier. 


EARTHQUAKE-SOUNDS. 

By   CiiART.F.s  Davison,   sc.d.,   f.g.s. 

The  .sound  which  accompanies  an  earthquake  li;is  rarely, 
if  ever,  been  described  more  graphically  than  bv  an 
obsei-ver  of  the  Charleston  earthquake  of  188G.  He  was 
at  the  time  on  the  second  floor  of  a  lofty  building  in 
Charleston  when  his  attention  was  "  vaguely  attracted 
by  a  sound  that  seemed  to  come  from  tho  office  below, 
and  was  supposed  for  a  moment  to  be  caused  by  the 
rapid  rolling  of  a  heavy  body,  as  an  ii-on  safe  or  a 
heavily  laden  truck,  over  the  floor.  Accompanying  the 
sound  there  was  a  perceptible  tremor  of  the  building, 
not  more  maiked,  however,  than  would  be  caused  by 
the  passage  of  a  car  or  dray  along  the  street.  For  per- 
haps two  or  three  seconds  the  occurrence  excited  no 
surprise  or  comment.  Then  by  swift  degrees,  or  all  at 
once — it  is  difficult  to  say  which — the  sound  deepened 
in  volume,  the  tremor  became  more  decided,  the  ear 
caught    the    rattle    of    window-sashes,    gas-fixtures,    and 

other   movable  objects The   long   roll   deepened 

and  spread  into  an  awful  roar,  that  seemed  to  pervade 
at  once  tho  troubled  earth  and  the  still  air  above  and 
around.  The  tremor  was  now  a  rude  rapid  quiver,  that 
agitated  the  whole  lofty,  strong-walled  building."  Soon 
"  the  floors  were  heaving  underfoot,  the  surrounding 
walls  and  partitions  visibly  swayed  to  and  fro,  the 
crash  of  falling  masses  of  stone  and  brick  and  mortar 
was  heard  overhead  and  without,  the  terrible  roar  filled 
the  ears  and  seemed  to  fill  tho  mind  and  heart,  dazing 
perception,  arresting  thought  .  .  .",  until  at  last  "  the 
uproar  slowly  died  away  in  seeming  distance.  The 
earth  was  .still,  and  oh!  the  blessed  relief  of  that 
stillness  !"* 

Though  the  chief  features  of  the  earthquake-sound 
are  described  in  the  above  extract,  its  character  varies 
considerably  in  different  earthquakes,  in  various  parts 
of  the  area  of  one  and  the  same  earthquake,  and  even 
with  individual  observers  in  the  same  house.  For  several 
years  I  have  paid  special  attention  to  the  phenomena 
of  earthquake-soundsf  and  have  collected  several  thou- 
sand descriptions,  the  types  of  comparison  employed 
belonging  generally  to  one  of  tho  classes  mentioned 
below.  Occasionally,  however,  an  observer  is  uncertain, 
and  quotes  alternative  types  which  may  belong  to  dif- 
ferent classes.  But  often  the  resemblance  is  so  close 
that  he  is  himself  deceived,  and  starts  up  from  his  chair 
to  see  the  unexpected  carriage  pass. 

(1)  The  most  frequent  references  of  all  arc  to  passing 
vehicles  of  various  kinds,  and,  as  a  rule,  to  very  heavy 
ones,  such  as  traction-engines,  steam-rollers  or  waggons, 

»  C.  E.  Dutton,  Amer.  Geol.  Survey,  Nintli  -Innual  Report,  pp.  212-213. 
t  See  a  paper  in  tho  VhiL  Mag.  for  January,  1900,-of  whi.-h  the 
prc\sent  paper  is  an  abstract. 


84 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[Apbil  2,  1900. 


driven  rapidly  over  stone  paving  or  on  a  hard  or  frosty 
road ;  express  trains  or  heavy  goods  trains  rushing  over 
an  iron  bridge  or  through  a  tunnel  or  cutting ;  or 
weighty  furniture  dragged  along  the  floor.  (2) 
Next  in  frequency  come  comparisons  to  thunder,  occa- 
sionally to  a  deep  peal,  but  most  often,  perhaps,  to 
distant  thunder.  (3)  In  some  earthquakes,  but  by  no 
means  in  all.  the  sound  appears  to  resemble  a  rough  or 
moaning  wind,  the  howling  of  wind  in  a  chimney  and 
a  chimney  on  fire.  (4)  When  it  is  of  short  duration 
and  fairly  uniform  in  intensity,  we  find  the  sound 
described  as  like  that  of  a  load  of  coal  or  bricks  falling 
from  a  cai-t,  or  of  a  wall  or  roof  tumbling  down.  (5)  Again, 
when  still  briefer,  it  is  compared  to  the  thud  of  a  pon- 
derous weight,  a  large  mass  of  snow  or  of  heavy  timber, 
or  the  slamming  of  a  door.  (6)  In  weak  earthquakes, 
and  above  all  in  the  slight  after-shocks  of  a  great  earth- 
quake, we  have  references  to  explosions  of  different 
kinds,  but  chiefly  to  colliery  explosions,  rock-blasting  or 
the  firing  of  artillery,  especially  when  they  occur  at  a 
distance.  (7)  Lastly,  there  are  several  descriptions  of 
a  miscellaneous  kind,  which  are  rai-ely  used  and  do  not 
fall  under  any  of  the  above  headings,  such  as  the 
trampling  of  many  animals,  a  covey  of  partridges  on 
the  wing,  the  roar  of  a  waterfall  or  the  rumbling  of 
waves  in  a  cavern. 

To  most  observers  and  over  the  greater  part  of  the 
disturbed  area,  the  soxmd  remains  of  the  same  character 
throughout.  There  is  nearly  always  a  very  perceptible 
change  of  intensity,  the  noise  growing  gradually  louder 
and  then  dying  away,  and  the  change  sometimes  takes 
place  so  uniformly  that  it  seems  as  if  a  carnage  were 
coming  up  rapidly  to  the  door  of  the  observer's  house 
and  afterwards  receding  on  the  other  side.  Close  to  the 
epicentre  (or  area  vertically  above  the  seismic  focus), 
a  change  in  the  character  of  the  sound  is  also  notice- 
able at  or  about  the  instant  when  the  shock  is  strongest ; 
some  hear  a  loud  crash  like  the  explosion  of  a  bomb- 
shell ;  to  others,  it  appears  rougher  and  more  grating ; 
while  a  large  number  perceive  no  change  at  all.  At 
moderate  distances,  the  changes  are  much  less  marked , 
before  and  after  the  shock,  the  sound  resembles  the 
moaning  of  the  wind,  and,  while  the  shock  lasts,  a  more 
rumbling  character  is  developed.  At  great  distances, 
the  change  in  character  is  hardly  sensible ;  there  is 
little,  if  any,  variation  in  intensity,  and  the  report,  when 
heai'd,  resembles  more  than  anything  else  the  deep 
boom  of  distant  thunder. 

The  extraordinary  depth  of  the  sound  is  shown  very 
clearly  by  the  descriptions  given  above.  The  frecjuent 
and  unprompted  use  of  the  word  "  heavy,"  whether 
applied  to  thunder,  explosions,  or  traction-engines,  is 
some  evidence  of  this.  The  same  impression  is  also  con- 
veyed by  the  more  detailed  accounts;  "much  lower 
than  the  lowest  thunder "  one  obsei-ver  writes,  and 
another,  "  I  can  only  compare  the  soiuid  with  the  pedal 
notes  of  a  great  organ,  only  of  a  deeper  pitch  than 
can  be  taken  in  by  the  human  ear,  shall  I  sav  a  noise 
more  felt  than  heard?"  Still  more  striking  is  the  fact 
that,  while  the  sound  is  heard  by  some  observers,  it  is 
quite  inaudible  to  others  at  the  same  place  and  even  in 
the  same  house.  To  one  person  the  sound  is  so  loud 
that  it  seems  like  the  rumbling  of  a  heavy  traction- 
engine  passing ;  another  in  the  same  place  and  equally 
on  the  alert  will  be  just  as  positive  that  the  shock  was 
unaccompanied  by  sound.  The  explanation  offered 
rather  confidently  by  some  writers  that  the  attention 
of  the  second  observer  was  distracted  by  the  shock  is 
untrCnable  for  several  reasons,  which  may  be  worth  men- 


tioning. (1)  In  the  first  place,  the  sound  is  often  too 
loud  to  escape  notice  in  this  way.  (2)  It  is  generally 
heard  before  the  shock  begins  to  be  felt.  (3)  Different 
races,  as  will  be  seen  afterwards,  vary  much  in 
their  powers  of  hearing  the  earthquake-sound.  A  wholo 
nation,  and  especially  one  so  accustomed  to  observing 
earthquakes  as  the  Japanese,  cannot  be  accused  of  con- 
stant inatt«ntion.  (4)  Lastly,  my  own  hearing  is,  I 
believe,  unusually  keen  for  ordinary  noises,  but  I  could 
hear  no  sound  during  the  Hereford  earthquake  of  1896. 
though  I  was  in  a  quiet  room  and  listened  intently, 
and  more  than  60  per  cent,  of  the  observers  in  Birming- 
ham heard  the  earthquake-sound.  We  may  therefore 
conclude  that  the  inaudibility  of  the  sound  is  not  due 
to  inattention,  but  simply  to  the  fact  that  some  observers 
are  deaf  to  very  low  sounds. 

Another  fact  deserving  of  notice  is  that  the  sound- 
vibrations  are  not  all  of  one  pitch.  The  loud  and  deep 
explosive  crashes  observable  near  the  epicentre  at  the 
time  when  the  shock  is  strongest  are  only  heard  by 
some  persons.  Again,  the  observers  at  any  one  place 
make  use  of  widely  different  means  of  comparison. 
Thus,  out  of  move  than  fifty  observers  of  the  Hereford 
earthquake  in  Birmingham,  35  per  cent,  compared  the 
sound  to  passing  waggons,  etc.,  18  per  cent,  to  thunder, 
17  to  wind,  4  to  loads  of  stones  falling,  9  to  the  fall  of 
heavy  bodies,  11  to  explosions,  and  6  per  cent,  to  mis- 
cellaneous sounds.  The  difference  in  loudness  was  also 
very  marked.  On  the  one  hand,  we  have  such 
descriptions  as  a  traction-engine  passing,  an  express  train 
rushing  beneath  an  arch,  a  heavily  laden  cart  passing 
over  a  rough  street,  and  heavy  thunder ;  on  the  other, 
distant  thunder,  a  rushing  wind  and  a  very  distant  ex- 
plosion. If  all  the  observers  in  one  place  wore  equally 
endowed,  the  sound  would  present  the  same  character 
to  every  one  of  them.  But  their  powers  differ  widely. 
Their  ears,  indeed,  act  like  sieves  of  varying  degrees  of 
fineness ;  some  are  affected  by  many  vibrations  and 
to  them  the  sound  is  loud  and  complex ;  others  are  im- 
pervious to  all  but  a  few  vibrations,  and  they  hear  a 
sound  that  is  apparently  faint  and  monotonous. 

As  the  inhabitants  of  any  one  country  do  not  agree 
in  this  respect,  it  is  only  natural  to  suppose  that  ''  dif- 
ferent races  should  also  varv.  The  people  of  Great 
Britain  seem  to  have  unusually  good  powers  of  hearing 
earthquake  sounds.  It  may  fairly  be  said  that  an 
earthquake  never  occui's  in  t-hese  islands  without  the 
sound  being  heard.  It  is  not  altogether  easy  to  make 
a  just  comparison  with  other  nations,  for  we  cannot  be 
certain  that  the  omission  of  sound-records  is  not  acci- 
dental. There  are,  however,  two  countries,  Italy  and 
Japan,  where  earthquakes  are  closely  studied.  In  Italy 
about  one-third,  and  in  Japan  about  one-quarter,  of  the 
earthquakes  seem  to  be  accompanied  by  sound.  But 
there  is  this  difference  between  them.  The  Italian 
shocks,  which  are  unattended,  so  far  as  we  know,  by 
sound,  are  generally  felt  by  very  few  persons ;  when 
there  are  many  obsen'ers,  there  are  always  one  or  more 
to  be  found  among  them  who  are  capable  of  hearing 
deep  sounds.  But.  in  Japan,  although  the  proportion 
of  audible  earthcjuakes  increases  with  the  area  shaken 
by  them,  nearly  one-third  of  the  strongest  shocks  are 
unaccompanied  by  an}'  recorded  sound.  The  only  in- 
ference we  can  make  from  this  is  that  the  Jajianese,  as 
a  race,  are  less  susceptible  than  Europeans  to  veiy  low 
sounds. 

The  more  or  less  limited  size  of  the  area  over  which 
the  sound  is  heard  is  also  evidence  of  the  less  or  greater 
deafness  of  observers  for  low  sounds.     In  Great  Britain, 


April  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


86 


the  sound  is  heard  with  every  earthquake,  and  by  a 
large  proportion  of  the  observ-ers  who  feel  the  shock ; 
and  here  the  sound-area  is  always  large.  In  weak  eartli- 
quakes,  the  noise  is  heard  further  than  the  shock  is 
felt;  in  strong  ones,  it  has  been  heard  as  far  as  180 
miles  from  the  epicentre.  In  Japan,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  sound  is  inaudible  at  a  distance  of  a  few  miles  from 
the  epicentre.  Of  the  earthquakes  which  originate  be- 
neath the  land,  about  one-quarter  arc  accompanied  by 
sound;  while  this  is  the  case  with  less  than  one  per 
cent,  of  those  which  have  submai-ine  foci,  although  more 
than  nine-tenths  of  the  epicentres  were  not  more  than 
ten  miles  from  the  coast.  Indeed,  so  deaf  are  the 
Japanese  to  the  earthquake-sound  that  it  is  probably 
hejvrd  by  them  only  in  the  case  of  those  shocks  which 
originate  at  a  very  slight  depth  below  the  surface  of  the 
ground. 

In  all  countries,  however,  the  sound-area  is  less  than 
the  disturbed  area  of  a  strong  earthquake ;  and  in  a 
disastrous  earthquake  it  may  occupy  only  a  compara- 
tively small  region  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  epi- 
centre. But  there  is  no  constant  relation  between  the 
two  ai'eas;  for,  in  moderately  strong  or  weak  earth- 
quakes, they  nearly  coincide,  or  the  sound-area  even 
overlaps  the  other  on  one  or  more  sides ;  while,  in  a 
very  weak  earthquake,  it  overlaps  it  in  all  directions. 
^[oreovcr,  there  are  some  very  interesting  cases  in  which 
the  disturbed  area  ceases  altogether  to  exist,  that  is, 
the  sound  is  heard  while  no  shock  whatever  is  felt. 

That  such  earth-sounds  have  the  same  origin  as  or- 
dinary earthquakes  is  highly  probable.  They  are  heard 
in  districts  where  slight  shocks  are  frequent;  and  some- 
times a  series  of  earth-sounds  is  interrupted  by  a  shock 
accompanied  by  a  precisely  similar  noise.  A  great 
earthquake  is  always  followed  by  a  crowd  of  after- 
shocks, among  which  earth-sounds  occur  in  great  num- 
bers at  places  near  the  epicentre.  It  would  therefore 
seem  that  earthquakes  and  earth-sounds  may  be 
traced  to  the  same  cause,  that  the  chief  difference  in 
reality  lies  in  ourselves,  in  the  sense  by  which  we 
perceive  them — in  other  words,  that  an  earth-sound  is 
merely  an  earthquake  too  weak  to  be  felt. 

A  point  of  some  importance  is  the  relative  position  of 
the  sound-area  and  disturbed  area  of  an  earthquake. 
So  far  as  known,  the  two  areas  never  have  the  same 
centre.  Their  longer  axes  are  parallel  to  one  another, 
but  the  sound-area  is  always  displaced  with  respect  to 
the  other,  sometimes  in  the  direction  of  the  longer  axis, 
but  generally  in  that  of  the  shorter  axis.  In  the  latter 
case,  moreover,  the  displacement  takes  place  towards 
the  line  of  the  fault  with  which  the  earthquake  appear, 
to  be  connected,  implying  that  the  loudest  sound-vibra- 
(ions  do  not  come  from  so  deep-seated  a  portion  of  the 
fault  as  the  vibrations  which  constitute  the  earthquake- 
shock. 

In  old  earthquake  catalogues,  the  sound  is  generally 
said  to  precede  or  accompany  the  shock,  very  rarely 
to  follow  it ;  in  Japan,  the  sound  is  seldom,  if  ever, 
heard  after  the  shock  ceases  to  be  felt,  but  it  is  nearly 
always  heard  before  the  shock  begins.  We  may  fairly 
infer  from  this  that  the  fore-sound  is  louder  than  the 
after-sound.  More  detailed  studies  of  recent  British 
earthquakes  show  that  the  beginning  of  the  sound  gene- 
rally precedes  that  of  the  shock  in  all  parts  of  the 
sound-area;  while  the  end  of  the  sound  more  fre- 
quently follows  that  of  the  shock  than  otherwise,  even 
at  very  great  distances  from  the  centre.  In  weak  earth- 
quakes, the  instant  when  the  sound  is  loudest  always 
coincides  with  that  when  the  shock  is  strongest;    and 


this  is  generally,  though  not  always,  the  case  with  strong 
eai'thquakes.  The  duration  of  the  sound  is  as  a  rule 
obviously  greater  than  that  of  the  shock. 

In  order  to  give  definitoness  to  the  explanation  of 
the  phenomena  described  above,  I  will  assume  the  truth 
of  the  theory  which  ascribes  non-volcanic  earthquakes 
to  the  friction  produced  by  the  sliding  of  one  of  the 
rock-masses  adjoining  a  fault  over  and  against  the  other. 
The  seismic  focus  in  such  a  case  must  bo  a  surface  in- 
clined to  the  horizon,  and  the  relative  displacement 
of  the  two  rock-masses  will  be  greatest  near  the  centre 
of  the  focus  and  will  die  away  towards  the  edges.  Thus, 
from  all  parts  of  the  focus,  there  must  proceed  vibra- 
tions diflering  in  amplitude  and  period,  the  lai'ge  and 
slow  vibrations  coming  from  the  central'  region,  and  the 
small  and  rapid  ones  from  the  margins.  It  is  the  latter, 
1  believe,  especially  those  which  come  from  the  upper 
and  lateral  margins,  which  are  responsible  for  the  earth- 
quake-sounds. 

It  is  evident,  on  this  view  of  their  oi-igin,  that  the 
sound  will  become  gradually  louder  until  the  sliock  is 
felt,  and  afterwards  die  away.  The  intensity  of  tli(> 
sound  will  also  increase  with  that  of  the  shock  in  dif- 
ferent earthquakes;  but  while  the  marginal  vibrations 
ai-e  limited  in  amplitude  and  period,  those  from  the 
central  parts  of  the  focus  have  a  wider  range,  and 
therefore  the  intensity  of  the  sound  will  not  be  pro- 
portional to  that  of  the  shock.  Similarly,  in  a  violent 
earthquake,  the  disturbed  area  will  extend  far  beyond 
the  sound-area  ;  while,  in  a  weak  earthquake,  the  latter 
area  will  overlap  the  former.  In  the  limit,  the  central 
region  of  the  focus  will  vanish,  and  the  sound  will  be 
heard  without  any  accompanying  shock. 

The  most  perceptible  sound-vibrations  will  be  those 
which  come  from  the  upper  and  lateral  margins  of  the 
focus,  and  the  boundary  of  the  sound-ai'ea,  with  respect 
to  that  of  the  distm-bed  area,  must  therefore  be  shifted 
towards  the  fault-line,  and  also  in  the  direction  of  the 
fault  if  one  lateral  margin  be  longer  horizontally  than 
the  other. 

The  sound-vibrations  from  the  margin  nearest  to  the 
observer  will  be  heard  before  the  shock  begins,  those 
from  the  upper  margin  and  the  central  region  during 
the  shock,  and  those  from  the  furthest  margin  after  the 
shock  ends.  Thus,  the  fore-sound,  on  account  of  its 
nearer  origin,  will  be  more  generally  noticed  than  the 
after-sound;  and,  for  the  same  reason,  will  be  the  only 
sound  heard  by  Japanese  observers.  The  after-sound 
will  be  less  frequently  heard  as  the  distance  from  the 
origin  increases ;  and  the  duration  of  the  sound,  es- 
pecially at  places  near  the  epicentre,  will  be  greater  than 
(hat  of  the  shock. 


Itcttcrs. 

■ ♦ 

[Tlie   Editors  do  not  hold  themBelvee  reBponaible  for  the  opinions  or 

Btatemonts  of  correi^pondente.] 

♦ — ■— 

IS    THE    UNIVERSE    INFINITE? 

TO    THE    EDITORS    OF    KNOWLEDGK. 

Sirs, — The  letters  of  some  of  your  correspondents,  in- 
cluding Mr.  Inglis,  the  latest  of  them,  leads  me  to 
suggest  a  fonn  of  the  above  problem  which  will  keep  us 
clear  of  the  theoretical  difficulties  about  infinity  I 
would  therefore  substitute.  Does  the  stellar  universe 
extend  to  1,000  times  the  average  distance  of  a  star  of 
the  sixth  magnitude? 

The  answer  seems  to  me  to  be,  Certainly  not,  unless 
(1)  there  is  a  medium  in  space  which  absorbs  light,  or 


86 


KNOWLEDGE 


[April  2,  1900. 


(2)  a  rapid  thinning-out  of  the  stars  as  we  proceed  to  a 
great  distance  from  the  sun,  or  (3)  a  rapid  decrease  in 
the  luminosity  of  the  stars — which  would  have  the  same 
effect  as  a  decrease  in  their  number. 

Taking  the  successive  members  of  our  series  as  thp 
stai-s  of  each  successive  magnitude,  it  would  be  an  in- 
creasing, not  a  decreasing,  series,  on  the  assumption  tha^ 
the  distribution  of  the  stars  was  uniform,  and  that  there 
was  no  absoi-ptive  medium.  Adopting  Pogson's  scale, 
the  total  light  of  "^he  stars  of  the  n-f-lth  magnitude 
would  always  be  equal  to  1.585  times  the  total  light  of 
the  stars  of  the  nth  magnitude.  Can  any  reasonable  man 
who  looks  at  the  sky  imagine  that  this  process  is  carried 
as  far  as  the  stars  of  the  1000th  magnitude? 

What  light  an  infinite  number  of  stars  situated  at  an 
infinite  distance  might  or  might  not  give  us  is  an  in- 
soluble problem.  I  only  profess  to  deal  with  stars  at 
finite  distances.  The  main  question  is  whether  there  is 
a  gi-adual  thinning-out  of  these  as  we  proceed  to  great 
distances  from  the  sun.  I  hope  your  future  corre- 
spondents will  confine  themselves  to  this  issue. 

The  distance  of  the  sun  from  its  nearest  neighbour 
and  Centauri  is  so  vast  that  many  persons  seem  to  con- 
clude either  that  we  do  not  belong  to  the  Galactic 
System  or  that  we  are  situated  in  a  void  space  in  the 
Galaxy.  I  cannot  see  that  either  of  these  alternatives 
has  been  proved.  The  sun,  so  far  as  I  can  judge,  is 
very  probably  a  Galactic  Star  situated  in  a  region  which 
is  neither  unusually  dense  nor  unusually  rare.  If  so, 
a  great  diminution  in  the  density  of  the  stars  may  be 
expected  when  we  once  get  outside  of  the  Galactic 
Cluster.  The  stars  outside  of  it  may,  notwithstanding, 
extend  to  infinity  or  even  be  infinite  in  number,  but 
then  much  more  sparse  distribution  outside  of  the 
Galactic  Cluster  would  accoiuit  for  what  we  see. 

The  Galaxy,  as  we  see  it.  is  nearly  a  great  circle  on 
the  sphere  This  fact  suggests  that  the  sun  (and  earth) 
is  in  it,  not  outside  of  it — if  indeed  the  galaxy  is  i.ot  a 
hollow  ring  near  the  centre  of  which  we  are  situated. 
But  the  gradual  decrease  in  the  density  of  the  stars 
as  we  proceed  towards  the  Poles  of  the  Galaxy  is  hardly 
consistent  with  the  theory  that  the  sun  occupies  an  ojien 
space  in  the  centre  of  the  ring.  There  may  have  been 
something  in  the  old  idea  that  the  eai-th  was  the  centre 
of  the  Universe — viz.,  that  it  is  one  member  of  vast 
central  constellation,  and  may  therefore  be  regarded  as 
the  actual  centre  when  the  distance  considered  is  suffi- 
ciently great  W.  H.   S.  Monck. 

P.S. — When  I  first  wrote  on  the  subject  I  fell  into  the 
same  error  as  Mr.  Inglis,  viz.,  that  on  the  hypothesis 
of  uniform  distribution  the  total  light  of  the  stars  of  the 
nth  and  n-)-lth  magnitude  would  be  the  same.  I  made 
this  mistake  in  consequence  of  considering  the  surface 
of  the  sphere  instead  of  its  solid  contents.  I  was  fortu- 
nate enough  to  be  the  first  to  point  out  the  error  into 
which  I  had  fallen.  But  I  am  afraid  that  I  am 
theorising  too  much  for  vour  reviewer. — W.  H.  S.  M. 


IS   THE   STELLAR   UNIVERSE   FINITE? 

TO    THE    EDITORS    OF    KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — Mr.  Monck  writes  :  "  Bright  stars  lose  as  mucli 
by  absorption,  atmospheric  or  telescopic,  as  fainter 
ones."  Individually  they  do  not  lose  the  same  propor- 
tion of  their  total  light,  which  is  the  essential  point  so 
far  as  my  argument  is  concerned.  A  faint  star  becomes 
invisible  near  the  horizon,  while  a  bright  star  still  re- 
mains visible  at  a  similar  altitude.  Although  the  com- 
bined   light    of    a    number    of    stars    too    faint    to    be 


separately  visible  may  certainly,  as  he  points  out,  pro- 
duce the  sensation  of  light,  yet  if  the  atmosphere  absorb-; 
80  much  of  the  light  of  each  individual  star  as  to  render 
it  invisible  as  such,  then  none  of  those  stars  are  included 
in  the  counts  or  gaugings  of  stars  on  which  Mr.  Burns 
relied,  although  they  might  actually  exist.  Conclusions, 
therefore,  based  upon  these  counts,  absorption  being 
iieglected,  appear  to  me  to  be  erroneous. 

Wm.  Anderson. 
Madeira,  Febnian-  12th,  1900. 


THE   CONSTITUENTS  OF  THE  SUN. 

TO   THE   EDITORS   OF    KNOWLEDGE. 

[I  was  wrong,  no  doubt,  in  writing  "  dark,"  seeing 
that  the  laboratory  spectrum  of  carbon  consists  of  bright 
lines.  But  even  if  we  deal  with  these  bright  lines  or 
flutings,  I  still  maintain  that  the  coincidence  of  all  of 
them  with  dark  solar  lines  is  not  made  clear  to  me  in 
Fig.  3.  I  admit  that  the  fluting  beginning  at  3879 
and  ending  at  3883  coi-responds  generally  with  that  in 
the  solar  spectrum,  but  the  break  or  change  in  con- 
tinuity shown  in  the  latter  at  about  3882  does  not  appear 
in  the  carbon  spectrum ;  neither  does  the  abrupt  ter- 
mination of  the  fluting  coincide  exactly  in  position  with 
that  of  the  dark.  Then,  again,  as  to  the  beautifully 
regular  fluting  c-ommencing  at  3874  and  ending  at  3878, 
there  may  be  a  dark  line  coiTesponding  in  position  to 
each  of  the  brighter,  but  the  general  character  of  the 
fluting  is  by  no  means  represented  on  the  dark  lines — 
that  is  to  say,  the  vei-y  slight  but  regular  crowding 
together  of  the  lines  towards  the  right.  Similarly  at 
wave  lengths  lower  than  3874,  no  particular  corre- 
spondence suggests  itself  to  my  ej^e.  I  do  not  deny  tha<- 
there  is  a  correspondence  between  the  lines  of  caibon 
generally,  with  dark  lines  in  the  sun ;  I  merely  reiterate 
that  the  figure  in  question  does  not,  to  me,  give  that 
convincing  visual  coincidence  which  the  textrbooks  lav 
stress  upon  as  proving  beyond  possibility  of  doubt  the 
existence  of  certain  elements  in  the  sun. — E.  E.  M.j 

[To  my  former  remai-ks  I  need  only  add  that  in  the 
solar  spectrum  the  flutings  of  carbon  are  superposed 
upon  lines  due  to  various  other  elements,  so  that  excep' 
in  the  case  of  the  fluting  commencing  at  3883,  the  corre 
spondence  with  the  arc  spectimm  of  carbon  is  not  very 
Striking.  Nevertheless,  Rowland  finds  that  145  of  the 
.sciar  lines  between  Lambda  3883.5  and  Lambda  3864.0 
agree  with  the  component  lines  of  the  carbon  flutings 
fu  the  diagram  I  indicated  only  the  most  obvious  of 
these  coincidences,  and  showed  also  that  the  break  in 
continuity  at  3882  was  due  to  the  presence  of  a  line  of 
robalt.— A.  F.] 


iaottccs  of  Books. 

"  The  R.aces  of  Man  ;  an  Outline  of  Antliropolojjy  and  Ethno- 
graphy." By  J.  Deniker.  Contemporary  Science  Series.  (Walter 
Scott,  Limited.)  A  popular  work  on  his  favourite  science  by 
such  a  distinguished  anthropologist  as  Dr.  Deniker,  the  Chief 
Librarian  of  the  Paris  Museum  of  Natural  Histoiy,  can  scarcely 
fail  to  be  a  masterly  treatise  on  the  subject,  and  should  merit  the 
best  attention  of  his  fellow-workers  in  this  country,  even  if  they 
be  disposed  to  doubt  the  correctness  of  some  of  his  views.  As  its 
title  implies,  the  work  treats  of  man  not  only  from  a  zoological, 
but  likewise  from  a  physiological  and  sociological  standpoint,  so 
that  it  deals  with  anthropology  in  its  most  comprehensive  sense, 
the  greater  part  of  a  chapter  "being  devoted  to  language  and  its 
evolution.  Xo  less  than  170  illustrations— some  of  full-page  size- 
are  employed  to  convey  an  adequate  idea  of  the  leading  types  of 
mankind,  and  the  mode  of  dress  (or  "  undress  ")  of  the  various 
races.  The  care  with  which  these  illustrations  have  been  selected, 
and  the   excellence   of  their  execution,    wiU   scarcely  fail   to   be 


April  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


87 


appreciated  by  those  who  know  how  difficult  it  is  to  obtain  « 
good  series  of  representative  types,  lu  the  introduction  the  author 
treats  of  the  difficulty  felt  by  all  anthropoloiiists  in  dealing;  willi 
man  from  a  systetuatic  point  of  view  ;  "  species  "  and  "  races  " 
being  in  his  ease  scarcely  comparable  with  the  sense  in  which 
those  terms  are  used  in  ordinary  zoology.  He  next  proceeds  to 
show  in  what  resi>ect  ni;ui  differs  from  or  resembles  apes  and 
monkeys:  from  which  lie  is  naturally  led  on  to  the  considera 
tion  of  the  distinctive  characters  of  the  various  races  of  mankind. 
Physiological  characteristics,  inclusive  of  cross  breeding  and  the 
cosmopolitanism  of  man,  next  claim  attention ;  after  which  \\c 
find  four  chapters  devoted  to  language  and  sociology.  In  this 
latter  section  of  the  subject  is  embraced  all  connected  with  man's 
individual  and  social  life  ;  and  we  learn  how  dress  has  been 
gradually  evolved  from  ornament,  the  maimer  in  which  social  or 
ganization  has  developed,  the  evolution  of  the  complicated  com 
mercial  svstem  of  the  present  day  from  the  oiiginal  barter,  and. 
in  fact,  all  that  has  to  do  with  the  formation  of  society,  so  far  as 
is  possible  in  the  space  at  the  author's  disposal.  In"  the  eighth 
chapter.  Dr.  Demker  conies  to  the  classification  of  the  various 
races  of  mankind ;  while  the  remaining  five  chapters  treat  in 
detail  of  the  races  and  peoples  of  the  various  ccmtinenls  and 
archipelagoes  of  the  world.  In  his  classification  of  mankind  the 
author  lays  great  stress  upon  the  character  of  the  hair  as  a  feature 
of  prime  importance,  giving  a  table  explanatory  of  the  manner 
in  which  he  proposes  to  arrange  the  different  races  according  to  this 
standard,  ^^■hile  the  system  thus  formulated  presents  a  veiy  con 
siderable  agreement  with  the  one  so  largely  adopted  by  English 
anthropologists  of  the  present  day,  it  lacks  the  brigading  of  (lie 
races  into  three  or  four  primarj'  stock-groups,  and  is  therefore. 
in  our  opinion,  likely  to  confuse  the  general  reader,  who  will  find 
it  somewhat  difficult  to  grasp  the  author's  conception  of  the 
mutual  relationships  of  the  various  races.  We  are,  however, 
pleased  to  find  that  the  view  recently  expressed  in  Knowledoe  as 
to  the  wide  gulf  between  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  Australia  and 
Negroes,  and  the  affinity  existing  between  the  foi-nier  and  the 
inferior  races  of  India  and  Ceylon,  also  commends  itself  to  the 
author  of  the  volume  before  us.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  all  the 
races  classified  by  Dr.  Deniker  as  "  woolly-haired  "  correspond  to 
the  Negroid  stock  (minus  the  Australians!  of  the  late  Sir  William 
Flower's  classification ;  his  curly  and  wavy  haired  races  to  the 
Cauca.sian,  and  the  straight-haired  races,  wliicli  include  the 
Mongols  and  American  Indians,  to  the  Mongoloid  stuck.  The 
separation  in  the  table  of  the  South  American  from  the  North 
American  races  is,  however,  to  be  regretted  ;  as  is  likewise  the 
author's  disinclination  to  recognise  the  Malays  as  a  distinct  race. 
It  may  also  be  mentioned  that  his  usage  of  the  term  "  Indonesians  " 
seems  scarcely  justifiable,  since  it  was  framed  to  include  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Malayan  Islands  and  Oceania,  coming  under  the 
designation  neither  of  Melanesians  nor  Malays,  and  yet  we  find 
Dr.  Deniker  retaining  the  designation  of  Polynesians  for 
the  Samoans  and  their  kindred.  To  follow  the  author  into 
the  detailed  description  of  the  races  and  tribes  of  the 
various  continental  and  insular  areas  of  the  globe,  would 
be  impossible  within  the  space  at  our  command.  But  it 
may  be  mentioned  that  he  is  very  sceptical  not  only  as  to  whether 
there  were  ever  an  "  Aryan  "  people,  but  even  as  to  the  existence 
of  a  corresponding  language.  It  is  likewise  noteworthy  that  he 
employs  the  term  "  Ethiopians  "  for  the  Hamitic  races  of  North- 
east Africa,  and  if,  as  is  very  probably  the  case,  this  usage  is 
correct,  it  may  be  a  matter  for  consideration  whether  we  are 
justified  in  continuing  to  employ  the  designation  "  Ethiopian 
region "  for  Africa,  south  of  the  Sahara,  as  is  so  generally  the 
practice  in  zoogeography.  In  the  ease  of  a  foreigner  the  error  of 
"Black  Continent"  instead  of  "Dark  Continent"  (p.  427)  is 
perhaps  excusable ;  but  the  perpetuation  of  such  an  obsolete  title 
as  Cervus  tarandus  (p.  305)  for  the  reindeer  is  not  so  easily 
pardoned.  While  fully  appreciating  its  many  excellent  features, 
we  would  recommend  anthropological  students  not  to  confine  their 
attention  to  this  volume,  but  also  to  read  works  like  those  of 
Professor  A.  H.  Keane,  in  which  somewhat  different  views  are 
expressed.  They  will  thus  be  in  a  position  to  take  the  via  iiedia 
;n  cases  of  doubt  and  difficulty. 

"The  North  American  SlLme-Moulds."  By  Thomas  II.  Mac- 
bride,  A.M..  PH.D.  (New  York:  The  Macmillan  Company.)  10s. 
net.  The  Myxomycetes,  or  Slime-moulds  as  Prof.  Macbride  prefers 
to  call  them,  have  recently  been  introduced  to  readers  of 
Knowledge  through  the  interesting  papers  by  Sir  Edward  and 
Miss  Agnes  Fry  which  appeared  during  1899.  These  authors  have 
Br.ade  the  organi.sms  familiar  to  us  under  the  much  prettier  name 
of  "  myxies."  The  myxies  are  at  the  two  important  stages  of 
their  life-history  totally  different  in  character.  During  the  groM- 
ing,  or  vegetative,  phase  they  are  merely  undifferentiated  masse-! 
of  protoplasm  hardly  distinguishable  from  an  ordinaiy  amtt'ba. 
Indeed,  in  some  systems  of  classification  they  have,  at  this  stage 
of  their  growth,  been  placed  in  the  animal  kingdom.  It  is  thus 
perceived  that  Prof.  Macbride's  voltmie  is  concerned  with  the  in- 


teresting borderland  which  by  some  authorities  is  claimed  for  the 
kingdom  of  zoology  and  by  others  for  the  realm  of  botany.  But 
whether  after  a  short  uv  lunger  pcricul  of  time  the  fruit,  or  re 
productive  phase,  in  the  life  of  the  niyxomycetes  at  last  arrives, 
and  is  accompanied  by  a  total  change  of  characters.  The  or- 
ganism seeks  the  light,  and  the  object  now  to  be  attained  is  not 
only  the  formation  of  spores,  but  the  rapid  drying  up  of  the  parent 
and  the  effective  distribution  of  the  fruil.  The  .aullKir  describes 
how  this  desiccation  sumelimes  occurs  suddenly  "  as  if  by  magic 
charm  into  one  widespread,  dusty  field  of  flying  si>nies."  Witl. 
reference  to  the  perennially  interesting  (|uestion  as  to  whether  the 
slime  moulds  arc  plants  or  animals,  I'rof.  Mac  briile  says,  "  Wli/ 
call  them  either  plants  or  animals';  Was  Nature  then  so  poor  that 
forsooth  only  two  lines  of  differentiation  were  at  the  beginning  ope.i 
for  her  effort '?  May  we  not  rather  believe  that  Life's  tree  may 
have  risen  at  first  in  hundreds  of  tentative  trunks,  of  which  two 
have  become  in  the  progress  of  the  ages  so  far  dominant  as  to 
entirely  obscure  less  progressive  typesT'  Dealing  with  the  s;niie 
problem  in  Knowli'.dge  of  January,  1899,  Sir  Edward  l<'iy  ic 
marked  of  the  myxies,  "their  locomotion  iind  rapacious  yciuth  seem 
til  shut  them  out  from  the  plants;  their  stationary  condition  and 
their  production  of  sporangia  from  the  animal  world."  15ut  these 
fascinating  subjects  form  only  the  introductory  part  of  the  book 
before  us,  the  function  of  which  is  to  provide  a  list  of  all  species 
of  the  niyxomycetes  hitherto  described  from  North  and  t'en- 
M'ai  America.  The  volume  is  essentially  one  for  the  serious  student, 
^vllu  will  find  in  it  an  authoritative  account  of  the  present  state  of 
knowledge  in  this  department  of  biological  science. 

The  Lettei-3  of  Faraday  and  Schiinhein  (ISIifJ  to  1862).  With 
Notes,  Comments,  and  References  to  Contomjiorary  Letters.''  10<lited 
by  Oeorg  W.  A.  Kahlbaum  and  Francis  V.  Darbishire.  (Williams 
and  Norgate. )  138.  net.  It  is  a  little  dillicult  for  the  m-dinary 
student  of  chemistry  who  is  in  the  habit  of  finding,  by  iiiorely  refer- 
ring to  some  text-book  or  dictionary  of  bis  subject,  the  answer  t,o  each 
ditliculty  which  presents  itself  in  the  course  of  his  work,  to  change 
places  in  imaginatiim  with  jiioneers  like  Faraday  and  Schciubciii, 
who,  though  studying  subjects  familiar  to  many  schoolljoys  to-day, 
»ere  able  to  discover  no  r.-"ady-made  answers,  but  were  entirely 
dependent  upon  what  they  could  find  out  by  their  own  experinu'nts. 
Nevertheless,  the  excitement  of  discciveriiig  things  for  themselves 
they  certainly  had,  and  there  is  evidence  in  abundanc-e,  in  their 
letters,  that  they  thoroughly  enjoyed  it.  The  reader  catches  some  of 
their  enthusiasm  in  following  the  ratlicr  frequent  letters  which  [lassed 
between  the  philusuplier  at  the  Royal  Institiiticm  and  his  Swabian 
contemporary  at  Bale.  As  the  separate  stejjs  in  Schoubein's  researches 
on  passive  iron  and  ozone — to  take  only  two  of"  many  examples — are 
duly  explained  in  letters  to  Faraday,  the  reader,  in  spite  of  himself, 
begins  to  wonder  what  direction  the  researches  will  take  in  the  next 
Communication.  Faraday  was  already  lecturing  at  the  Koyal  Institu- 
tion when  Schonbein  was  a  young  student,  and  though  the  latter  was 
cuiee,  when  visiting  England,  actually  present  at  a  Friday  evening 
lecture,  he  was  too  shy  to  speak  to  Farailay  after  the  lecture.  It  was 
not  until  some  years  later,  when  Schonbein  was  actually  cngageil  at 
Bale  on  bis  investigations  respecting  the  action  of  nitric  acid  ou  iron, 
that  he  wrote  to  inform  Faratlay  of  some  of  the  phenomena  he  had 
observe(.l.  Later  they  became  [lersonally  acipiainUHl.  These  letters 
arc  not  only  valuable,  however,  as  a  history  of  certain  piivta  of 
nineteenth  century  chemistry,  they  will,  it  is  to  bo  hoped,  be  reail 
also  for  the  delightful  picture  they  reveal  of  the  almost  brotherly 
fondness  for  one  another  which  can  exist  between  two  actively 
engaged  men  of  science.  The  intimate  aci|iiaintance  one  seems  to 
acquire  with  Faraday's  personality  by  reading  these  letters  will  well 
repay  the  student  who  takes  up  the  volume.  It  is  a  sad  story  which 
Faraday  has  to  unfold  about  himself  in  many  of  his  letters.  l''reqnent 
ill-health  and  constant  loss  of  memory  had  to  be  reckoned  with,  and 
when  we  remendjer  the  amount  of  work  Faraday  accomplished,  we 
can  furm  a  rough  estimate  of  his  steadfastness  of  pin'))oso  and 
devotion  to  science.  The  editors  have  done  their  work  well— their 
notes  supply  just  those  links  which  are  necessary  to  enable  the  reader 
to  properly  appreciate  the  letters, 

"  The  Mind  of  the  Nation  :  a  study  of  jiolitical  thought  in  the 
Nineteenth  Century.  By  Marcus  R.  P.  Dormau.  (Kegau 
Paul  &  Co.,  Limited.)  12s.  This  is  a  substantial  essay  of  some  500 
pages  on  the  constitution  and  government  of  the  lluited  Kingdom, 
written  from  the  standpoint  of  the  superior  jierson  who  knows  all 
about  it.  It  follows  as  a  nratti  r  of  cimrse  that  the  writer's  opinion 
of  his  fellow  countrjnnen,  whose  political  genius  has  always  ex  :ited 
the  iidmiraticm  of  the  world,  is  of  tlie  poorest.  "No  one  could 
maintain,"  he  says,  "  that  more  than  five  per  cent,  of  the  voters 
have  any  real  knowledge  of  politics  at  the  present  time."  We  are 
not,  of  course,  concerned  to  canvass  this  proposition,  but  if  it  is 
true  we  fear  that  the  proportion  is  not  likely  to  be  increased  by  a 
study  of  Mr.  Dorman's  book,  whic-h  is  marred  bot-h  by  loose  state- 
ment and  obvious  bias.     What  are  we  to  make,   for  instance,   of 


88 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[Apkil  2,  1900. 


his  criticism  of  the  practice  of  questioning  ministers  in  Parliament, 
a  practice  -n-hich  has  been  found  of  the  very  greatest  utility  by 
ministers  themselves,  and  which  the  writer  thinks  should  be 
stopped.  Wherever  this  jiractice  is  abused  the  remedy  is  clearly  in 
the  minister's  own  hands,  and,  further,  is  frequently  applied.  But 
what  is  to  be  said  for  a  teacher  in  parliamentary  practice  who 
appears  to  be  labouring  under  the  de'usion  that  ministers  are  in  the 
h.'bit  of  putting  down  questions  addressed  to  their  own  colleagues 
(page  288).  Here  he  has  been  relying,  as  Sheridan  said,  on  his 
imagination  for  his  facts.  Then,  again,  the  statement  that  Peel 
was  enabled  to  carrj-  his  measure  for  the  repeal  of  the  Corn  Laws 
because  he  was  supported  by  a  sufficient  number  of  his  own  fol- 
lowers is  quite  at  variance  with  the  fact  that  some  250  of  them 
voted  against  him.  And  the  compiler  of  the  Peel  papers  is  surely 
Mr.  C.  S.  Parker,  sometime  and  a  long  time  member  for  Perth, 
end  not  Mr.  J.  S.  Parker.  The  book  may  be  commended  to  those 
who  are  able  to  apply  the  necessary  corrective,  but  it  will  not 
further  the  knowledge  of  the  student  in  history,  or  the  understand- 
ing of  the  citizen  in  the  form  and  practice  of  the  Constitution. 

"The  C4rammar  of  Science."  By  Karl  Pearson,  m.a.,  j.r.s. 
(A.  &  C.  Black.)  7s.  6d.  net.  This  is  a  second  edition  of  a  most 
important  work  which  has  been  thoroughly  revised  and  much  en- 
larged. Two  entirely  new  chapters  on  Xatural  Selection  ana 
Heredity,  embracing  a  jjopular  account  of  Prof.  Pearson's  ow  i 
more  recent  work  in  this  direction,  have  been  added.  There  is  a 
jieculiar  opportuneness  about  the  appearance  of  a  new  edition  of 
this  clear  exposition  of  the  scientific  method  and  the  claims  of 
science  to  be  regarded  as  the  educational  instrument,  par  excellence, 
for  a  training  in  citizenship.  The  inauguration  of  the  new  Board 
of  Education  which  is  to  be  immediately  effected  will  focus  attention 
upon  the  claims  of  the  different  schools  of  thought  to  be  regardel 
as  the  final  courts  of  appeal  in  questions  of  pedagogic  expediency. 
We  can  conceive  of  no  more  convincing  advocacy  of  the  peculiar 
fitness  of  a  training  in  the  methods  of  science  as  a  preparation  for 
active  life  than  is  accorded  by  this  volume.  The  function  of  science 
is,  to  use  Prof.  Pearson's  words,  "  the  classification  of  facts,  the 
recognition  of  their  sequence  and  relative  significance."  And, 
again,  "  modern  science,  as  training  the  mind  to  an  exac"  and 
irrpartial  analj'sis  of  facts,  is  an  education  specially  fitted  to  pro 
mote  sound  citizenship."  Other  claims  of  science  are  set  forth  in 
the  same  luminous  manner.  The  light  science  brings  to  bear  on 
many  important  social  problems,  the  increased  comfort  it  adds  to 
practical  life,  and  the  permanent  gratification  it  yields  to  the 
aesthetic  judgment,  are  all  reviewed  in  an  equally  masterly  fashion. 
The  imjiortant  part  which  science  must  take  in  human  development 
makes  it  an  imperative  necessity  to  have  the  fundamental  concepts 
of  modern  science  enunciated  with  logical  clearness,  and  Prof. 
Pearson's  criticisms  of  eight  years  ago,  with  the  additions  of  to-day, 
can  have  nothing  but  a  salutaiy  effect  in  making  men  of  science 
themselves  more  rigidly  scientific.  We  have  been  again  and  again 
impressed  in  examining  "  The  Grammar "  with  the  remarkable 
lucidity  of  Prof.  Pearson's  explanations.  The  educated  peison, 
\'  hatever  the  particular  branch  of  knowledge  with  which  le  is 
familiar  may  be,  will  have  no  great  difficulty  in  following  the 
arguments  here  set  forth,  provided  only  that  he  commences  his 
study  with  an  open  mind  and  a  teachable  spirit.  We  sincerely 
hope  that  another  eight  years  will  not  elapse  before  the  third 
edition  is  called  for. 

"  Experimental  Physics."  By  Eugene  Lommel.  Translated  from 
the  C4crman  by  G".  W.  Myers.  (Kegau  Paid.)  15s.  net.  Tlie  reader 
who  is  familiar  with  modern  British  books  on  cxperinu'ntal  jjliysics 
will  be  disappointed  if  he  expects  to  find  in  Prof.  Lommcl's  treatise 
what  is  now  considered  to  be  an  experimental  treatment  of  the  subject. 
The  book  is  descriptive  ratlier  than  experimental,  and  it  contains  no 
specific  instructions  to  the  student  for  enabUng  him  to  perform  the 
expei'imcnts  on  whidi  our  knowledge  of  physical  forces  depends.  For 
other  reasons,  too,  the  translation  of  the  German  volume  seems 
superfluous.  The  same  subjects  arc  explained,  and,  we  are  bound  to 
confess,  better  explained,  in  several  other  books  already  familiar  to 
teachers.  Jfor  is  the  volume  better  illustrated  and  more  up-to-date 
tlian  those  we  have  in  mind.  There  is,  moreover,  a  growing  disposi- 
tion to  discourage  the  use  of  these  general  reviews  of  the  whole  domain 
of  physics,  and  to  substitute  more  specialised  accounts  of  the  main 
branches,  so  that  wc  are  compelled  t«  say  that  the  book  is  unnecessary, 
and  cannot  be  recommended  either  to  teachers  or  students. 

"Journal  of  the  Society  of  Comparative  Legislation."  Editei 
by  John  Macdonell  and  Edward  Manson.  New  Series.  No.  3. 
(.John  Murr,ay.)  5s.  The  third  volume  of  this  invalu,able  work  is 
distinguished  by  a  full  and  detailed  review  of  the  legislation  of  the 
British  Empire  in  1898,  to  which  Sir  Courtenay  Ilbert  contributes 
an  introduction.  Among  the  subjects  dealt  with  by  experts  on 
constitutional  law  and  general  legal  topics  will  be  found  an  articla 
by  Mr.  A.  Wood  Renton  on  "  Indian  and  Colonial  Appeals  to  the 
Privy   Council " ;   a   paper   on   Suzerainty,"    by   Mr.    W.    P.    B. 


Shepheard  ;  and  an  instructive  comparison  of  Truck  Legislation 
in  England  and  on  the  Continent,  by  Miss  A.  M.  Anderson,  one  of 
Her  Majesty's  Inspectors  of  Factories.  The  writer  of  the  valuable 
notes  at  the  end  of  this  volume  makes  an  interesting  comparison 
of  the  legislative  procedure  in  our  House  of  Commons  and  in  the 
French  Chamber  of  Deputies,  not  always  to  the  advantage  of 
our  method.  In  the  French  Chamber,  however,  it  is  undeniable 
that  the  House  itself  does  not  enjoy  the  same  control  of  legislative 
projects  that  is  possessed  by  the  House  of  Commons. 

For  the  accommodation  of  persons  wishing  to  view  the  Eclipse 
of  the  Sun,  which  takes  place  on  Monday,  May  2Btli  next.  Messrs. 
Cook  have  arriinged  a  conducted  tour,  leaving  London  May  21st. 
visiting  Paris,  Bordeaux,  Biarritz,  Madrid,  and  Talavera,  wher« 
the  total  phase  of  the  eclipse  will  be  visible. 

BOOKS    RECEIVED. 

Jtecent  and  Coiiiinjj  Eclipses.  Second  edition.  By  Sir  Norman 
Lockyer.     (Macmillan.)     6s. 

Wireless  Telegraphif.  Fourth  edition.  By  Richard  Kerr. 
(Seeley.)     Is. 

Boms  of  Honour.  By  Frederick  Thomas  Ehvorthy.  (Miu'ray.) 
Illustrated.     lOs.  6d.  net.  , 

Ohjeci  Lessons  in  Botany.     By  E.  Suelgrove.     f  Jarrold.)     Ss.  6d. 

Pract'cal  Zoology.  By  T.  J.  Parker  and  W.  N.  Parker.  (Mac- 
millan.)    Illustrated,     ids.  6d 

Semarkable  Eclipses  and  Remarkable  Comets.  By  AY.  T.  Lynn. 
(Stanford  )     6d.  each. 

The  Natiirah.it's  Directory  for  1900.  (L.  Upcott  Gill.)    Is.  6d.  net. 

Eife  of  Dr.  Arnold.     By  Dean  Stauley.      (Ward,  Lock.)     28. 

Tie  Story  of  the  Nations — Modern  Italy.  By  Pietro  Orsi. 
(I'nwin.)     5s. 

The  Floirerinfl  Plant.  Bv  J-  R.  Ainsworth  Davis.  (Griffin.) 
Illustrated.     3s."  6d. 

Ferric  and  Heliographic  Processes.  h\  George  E.  Brown.  (Daw- 
barn  and  Ward.)     2s. 

Flowers  of  the  Field.  By  Rev.  C.  A.  Johns.  (3.  P.C.  K.)  illus- 
trated.    7s.  6d. 

Chatty  Object  Lessons  in  Nature  Knowledge.  By  F.  W.  Hackwood. 
(Longmans.)     3s.  6d. 

Technical  Education  Returns  in  England,  Wales,  and  Ireland. 
(Eyre  &  Spottiswoode)     Is. 

The  Studio :  an  Ilhistrated  Magazine  of  Fine  and  Applied  Art, 
March,  1900.     Is. 

Tools  and  their  Uses,  Sepoussc'  and  Metal- Chasing,  Turning 
Lathes.  "  Useful  Arts  and  Handicrafts  Series."  Dawbarn  &  Ward.) 
6d.  each. 

The  Norwegian  North  Polar  Expedition,  1S9.3 — 1896,  Scientific 
Results.  Edited  by  Fridtjof  Nansen.  Vol.  1.  (London  :  Longmans, 
Green  &  Co.)     4Us. 


BRITISH 


'    ^ 


ORNiTHOLOGiCAP^  ',*.. 

-s^L^^JS  NOTES;:  ,„ 


Conducted  by  Harry  F.  Witherby,  f.z.s.,  m.b.o.c. 

Bittern  in  Devonshire. — This  neighbourhood  par- 
ticipated iu  the  flight  of  Bitterns  which  seems  to  have 
visited  Eughuid  this  winter.  Ou  January  18th,  when 
walking  on  our  marsh  bank,  a  Bittern  rose  within  a 
few  yards  of  me.  It  appeared  in  a  very  weak  state, 
and  after  flying  a  short  distance  plumped  into  the  tall 
reeds  fringing  the  bank.  I  left  him  undisturbed,  and 
as  some  days  afterwards  a  Bittern  was  seen  flying 
across  the  river  here,  I  hoj)e  he  has  escaped  destruc- 
tion. I  learn  that  one  was  killed  in  the  marsh  just 
outside    Exmouth,    on    January    23rd.     The    last   great 


Apbil  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


89 


flight  of  Bitterns  in  Devonshire  was  in  tlic  winter  of 
1S90-91.— W.  S!.  M  DTkhan.  Newport  House,  near 
Exeter. 

Winter  Visitors  to  Uevonshiue. — On  the  11th  De- 
cember. 1S99,  a  great  movement  of  birds  tcok  {)h\ce 
from  the  eastward,  and  there  was  a  great  influx  of  lap- 
wings, golden  plovers,  ducks,  coots,  water  rails,  snipe, 
dunlins,  mistle  thrushes,  chaffinches,  starlings,  larks, 
and  ring  doves,  into  South  Devon.  Thci'e  was  a  severe 
frost  on  the  14th  and  15th,  followed  by  a  south-wester- 
ly gale  on  the  16th.  About  this  time  there  was  a  run 
on  the  holly-berries,  and  they  were  soon  cleared  off  by 
the  mistle  thrushes  and  ring  doves,  which  filled  tlieir 
crops  almost  to  bursting  with  them.  There  was  an- 
other influx  of  birds  on  13th  January,  1900,  when  vast 
flocks  of  lapwings  again  showed  themselves,  and  ring 
doves,  coots,  and  wild  ducks  again  became  numerous. 
On  26th  January,  song  thrushes  appeared  in  astonish- 
ing numbers  on  grass  fields,  and  thj  bushes  in  the 
shrubbery  after  d;irk  were  alive  with  them.  Black- 
birds, mistle  thrushes,  and  starlings  also  became  very 
plentiful.  When  the  frost  set  in  on  February  8th, 
redwings  became  extremely  plentiful  here,  feeding 
amongst  the  undergrowth  in  the  wood.  Fieldfares 
were  not  numerous  here,  but  Mr.  E.  A.  S.  Elliot  in- 
forms me  that  after  the  heavy  snow  storm  on  the  13th, 
they  appeared  in  extraordinary  numbers  at  Kingsbridge. 
Lapwings  and  redwings  became  extremely  weak  here, 
and  the  latter  fell  an  easy  prey  to  cats  and  sparrow- 
hawks.— W.   S.   M.   D  Urban. 

Wild  Robins  as  Pets. — Last  summer  we  remarked 
some  young  Robins  in  our  garden,  which  seemed  in- 
clined to  become  familial',  and  sitting  out  daily  in  my 
Bath  chair  I  amused  myself  feeding  them,  and  very  soon 
induced  two  or  three  of  them  to  take  crumbs  from  my 
hand.  One  in  particular  became  so  tame  that  my 
daughter  suggested  trying  him  with  pieces  of  biscuit 
held  between  the  lips,  and  after  one  or  two  trials  he 
came  quite  freely,  flj'ing  from  grsater  distances  each 
day,  and  poising  like  a  hawk  moth  before  snatching 
the  morsel  from  our  lips.  This  became  a  regular  game 
with  the  bird,  and  two  of  his  companions  soon  followed 
his  example,  and  took  biscuit  from  our  lips,  when  they 
had  quantities  of  other  food  dug  up  by  the  gardener. 
I  am  sorry  to  say  our  six  pet  Robins  fight  furiously, 
and  a  hen  Blackbird  often  watches  for,  and  secures  the 
crumbs  they  let  fall. — Frances  T.  Battersby,  Cromlvn, 
Rathowen,  W.  Meath. 

Egg  Inclosed  in  another. — A  friend  has  recently 
sent  me  two  eggs  laid  by  one  of  his  pigeons.  One  of 
them  is  of  unusual  size  (2^  inches  in  length),  the 
other  a  little  less  than  li  inches  in  length,  i.e.,  a  little 
under  the  normal  measurement.  The  .small  egg  wa-s 
found  inside  the  big  one.  This  is  the  only  instance  that 
has  come  to  my  notice  of  one  egg  being  enclosed  within 
another  egg. — F.  W.  Headley,  Haileybui-y. 

[A  similar  occurrence  in  the  case  of  a  fowl's  egg 
was  reported  in  the  "  Field  "  for  September  2nd,  1899, 
when  the  Editor  made  the  following  remarks: — "The 
occurrence  is  uncommon  if  considered  in  proportion  to 
the  number  of  eggs  laid,  probably  one  in  many  thou- 
sand ;  nevertheless,  a  year  rarely  passes  that  we  do  not 
receive  a  specimen.  The  explanation  of  the  curiosity 
is  as  follows :  Normally,  the  yolk,  as  it  passes  down 
the  long  oviduct,  is  enveloped  in  the  concentric  layers 
of  the  white,  then  the  membrane,  and  finally  the  shell. 
If,  in  place  of  being  extruded,  an  abnormal  i-eversed 
action  of  the  oviduct  takes  place,  the  egg  is  carried 
back,  and  meeting  with  a  second  descending  yolk,  both 


are  included  in  the  outer  coverings,  and  one  egg  within 
anolher  results. "^TI.  F.  W.] 

All  contrihulionx  to  the  idlumti,  either  in  the  way  of  notes 
or  pliotofiraphs,  should  he  forwanlt'l  to  Harry  1'.  Witiierhy, 
lit  1,  Eliot  Place,  Blackheath,  Kent. 


Astronomy — more  particularly  the  domain  of  celestial 
chemistry — is  the  poorer  by  the  loss  of  Charles  Piazzi 
Smyth,  formerly  Astronomer-Royal  for  Scotland.  Th  ! 
son  of  Admiral  W.  H.  Smyth,  he  was  born  at  Naples, 
3id  January,  1819.  Called  "  Piazzi  "  after  the  discoverer 
of  Ceres,  he  early  took  to  the  science,  and  became  assistant 
at  the  Cape  Observatory  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  In  1845. 
at  the  age  of  26,  he  became  Astronomer-Royal  for  Scot- 
land, beginning  his  work  with  great  anticipations  wliicli. 
alas  I  were  destined  to  be  congealed  in  a  frigid  sea  of 
officialdom.  After  more  than  forty  years'  serv'ce  he 
retired  to  Clova,  near  Ripoii,  [jrotesiing  against  the 
degenerating  influence  of  ri-d-tape.  In  retirement  the 
ex- Astronomer-Royal  devoted  himself  to  the  photo- 
graphic study  of  the  solar  spectrum  and  of  cloud  forms 
He  gave  the  first  detailed  descriptions  of  the  telluric 
bands;  introduced  the  "end-on"  mode  of  viewing 
vacuum  tubes,  and  adverted  to  the  significance  of  the 
"  rainband  "  for  weather  prediction.  "While  at  Edin- 
burgh he  reduced  and  published  his  predeccs'or  s 
(Henderson)  observations;  installed,  in  1855,  a  time- 
lall  on  the  Calton  Hill,  and  compiled  an  extensive  s*ar- 
catalogue.  At  Teneriffe,  in  1856,  he  studied  the  quality 
of  astronomical  "  seeing  "  at  high  levels,  notwithstanding 
the  persistence  of  "dust-haze''"  to  a  height  of  11,000 
feet.  In  1882,  at  Madeira,  he  investigated  the  solar 
radiations  with  a  fine  Rutherford  "  grating.  '  "  Life  and 
Work  at  the  Great  Pyramid,"  published  by  Smyth  in 
1867,  exhibits  a  phase  of  thought  which  provoked"  much 
lontrovcrsy  at  the  time  and  led  to  the  author's  resig- 
nation, in  1874,  of  the  Fellowship  of  the  Royal  Society. 
The  Great  ."Pyramid  was  erected,  in  his  view,  under  th  ^ 
eye  of  Melchisedech,  and  its  interpretation  horalde^'  the 
beginning  of  the  millennium  in   1882. 


ACROSS    THE    DOWNS. 

By  Grenville  A.  J.  Cole,  m.r.i.a.,  f.g.s..  Professor  of 

Geology  in  the  Royal  College  of  Science  for  Ireland. 
From  Dorchester  to  Norwich,  from  Flamborough  Head 
to  Beachy  Head,  we  all  know  the  broad  chalk  uplands, 
broken  at  one  point  by  the  composite  valley  of  the  Wash, 
at  another  by  the  clays  and  sands  of  London,  and  again 
by  the  wooded  excavation  of  the  Weald.  There  are  no 
peaks,  and  few  decided  summits,  on  these  plateaux ; 
from  the  long  back  of  the  Cotteswolds,  we  see  in  the 
south-east  the  next  great  step  of  England  facing  us, 
its  top  almost  level,  and  sending  out  spurs  into  the  richer 
country  at  its  feet.  The  scarp  rises  smoothly, 
covered  with  short  grass;  the  cloud-shadows  sweep 
across  it,  unbroken  and  well  outlined,  forming  almost 
a  picture  of  the  sky;  and  here  and  there  a  clump  of 
beech-trees,  or  a  circular  British  camp,  forms  the  only 
feature  on  the  crest.  At  morning  or  evening,  however, 
the  level  sunlight  picks  out  the  combes  on  the  escarp 
ment,  great  rounded  hollows,  in  which  trees  may  cluster 
along  some  ancient  watercourse.  Elsewhere,  it  is  a  dry 
country,  and  most  of  the  streams  that  carved  out  the 
combes  have  long  since  vanished  into  the  earth 

This    typical    scarp   can    be    seen    on    the    way    from 


90 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[Apeil  2,  1900. 


Cirencester  to  Marlborough,  or  between  Oxford  and 
Henley,  or.  again,  between  Aylesbury  and  Amersham  ; 
it  is  formed  by  the  upturned  edge  of  the  Upper  Creta- 
ceous series — a  series  which  has  been  swept  off  from  the 
surface  of  central  England  and  which  here  findc  its 
present  boundary.  The  plateau,  when  we  climb  to  it,  falls 
gently  towards  London,  and  streams  have  cut  valleys 
in  it,  running  south  or  east  to  join  the  Thames.  This 
drop  in  the  country  corresponds  to  the  dipping  surface 
of  the  strata,  and  the  next  scarp  is  produced  by  the 
Eocene  edge  above  them. 

On  the  Cretaceous  escarpment,  the  white  quarries  in 
the  Chalk  are  everywhere  in  evidence.  Here  and  there, 
pagan  tribes  and  Christian  imitators  have  scraped  out 
great  white  horses  on  the  slopes,  which  are  visible,  as 
geological  signals,  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  away.  Sheep 
are  pastured  on  the  plateau,  which  is  set  with  the  little 
huts  of  their  guardians,  quaint  affairs  on  wheels,  resem- 
bling bathing-machines  escaped.  At  times,  a  wood  of 
beech  and  ash  has  been  spared,  and  the  road  goes 
straightway  through  it,  much  as  it  did  in  jjrehistoric 
times.  In  the  barer  landscapes,  where  the  forests  were 
devastated,  in  all  probability,  by  Britons  and  Romans 
for  their  camp-fires,  we  may  see  the  tumuli,  the  gi-aves 
of  ancient  days,  forming  grass-covered  hillocks,  ten, 
twelve,  or  twenty  of  them  at  a  time,  set  uiJon  the  wind- 
swept sky-line.  Even  where  the  plough  has  made  a 
brown  patch  in  this  open  country,  a  gentle  swelling  in 
the  field,  seen  when  the  sun  is  low,  often  reveals  cue  of 
these  "  barrows,"  which  are  doomed  to  disappear  amid 
the  farmland. 

In  this  bleak  country  stands  Stonehenge,  the  one 
superb  landmark  on  the  way  from  Andover  to  Wells  : 
away  in  the  north  is  Avebury,  at  the  forking  of  the 
three  Bath  roads,  its  huge  monoliths  rising  among  the 
gardens  of  a  little  village.  Both  these  monuments, 
mainly  fo.-med  of  sand.stone  blocks,  bear  witness  to  the 
Cainozoic  strata  that  once  covered  all  the  English 
Downs.  Close  to  Marlborough,  such  masses  still  lie 
tumbled  in  the  hollows,  like  the  talus  of  a  mountain- 
side ;  but  in  most  cases  they  have  been  broken  up,  during 
centuries,  as  the  only  stone  for  walls  or  buildings. 
Formerly,  sands  must  have  spread  across  the  country, 
as  they  still  do  in  the  Bagsliot  area;  and  the  residual 
blocks,  known  locally  as  "  sai'cens,"  represent  those 
parts  of  the  beds  that  became  cemented  together  and 
escaped  decay.  The  "  sarcens  "  are  thus  as  much  geo- 
logical outliers,  cut  off  from  the  London  basin,  as  are 
the  cappings  of  clay  and  conglomerate  that  we  find  left 
stranded  on  the  edges  of  the  Surrey  Downs. 

When  man  took  possession  of  this  rolling  plateau, 
which  is  typified  in  Salisbury  Plain  or  Marlborough 
Down,  every  village  required  its  defence,  each  cluster  of 
huts  became  a  fortified  encampment.  The  finest  en- 
closure of  the  kind  is  seen  in  Old  Sarum,  which  remained 
the  official  centre  of  the  district  down  to  Norman  days. 
Even  as  late  as  the  thirteenth  century,  the  cathedral 
stood  here  within  ancient  British  walls.  This  spot  be- 
comes of  special  interest  to  us,  when  we  compare  it  with 
the  cities,  ringed  about  to  this  day,  that  we  shall  see 
v.-hen  we  go  eastward  and  invade  the  plains  of  Picardy. 
The  Romans,  the  Saxons,  and  the  Danes,  have  ranged 
over  our  plateau  of  the  Chalk,  just  as  the  English,  the 
Spaniards,  and  the  Germans,  have  made  their  pastime  in 
the  unfenced  fields  of  northern  France. 

The  Chiltern  Hills  lie  on  the  south-east  side  of  a 
great  Cretaceous  arch,  formed  by  the  broad  folding  of 
the  strata  that  went  on  through  Cainozoic  times.  We 
are  unaware  liow   far  the  Chalk  spread  westward;    the 


clear  deep  sea.  unburdened  by  detritus,  in  which  this 
white  limestone  was  laid  down,  may  have  lapped  round 
the  island-mass  of  Wales,  and  crossed  by  way  of  Cheshire 
into  Ireland.  It  is  certain  that  it  spread,  across  a 
pebbly  shore,  over  all  the  east  of  Ulster,  and  found  its 
north-western  boundary  in  the  stubborn  hills  of  Donegal. 
The  chalk  cliffs  of  the  county  of  Antrim,  gleaming  from 
beneath  their  protective  covering  of  basalt,  may  form, 
perhaps,  the  far  side  of  the  Chiltern  arch,  the  whole 
intervening  mass  having  been  swept  away  from  tho 
crown  of  an  enormous  anticlinal. 

The  same  gentle  type  of  folding  brings  the  Chalk  down 
under  London,  and  up  again  to  form  the  North  Dowiu 
of  Kent  and  Surrey.  The  arch  which  follows  this  down- 
ward curve  has  been  breached  by  the  rivers  that  flowed 
over  it.  some  going  northward  to  the  London  Basin,  some 
southward  to  the  English  Channel ;  and  the  claj's  and 
sands  exposed  by  its  removal  give  us  respectively  the 
oak-woods  and  the  fir-clad  ridges  of  the  Weald.  The  South 
Downs,  formed  by  another  typical  Chalk  scarp,  thus 
face  the  North  Downs  across  a  gap  of  thirty  miles ;  but 
the  two  ranges  merge  on  the  west  side,  and  we  find  the 
arch  unbroken  when  we  trace  it  to  the  heights  of 
Selborne.  Thence  its  crown  spreads  westward,  forming 
a  plateau  country,  until  it  dies  out  in  the  bleak  upland 
north  Oi  Salisbury. 

The  east  and  west  trend  of  the  Wealden  arch  is  no 
doubt  connected  with  the  pre-existing  buried  ridge, 
which  IS  known  to  us  by  borings,  and  which  run~s  be- 
neath the  London  Basin.  The  Cretaceous  rocks  were 
pressed  against  this  obstacle  when  the  broad  Cainozoic 
folds  were  formed ;  and  their  general  north-east  and 
south-west  trend  became  here  locally  disturbed.  When 
we  cross  the  Channel  to  the  white  Chalk  cliffs  of  Nor- 
mandy, we  find  our  Downs  again,  this  time  sloping 
south-eastward  towards  the   Paris   Basin. 

There  is  little  wonder  that  the  Norman  adventurers, 
and  successive  English  kings,  felt  themselves  so  much 
nt  home  on  either  side  of  the  Channel.  The  woods  on 
the  French  side  are,  perhaps,  a  little  more  frequent 
along  the  hollows;  but  the  crisp  short  grass  upon  the 
slopes  above,  the  white  quarries,  and  the  crops  that 
struggle  with  a  stony  soil,  recall  at  every  point  the 
familiar  Chalk  of  England.  The  rivers,  as  with  us 
have  cut  long  valleys,  out  of  which  the  roads  climb 
steeply ;  and  the  heights  along  the  Seine  near  Rouen 
may  well  remind  us  of  the  best  part  of  the  Thames  at 
Henley.  The  open  plateaux  contain,  as  in  our  country, 
primitive  little  hamlets,  often  set  back  from  the  main 
routes,  among  their  own  trees,  and  clustered  round  a 
village  green;  the  towns  lie  below,  along  the  Somme, 
the  Oise,  the  Aisne,  and  a  hundred  smaller  streams. 
The  forests  have  been  niore  carefully  preserved  than  m 
England,  and  cover  large  areas  of  the  uplands.  One 
may  ride  for  miles  along  the  straight  level  roads, 
through  dark  woods,  in  which  the  deer  move  softly ; 
and  here  and  there  we  emerge  on  some  huge  chateau, 
which,  thanks  to  Viollet^le-Duc,  takes  our  thoughts  right 
back  to  Froissart,  or  the  dim  knight-errantry  beyond. 

On  the  north,  the  country  is  open  to  Flanders,  and 
repeats  all  the  features  of  the  Netherlands.  Windmills, 
canals,  boats  that  appear  to  sail  across  the  meadows, 
barns  that  assert  themselves  as  the  prominent  features 
of  the  landscape,  show  how  the  Chalk  has  here  dropped 
to  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  old  brick  houses  have  a 
Flemish  air,  and  the  double  names  above  the  village- 
shops  are  certainly  neither  French  nor  Norman.  The 
hamlets  of  Zutkerque  and  Volkerinckhove  fail  to  con 
ceal  their  origin;    Moringhem,  Ruminghem,  and  Salper^ 


April  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


91 


wick,  alike  connect  us  with  the  north.  As  for  the  latter 
name,  it  carries  us  awaj-  to  our  own  east^country  fen- 
land,  where  our  Chalk  also  dips  beneath  the  river- 
alluvium  and  the  marshes,  amid  English  windmills, 
wherries,  and  canals.  In  this  open  country,  as  we  havo 
hinted,  each  city  is  still  a  fortress  ;  we  enter  by  narrow 
and  often  winding  roadways,  between  loopholes  and  the 
mouths  of  cannon  ;  and  the  tall  churches,  crowning  St. 
Omer.  Laon,  or  St.  Quentin,  have  looked  down  upon 
sieges,  and  have  outfaced  many  a  civil  war.  The  Chalk 
has  much  to  answer  for,  in  favouring  the  spread  of 
armies,  and  in  raising  no  barriei-s  to  invasion.  The  fords 
in  the  deep  valleys  have  proved  difficult  to  strangers  in 
the  past;  but  Crecy-en-Ponthieu  and  Azincourt,  to 
name  no  others,  record  the  failure  to  dislodge  an  enemy 
from  the  plateaux. 

The  broad  basin  in  which  Paris  lies  was  formed  by 
folding,  at  about  the  same  period  as  our  smaller  basin 
around  London  ;      its  eastern  rim,  corresponding  to  our 


west  side  of  this  enormous  basin ;  where  shall  wo  re- 
cover it  on  the  south-east,  across  the  Moselle  or  the 
Rhone  ? 

The  folding  that  has  had  sucli  nuld  elTccts  in  most 
of  the  Anglo-Norman  area  shows  here  and  there  far 
more  serious  results.  West  of  Guildford,  the  Ciialk  dips 
at  35°;  and  in  Dorsetshire  and  the  Isle  of  Wight  its 
beds  are  in  places  contorted  or  even  vertical.  Similar 
contortions  are  well  known  near  Flamborough  Jlead; 
but  we  now  proceed  to  a  district  where  earth-wrinKiing 
has  actually  destroyed  our  Downs,  and  has  left  us  only 
local  Cretaceous  strips,  caught  in  the  synclinal  folds. 
The  anticlinals,  following  closely  on  one  another,  consist 
of  Jurassic  rocks ;  the  escarpments  of  the  Cottcswolds 
and  the  Cotc-d'Or  are  repeated  again  and  again  in  the 
course  of  a  few  miles;  and  the  dip-slopes  arc  often  as 
steep  as  the  scarps,  which  are  formed  by  the  upturned 
limestone  edges.  This  region  of  repeated  folding  gives 
us  the  beautiful  parallel  ranges  of  the  Juras.     Among 


m£ 


?)s" 


FlO.  1. — Summit  of  tlie  Santis,  Switzerliind,  formed  of  Upper  Crefcai^cous  st.rata,  with  tlie  dip-slopo  deferniining  the  mouDtaiu-side 
upon  the  left,  and  tlie  escarpment  forming  the  more  cnigi^y  slope  upon  tlio  right. 


Chilterns,  away  beyond  the  vineyards  of  Champagne, 
similarly  looks  out  on  the  back  of  the  French  Ccttes- 
wolds,  that  is,  on  the  .Jurassic  range  that  runs  from 
Dijon,  by  Langres  and  Nancy,  into  Luxemburg.  Be- 
yond this  Jurassic  scarp,  the  Moselle,  running  north- 
ward, plays  the  part  of  the  English  Severn.  From 
Gloucester  to  Dijon,  wc  may.  then,  broadly  picture  one 
great  synclinal  curve,  formed  of  the  beds  of  the  Cottes- 
wolds,  which  rise  again  and  terminate  as  the  bold  Cote- 
d'Or  in  France;  these  bear  on  their  backs  the  wide 
Chalk  Downs,  the  Vespasian's  Camp  at  Amesbury  to 
Chalons-sur-Marne,  the  exercising  fields  of  two  lost  em- 
pires ;  and  these  Downs  wrap  round  and  enclose  in  their 
turn  the  still  later  beds  of  London  and  of  Paris.  Wc 
have  sought  the  Chalk  again  in  Antrim  on  the  north- 


the  beds  involved  are  some  that  correspond  to  our 
"  Lower  Greensand  "  strata,  which  come  out  around  the 
English  Weald :  but  in  Upper  Cretaceous  times  the 
Jura  ridge  had  probably  already  risen,  forming  a  chain 
of  islands  in  the  sea. 

The  Alps  themselves,  however,  lay  long  beneath  the 
ocean.  The  limestones  that  represent  our  Chalk  were 
laid  down  in  a  clear  sea  that  stretched  unbroken  into 
Syria;  and  on  them  the  Eocene  sea  continued  to  deposit 
'  nummnlitic  limestone,"  rich  in  foraminifera  and  other 
marine  types  of  life.  When  the  great  Alpine  niove- 
mcnts  came,  which  were  already  foreshadowed  in  the 
Juras,  the  whole  Cretaceous  series  became  crumpled 
together  like  a  cloth.  In  successive  periods,  the  central 
Alpine  mass  moved  upwards,  culminating  at  the  close 


92 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[Apbel  2,  1900. 


of  Miocene  times:  and  denudation  swept  the  Cretaceous 
and  Jurassic  limestones  from  it,  leaving  their  contorted 
remnants  in  the  foothills.  Here  they  form  superb 
scenery  of  slope  and  scarp,  the  higher  strata,  towering 
above  the  forests,  being  often  ledged  with  snow.  The 
Chalk,  which  is  so  soft  and  white  in  the  English 
plateaux,  is  here  represented  by  a  compact  and  brittle 
rock,  as  grev  and  firm  as  our  old  Carboniferous  Lime- 
stone. In  fold  on  fold,  it  now  comes  out  at  the  base  of 
some  inverted  series,  or  now  climbs  five  thousand  feet, 
and  caps  a  line  of  glorious  crags.  The  capacity  of  these 
later  geological  deposits  for  forming  mountains,  when 
sufficientlv  hard  pressed,  is  nowhere  better  seen  than  in 
the  eastern  Alps  of  Switzerland.  The  crest  of  the  Santis, 
for  example,  in  Appenzell,  2504  metres  (8213  feet)  above 
the  sea.  is  formed  bv  an  overfolded  mass  of  "  Seewer- 
kalk,"  Gault.  and  "Schrattenkalk.  '  Half  of  the  top 
most  anticlinal  is  seen  in  our  picture  (Fig.  1),  with  the 
observatory  and  hotel  upon  it.  Translated  into  our 
English  equivalents,  the  highest  crag  represents  the 
escarpment  of  the  Surrev  Downs  :  the  dark  and  narrow 
band,  starting  from  the  left  of  the  hotel,  is  the  Gaul'- 
sand  and  clav.  known  to  us  in  the  level  land,  set  with 
brickvards.  at  the  foot  of  our  soft  green  hills  ;  and  the 
mass  below  represents  our  ''  Lower  Greensand."  which  is 
familiar  in  the  Leith  Hill  range.  The  Eocene  beds, 
corresponding  to  those  of  the  London  Basin,  are  squeezed 
in  and  folded  under  the  Cretaceous  masses  on  the  north, 
far  away  below  the  crags  of  the  Ebenalp  and  Oehrli; 
while  we  may  see  a  representative  of  the  Paris  Basin 
iu  the  synclinal  on  the  south  at  "Wildhaus. 

The  Eocene  masses  form  hummocky  knolls,  as  large 
as  British  mountains ;  the  Greensand  and  Chalk  are 
uplifted  and  glorified  as  veritable  mountain-peaks  On 
the  Titlis,  nearer  to  the  St.  Gotttard,  the  Eocene  itself 
can  be  seen  infolded,  at  about  10.000  feet  above  the  sea. 

South  of  the  Eocene  basin  of  Wildhaus,  the  Cretaceous 
beds  again  arise,  in  the  superb  line  of  crags  that  look 
down  into  the  Lake  of  Wallen.  The  crests  of  the  Chur- 
firsten  are  often  capped  by  ''  Seewerkalk,"  and  the  vhole 
Cretaceous  and  half  the  Jurassic  systems  appear  here 
on  one  huge  rock-wall. 

The  bold  Alpine  movements  have,  however,  raised 
these  strata  to  a  dangerous  eminence.  Contorted  as 
they  are,  the  materials  of  the  foothills  are  always  in  a 
state  of  strain.  The  beds  are  ready  to  snap  asunder 
at  the  shock  of  earthquakes,  or  to  slide  on  one  another 
at  anv  disturbance  of  equilibrium,  such  as  may  be  caused 
by  ordinary  denudation.  The  disastrous  landslip  of 
Elm,  in  1881,  occurred  among  Eocene  strata;  that  of 
the  Rossberg,  above  Goldau,  in  beds  comparable  to  those 
of  Totlands  Bay  in  the  Isle  of  Wight;  while  the 
Diablerets,  above  the  Ehone  valley,  form  a  noted  spot 
for  rock-falls,  which  come  down  from  an  upper  Cre- 
taceous scarp  10,000  feet  above  the  sea.* 

It  is  interesting  to  compare  these  destructive  episodes 
with  the  slides  of  Chalk  that  occur  from  time  to  time 
at  Dover,  or  along  the  Dorset  coast.  The  earth-move- 
ments that  raised  the  Alps  folded  and  fractured 
England.!  Lower  Pliocene  strata,  with  marine  fossils 
are  known  on  the  edge  of  the  escarpment  of  the  Kentish 
Chalk,  and  assign  a  modern  date  to  the  anticlinal  and 
also  to  the  excavation  of  the  Weald.  As  we  look  across 
France  to  the  notched  anticlinals  of  the  Alpine  foothills, 
ar'  ;narine  Pliocene  beds  uplifted  on  their  backs 

*  Comiiare  G.  Cole,  "  Open- Air  Studies"  (1895),  p.  72. 

+  See  particularlv  A.  Strahan,  "  On  Overthrust?  of  Tertiarr  Date 
in  Dorset,"  Quart.  Joiirn.  Geo!.  Soc,  Tol.  LI.  (1895),  p.  549." 


in  Italv,  the  analogy  of  sti-ucture  in  the  two  areas  be- 
comes close  indeed.  The  movements  date  in  both  cases 
from  the  same  period  of  unrest;  but  their  ultimate 
intensity  has  been  vastly  different.  The  broad  curves 
of  the  "French  and  English  Chalk  represent  the  far- 
1  caching  waves  of  an  earth-storm  that  was  fathering  and 
breaking  in  the  south.  That  storm  spent  its  force  in  the 
great  lines  of  elevation  from  the  Pyrenees  to  the  frontier 
of  Tibet;  but  its  after-tremors  may  occasionally  reach 
us,  and  subsidiary  folds  may  be  still  forming  beneath 
our  placid  English  Downs. 


THE    MUD-NEST    BUILDING    BIRDS    OF 
AUSTRALIA. 

By  D.  Le  SorKF,  c.ii.z.s. 

In  Australia  there  are  three  genera  of  birds,  not  in- 
cluding swallows,  which  build  mud  nests,  and  strange 
to  say  these  three  genera  contain  but  a  single  species 
each,  and  it  is  difiicult  to  know  in  what  group  to 
place  them.  Thev  are  Corcorax  melanorhamphus, 
Stnithidea  cinerea.  and  Grallina  picata.  All  these, 
and  e^peciallv  the  two  first  named,  as  will  be  ex- 
plained below,  are  very  sociable  birds. 

Corcora:e  melanirrhnmjjhng  :  '•  White-winged  Chough." 

This  bird  has  been  given  the  vernacular  name  of 
''  Chough,"  because,  although  not  strictly  a  Chough,  it  is 
most  nearly  allied  to  that  species.  It  is  popularly  called 
the  Black  Magpie,  but  popular  names,  as  is  well  known, 
are  often  far  from  correct.  The  bird  inhabits  open 
forest  country,  and.  except  in  the  eytreme  north  and 
north-west,  is  found  all  over  Australia,  being  in  many 
localities  plentiful. 

The  general  colour  of  the  bird  is  black,  but  the 
inner  web  of  each  primary  is  white  for  a  short  distance 
from  its  base ;  this  white  marking  is  only  seen  when 
the  bird  is  flying,  but  it  is  then  very  conspicuous. 
Curiously  enough  there  frequentlv  seems  to  be  a  fes- 
tering sore  place  on  the  skin  at  the  base  of  the  bill, 
and  the  birds  themselves  often  have  an  unpleasant 
odour.  Their  food  consists  of  insects,  and  the  birds 
generallv  feed   on   the  ground.     When   disturbed  thev 


Xest  of  Corcorax  meVjuorhamphus. 

fly  into  the  lower  branches  of  a  tree,  and,  hopping  and 
flitting  from   one   branch   to   another,   soon   reach   the 


April  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


93 


top.  aud  tly  away.  Wlioii  ouo  bird  is  sliot  at,  and 
wouuded  so  that  it  is  pioveuted  from  est-aping,  its 
fries  attract  the  rest  of  the  Hock  to  it,  and,  coming 
within  gun  shot,  are  easy  victims  to  the  sportsman. 
They  always  go  in  companies  or  flocks,  which,  during 
the  nesting  season,  consist  of  from  six  to  fifteen  birds, 
but  lat«r  on,  when  the  young  birds  have  left  their  nests, 
the  Hocks  often  aggregate  up  to  thirty  or  more.  These 
birds  arc  heavy  flyers,  but  otherwise  very  active. 
During  the  nesting  season,  the  male  bird,  when  in  the 
presence  of  the  female,  often  goes  through  various 
antics,  such  as  sjjreading  out  his  wings  aud  tail,  in 
order  to  attract  her  attention.  In  the  latter  end  of 
August  or  earl}'  in  September  they  commence  building, 
several  of  the  birds  helping  to  construct  the  same  nest. 
Three  are  generally  built  bj'  one  company  during  the 
season,  a  new  one  being  started  as  soon  as  the  eggs  m 
the  previously  made  nest  are  hatched  out.  From 
what  I  have  obsei-ved,  I  consider  that  several  hen  birds 
lay  in  the  same  nest,  the  number  of  eggs  varying  from 
four  to  eight.  Should  one  sitting  bii'd  be  shot,  another 
will  take  her  place,  and  I  have  known  three  birds  tc 
have  been  shot  from  one  nest,  after  which  they  were 
left  in  peace  to  their  family  cares.  When  the  young 
are  hatched,  several  birds  feed  them,  and  consequently 
they  grow  fast.  The  nest,  which  is  the  common  pro- 
perty of  the  flock,  is  a  bulky,  open  structure  made  oi 
mud  and  weighing  sometimes  as  much  as  nine  pounds. 
It  is  lined  with  either  dry  grass,  fur,  or  shreds  of  bark 
from  the  Eucalyptus  trees,  and  is  generally  placed  on 
a  dry  horizontal  branch  at  a  considerable  distance  from 
the  ground.  As  the  branch  chosen  is  often  small  com- 
pared with  the  nest  itself,  the  birds  build  the  sides  of  the 
nest  down  below  the  branch,  and  thus  their  home  is 
balanced  and  held  on  more  securely.  The  diameter  of 
the  interior  of  the  structure  is  six  inches  and  the  depth 
thi'ee  inches.  The  eggs  are  white,  with  bold  irregular 
dark  brown  markings,  and  average  dimensions  of  1.52  by 
1.12  inches. 

St  ruth  idea  cineren  :    "Grey  Jumper." 

These  interesting  birds  are  very  similar  in  their 
habits  to  the  Corcorax,  and  are  often  found  in  their 
company.  They  also  live  in  flocks  of  from  five  to 
fifteen   birds,    and   in   consequence   are   called    in   some 


Kest  of  Struthidea  cinerea. 

districts  the  "  Twelve  Apostles.''  They  are  not  found 
in  the  extreme  north  of  Australia,  nor  yet  on  the 
j.i^rth-west  side,  but  are  everywhere  else.     .Active  birds, 


of  prevailing  grey  colour,  they  have  a  harsh  note,  and 
are  noisy.  They  generally  secure  their  insect  prey  on 
trees  and  are  only  occasionally  seen  on  the  ground. 
Like  the  Corcorax,  their  nest  is  common,  and  severa^ 
birds  help  in  building  it.  Three  nests  are  usually  built 
during  the  season,  and  a  fresh  one  is  commenced  when 
the  young  birds  in  the  first  are  about  a  week  old.  From 
four  to  eight  eggs  are  laid,  evidently  by  several  hen 
birds,  ;is  in  a  nest.  Mr.  H.  Lau  found,  belonging  to  a 
flock  of  twelve  birds,  eight  eggs  were  laid  in  six  days. 
The  mud  nest,  shaped  like  a  basin,  is  neatly  built  au<i 
generally  perfectly  spherical.  It  is  well  lined  with 
long  pieces  of  dry  grass,  the  interior  diameter 
measuring  four  inches  and  the  dcjith  two  inches,  and 
is  supported  on  a  horizontal  bougii,  occasionally  low 
down,  but  generally  from  nine  to  fifteen  feet  from  the 
ground.  The  eggs  arc  white  with  a  few  blackish  streaks, 
generally  on  the  larger  end.  On  some  eggs  the  mark- 
ings are  altogether  absent. 

Grallina  pirata :    "Magpie   Lark." 
This   beautiful    and   graceful    bird   is   found    in   every 
jjart  of  Australia  where  there   is   water.       Often  to  be 
seen  about  country  homesteads,  it  is  a  great  favourite, 
strictly  insectivorous,  and  very  tame. 

It  has  various  local  names — Peewit,  from  the  double 
note  the  bird  utters,  being  the  most  common.  During 
the  nesting  season  the  birds  are  generally  seen  in  pairs, 
but  in  the  winter  mouths  they  often  congregate  together 
in  considerable  flocks,  which  are  composed  chiefly,  I 
think,  of  young  birds,  as  the  old  pairs  seldom  seem  to 
stray  far  from  their  favourite  locality,  aud  generally 
nest  year  after  year  either  in  the  same  tree  or  not  far 
from  it.  Their  old  nests  are  frequently  used  by  other 
birds,  such  as  the  Wood  Swallows  (Artamus),  and 
Frogmouths  (Podargus),  which  build  their  own  homes  in 
them.  Many  birds,  especially  hawks,  prefer  using  old 
nests  of  other  birds,  which  they  trim  up  to  suit  their  own 
requirements,  instead  of  building  fresh  ones  for  them- 
selves. The  Grallina  invariably  feed  on  the  ground 
and  generally  in  moist  situations.  The  inside  of  their 
open  mud  nest  measures  four  and  a  half  inches  in 
diameter  by  three  and   a  half  inches  in   depth.     It  is 


fe^ 


Ne.ft  uf   Ofallina  picata. 


lined  with  dry  grass,  although  occasionally  bark  or 
feathers  are  used.  Both  birds  help  in  its  building,  and. 
after  finishing,  they  leave  it  for  about  a  fortnight  to 
dry   before   occupation.     Some   tree   in   the   vicinity   of 


94. 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[April  2,  1900. 


water  is  always  chosen  as  a  site  for  the  nest,  and  often 
the  Black  and  White  Fantail  (Ehipidura  tricolor)  builds 
its  cobweb-covered  nest  close  to  that  of  the  larger  bird, 
and  joins  with  its  neighbour  in  driving  away  hawks 
and  other  common  enemies.  Many  birds  like  to  build 
in  company,  as  I  have  frequently  noticed  when  travel- 
ling in  the  country.  Even  the  little  Acanthiza  chry- 
sorrhoa  makes  its  nest  among  the  sticks  which  form 
the  foundation  of  the  Eagle's  home  (Aquila  audax). 
Five  eggs  form  a  full  clutch,  and  they  vary  much  in 
colour  and  disposition  of  markings,  some  having  a  whito 
ground  and  others  a  reddish  pink.  Again,  in  some 
eggs  the  reddish-brown  markings  form  an  irregular  zone 
round  the  larger  end,  while  in  others  they  are  scattered 
all  over  the  egg.  Some  eggs  are  elongated  in  shape, 
others  much  more  rounded,  and  their  average  measure- 
ments are  1.18  by  .82  inch. 


itttcvoscopi). 

By  John  H.  Cooke,  f.l.s.,  f.g.s. 

"  Microscopy  and  Mici'0-techiii(jue,''  by  Dr.  Albert  Schneider, 
of  the  Jforth-western  University,  is  another  work  which  we 
can  confidently  recommend  to  our  readers.  The  self-explanatory 
title  enables  us  to  disjiense  with  a  description  of  its  aims.  It 
embodies  many  facts  and  suggestions  resulting  from  long 
observation  and  a  very  varied  practical  experience  :  and  it  is 
specially  suitable  as  a  work  of  reference  for  all  who  are 
interested  in  biological  research. 

Mr.  C.  A.  Kofaid,  of  the  Illinois  Biological  Station,  has 
devoted,  during  recent  years,  considerable  attention  to  the 
biology  of  the  plankton  ;  and  his  investigations  have  shown 
that  the  Henson  method  of  collecting  with  a  silk  net,  as  usually 
practised,  is  very  faulty  and  likely  to  lead  to  erroneous  con- 
clusions. The  leakage  of  the  planktonts  through  the  yielding 
meshes  of  the  silk,  caused  by  their  struggles  and  the  pressure 
of  the  filtering  water,  is  so  considerable  as  to  give  rise  to  grave 
errors  in  the  final  computations.  A  considerable  volume  of  the 
plankton  is  lost  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  and  in  some  instances 
the  actual  catch  of  the  silk  net  is  but  a  small  fraction  of  the 
total  present.  The  plankton  thus  lost  is  composed  very  largely 
of  minute  algaj,  which  constitute  a  fundamental  link  in  the 
cycle  of  aquatic  life.'  To  prevent  these  losses  he  now  employs 
a  filter  made  of  filter  paper  No.  .')7.5,  Schleicher  and  Schiill.  It 
is  very  free  from  lint,  and  does  not  easily  tear  when  wet.  As 
the  filtering  proceeds,  the  plankton  is  condensed  in  the  bottom 
of  the  funnel  by  means  of  a  fine  spray  from  a  hand  bulb.  The 
method  is  very  simple  and  rapid,  and  it  yields  from  7.'i  per  cent, 
to  80  per  cent,  of  the  planktonts,  as  compared  with  4.'>  percent, 
to  01)  per  cent,  with  the  silk  net  The  Henson  method  answers 
well  enough  for  the  larger  forms,  such  as  the  Entomostracu  and 
the  larger  Uotifeni  and  Pi-oto-ou,  but  it  is  (piite  inadequate  for 
the  retention  of  Meh>s/ra,  Per/dbiium,  D/iiobi-i/uni,  Raphidiam, 
EiifjUfia,  and  other  of  the  smaller  and  frequently  very  abundant 
planktonts. 

At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Royal  Microscopical  Society, 
Dr.  Measures  exhibited  an  instrument  for  micrography  made  by 
Zeiss,  having  a  new  form  of  fine  adjustment,  which  admitted  of 
the  arm  being  made  of  any  length  without  throwing  any 
weight  upon  the  fine  adjustment  screw.  The  manner  in  which 
the  speed  of  the  fine  adjustment  is  reduced  is  most  ingenious. 
The  motion  was  extremely  slow,  being  only  l-62i>  in.  for  everv 
revolution  of  the  screw.  The  application  of  the  principle  oi 
the  endless  screw  is  a  novel  way  of  slowing  down  the  fine 
adjustment.  Among  other  advantages  claimed  for  the  apparatus 
are  the  increa.sed  length  of  arm  and  the  reduction  of  weight  on 
the  fine  adjustment  to  one-fifth  of  that  which  is  usually  put 
upon  it. 

For  histological  and  biological  work,  an  Abbe  sub-stage  con- 
denser is  indispensable.  With  the  condenser  open  a  cone  of 
light,  having  an  angle  of  divergence  of  120'',  is  brought  to  a 
focus  upon  the  object.  Viewed  with  this  intense  hght,  the 
delicate  contours  of  trans|)arent  objects,  which  are  made  visible 
by  differences  of  refraction,  are  almost  entirely  lost,  and  the 


stained  portions  of  the  specimens  which  would  be,  without  the 
condenser,  more  or  less  concealed  by  the  outlines  of  the  unstained 
portions,  stand  out  in  bold  relief.  This  "isolation  of  the  stained 
image,"  as  Koch  terms  it,  is  of  great  value  in  histological  study. 
An  Abbr  condenser  should  be  found  in  every  histologist's 
laboratory. 

Ground  glass  is  a  useful  adjuoct  to  the  laboratory  appliances 
of  microscopist  and  microphotographer  ;  but  it  is  not  always 
possible  to  obtain  glass  having  a  grain  of  sufficient  fineness  to 
be  of  much  use.  Ground  glass  may  be  easily  prepared  by 
placing  some  fine  emery  powder  between  two  pieces  of  glass, 
and  then  rubbing  the  glasses  together  for  a  few  minutes.  If 
the  glass  becomes  too  opaque  it  may  be  rendered  more  trans- 
lucent by  rubbing  some  oil  upon  it. 

One  of  the  principal  reasons  for  using  lacquer  on  microscopes 
is  to  protect  the  metal  from  oxidation.  Lacquer  is  readily 
soluble  in  alcohol,  and  great  care  should  therefore  be  taken  when 
using  this  reagent.  The  practice  of  cleaning  the  brass  work  of 
the  instrument  with  alcohol  is,  therefore,  to  be  deprecated. 


NOTES   ON    COMETS   AND   METEORS. 

By  W.  F.  Denning,  f.k.a.s. 

(ii.icoBiNi's  CoMKT  (1900  a). — The  discoverer  gives  paraboh.: 
elements  in  Ast.  Nach.  3624,  from  observations  on  January  31st, 
I'ebruarv  3rd  and  6th,  The  comet  is  now  practically  invisible, 
being  ext'emely  faint  and  situated  too  near  to  the  sun  for  .satis- 
factory observation.  Its  periheUon  passage  will  take  place  on 
^  pril  28;li,  but  there  is  scarcely  a  possibility  that  the  object  vnXi 
bi-  observable  at  this  period  even  in  very  powerful  telescopes.  On 
February  21st  the  comet  was  observed  by  Kobold  at  Strassburg. 
and  he  describes  it  as  1  minute  of  arc  in  diameter,  round,  and  be- 
tween the  12th  and  13th  mag. 

In  April  the  relative  motions  of  the  comet  and  earth  will  cause  tlie 
two  bodies  to  begin  to  approach  each  other,  and  in  May  and  June  this 
approach  will  be  very  rapid,  so  that  in  July  and  August  the  comet 
will  be  much  nearer  the  earth,  and  considerably  brighter  than  it 
was  at  the  time  of  its  discovery.  It  will  also  be  veiy  favourably 
visible  as  regards  its  position  in  the  sky.  The  following  condensed 
tphtmeris  by  A.  Berberich  (Ast.  Nach.  3627)  wiU  exhibit  the 
varying  position  and  distance  of  the  comet  during  the  ensuing 
six  months  :  — 

Disiance  from 
Date  E.A.  Dec.  Earth  in  Millions 

IWO.  H.     M.  =  of  Miles. 

April  3  ...  1  41-4  +  11  27  ...  217 
„  27  ...  1  3.32  +  17  28  ...  214 
May  29  ...  190  -^  27  7  ...  180 
Jmie  3(1  ...  23  46  9  +  41  31  ...  128 
Aug.  1  ...  19  .36-3  +  41  20  ...  Ill 
Sciit.  2  ...  17  39-2  +  17  50  ...  170 
Oct.       4      ...     17  23-2        -I-     5  55       ...       251 

L.iRGE  Comets. — It  is  now  many  years  since  we  were  visiteH  by 
a  really  large  comet  favourably  visible  in  the  evening  sky.  In  Juno 
and  July,  1881,  a  fine  comet  presented  itself  in  the  northern  heavens, 
and  in  August  of  the  same  year  Schacberle's  comet  became  fairly 
(tnspicuous  as  it  passed  under  the  well-known  stars  of  Ursa  Major 
A  brilliant  comet  with  a  tail  22  degrees  long  was,  percejjtible  in 
the  autvmm  mornings  of  1882.  Since  that  year  we  have  had  several 
fairly  conspicuous  comets,  but  not  one  with  a  position  and  bright 
ness  which  enabled  it  to  arrest  much  public  attention.  It  is  a 
I  uridus  fact,  to  which  the  writer  drew  notice  in  the  "  Astrouomica 
Kegister  "  for  April,  1883,  that  the  majority  of  the  large  comets 
of  the  present  century  have  appeared  at  intervals  of  about  19 j  years. 
There  were  several  large  comets  observed  in  or  near  the  vears 
1823,  1843,  1862,  and  1881.  If  this  cycle  indicates  something 
more  than  fortuitous  agreements  then  we  may  expect  to  see  several 
fine  naked  eye  comets  during  the  ensuing  few  years.  This  should 
be  an  encouragement  to  comet-seekers  to  redouble  their  efforts. 
But  though  the  cycle  referred  to  appears  to  be  tolerably  well 
marked  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  it  could  exist  in  relation 
to  bodies  having  exceedingly  long  periods,  and,  moreover,  it 
apparently  fails  in  its  application  to  the  large  comets  of  the  18th 
century. 

DoiTELY  OnsEuvKD  Meteors. — On  Januaiy  25th,  llh.  10m.,  a 
meteor  of  about  2nd  mag.  was  recorded  by  Prof.  A.  8.  Herrfchel 
at  Slough,  and  ilr.  J.  H.  Bridger  at  Farnborough.  The  radiant 
was  at  45  degrees  plus  62  degrees,  and  the  meteor  descended  from  65 
to  44mUes  over  Warwickshire.  On  lanuai-y  27th,  llh.  10m.,  a  veiy 
slow-moving  meteor  of  1st  mag.  was  registered  by  Prof.  Herschel 


April  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


95 


at  Slouch  ;unl  Mr.  A.  Kiiiir  ;it  Leiiesier.  Its  radiiiut  was  at 
SS  dei;ret?s  minus  10  defjiees.  and  it  'ell  from  57  to  45  miles,  ending! 
almost  vertically  over  Leicester.  These  doubly  observed  meteors 
are  valuable  as  affording'  distinct  evidence  of  feeble  radiant  imints 
which  have  not  been  previously  observeil  at  the  same  period  of  tlie 
year.  Hence  there  is  great  utility  in  maintaining  simultaneous 
watches,  for  a  pair  of  accur.ite  obser\-ations  of  a  meteor  will  enabk 
the  radiant  point  of  a  scanty  shower  to  be  exactly  determined. 
though  such  a  shower  may  be  too  feeble  to  be  ever  recognised 
by  isolated  observation. 

L.\RGK  Mkteors. — On  Xovenilier  27tli.  9h.  20ni.,  a  remarkable 
bolide  was  seen  by  Mr.  C.  X.  Xeuotf  at  Solia.  It  tra'  died  fnmi  the 
square  of  Pegasus  towards  CapeUa.  and  broke  into  two  parts.  On 
February  11th,  8h.  19m..  Mr.  A.  C.  I'anfield,  of  Tenbuiy,  observed 
a  meteor  brighter  than  Sirius.  It  passed  from  Kridanus  to  20 
degrees  S.E.  from  Sirius.  and  was  visible  for  about  13  seconds 

St.\tion.\ry  K.\diaxts. — In  Ast.  Xach.  3625.  M.  liredlkhiiie 
gives  the  orbits  of  a  number  of  showers  composing  the  long  en- 
during radiants  near  Beta  Persei  and  Zeta  Draconis.  The  dilfercnces 
in.  the  elements  induces  him  to  believe  that  stationary  radiation  is 
brought  about  by  a  series  of  distinct  streams  supplementing  each 
other  from  the  same  apparent  directions.  This  exjilanation  has 
been  previously  offered  but  it  is  quite  inadequate  to  satisfy  the  ob- 
servations. The  accidental  grouping  of  radiants  would  not  enable 
them  to  cluster  at  certain  centres  to  the  exclusion  of  surrounding 
spaces.  A  number  of  different  showers  succeeding  each  other  from 
the  vicinity  of  a  fixed  star  would  give  radiants  round  about  the 
far,  being  sometimes  E..  W.,  N.  and  S.  of  it,  but  a  stati'inary 
nadiant  retains  a  constant  position  relatively  to  that  of  the  star 
near  which  it  may  be  placed.  This  fact  is  of  great  signilicance, 
and  negatives  the  idea  that  mere  chance  grouping  is  responsible 
for  the  production  of  stationary  radiants. 

April  Ltrids. — The  moon  will  be  full  on  A|iril  15th  this  year, 
so  that  the  shower  can  be  best  observed  in  its  later  stages.  As 
1900  is  not  a  leap  year  the  maximum  will  probably  occur  on  Apri' 
21st,  when  the  moon  rises  at  13h.  23m.  But  in  1884  the  writer 
observed  a  very  active  return  of  the  shower  on  April  19th,  lib.  to 
12h.  It  seems  necessary  therefore  to  maintain  a  watch  both  on 
the  nights  of  April  20th  and  21st  before  moonrisa.  The  shower  is 
visible  for  about  a  week  (April  17-24).  and  its  radiant  is  a  moving 
one  like  that  of  the  August  Perseids.  but  the  Lyrids  are  usu.nlly  sj 
rare  that  this  feature  in  regard  to  them  has  never  been  sufficiently 
investigated.  Observers  should  carefully  ascertain  the  position 
of  the  radiant  on  successive  nights,  and  in  this  connection  the 
meteors  moving  in  declination  will  be  very  valuable  as  serving 
to  indicate  the  R.A.  accuratelv. 


THE    FACE   OF   THE   SKY   FOR    APRIL. 

By  A.  Fowler,  f.r.a.s. 

The  Scn'. — On  the  1st  the  sun  rises  at  5.37  and  sets 
at  6.31 ;  on  the  30th  he  rises  at  4.36  and  sets  at  7.18. 
Occasional  small  spots  may  occur,  but  large  outbursts 
are  not  to  be  expected.  The  sun  is  at  its  mean  distance 
from  the  earth  on  the  1st. 

The  Moon. — The  moon  will  enter  first  quarter  on  the 
6th  at  8.55  p.m.;  will  be  full  on  the  15th  at  1.2  a.u.; 
will  enter  last  quarter  on  the  22nd  at  2.33  p.m.  ;  and 
will  be  new  on  the  29th  at  5.23  a.m. 

The  following  are  the  most  notable  occultations  visible 
at  Greenwich :  — 


B.A.C.  1-373 

0  Tauri 
a  Cancri 
^  Sa^ttarii 
c'  Capricomi 


57 
♦•8 
4-:i 
3-5 
5-2 
6-2 


8.47  P.M. 

88 

9..30  P.M. 

71 

11.46  P.M. 

91 

2.27  A.M. 

87 

3.23  A.M. 

11 

3.34  i.x. 

83 

53 
110 

45 
116 


o 

o 

9.44  P.M. 

275 

235 

10.22  P.M. 

.304 

263 

12.45 

317 

277 

3.42  A.M. 

a.w 

2«7 

3.57  A.M. 

306 

337 

4.37  A.M. 

233 

260 

The  Planets. — Mercury  is  the  morning  star  through- 
out the  month,  but  though  he  reaches  an  elongation  of 
over  27°  on  the  24th,  he  is  badly  placed  for  observation 
in  otir  latitude.     Only  in  the  tropics  and  in  the  southern 


beniispberc  do  western  elongations  in  our  Spring  provide 
favourable  opportunities  for  the  observation  of  this 
planet. 

Venus  will  bo  a  very  brilliant  object  throughout  the 
month.  On  the  28th,  at  midnight,  she  will  be  at 
greatest  eastern  elongation,  45°  30'.  During  the  month 
she  travels  from  near  the  western  boundary  of  Taurus 
to  near  the  eastern  limit  of  that  constellation  ;  on  the 
8tli  and  9th  the  planet  will  be  nearly  midway  between 
the  Pleiades  and  Aldcbaran,  and  on  the  28th  between 
Zeta  Tauri  and  Beta  Tauri.  The  apparent  diameter 
increases  from  18'  on  the  1st  to  24"  on  the  30th.  At 
the  middle  of  the  month  a  little  less  than  six-tenths  of 
the  disc  will  be  illuminated. 

Mars  is  a  morning  star,  rising  about  4.45  a.m.  at  the 
middle  of  the  month,  but  with  his  apparent  diameter 
of  4". 2  is  of  little  interest  to  observers.  During  the 
month  he  describes  a  long  direct  path  through  the  lower 
part  of  Pisces. 

.lupiter  rises  just  before  midnight  at  the  beginning 
of  the  month,  and  a  little  before  10  p.m.  at  the  cud. 
During  the  month  the  apparent  diameter  increases  from 
38". 0  to  41". 0.  The  planet  has  a  slow  westerly  motion 
in  the  south-western  part  of  Ophiucbus,  about  .5°  north- 
east of  Antares. 

Saturn  rises  about  1.45  a.m.  at  the  beginning  of  the 
mouth,  and  about  11.45  p.m.  towards  the  end.  His  path 
is  very  short,  but  2  degrees  north  of  Lambda 
Sagittarii.     The  planet  is  stationary  on  the   14th. 

Uranus  traverses  a  short  retrograde  path  in  the  south- 
western  part  of  Ophiuchus.  At  the  middle  of  the 
month  the  planet  will  be  nearly  2  degrees  east  and  1 
degree  south  of  Jupiter,  lying  nearly  midway  between 
Antares  and  Eta  Ophiuchi  throughout  the  month. 

Neptune  sets  about  1  a.m.  at  the  beginning  and  about 
11  p.m.  at  the  end  of  the  month.  His  path  is  a  short 
easterly  one  to  the  north-east  of  Zeta  Tauri ;  the  planet 
is  1  degree  north  of  that  star,  4m.  lis.  following  on  the 
1st,  and  6m.  55s.  following  on  the  30th. 

The  Stars. — About  9  p.m.  at  the  middle  of  the  month, 
Leo  will  be  on  the  meridian,  Gemini  in  the  south-west, 
Orion  in  the  west,  Virgo  in  the  south-east,  Hercules 
in  the  north-east,  and  Ursa  Major  almost  overhead. 

Algol  may  be  conveniently  observed  at  minimum 
on  the  20th  at  9.45  p.m. 


C^sss  Column. 

By  C.  D.  LococK,  b.a. 


Communications  for  this  column  should  be  addressed 
to  C.  D.  LococK,  Netherfield,  Camberley,  and  be  posted 
by  the  10th  of  each  month. 

Solution  of  March  Problem. 
(J.   K.   Macmeikan.) 

Key-move — 1.  B  to  K5. 

If  1    ...  K  to  K4,     2,  R  to  B8,  etc. 
1      .  .  K  to  Kt6,  2.  Q  to  KKsq. 

Correct  Solution  received  from  J.  Baddeley,  Capb. 
Forde,  H.  S.  Brandreth,  W.  Nash,  J.  \V.  Meyjes,  Alpha, 
W.  de  P.  Crousaz,  K.  W. 

K.  W. — The  majority  of  the  Knowledge  corps  of 
solvers  will  not  try  sui-mates.  One  or  two  short  ones 
will  be  inserted  from  time  to  time,  in  notation,  as  yoa 
suggest. 


96 


KNOWLEDGE 


[Apsii.  2,  1900. 


J.  W.  Meues. — Your  solutions  to  last  month's  pro- 
blems did  not  arrive  till  after  this  page  had  gone  to 
press ;  otherwise  you  would  have  been  credited  with 
No.  1,  in  spite  of  the  clerical  error. 

G.  B.  Gooding. — P  to  Q4  is  a  near  try,  but  Black  can 
reply  1.   .   .   .  P  x  P  en  passant.     Moreover  after  1 
K  to  Kt6,  2.  Q  to  Q2,  K  to  E6;    3.     Kt  to  B5  is  not 
mate,  as  the  Black  Pawn  can  cover  the  check.    ■ 

W.  Parkinson. — See  reply  to  G.  B.  Gooding  abo' e. 

J.  T.  Blakemore. — Correct  solutions  to  J  G. 
Campbell's  jDroblems  just  too  lat-e  to  acknowledge  las', 
month. 

Problems  received  with  thanks  from  W.  H.  Gundry. 
N.  M.  Gibbius,  W.  Clugston.  They  will  appear  shortly 
if  found  to  be  correct. 


It  is  interesting  to  leam  that  the  four-move  problem 
which  appeared  in  the  October  Number  obtained  first 
prize,  out  of  52  entries,  in  the  problem  tourney  of  the 
'■  British  Chess  Magazine."  The  composer  was  Karel 
Traxler,  of  Bohemia.  Below  are  two  of  the  prize-winners 
in  the  recent  problem  tourney  of  the  "  Birmingham 
Daily  Post."  Some  judges  might  consider  them  superior 
to  the  first  and  third  prize  winners. 

No.   1. 

Second  Phize. 

Bt  AV.  Oleave   (London"). 

Black  ('■). 


i 


y,.  W>       W 

y///ff;;y,  ^%^wm'/,  _,  'wm/     -mm 


White  (8j. 

White  mates  in  two  moves. 
No.   2. 

FOUETH    PkIZE. 

Bj  Hexkt  a.  Wood  (Shaw). 
Black  (7). 


M 


'WZ-i 


W'ap 


^^..^...^^/  _.i' 


'////. 


ji^^ 


•#4^.     M 


Whiii  (0). 

White  mates  in  two  moves. 


CHESS    INTELLIGENCE. 


The  English  side  for  the  forthcoming  cable  matca 
with  America  will  consist  of  Messrs.  H.  E.  Atkins. 
G.  E.  Bellingham,  J.  H.  Blackburne,  E.  M.  Jackson, 
Herbert  Jacobs,  T.  F.  Lawrence,  F.  J.  Lee,  D.  J.  Mills, 
H.  W.  Trenchard,  and  W.  Ward.  The  reserves  will  be 
Mr.  E.  O.  Jones,  Mr.  Physick,  and  Mr.  Passmore.  Th"^ 
match  takes  place  on  March  23rd  and  24th  at  th° 
Monaco  Restaurant. 

The  annual  Hastings  and  St.  Leonards  Chess  Festival 
:j  fixed  for  March  30th  to  April  3rd  inclusive.  Messrs. 
Plackburne,  Mason  and  Teichmann  ai-e  the  masters  en- 
gaged. There  will  be  the  usual  consultation  games,  and 
blindfold  and  simultaneous  exhibitions,  as  well  as  some 
local  events,  including  a  match  between  teams  of  lOii 
plavers  representing  Kent  and  Sussex. 

The  City  of  London  Chess  Club  has  organised  an 
Invitation  Tournament,  in  which  seven  professionals  and 
seven  amateurs  are  to  compete.  The  seven  prizes  to  be 
given  amount  to  £64.  Play  begins  at  7,  Grocers'  HaL 
Court,  Poultry,  on  April  5th,  with  an  adjournment 
between  April  12th  and  April  18th.  The  tournament 
will  be  an  interesting  test  of  the  relative  strengths  of 
British  amateurs  and  professionals,  and  will  give  th^ 
latter  an  excellent  opportunity  of  getting  into  practice 
for  the  Paris  International  Tourney. 

Mr.  Bellingham  is  playing  a  match  with  Mr.  Burn ; 
the  present  score  is  4J  to  li  in  favour  of  the  former  and 
as  the  match  is  limited  to  nine  games  Mr.  Burn  cannot 
now  win  it.  At  Chicago  Mr.  Marshall,  the  winner  of 
the  minor  tournament  in  London,  has  defeated  Mr. 
S.  P.  Johnstone  by  the  narrow  majority  of  7  games  to 
G.  Both  plavers  took  part  in  the  cable  match  last  year, 
and  will  probably  J)lay  again.  Mr.  Delmar  has  won 
two  short  matches  with  Mr.  Halpern  and  ISL'.jor 
Hanham. 

In  the  South^Eastern  section  of  the  S.C.Ch.U.  tourney, 
Hampshire  succeeded  in  defeating  Sussex  by  9  games  to 
7,  the  latter  team  being  two  men  short.  Hampshire 
accordingly  tied  with  Surrey  for  the  leadership  of  the 
section,  but  were  defeated  rather  easily  in  playing  off 
the  tie.  The  final  will  lie  between  Surrey  and  either 
Somerset  or  Gloucestershire. 

The  "  Richardson  "  cup  competition  for  Scottish  clubs, 
limited  to  teams  of  five,  has  at  length  been  decided  In 
the  final  tie  the  Glasgow  Club  defeated  EdinburgV.  by 
3  games  to  2. 


For  Contents  of  the  Two  last  Numbers  of  "  Knowledge,"  see 
Advertisement  pages. 


The  yearly  bound  Tolumes  of  Knowledge,  cloth  filt,  Ss.  6d.,  post  free. 

Binding  Case8,  Is.  6d.  each ;  post  free,  Is.  9d. 

Subscribers'  numbers  bound  (including  case  and  Index),  2a.  6d.  each  volume. 

Index  of  Articles  and  Illustrations  for  1S91,  1892,  1894,  1395,  1896, 1897,  and 
189S  can  be  supplied  for  3d.  each. 

All  remittances  should  be  made  payable  to  the  Pubhsher  of  "  Ksowledqe." 


"  Knowledge ' 


Annual    Subscription,   throughont   the    world, 
78.  6d.,  post  free. 

Communications  for  tiie  Editors  and  Books  for  RoTiew  should  be  addressed 
Editors,  *'  Knowledge,"  326,  High  Holbom,  London,  W.C. 


May  1, 1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


97 


y^  ILLUSTRATED  MAGAZINE    <if 

^lENCE^llTERATURE  ^ART. 

Founded  by  RICHARD    A.    PROCTOR. 


LONDON:    ^[AY    1,   1900. 


CONTENTS. 


Oceanic  Negroes.     Bv  R.  Lydkkkke.     (Illustrated) 
Where  the   Day  Changes.     B_v  Dr.  A.  M.  W.  Downi.no. 

(I!h,slr<i/fd) " 

Plants  and  their  Food.— III.     By  U.  H.  W.  Pearson,  m.a. 

(Illustrated)       

A  Temple  of  Science.     By  W.  Alfiikd  Parb.    (Illustrated) 
Astronomy  without  a  Telescope.  — IV.     A  Total  Solar 

Eclipse.     ]!_v   K.  Walter  IIaundbb.  v.r.a.s.    ... 
A  Photographic  Search  for  an  Interniercurial  Planet. 

By   Edward  C.  Pickering... 
The    Photography    of   Clouds.     By  Eugene  Anioniadi, 

f.r.a.?.     (Illustrated) 
Cloud  Photographs  taken  at  Juvisy.     (Plate) 
Letters: 

Is  THE  .Steliae  Universe   Finite?      By  (!eo.   Piirlps 
Is  THE  Stbliab  Unitbbsk  Finite  ?   By  W.  H.  S.  Monck. 

Note  by  E.  Walter  Maunder,  f.r.a.s. 
WlBELESS  Telegraph  Rbceivee.  By  Norman  Kobinson. 

Note  by  Howard  B.  Little 

A  Cloud  of  Dried  Beech  Leaves.    By  T.  H.  Astbuet 
London  Suitmees.     By  Alex.  B.  MacDowall.     (Illus- 
trated)       ... 
Obituary: 

Prof.  St.  George  Mivart,  f.b.s 

Prof.  John  Hbnet  Pepper 

Notices  of  Books  

BooE3  Eecbitbd        

Wireless  Telegraphy. — II,    By  G.  W.  db  Tunzelmann,  b.sc. 

Drops    and    their    Splashes.      (Illustrated)        

Microscopy.     By  John  H.  Cooke,  p.l.s.,  j.g.b 

Notes  on  Comets  and    Meteors.      By  W.  F.  Denning, 

P,B.A,S.     ... 

The  Face  of  the  Sky  for  May.     By  A.  Fowieb,  p.e.a.s, 

(Illustrated)       

Chess  Column.    By  C.  D.  Locock,  b.a.  


PAOK 

97 

1(10 

Jill 
]ii:h 

KM 
|(iC> 
107 

ins 

II  IS 

109 
liiO 

110 

110 
110 
110 
113 
113 
11.5 
117 

118 

118 
119 


OCEANIC    NEGROES. 

By  R.  Lydekker, 

Like  many  other  terms,  the  word  Negro,  and  more  es- 
pecially its  vulgar  corruption  "  nigger,"  has  a  popular, 
and  indeed  an  etymological,  significance  very  different 
from  the  sense  in  which  it  is  employed  in  anthropo- 
logical science,  Etymologically,  of  course,  it  means 
simply  a  black  man,  and  is  therefore  legitimately 
applicable  to  all  dark-skinned  races,  of  whatever 
origin ;  although  there  is  the  difficulty  of  determining 
where  to  draw  the  line  between  dark  and  lights 
skinned  races,  since  there  is  a  complete  transition  from 
the  one  t-o  the  other.  In  this  sense,  therefore,  the  dark- 
skinned  races  of  Somaliland  and  Nubia  may  bo  termed 
Negi-oes,  although  they  have  a  large  proportion  of  Arab 
blood  in  their  veins.  The  wild  tribes  of  India  and 
Ceylon,  forming  the  subject  of  another  article  iu 
Knowledge,  may  likewise  be  so  termed ;  and,  however 
much  they  may  dislike  such  an  appellation,  it  i.s  diffi- 


cult to  see  how  many  of  the  higher  races  of  India  can 
claim  an  exemption  from  this  use  of  the  name. 

But  in  a  scientific  soiiso  tho  term  has  a  much  moro 
limited  application,  although  even  hero  difficulties  are 
met   with    in   defining   it   when    wo    have   to    deal    with 
cross-bred  rates  like  those  of  North-eastern  Africa.     If 
tho  aborigines  of  Australia  be  excepted  (and  it  has  been 
shown  in  an  c.u'licr  article  that  there  arc  some  reasons 
for  regarding  thcni   as  belonging  to  a  different  stock), 
a  Negro  may  befit   be   defined  in   popular  science   as   a 
person  with  frizzly,  or,  incorrectly,  woolly,  black  hair, 
and  genei-ally  a  very  dark,  or  even  black  complexion. 
Tho   hair   is,   however,    a   much    better  character   than 
tho   colour   of   the   skin,   which   iu   tho   South   African 
Bushmen  is  of  a  leathery  yellow.     Accompanying  this 
frizzly   hair,   we   may   generally   notice    in    Negroes   an 
elongated  skull,  a  broad  and  flat  nose,  thick  and  pro- 
jecting   lips,    relatively    large    teeth,    and    moderate    or 
scanty  development  of  the  beard.     Closer  examination 
will   reveal   the  fact  that  the   fore-arm   of   a  Negro   is 
longer  in  proportion  to  the  leg  than  is  tho  case  in  an 
average  Euro|)ean  ;    and  there  is  also   less  dsvclopmeni; 
of  the  calf   of  the   leg,   as  well   as  a  marked   difference 
in    tho    form    of    tho    heel.      But    to    record    all    such 
niinutire  would  be  practically  to  write  a  treatise  on  an- 
thropology ;    and  I  must  accordingly  ask  my  readers  to 
be    content    with    the    frizzly    hair    as    the    essential 
characteristic  of  a  purc-bi-ed  Negro. 

Now    we    all    know    that    such    frizzly-haired    black 
(occasionally     yellow)     skinned     people     populate     the 
greater  part  of   Africa,   whence  numbers  of  them  have 
been    transported    in   the    old    slaving    days    to    various 
parts  of  America.     And  it  is  among  these  black  African 
races  that  we  have  tho  typical  Negro  of  anthropological 
science,    and,    probably,    also    of   popular   speech.     But 
Negroes,  even  in  the  scientific  sense,  are  by  no  means 
restricted   to   what,   from   an   anthropological   point   of 
view,   may  still   be   aptly   designated   the   "  Dark   Con- 
tinent."    Frizzly-haired  islack  races  are  met  with  in  the 
Andamans    and    Philippines,    as    well    as    in    some    of 
the  neighbouring  islands;      but  since  all   these  people 
differ    from    Afncan    Negroes    by    their    broader    and 
shorter  heads,  they  have  been  separated  under  the  name 
of  Negritoes ;  and  it  is  not  of  these  that  I  desire  to  treat 
on   the   present  occasion.      Further  eastwards,   in  that 
part  of   Oceania  now   commonly  designated   (from   the 
colour   of   its    inhabitants)    Melanesia,    we    find    "  mop- 
headed,"  frizzly-haired  races,  agreeing  so  essentially  in 
physical   characters   with    African    Negroes,   that  there 
can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  of  their  comparatively  near 
relationship  to  tho  latter.     As  some  of  my  readers  may 
perhaps  be  a  little  hazy  as  to  the  precise  signification 
of   the   term    Melanesia,*   it   may    be   stated   for   their 
benefit  that  it  includes  the  great  island  of  New  Guinea, 
or  Papua,   together  with   the  Louisiades,   the  Bisniark 
(New  Ireland   and   New   Britain)  and   Solomon   groups, 
the  New  Hebrides,  the  Loyalty  group,  and  New  Cale- 
donia.    The  mountains  of  the  interior  of  Fiji  are  like- 
wise inhabited  by  members  of  the  same  negro-like  race. 
In  regard  to  a  general  name  for  these  Oceanic  Ne- 
groes, as  they  are  perhaps  best  called    authorities  are 
somewhat  divided.     By   the  Malays   the   aborigines   o 
New  Guinea  are  designated  Orang  Papua  (pronounced 
Papooa),  and  some  writers  extend  the  term  Papuans  to 
embrace  the   inhabitants  of   tho  whole   area.     On   the 
other  hand,  the  term  Melanesians,  originally  proposed 

•  In  the  "Timo.  Atlas"  the  name  Melanesia,  although  omiitecl 
from  the  index  occurs  in  the  map  of  the  world,  but  not  ,n  that  of 
the  Papuan  Archipelago. 


98 


KNOWLEDGE 


[May  1,  1900. 


for  the  inhabitants  of  the  islands  other  than  New 
Guinea,  has  likewise  been  employed  in  the  wider  sense; 
and  it  is  this  usage,  when  a  general  term  is  required, 
that  is  followed  here. 

A  tj'pical  Melanesian  has  the  same  dark  skin  as  an 
African  Negro,  and  likewise  a  similarly  elongated  skull, 
whereby  he  is  separated  widely  from  the  round-headed 
Negritoes  of  the  Andamans  and  Philippines.  Indeed, 
the  Kai  Colo  tribe,  of  the  mountains  of  Fiji,  have 
longer  and  narrower  skulls  than  almost  any  other 
people.  A  Melanesian  skull  may  be  generally  distin- 
guished from  that  of  an  African  Negro  by  the  heavy 
ridges  over  the  eyes;  these  brow-ridges  being  almost 
absent  in  time  Negroes.  As  similar  brow-ridges  occur 
among  some  of  the  prehistoric  natives  of  South  America, 
an  affinity  has  been  suggested  between  these  people  and 
Melanesians,  but  on  altogether  insufficient  grounds. 
The  jaws  in  the  Melanesian  skull  are  projecting,  and 
the  cheek-bones  very  wide;  and  since  the  forehead 
generally  narrows  superiorly,  while  the  chin  is  not  very 
broad,  the  form  of  the  face  very  frequently  is  that  of 
a  long  oval,  pointed  above  and  below.  The  nose,  es- 
pecially in  New  Guinea  and  the  adjacent  islands,  is 
narrower  and  more  prominent  than  in  African  Negroes, 
and  is  never  of  the  broad,  saddle-shaped  type  so  charac- 
teristic of  Australians ;  it  is,  however,  generally  low 
and  somewhat  broad  at  the  root,  tending  towards  an 
aquiline  type  among  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  Yule 
Island.  The  mouth  is  broad  and  full,  but  the  lips  are 
by  no  means  so  protuberant  as  ai'e  those  of  the  typical 
African  Negro.  The  most  striking  common  feature 
between  Oceanic  and  African  Negroes  is  the  frizzly 
hair,  which  is  quite  different  from  the  wavy  locks  of 
either  the  Australians  or  the  Polvnesians,  and  still  more 
so  from  the  long  lank  tresses  of  the  Malays.  There  is, 
however,  a  certain  difference  between  the  hair  of  Me- 
lanesians and  Africans,  the  former  growing  in  very 
marked  and  regular  waves,  and  thus  being  more  like 
wool  than  is  the  latter,  which  forms  an  uneven  tangled 
mass.  His  hair  is  indeed  the  strong  point  of  a  Papuan, 
and  it  is  often  dressed  and  frizzed  till  it  stands  out  in 
a  mop-like  manner  on  all  sides.  Feathers  and  the  tails 
of  kangaroos  are  employed  for  its  decoration,  and  combs 
for  its  dressing.  Only  in  cases  of  serious  illness  do  the 
men  cease  to  attend  to  their  hair ;  but  in  the  girls  it 
is  kept  shorter,  and  in  some  tribes  the  married  women 
cut  it  quite  short  or  even  shave  it  off.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  men  are  careful  to  pluck  out  every  hair  from  their 
beards,  and  sometimes  extend  the  operation  to  their 
eyebrows.  As  regards  their  muscular  development, 
Melanesians  display  a  powerful  build  in  the  upper  part 
of  the  body,  the  shoulders  being  broad  and  the  arms 
strong ;  but  there  is  a  woeful  falling  off  in  the  lower 
extremities,  which,  especially  in  the  men,  are  long  and 
thin,  with  very  small  calves. 

Turning  to  the  consideration  of  the  affinities  of  the 
Melanesians,  there  seems  every  reason  for  regarding 
them  as  a  pure-bred  race,  which  has  no  intimate  re- 
lationship with  their  near  neighbours  the  Malays.  The 
form  of  their  heads  likewise  separates  them  from  the 
Negritoes  of  the  Andamans  and  Philippines.  But  in 
this  latter  respect,  as  well  as  in  the  character  of  the 
hair,  they  come  so  close  to  the  African  Negi-o,  that 
there  can  be  little  hesitation  in  regarding  both  races  as 
derived  from  a  common  ancestral  stock,  notwithstanding 
the  birth-place  of  such  stock  cannot  be  determined. 
That  the  date  of  divergence  of  the  two  races  must  be 
very  ancient,  seems  evident  from  the  absence  of  any 
common  feature  in  their  language. 

More   difficult   is   the  question   of   their   relationship 


to  the  Australians,  Tasmanians,  and  Polynesians.  With 
regard  to  the  former,  as  stated  in  a  previous  article,  I 
am*inclined  to  agree  with  Dr.  Semon  that  they  have 
no  direct  kinship.  If  this  be  so,  the  extinct  Tas- 
manians can  scarcely  any  longer  be  considered  as  pure 
but  aberrant  members  of  the  Melanesian  group;  and 
we  may  perhaps  regard  them,  with  Dr.  Semon,  as  having 
originated  from  a  crossing  between  the  inhabitants  of 
Australia  and  immigrants  cast  by  chance  into  those 
regions  ;  such  immigrants  being  presumably  Melane- 
sians. 

As  already  mentioned,  the  mountains  of  the  interior 
of  Fiji  are  inhabited  by  frizzly-haired  Melanesians , 
but  the  lowland  population  of  that  group  of  islands  is 
formed  by  the  wavy-haired  people  known  as  Poly- 
nesians. And  these  Polynesians  extend  over  the  whole 
area  from  which  they  take  their  name,  being  repre- 
sented in  New  Zealand  by  the  Maori.  Now  it  is 
generally  admitted  that  the  Polynesians  have  a  certain 


-V;  V 


amount  of  Melanesian  blood  in  their  veins ;  and  it  has 
been  supposed  that  the  whole  of  Oceania,  from  Flores 
eastwards,  was  originally  populated  by  frizzly-haired 
Oceanic  Negroes,  whose  descendants  in  Polynesia  have 
been  so  profoundly  modified  by  crossing  with  an  immi- 
grant type  as  to  have  formed  practically  a  new  race. 
If  we  ask  who  were  the  immigrants,  the  most  probable 
answer  is  Malays.  And  that  such  a  mixture  would 
produce  the  Polynesians,  as  we  now  know  them,  was 
the  opinion  of  the  late  Sir  W.  H.  Flower.  And  in  a 
modified  degree  this  appears  also  to  be  the  view  of  Dr. 
Semon,  who,  after  stating  that  if  Melanesians  and  Poly- 
nesians be  more  closely  related  than  is  commonly  sup- 
posed, writes  that  this  "  would  only  show  Polynesians 
to  be  a  branch  of  the  Papuan  race,  which,  by  admixture 
with  other  races,  principally  Malays,   and  by  a  subse- 


May  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


99 


quent  iiidependeut  development,  has  bcconic  developed 
into  what  may  be  t.ermed  a  new  type.'  It  is  added 
that,  apart  from  a  Polynesian  immigration  into  South- 
eastern New  Guinea  (which  does  not  affect  the 
question),  "  a  relation  between  Papuans  and  Polyne- 
sians cannot  be  absolutely  denied."  And  some  observers 
have  even  gone  so  far  as  to  assert  that,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  difference  in  the  hair,  there  is  very  little 
physical  distinction  between  typical  Polynesians,  such 
as  tlie  Sanioans,  and  pure-bred  Papuans. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  has  long  been  noticed  that 
many  Polynesians,  and  more  especially  the  Maori,  ex- 
hibit a  decidedly  Caucasian  type  of  feature,  and  hence 
it  has  been  inferred  that  the  immigrant  stock  which 
has  produced  the  present  race  by  fusion  with  the 
original  Jfelanesian  element  was  Caucasic  rather  than 
Malay  (Mongolian).  The  fact  that  the  Polynesians 
generally  have  straight  black,  rather  than  wavy  hair, 
is  one  among  several  circumstances  that  makes  me  in- 
cline towai'ds  the  Malayan  theory. 

But  by  this  time  my  readers  must  be  getting  tired  of 
discussions  on  phylogeny  ;  and  I  must  accordingly  say 
something  in  regard  to  the  character  and  status  of  the 
Oceanic  Negroes.  And  here  it  is  well  to  mention  that 
Negroes  of  all  descriptions  stand  on  a  inuch  higher 
platform  of  intelligence  than  people  like  the  Austra^ 
lians  or  Veddas :  their  faculties  being  indeed  capable 
of  a  comparatively  high  degree  of  development,  al- 
though their  political  organisation  is  at  a  low  grade. 

We  are,  it  is  tnie,  accustomed  to  regard  the  Papuans 
as  cruel  and  bloodthirsty  savages,  but  this,  according 
to  Dr.  Semon  (from  whose  observations  the  greater  part 
of  the  remainder  of  this  article  is  compiled),  is  far  from 
being  a  correct  estimate  of  their  general  character.  It 
is  true  that  the  Papuan  is  hideously  cruel  in  warfare, 
subject  to  passionate  outbursts  of  uncontrollable  fury, 
unreliable  in  his  dealings  with  the  foreigners  with  whom 
he  is  brought  in  contact,  and  eager  to  possess  himself 
of  valuable  or  desirable  property  in  the  hands  of 
strangers.  But  he  is  essentially  a  creature  of  impulse, 
and  it  is  this  impulsive  nature  which  leads  to  his  prone- 
ness  to  murder  and  rob  his  fellow  man.  His  paroxysms 
of  rage  are,  however,  short-lived  ;  and  in  his  normal 
condition  he  is  bright,  gay,  and  harmless,  displaying 
great  kindness  in  the  treatment  of  his  wife  and  family, 
and  mourning  for  his  lost  relations  in  a  way  that  marks 
him  as  possessing  humane  feelings  of  great  intensity. 
Living  in  a  country  and  climate  where  he  has  but  few 
wants  except  food,  and  much  of  the  latter  being  pro- 
curable with  comparatively  little  exertion,  he  is 
naturally  not  prone  to  hard  work,  leading  a  kind  of 
lotus-eating  existence,  whose  calmness  is  only  disturbed 
by  tribal  wars,  or  by  hostile  outbreaks  against  the 
foreigner. 

Having  thus  a  large  amount  of  time  at  his 'disposal, 
and  being  apparently  inclined  by  nature  towards  the 
cult  of  the  beautiful  and  the  ornamental,  the  Papuan 
turns  his  attention  towards  the  decoration  of  his  home 
and  domestic  implements  and  utensils.  His  artistic 
efforts  cannot  be  compared  with  those  of  civilized 
nations ;  still,  the  ingrained  love  of  decoration  and  orna- 
mentation seem  to  be  more  highly  developed  than  in 
any  of  the  latter.  For.  as  Dr.  Semon  remarks,  do  we 
ever  find  the  European  boatman  cai-ving  and  decorating 
his  oar,  the  carpenter  his  adze,  or  the  husbandman  his 
plough.  And  yet  every  Papuan  implement  and  weapon 
(and  they  are  too  numerous  to  refer  to  in  detail  on 
this  occasion)  bears  witness  to  the  artistic  power  and 
patience  of  its  owner ;  while  not  less  noteworthy  is  the 
attention  paid  to  the  decoration  of  the  person.     How- 


ever, Papuan  and  European  ideas  of  what  is  becoming 
in  the  latter  respect  are  by  no  means  identical.  As 
regards  their  fondness  for  personal  adornment,  both 
sexes  of  Papuans  present  a  remarkable  contrast  to  their 
Australian  neighbours ;  while  in  respect  to  their 
weapons  and  implements  there  is,  of  course,  no  sort  of 
comparison  between  the  two  races.  Not  the  least  note- 
worthy circumstance  is  the  absence  among  the  Papuans 
of  the  one  really  effectual  Australian  weappn — the 
boomerang ;  this  alone  being  almost  sufficient  to  indi- 
cate that  the  two  races  have  no  close  relationship. 

Tiic  Papuans  are  to  a  great  extent  a  coast^dwelling 
people,  the  greater  part  of  the  mountainous  interior 
of  their  island,  except  on  the  lines  of  the  great  rivers, 
being  uninhabited.  The  chief  ])ursuits  of  the  men  are 
hunting  and  fishing,  together  with  sailing;  but  they 
are  in  the  habit  of  taking  long  voyages,  when  rough 
seas  must  at  times  be  encountered,  nevertheless  their 
fishing  is  always  conducted  during  fine  weather.  The 
women,  on  the  other  hand,  undertake  all  the  duties  of 
the  home  and  the  plantation  ;  those  living  in  districts 
where  the  necessary  material  is  obtainable,  manufac- 
turing pottery  for  household  and  other  purposes. 
Liberty  and  individual  freedom  seem  as  essential  to 
the  Papuan  as  to  the  Briton;  chiefs,  of  a  kind,  arc 
recognised,  but  their  sole  duty  is  in  connection  with 
foreign  affairs.  This  characteristic  freedom  is  doubtless 
one  cause  of  the  objection  of  the  Papuans  to  hard  work, 
especially  carrying  burdens,  for  which  they  are  indeed 
phvsically  unfit,  being  absolutely  incapable  of  bearing 
half  the  loads  carried  with  ease  by  African  Negroes. 

Neither  can  the  Papuan  be  credited  with  the  attri- 
butes of  a  bold  or  fearless  warrior  ;  the  natives  of  British 
South-east  New  Guinea  are  stated  to  be  more  coura- 
geous than  those  of  the  northern  German  and  Dutch 
districts.  Indeed,  cases  have  been  recorded  of  voluntary 
self-sacrifice  on  behalf  of  a  comrade,  yet  Papuan  war- 
fare is  generally  characterised  by  treachery,  and  ruthless 
slaughter  or  torture  of  the  members  of  other  tribes 
taken  by  surprise,  together  with  the  massacre  of  defence- 
less women  and  children.  Cannibalism  is  also  a  recog- 
nised practice. 

Dr.  Wallace  regards  the  Papuans  as  intellectually 
equal,  if  not  superior  to  their  Malay  neighbours,  an 
opinion  which  is  not  shared  by  the  majority  of  ob- 
servers. Dr.  Semon,  for  instance,  considers  their  in- 
tellectual standard  far  above  that  of  the  Australians, 
but  decidedly  inferior  to  that  of  the  African  Negro, 
which,  under  the  favourable  circumstances  existing  in 
America,  he  is  inclined  to  rank  rather  high.  Compared 
with  his  Polynesian  neighbours,  the  Papuan  school- 
child  is  indeed  stated  to  be  decidedly  inferior;  and 
this  mental  inferiority  apparently  persists  throughout 
life. 

As  regards  marriage  customs,  the  peculiar  prohibi- 
tions of  intermarriage  between  even  distant  relatives 
which  forms  such  a  characteristic  feature  of  the  Aus- 
tralian aborigines,  are  conspicuous  by  their  absence 
among  Papuans  in  common  with  Melanesians  generally; 
and  this,  again,  so  far  as  it  goes,  serves  to  accentuate 
the  great  gap  between  the  latter  and  Au.«traliana. 
Polygamy  is  the  recognised  custom  throughout  Me- 
lanesia; "and,  as  is  generally  the  case  under  such  con- 
ditions, the  marriage  tie  is  easily  loosed.  Mourning 
customs  are  very  strictly  observed  everywhere,  while  in 
many  parts  of  New  Guinea  the  images  of  their  an- 
cestors appear  to  receive  a  kind  of  worship  from  their 
descendants;  religion,  however,  sits  but  lightly  on  the 
Papuan;  and  among  the  south-eastern  tribes  it  is  even 
doubtful  if  belief  in  a  supernatura'.  being  exists  at  all. 


100 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[May  1,    1900. 


But  ancestor-worship  may  be  taken  as  presumptive 
evidence  of  tho  idea  of  a  future  existence ;  and  we  may 
perhaps  best  define  the  Papuan  religion  as  in  a  rudi- 
mentaj-y  condition.  Belief  in  sorcery  and  witchcraft  is 
rampant;  and  both  sickness  and  lunacy  are  regarded 
as  due  to  the  latt-er  influence. 

In  certain  districts  tatooiug  is  practised;  but,  with 
the  exception  of  the  short  skirts  of  fibre  worn  by  the 
women,  the  wai-drobe  of  a  Papuan  is  of  the  most  limited 
description ;  the  adornment  of  the  hair  being  the  chief 
sacrifice  to  fashion.  It  should,  however,  be  added  that 
the  cartilage  of  the  nose  is  frequently  perforated  to 
contain  a  boar's  tusk,  or  a  long  pin  cut  from  the  giant 
clam  (Tridacna.),  while  shells  of  various  descriptions  are 
also  worn  a.s  ornaments.  No  account  of  the  Papuans 
would  be  complete  without  some  reference  to  their  pile- 
dwellings,  which  recall  the  habitations  of  the  ancient 
Swiss  lake-dwellers.  These  pile-villages,  which  are  built 
in  sheltered  bays  and  suppoiied  on  mangrove  stems,  are 
generally  surrounded  by  water  at  high  tide,  but  left 
more  or  less  completely  dry  at  the  ebb.  The  coast  tribes, 
who  are  in  constant  "fear"  of  those  living  more  inland, 
are  accustomed  to  escape  from  an  attack  by  taking  to 
their  canoes  before  the  enemy  has  time  to  gain  access 
to  their  houses.  But,  as  Dr.  Semon  remai'ks,  in  respect 
to  the  villages  of  Port  Moresby.  "  the  advantage  of  the 
plan  seems  impaired  by  the  circumstance  that  the 
desired  protection  is  rendered  futile  during  ebb-tide, 
and  I  am  sure  that  the  wisdom  of  even  a  Papuan  chief- 
commander  will  lead  him  to  defer  his  attack  till  low 
water.  Moreover,  the  inhabitants  of  Port  Moresby  are 
known  as  valiant  warriors,  and  it  is  perhaps  owing  to 
ancient  tradition  rather  than  to  fear  of  their  enemies 
that  thev  build  their  houses  on  piles  and  into  the  sea. 
never  giving  a  thought  to  the  original  reason  of  this 
system." 

WHERE  THE   DAY   CHANGES. 

By  Dr.  A.  M.  W.  Downing. 
Crossing  the  line  for  the  first  time  must  always  be  an 
experience  of  great  interest  to  the  traveller.  Indeed,  in 
former  times  the  experience  must  have  been  a  veiy  dis- 
agreeable, as  well  as  an  interesting  one,  on  account  of 
the  unpleasant  character  of  the  ceremonies  that  were 
considered  appropriate  to  the  occasion,  and  in  which 
the  tvro  took  unwillingly  somewhat  too  prominent  a 
part,  "in  the  bad  old  times  to  which  I  refer,  people  were 
known  sometimes  even  to  speak  disrespectfully  of  the 
Equator. 

But  the  Line  of  which  I  wish  to  speak — with  entire 
respect — on  the  present  occasion  is  not  the  Equator,  but 
a  line,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  180th  mei-idian,  on 
which  the  dav  changes  for  the  portions  of  continents 
and  the  groups  of  islands  that  lie  thereabout,  and  which 
is,  in  consequence,  called  the  Date  Line.  It  is  scarcely 
necessary  to  point  out  that  to  the  Eastward-going 
traveller  the  local  time  is  ever  later  and  later,  whilst  to 
the  "Westward-going  traveller  it  is  ever  earlier  and 
earlier,  than  the  time  of  the  initial  meridian.  So  that 
when  the  traveller,  in  the  first  case,  reaches  the  180th 
meridian  his  time  is  twelve  hours  later  than  that  of  the 
1st  meridian,  and  when  the  traveller,  in  the  second 
case,  reaches  the  same  meridian  his  time  is  twelve  hours 
earlier.  The  respective  times  of  the  two  travellers 
(supposing  them  to  meet  on  the  180th  meridian)  differ 
therefore  by  a  day;  that  of  the  one  coming  from  the 
Asiatic  side  being  a  day  later  than  that  of  the  one 
coming  from  the  American  side.  "When  it  is  Thursday 
(suppose)   on   the   American  side,   it  is  Friday   on  the 


Asiatic  side.  To  set  things  right  it  is  necessary  for  the 
traveller  coming  fi-om  the  American  side — in  the  case 
supposed — to  skip  Friday  altogether,  and  to  pass  from 
Thursday   to    Satui-day,  "whilst   the   traveller   from   the 


NORTH    ;     PA  CI 
Se     ASIATIC     DATE 


FIC         OCEAN 


AMERICAN      OATE 


4- '' ,  % 


•■^N 


Ncrtk 


3e 


U 


F.mtfitcT 


SciiOi. 


30- 


S6 


18- 


POSITIONS  ASSIGNED 
TO    OATE     LINE. 

Wharton  

Smith-      

Stiele:r's  Hand Attas map n 
Darid^on elsewhere 

E.CLSt 


I6fi  .150       lec. 


-rc 


ISP- 


'S [I332J 

may  be  takgn  tc  Cojncide  nvthWtartan 
West 


I7C. 


160, 


iSO.     /6S 


The  Date  Line. 

Asiatic  side  must  have  two  "  Fridays  "  in  succession. 
This  is  the  practice  followed  on  board  ocean-going  ships 
when  crossing  the  180th  meridian,  and  is  as  interesting 


Mat  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


loi 


an  experieuce,  iu  its  ■way,  as  that  of  crossing  the  other 
"  Line,"  to  which  I  have  alluded  above. 

But  are  not  these  things  written  of  in  "  Tramps 
Abroad,"  and  other  such  litoraturo?  They  need  not,  there- 
fore, be  further  dwelt  on  here,  as  the  matl-cr  to  which  I 
wish  pai-ticularly  to  draw  attention  is  the  actual  position 
of  the  Date  Line  in  its  course  from  the  Arctic  to  the 
Antarctic  regions.  This  is  necessarily  aiTccted  by  the 
configuration  of  the  continents,  and  by  the  groups  of 
islands  contiguous  to  the  ISOth  meridian.  But  it  is 
obviously  most  convenient  that  the  Date  Line  should 
follow  that  meridian  as  closely  as  political  and  geo- 
graphical circumstances  will  admit.  The  positions  of 
the  Line,  as  assigned  by  the  different  authorities  I 
have  been  able  to  consult,  are  laid  down  on  the  accom- 
panying map,  which  is  reproduced,  by  permission,  from 
the  ''  Journal  of  the  British  Astronomical  Association,  ' 
Vol.  X.,  No.  4.  The  first  thing  that  strikes  one  on 
looking  at  the  map  is  the  divergence  of  the  different 
authorities.  Notably  the  position  given  in  Stieler's 
Hand  Atlas  is  discordant,  and,  at  the  same  time,  de- 
viates most  from  the  180th  meridian.  The  Atlas  is, 
however,  dated  1892,  and  this  position  may  perhaps  be 
considered,  if  not  obsolete,  at  least  obsolescent.  The  line 
mai'ked  "  Wharton  "  is  due  to  Admiral  Sir  W.  Wharton, 
the  Hydrographer  of  the  Navy;  that  mai'ked  "  Smith  " 
is  taken  from  an  ai'ticle  in  the  ''  Century  Magazine  " 
for  September,  1899,  by  Mr.  Benjamin  E.  Smith;  that 
marked  "  Davidson  "  is  due  to  Professor  Davidson,  of 
the  University  of  California.  It  will  be  remaa-ked  that 
Wharton  and  Davidson  agree  veiT  closely,  except  in  one 
or  two  unimportant  details,  affecting  a  small  group  of 
islands.  By  adopting  either  of  these  lines,  it  may  be 
assiuned,  with  some  confidence,  that  we  know  "  Where 
the  Day  Changes,'  except,  indeed,  for  the  gioup  of 
islands  referred  to,  for  which  we  must,  I  fear,  for  the 
present  remain  in  doubt. 

The  further  assimilation  of  the  Date  Line  to  the 
180th  meridian,  though  desirable,  is  diflicult  of  realisa- 
tion, as  the  position  of  the  Line  depends  on  the  con- 
figuration of  the  pai'ts  of  Asia  and  America  concerned, 
and  on  the  various  circumstances  which  deteraiine  the 
direction  in  which  the  different  groups  of  islands  have 
intercourse  with  the  outer  world.  But,  judging  from 
the  past,  progress  in  that  direction,  though  slow,  is  sure, 
and  will  eventually  give  us  a  better  approximation  to 
a  "  straight "  Date  Line  than  we  have  at  present. 

Would  it  be  to  inquire  too  curiously  to  ask  where  the 
twentieth  century  begins?  As  to  when  it  begins,  we 
have  recently,  somewhat  to  my  astonishment,  had  a 
Battle  of  the  Centuries,  in  which  one  at  least  of  the 
crowned  heads  of  Europe  has  taken  a  side,  and  has  taJcen 
the  wrong  side  too  I 

The  answer  to  the  question,  Where  does  the  day 
change?  also  answers  the  question.  Where  does  the 
century  begin?  And,  as  we  have  seen,  a  fairly  definite 
reply  can  be  given  by  a  reference  to  the  map,  except 
in  the  case  of  a  certain  group  of  islands.  When  does 
the  century  change  for  that  particular  group  ?  Ah,  well ! 
it  would  puzzle  even  a  crowned  head  to  answer  that 
question. 

♦ 

PLANTS   AND   THEIR    FOOD.-III. 

By   H.   H.   W.   Pearson,   m.a. 

Carbon,  the  most  abundant  constituent  of  the  plant's 
food,  is  drawn  from  the  atmosphere  in  the  form  of 
Carbon  dioxide.*     Equally  necessary,  however,  are  the 

•  Knowledge,  March,  1900. 


mineral  elements  supplied  by  mother  earth.  Of  these 
the  following  are  indispensable  to  most  green  plants — 
Phosphorus,  Sulphur,  Potiissium,  Magnesium,  Calcium 
and  Iron;  further  investigation  may  show  that  others 
are  also  essential  in  certain  cases.  For  the  comparatively 
few  plants  whose  food  requirements  have  been  carefully 
examined  these  elements  comprise  all  the  mineral  food 
requisite  to  support  vigorous  growth.  Nevertheless, 
otliers,  although  they  appear  to  play  no  direct  role  iu 
the  process  of  nutrition,  are  also  absorbi'd. 

These  elements  are  stored  iu  boundless  quantities  in 
the  rocks  of  the  earth's  surface.  In  the  ordinary  pro- 
cesses of  Nature  the  rocks  are  disintegrated  and  their 
fragments  contribute  to  the  formation  of  a  loose  carpet 
in  which  the  roots  of  {plants  grow  and  extract  therefrom 
a  portion  of  their  food.  This  is  the  soil,  consisting 
usually  of  a  mixture  of  rock-particles,  disintegrated  and 
partly  decomposetl,  with  humus  (vegetable  mould),  an 
organic  substance  resulting  from  the  partial  decay  of 
the  dead  botlics  of  plants  and  animals.  This  summary 
definition  of  soil  is,  be  it  noted,  very  far  from  conveying 
an  adequate  idea  of  its  exceedingly  varied  structure 
and  highly  complicated  nature.  It  is  only  quite  recently 
that  any  serious  attempt  has  been  made  to  grapple  with 
the  enormous  difiicultics  confronting  the  investigation 
of  its  structure  and  properties,  with  which  the  supply  of 
plant  food  is  very  closely  connected ;  until  they  are 
better  understood  our  knowledge  of  the  mineral  food 
supply  of  plants  must  remain  very  imperfect.  The 
chemical  and  physical  properties  of  the  soil  are  now 
being  cai-efully  studied,  particulai-ly  in  the  United 
States ;  in  this  country  and  in  Germany  much  has  of  late 
been  discovered  concerning  the  work  of  living  organisms 
in  the  soil,  more  directly  in  connection  with  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  compounds  from  which  Nitrogen,  one  of  the 
most  important  constituents  of  the  food,  is  obtained. 

That  soils  differ  from  one  another  in  a  very  marked 
manner  is  a  fact  easily  demonstrated.  Differences,  for 
example,  between  the  stiff  clays  of  Suffolk,  the  sands  of 
Bedfordshire,  and  the  Buckinghamshire  chalk,  cannot 
be  forgotten  by  one  who  has  walked  over  them  in  wet 
weather.  If  specimens  of  these  soils  are  dried  and 
analysed  it  is  found  that  diversity  in  chemical  com- 
position is  much  less  than  would  be  expected.  The 
same  elements  are  present  in  them  all,  and  in  pro- 
portions not  varying  much  from  one  to  the  other.  The 
distinctive  characters  gi'atuitously  forced  ujJon  the  notice 
of  the  pedestrian  ai-e  due  to  their  dissimilai-  behaviour 
towards  water.  This  depends  upon  their  physical  pro- 
perties, the  relative  sizes  of  the  constituent  particles, 
and  not  the  elements  the  particles  contain,  for  these  are 
the  same  in  all. 

An  analysis  of  a  soil  shows  that  it  is  composed  of  a 
great  many  substances ;  some  arc  of  no  importance  to 
plants.  Those  substances  a  plant  demands  from  the 
soil  it  grows  in  are  Potash,  Lime,  Magnesia,  Iron,  and 
Phosphoric  and  Sulphiu-ic  Acids  (the  latter  in  the  form 
of  phosphates  and  sulphates  respectively).  In  addition 
to  these,  plants  also  take  up  others,  for  examjjle,  Silica 
and  Soda,  which  appear  not  to  form  a  necessary  jjart  of 
the  food  supply.  Silica,  indeed — and  this  is  true  of 
many  other  substances  as  well — is  harmful  to  the  plant 
if  absorbed  in  too  great  quantity.  The  largo  quantities 
of  Silica  present  in  the  external  cells  of  grasses  and 
some  other  plants — responsible  for  the  "  cutting  edge  " 
of  many  grass-leaves — are  really  rejected  matter  de- 
posited by  the  plant  in  the  outer  cells  to  be  out  of  the 
way,  this  being  one  of  the  few  methods  available  to 
vegetable  organisms  of  disposing  of  useless  solid  matter. 


102 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[May  1,  1900. 


The  most  abundant  constituent  of  almost  all  soils  is 
Silica,  of  which  quartz  is  a  well-known  form ;  as  a  rule  it 
constitutes  from  70  to  90  per  cent  of  their  bulk.  Its 
preponderance  is  due  to  its  insoluble  and  indestnictible 
character,  for,  unlike  most  of  the  other  constituents  of 
rocks,  it«  composition  is  quite  unaltered  by  long  ex- 
posure to  the  atmosphere.  It  exists  in  the  soil  in  the 
pure  state  and  in  innumerable  combinations  with  other 
elements  known  as  silicates.  The  latter  are  nearly  all 
as  insoluble  in  water  as  is  Silica  itself.  Silica  and  the 
insoluble  silicates  cannot  be  absorbed  by  the  roots  of  a 
plant,  for  these  are  only  able  to  take  in  liquids  and 
substances  held  in  solution.  The  greater  bulk  of  the 
soil — viz.,  that  jiart  of  it  consisting  of  Silica  or  insoluble 
silicates — is  therefore  unable  to  contribute  directly  to  the 
mineral  food  supply  of  plants.  Every  solid  particle  is  in- 
directly concerned  in  the  supply  of  water  to  the  roots,  in 
the  absence  of  which  no  food  can  enter  them,  and  there- 
fore even  the  innutritions  Silica  holds  an  important  post 
in  the  plant  commissariat.  In  addition  to  Silica,  nearly 
all  soils  contain  small  proportions  at  least  of  the  essential 
substances  named  above,  and  these  must  all  be  accessible 
to  the  roots  of  a  growing  plant.  Very  small  quantities 
of  the  latter  will  suffice,  because  they  are  all  dissolved 
in  the  soil-water,  which  is  a  means  of  transporting  them 
from  any  area  containing  them  in  abundance  to  another 
where  any  of  them  may  be  deficient;  another  reasou  is 
that  the  amounts  actually  required  by  growing  plants  are 
remarkably  small.  The  following  figures  will  bear  out 
this  statement,  at  least  for  the  plant  they  refer  to.  It 
has  been  found  that  to  produce  100  grammes  (dry 
weight)  of  the  Oat  plant,  it  must  bo  fed  with  the  follow- 
ing quantities  of  the  essential  mineral  substances: — f 


Phosphoric  Ai'id 

Potash 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Sulphuric  Aeiil 

Total    . . . 


Grammes. 
0-5 
0-8 
0-25 
0-20 
0-20 


1-95 


These  amounts  are  sufficient  to  enable  the  plants  to 
grow.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  100  grammes  of  the  Oat 
plant  contain,  as  a  rule,  about  3  grammes  of  mineral 
matter  ;  in  other  words,  the  plant  absorbs  about  half  as 
much  again  as  is  necessary  to  support  its  growth.  This 
extra  quantity  can  to  some  extent  be  supplied  by 
mineral  matters  other  than  those  constituting  the  food 
proper.  With  this  exception  the  plant  refuses  to  recog- 
nise any  attempt  to  replace  the  needful  substances  of  its 
mineral  food  by  compounds  containing  other  mineral 
elements.  If  one  essential  substance  is  absent,  or  is 
present  in  too  small  quantity,  then  not  only  does  the 
plant  absorb  a  less  quantity  of  that  which  is  deficient, 
but  also  of  all  the  other  constituents  of  its  food.  In 
fact,  a  lack  of  one  of  these  ingredients  has  the  same  effect 
as  if  the  whole  food  sujjply  were  wanting  in  the  same 
degree.  As  one  imperfect  wheel  throws  a  watch  out  of 
gear  so  a  shortness  in  the  supply  of  one  food  constituent 
upsets  the  nutrition  of  a  plant.  It  seems  as  if  the 
appetite  of  the  plant  must  be  partly  satisfied  by  definite 
quantities  of  certain  mineral  components — those  we 
have  called  "  essential  " — under  no  circumstances  replac- 
able  by  others ;  at  a  certain  stage  it  becomes  less 
fastidious,  and  although  it  demands  a  further  supply  of 
mineral  food  it  is  able  to  select  it  from  a  wider  range  of 
substances. 

+  Emil  Wolff,  (juoted  by  Maercker ;  Berichte.     1897. 


Lime  is  one  of  the  most  important  constituents  of 
soils.  "  A  limestone  country  is  a  rich  country,"  as  the 
saying  has  it.  The  plant  uses  it  not  only  as  food,  but 
also  as  medicine,  or,  rather,  poison  antidote,  an 
edifying  fact  which  will  be  noticed  again.  One  of  the 
numerous  parts  played  by  Lime  in  the  soil  is  interesting 
as  bearing  upon  the  absorption  of  soluble  silicates  by 
plants.  Silicate  of  Potassium,  one  of  the  very  few 
silicates  soluble  in  water,  is  present  in  most  Clay  soils 
and  absorbed  by  roots.  Excess  of  Silica  has  an  injurious 
effect  on  plants.  In  the  presence  of  certain  compounds 
of  Calcium — Lime,  for  example — Potassium  silicate  is 
decomposed,  resulting  in  a  Silicate  of  Calcium,  insoluble, 
and  the  Silica  it  contains  is  therefore  unable  to  enter 
the  plant.  Lime  is,  therefore,  a  very  valuable  con- 
stituent of  Clay  soils,  since  it  prevents  an  undue  amount 
of  Silica  being  absorbed  by  the  plants  grown  upon  them. 
In  some  of  its  forms  Lime  is  very  soluble  in  water,  and 
when  present  in  the  soil  may  be  continually  washed  out 
by  rain ;  to  such  an  extent  does  this  occur  that  the 
soil  even  of  a  limestone  country  frequently  contains  very 
little  of  it.  A  remarkable  illustration  of  this  is  fur- 
nished by  the  soil  of  the  Bermuda  Islands.  The  Coral 
and  Shell  Limestone  of  these  islands  contains  54.5  per 
cent,  by  weight  of  Lime ;  during  the  disintegration  of 
the  rock,  so  much  lime  is  carried  away  in  solution  that 
it  constitutes  less  than  4  per  cent,  of  the  soil. J 

Since  differences  in  chemical  composition  do  not,  as 
a  rule,  explain  the  varying  degrees  of  fertility  possessed 
by  soils,  to  what  then  are  they  due  ?  They  must  be 
ascribed  to  three  principal  causes  hitherto  very  in- 
completely studied.  There  is,  in  the  first  place,  the 
condition  in  which  the  food  constituents  are  met  with 
in  the  soil.  In  a  fertile  soil  they  are  presented  to  the 
roots  in  sufficient  quantity  and  in  a  soluble  form  in  which 
they  are  easily  absorbed.  On  the  other  hand,  they  may 
be  so  locked  up  that  the  plant  is  unable  to  extract  as 
much  as  it  requires  in  the  time  at  its  disposal — that  is, 
during  its  growing  period.  This  is  often  caused  either 
by  the  soil-particles  being  insufficiently  comminuted  or 
by  the  insoluble  nature  of  the  compounds  of  which  the 
essential  elements  fonn  a  part.  Roots  are  of  course 
made  up  of  cells,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  plant  cells  are 
so  constructed  that  only  fluid  materials  can  enter  them. 
Plants,  therefore,  can  obtain  no  mineral  substances  from 
the  soil  which  are  not  soluble  in  the  soil  water,  containing 
Carbon  dioxide  and  other  acids  derived  from  living  roots 
and  from  decaying  vegetable  matter. §  If  the  essential 
mineral  ingredients  are  present  in  the  soil  in  such  a 
state  that  they  can  be  neither  decomposed  nor  dissolved 
by  the  soil  water,  assisted  by  the  acids  it  contains,  they 
are  of  no  use  to  the  plant.  The  bairenness  of  Granite 
crags  is  well  known  to  all  who  have  visited  them  in 
Scotland  or  elsewhere ;  and  yet  Granite  contains  all  the 
mineral  food  that  a  plant  needs.  It  is  composed  of  throe 
important  minerals  (see  Fig.),  Quartz  (a).  Felspar  (b), 
and  Mica  (c). 

Felspar  and  Mica  contain  the  mineral  constituents  of 
plant  food,  but  in  Granite  these  minerals  are  enclosed 
in  a  network  of  Quartz,  the  insolubility  of  which  has 
already  been  noticed.  As  long  as  the  network  is  entire 
the  nutritious  constituents  of  the  Felspai'  and  Mica  ai-e 
so  locked  up  that  plants  cannot  get  at  them.     When  the 

J  "Eoclis,  Rock-weathering  and  Soils."     Merrill,    p.  359. 

§  It  was  formerly  stated  that  the  solution  of  mineral  substances  in 
the  soil  was  largely  due  to  tlie  action  of  acids  set  free  by  living  roots. 
It  is  now  believed,  liowever,  that  CO,  and,  in  a  few  cases,  the  acid 
Phosphate  of  Potassium,  are  the  only  solvents  which  roots  evolve. 


May  1,  1000.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


103 


Granite,  in  the  natural  processes  of  disintegration,  be- 
comes sufficiently  broken  up.  the  Felspar  and  Mica  are 


A  Section  of  Orauitc  from  Skiddaw.  x  45.  (Rcproduceil  i|  from  a 
slide  in  the  Woodwardian  Museum.  Cambridge,  by  kind  perinifsiou 
of  Prof.  T.  McKenny  H\iglics,  F.K.8.)  A,  Quartz;  B,  Felspar; 
c,  Mica. 

exposed  to  the  action  of  the  atmosphere,  and  in  conse- 
quence are  decomposed,  and  from  the  products  of  their 
decomposition  a  fertile  soil  is  formed. 

A  second  very  important  factor  in  the  fertility  of  the 
soil  is  the  climate.  It  is  the  experience  of  planters 
and  farmers  all  the  world  over  that  in  a  propitious 
climate  almost  any  soil  is  fruitful,  a  fact  partly  though 
not  entirely  due  to  the  direct  effect  of  a  favourable 
climate  upon  the  vegetation.  The  effects  of  different 
degrees  of  rainfall,  temperature,  sunshine,  and  other 
influences  included  in  the  term  "  climate,"  upon  the 
soil  are  exceedingly  diverse,  and  very  imperfectly  under- 
stood. In  some  parts  of  the  world  where  the  climate 
changes  very  suddenly  in  passing  between  two  places 
situated  within  a  few  miles  of  one  another,  corresponding 
changes  in  the  fertility  of  the  soil  appear  to  be  due 
entirely  to  climatic  differences.  In  the  central  plateau 
of  Ceylon,  for  instance,  there  are  several  remarkable 
isolated  peaks  rising  to  2,000  or  3,000  feet  above  the 
general  level  of  the  country.  The  eastern  slopes  are,  as 
a  rule,  preferred  by  tea  planters,  because  the  soil  is 
found  to  be  more  fertile  than  on  the  western  side.  The 
difference  is  undoubtedly  to  be  attributed  to  the  climate, 
though  the  precise  manner  in  which  the  soil  is  affected 
by  it  is  not  well  understood.  The  western  slopes  of 
these  hills  are  subject  at  certain  seasons  to  the  biting 
winds  of  the  South-west  monsoon,  and  are  very  con- 
stantly enveloped  in  mist;  on  the  opposite  side  the 
winds  of  the  North-east  monsoon  arc-  less  injurious  to 
vegetation  and  the  sun  is  much  less  obscured  by  cloud. 
When  the  slopes  were  covered  by  virgin-forest  these  con- 
ditions caused  a  more  luxuriant  vegetation  to  exist  on 
the  eastern  faces  than  on  the  western,  and  in  conse- 
quence the  soil  on  that  side  was  more  copiously  en- 
riched by  humus  one  of  the  most  important  contributors 
to  fertility  in  a  soil.  This  is  by  no  means  the  only  way 
in  which  the  soil  is  affected  by  climatic  differences. 
These  have  an  important  effect  upon  the  decomposition 

II  From  a  mii-ropliotograiih  kindly  taken  for  this  paper  b)'  Mr. 
H.  Stanley  Jevons,  P.O. 8. 


of  the  soil-particles  continually  t<iking  place  in  order  to 
make  up  the  delicicniios  caused  by  the  demands  of 
existing  and  increasing  vogot^ttioii.  To  what  extent  and 
in  what  manner  the  climate  inlluenccs  this  process  are 
questions  which  have  a-s  yet  received  no  very  clear 
answers,  and  a  consideration  of  them  is  too  wide  for  our 
present  limits.  Rain  is  also  an  important  fertiliser  of 
the  soil,  for  it  adds  to  it  the  "  impurities  "  swept  down 
out  of  the  atmosphere,  and  in  many  cases  brings  down 
solid  matter  from  the  land  at  higher  levels.  It  ha.s  been 
proved  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  a  plant's  mineral 
needs  can  be  .satisfied  by  the  substances  chiefly  in  the 
form  of  dust  thus  carried  down  from  the  atmospjievc. 

The  capability  of  a  soil  to  support  vegetation  is  also 
in  a  very  important  manner  due  to  its  power  of  retain- 
ing part  of  the  water  falling  upon  it  as  rain.  This 
depends  partly  upon  the  size  of  its  mineral  particles 
and  also  upon  the  amount  of  humus  (vegetable  mould) 
it  contains.  Humus  has  a  very  strong  avidity  for  water, 
and  largely  increases  the  water-holding  power  of  the  .soil. 
It  has  been  said,  probably  with  truth,  that,  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  plants  it  supports,  the  most  im])or- 
tant  property  of  the  soil  is  its  behaviour  towards  moisture 
— in  other  words,  the  relative  amount  of  water  it  is  able 
to  hold  by  capillarity.  The  characters  of  the  water  thus 
retained,  and  some  interesting  facts  concerning  the  food 
substances  held  in  solution,  remain  for  further  con- 
sideration. 


A    TEMPLE    OF    SCIENCE. 

By    W.    Alfred    Park. 

Among  the  many  museums  and  galleries,  filled  with  the 
priceless  treasures  of  past  generations,  with  which 
Florence  abounds,  and  which  render  the  city  of  Dante  a 
veritable  "  Mecca  "  alike  to  the  artist  and  the  student, 
perhaps  none  offers  a  greater  interest  to  the  scientific, 
and  more  especially  the  astronomical,  visitor  than  that 
Temple  of  Science  known  as  the  "  Tribuna  di  Galileo." 
This  richly  decorated  hall,  in  which  are  worthily  en- 
shrined some  of  the  most  interesting  and  valuable 
scientific  relics  relating  to  the  life  and  work  of  Galileo, 
and  which  vies  in  point  of  interest  with  the  picturesque 
old  tower  known  as  Galileo's  Observatory,  described 
by  me  in  a  former  number  of  Knowledge,*  forms  part 
of  the  Museum  of  Physical  Science,  and  was  inaugurated 
in  1840,  on  the  occasion  of  the  assembly  at  Florence  of 
Italy's  principal  scientific  men.  Dedicated,  as  it  is, 
to  the  memory  of  the  great  Tuscan  astronomer,  it  was 
but  fitting  that  the  structure  itself,  as  well  as  the  paints 
ings,  sculptures,  and  mosaics  with  which  it  is  so  richly 
adorned,  should  be  representative  of  the  best  talent  of 
Tuscany ;  and  that  the  artists  entrusted  with  the 
erection  and  decoration  of  this  memorial  to  their  illus- 
trious compatriot  succeeded  in  worthily  acquitting 
themselves  of  their  ta.sk,  may  be  seen  from  the  accom- 
panying photograph. 

On  every  side  are  depicted  interesting  episodes  in  the 
life  of  Galileo,  from  the  time  when,  as  a  young  student, 
he  watched  the  swinging  lamp  in  the  Cathedral  of 
Pisa,  to  the  time  when,  old  and  blind,  and  in  the  re- 
tirement of  his  villa  at  Arcctri,  he  dictated  the  account  of 
his  researches  to  his  two  celebrated  pupils,  Torricelli  and 
■Viviani;  while  in  the  centre  of  the  apse,  dominating 
the  whole,  stands  Professor  Costoli's  statue  of  the  great 
astronomer.     The  painting  in  the  ceiling  immediately 


*   See  Knowlkdoe  for  July,  1899,  p.  157.     The  tower  is  now  the 
property  of  Count  I'aolo  (ialletti. 


104 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[May  1,  1900. 


above  the  statue,  and  plainly  visible  in  the  photogi-aph, 
represents  Galileo  in  the  act  of  demonstrating  the 
merits  of  his  newly  constructed  telescope  to  the 
assembled  senate  at  Venice. 

Ranged  along  the  walls  are  glass  cabinets,  containing 
man)'  valuable  instruments  dating  from  the  time  of 
Galileo  and  his  School,  but  it  is  in  the  two  cabinets  on 
either  side  of  the  statue  that  our  chief  interest  centres. 
In  the  one  to  the  left  of  the  spectator  is  preserved,  care- 
fully mounted  in  an  elaborate  hexagonal  frame  of 
worked  ivory  and  ebony,  the  object-glass  which  Galileo 
fashioned  with  his  own  hands.  This  precious  bit  of 
glass,  if  one  may  believe  the  Latin  inscription  on  the 
frame,  aflForded  the  great  astronomer  his  first  glimpse 
of  Jupiter's  satellites,  and  thus  enabled  him  to  announce 
to  the  world  the  great  discoveiy  which  firmly  established 


served  in  the  cabinet  to  the  right  of  the  spectator. 
Mounted  on  a  short  marble  pillar,  adorned  with  the 
usual  allegorical  Latin  inscription,  is  a  crj-stal  vial  con- 
taining the  index  finger  of  one  of  Galileo's  hands.  It 
was  severed  from  his  body  just  before  the  latter  was 
consigned  to  its  last  resting  place  beneath  the  grand 
monument  prepared  for  it  in  that  'Westminster  Abbey 
of  Florence,  the  Church  of  Santa  Croce. 

The  remaining  cases  contain  a  valuable  collection  of 
astronomical,  nautical,  and  geodesical  instruments 
formerly  belonging  to  the  Accademia  del  Cimento,  the 
famous  institution  which,  rising  as  it  were,  from  the 
ashes  of  Galileo,  counted  among  its  members  such  men 
as  Borelli,  Viviani,  and  Redi,  and  which  chose  for  its 
motto  the  significant  words,  "  Provando  e  Riprovando." 

Some     old     telescopes     with     wooden     "  bodies  "     by 


Tlie  TribuDa  di  Galileo  in  the  iluseum  uf  Physical  Scienee  at  Florence.     ^Photo  bv  Alinari,  Florence.) 


the  Copemican  doctrine,  and  which  elicited  Kepler's 
famous  message  of  congratulation  to  his  fellow  worker, 
parodying  the  last  words  of  the  Emperor  Julian : 
"  Galileo  vicisti !  "f  The  little  lens,  barely  an  inch  and 
a  half  in  diameter,  which  sufficed  to  reveal  the  four 
"  Medicean  Stars  "  to  the  eye  of  the  "  Tuscan  ai-tist," 
compares  strangely  with  the  great  thirty-sis  inch  object- 
glass  on  Mount  Hamilton  which,  two  hundred  and 
eighty-two  years  later,  added  a  fifth  member  to  the  little 
group  forming  ths  Jovian  system.  Preserved  in  this 
same  cabinet,  and  just  discernible  in  the  photograph 
above  the  frame  containing  the  object-glass,  are  two 
of  the  first  telescopes  which  Galileo  is  said  to  have 
constructed. 

A  somewhat  gruesome  relic  of  the  great  man  is  pre- 

t  "Gralilcan,  thou  hast  couqiiereJl" 


Torricelli  of  Florence,  dating  from  the  year  1644, 
together  with  othei-s  in  quaint  leather  coverings,  em- 
bossed with  curious  gilt  ornamentations,  constriicted  by 
Campani  of  Rome  in  1666,  are  also  preserved  here  and 
serve  to  complete  a  collection  which,  alike  to  the  student 
and  the  antiquarian,  is  of  absorbing  interest  through- 
out. 


ASTRONOMY   WITHOUT   A  TELESCOPE. 

By   E.   Walter  Maunder,  f.r.a.s. 

IV.— A  TOTAL  SOLAR  ECLIPSE. 

It  is  the  misfortune  of  the  British  Isles  to  be  so  com- 
pletely shunned  by  total  eclipses  of  the  sun  that  a  cen- 
tury and  three-foui-ths  has  passed  since  the  last  visible  in 
England,  and  more  than  a  quai-ter  of  a  ccntuiT  has  still 


May  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


106 


to  run  before  this  country  will  be  favoured  with  the 
next.*  Yet  the  ease  of  modern  travel  brings  the  pheuo- 
meuon  within  the  reach  of  so  many  that  it  may  be  well 
worth  while  to  glance  at  the  various  kinds  of  work 
which  can  be  undertaken  by  "  astronomers  without 
telescopes,  '  especiallv  as  we  are  now  within  a  monUi  of 
the  time  of  an  eclipse  the  track  of  which  may  be  reat'iicd 
bv  a  three  davs'  journev  from  our  own  shores. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  by  all  who  ai'c  favoured 
with  a  good  view  of  so  rare  a  phenomenon  as  that  of  a 
tot^al  eclipse  of  the  sun,  that  there  is  a  kind  of  moral 
obligation  upon  them  not  to  let  the  opportunity  pass 
entirely  without  profit,  "  The  giddy  pleasure  of  the 
eye  "  is  no  excuse  for  selfishness.  Each  one  should  do 
something,  make  some  record,  which  may  hereafter  be 
of  service  to  othei^s  in  the  solution  of  some  of  the 
problems  which  are  eclipse  presents.  Wc  owe  an  in- 
estimable debt  to  those  who  preceded  us  who  did  leave 
such  records,  and  we  can  only  repay  that  debt,  by  in 
like  manner,  doing  our  best  to  leave  material  as  useful 
for  the  benefit  of  tliose  who  shall  in  their  turn  succeed 
to  us. 

First  of  all,  the  most  obvious  work  for  anyone  to 
undertake,  who  watches  a  total  eclipse  without  a 
t-elescope,  is  to  draw  the  corona.  This  may  seem  a  very 
trivial  matter,  and  when  the  strange  discrepancies 
between  different  sketches  are  noted,  a  very  useless  thing 
to  attempt,  especiallv  in  view  of  the  entrance  of  jihoto- 
graphy  into  the  field.  But  it  is  not  so.  The  chief  fact 
that  we  have  as  yet  established  with  regard  to  the  corona 
is  that  it  varies  in  form  and  charactei-  with  the  sun-spot 
cycle,  and  this  fact,  though  supported  by  the  photo- 
graphs, was  demonstrated  by  the  comparison  of  draw- 
ings. Then  again  the  careful  examination  of  drawings 
has  shown  them  to  be  far  more  trustworthy  than  a 
cvirsorv  look  would  suggest.  The  wide  differences  be- 
tween different  sketches  has  often  been  due  to  the 
sketchers  choosing  different  sections  of  the  corona;  one 
choosing  the  brightest  inner  corona,  another  the  fainter 
and  more  irregular  contour,  a  third  the  faintest  exten- 
sions. The  results  have  really  not  been  contradictoi-y 
but  rather  supplemental  of  each  other.  Xor  has  photo- 
graphy entirely  superseded  the  work  of  the  .sketcher 
even  yet.  The  coronal  streamers,  often  shown  in  draw- 
ings, were  photographed  in  the  eclipse  of  1898  for  the 
first  time.  The  previous  failure  of  photographs  to 
record  them  had  occasioned  their  very  existence  to  be 
denied  in  some  quarters,  and  had  cast  unmerited  sus- 
picion upon  the  drawings  which  delineated  them. 

The  work  of  drawing  the  corona  is,  however,  not  one 
to  be  done  off-hand.  The  intending  artist  should  be  one 
who  has  already  acquired  skill  and  quickness  in 
draughtmanship.  The  time  of  an  eclipse  is  terribly 
short — it  will  scarcely  exceed  one  minute  at  most  stations 
on  ^lay  28th  next — and  the  object  is  bizarre  and  un- 
familiar. There  should  be  frequent  practices  before- 
hand, either  upon  drawings  of  the  corona,  held  at  a 
distance  of  107  times  the  diameter  of  the  eclipsing 
moon,  or,  perhaps  better,  upon  little  wisps  of  cirrus 
cloud.  But  in  any  case  the  time  from  the  first  sight 
of  the  object  to  the  completion  of  the  sketch  must  be 
rigidly  confined  to  the  time  of  the  expected  duration  of 
totality.  Quickness  to  see  and  record  is  the  first  essential 
for  coronal  sketching. 

The  next  point  to  be  noted  is  the  need  for  fiducial 
lines  by  which  to  orientate  the  drawing.     This  may  be 

*  See  diagram  at  page  119  for  Eclipse  as  visible  in  England. 


done  by  jDroviding  a  ]ihuiib-lino  right  across  the  line  of 
sight.  If  the  weight  at  the  end  of  the  plumb-line 
dips  into  water,  it  will  serve  to  steady  it  against  vibration 
with  the  w'ind.  Mercury,  distant  about  '2\°  from  the 
sun,  in  tha  forthconiing  eclij)se,  will  supply  a  further 
and  most  excellent  reference  point  l.tolli  for  direction 
and  distance. 

If  sevei-al  sketchers  can  combine  they  should  portion 
out  the  corona  between  them  before  the  eclipse  begins, 
the  vertical  line  being  adopted  as  one  of  the  dividing 
lines,  and  if  four  workers  arc  present,  a  line  parallel  to 
the  horizon  might  be  anothei",  thus  giving  each  observer 
a  quadrant.  A  fifth  observer  might  make  a  i-apid  out- 
line of  the  entire  corona  as  a  basis  for  combining  the 
four  quadrantal  sketches.  In  so  short  an  eclipse  it 
would  be  a  di.stinct  advantage  to  be  able  to  confine  tl.e 
attention  to  a  portion  only  of  the  phenomenon. 

The  sketchers  should  be  careful  to  indicate  as  precisely 
as  possible  the  positions  of  any  red  pi'oiiiinences,  as 
these  can  be  verified  either  from  photographs  or  from 
observations  with  the  spectroscoj)e.  Distances  from 
the  limb  of  the  dark  moon  should  be  carefully  estimated 
in  terms  of  its  diameter. 

In  some  former  eclipses,  notably  in  1873,  the  brightest 
inner  corona  has  been  screened  off  by  means  of  a  black 
disc,  so  as  to  leave  the  eye  more  sensitive  for  the  de- 
tection of  faint  coronal  streamers.  This  is  not  recom- 
mended as  it  is  a  troublesome  and  very  doubtfully 
useful  device.  But  all  intending  sketchers  should  be 
most  careful  to  avoid  dazzling  their  eyes  during  the 
coming  on  of  the  partial  phase,  and  should  rest  them  as 
much  as  possible  shortly  before  totality. 

White  chalk  on  purplish  blue  paper  is  an  admirable 
material  for  representing  the  corona.  Notes  as  to  any 
colour  or  colours  perceived  in  the  corona  should  be 
made. 

Quite  another  chuss  of  work  may  be  taken  up  by  those 
who  have  keen  eyesight,  in  the  search  for  stars.  The 
sun  is  ill  a  specially  ^ch  pox-tion  of  the  heavens,  during 
the  eclipse  of  May  28th,  near  Aldebaran  and  the 
Pleiades,  and  a  great  number  of  stars'  should  conse- 
quently be  seen.  Orion,  Sirius,  Procyon,  Castor  and 
Pollux  are  all  well  placed.  Mercury  is  only  2^°  distant 
from  the  sun  below  it;  Venus  practically  at  her  greatest 
brilliancy  will  be  nearly  in  the  zenith.  To  note  which 
stars  are  seen,  when  they  are  first  glimpsed,  and  when 
lost,  would  be  of  some  value  as  a  register  of  the  clearness 
of  the  sky,  and  of  the  brightness  of  the  eclipse,  as  well 
as  for  comparison  with  the  records  of  old  eclipses  wherein 
the  appearance  of  stars  was  observed. 

The  zodiacal  light  should  be  looked  for,  for  though 
the  chances  against  seeing  it  are  very  great,  a  single 
clear  record  of  its  a])pearance  during  an  eclipse  would  be 
of  the  utmost  value,  and  might  decide  at  once  whether 
its  axis  coincided  with  the  ecliptic  or  with  the  solar 
equator.  The  ecliptic  at  the  time  of  totality  is  only 
inclined  a  few  degrees  to  the  vertical. 

The  observations  of  the  "shadow-bands"  is  one  of 
some  interest,  and  as  it  only  requires  a  white  surface  and 
a  few  light  rods,  a  large  number  of  observers  should  bo 
forthcoming. 

IC  must  be  remembered  that  the  bands  are  usually 
very  faint,  and  have  to  be  definitely  looked  for.  A  white 
surface  must  be  prepared  to  receive  them ;  either  a 
white  sheet,  which  may  be  fastened  down  to  the  ground, 
or  set  up  vertically  on  an  upright  frame,  or  a  whitened 
wall.  The  surface  should  be  marked  with  two  straight 
black  lines,  one  foot  apart,  that  the  intervals  apart  of 


106 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[May  1,  1900. 


the  bands  may  be  correctly  judged.  A  rod  should  be 
placed  to  mark  the  direction  of  the  bands  themselves,  as 
seen  at  the  beginning  of  totality  ;  and  another  to  mark 
their  direction  of  motion ;  another  pair  being  used  for 
a  similar  purpose  for  the  bands  seen  at  the  close  of 
totality;  and  after  totality  is  over  the  most  careful 
determinations  must  be  made  of  the  directions  of  the 
rods,  and  of  the  position  of  the  sheet  or  wall.  The 
following  questions  drawn  up  by  Mr.  E.  W.  Johnson 
for  the  assistance  of  the  Members  of  the  British  Astro- 
nomical Association  should  be  answered. 

Question.'*. 

1.  How  long  before  totality  did  the  bands  appear? 

2.  What  number  of  bauds  were  visible,  say,  in   10 
seconds  ? 

3.  What  was  the  direction  of  motion? 

4.  Where  they  inclined  to  the  direction  of  motion  ? 

5.  What  was  the  direction  and  force  of  the  wind? 

6.  Did  they  come  unifonnly,  or  in  batches? 

7.  What  was  their  speed  ? 

8.  What  was  the  width  of  the  bands? 

9.  What  was  the  distance  apart  of  the  bands  ? 

10.  Were  they  very  faint,  or  clearly  defined? 

11.  Was  their  direction  after  totality  the  same  as 
before  ? 

12.  How  long  after  were  they  visible? 

13.  Did  you  see  any  bands  during  totality? 

The  subject  of  shadow-bands  leads  naturally  to 
meteorological  work,  for  there  is  no  doubt  that  the 
direction  of  the  wind  affects  the  direction  of  the  motion 
of  the  bands.  The  meteorological  observer  should  there- 
fore provide  himself  with  some  form  of  vane  and  some 
means  of  ascertaining  the  force  and  speed  of  the  wird. 
The  wet  and  dry  bulb  thermometers  would  seem  to  be 
the  next  most  important  instruments  to  take,  that  the 
change  in  temperature  and  in  saturation  of  the  air 
might  be  marked.  The  barometer  would  come  in  the 
third  place.  It  is  of  course  desirable  that  observations 
should  be  made  at  regular  intervals  for  some  days  both 
preceding  and  following  the  eclipse,  especially  at  the 
same  hour  of  the  day  as  that  when  the  eclipse  takes 
place. 

Those  who  find  themselves  about  to  witness  the  eclipse 
yet  without  any  instruments  or  any  preparations  for 
observing  should  not  let  it  pass  wit'aout  some  record.  They 
should  note  the  appearance  of  the  sweep  of  the  shadow 
over  the  country  as  it  comes  and  as  it  goes;  the  colours 
of  sky,  land  and  sea  should  also  be  noted,  the  sky  being 
divided  into  three  regions — namely,  overhead,  at  sun- 
light, and  near  horizon. 

Photogiaphic  cameras  come  very  close  to  a  definition 
of  a  telescope,  and  hence  should  be  excluded  from  the 
scope  of  the  present  paper.  Yet  as  in  all  probability 
there  are  some  hundreds  of  possessors  of  cameras  for  every 
one  who  possesses  an  astronomical  telescope,  it  is  perhaps 
not  superfluous  to  remind  photographers  that  a  very  large 
field  is  open  to  them.  Cameras  with  a  focal  length  "of  two 
feet  and  upwards  may  be  profitably  used  upon  the  corona 
itself.  In  this  case  the  camera  should  be  firmly  fixed 
and  exposures  not  exceeding  half  a  second  should  be 
given.  If  the  focal  length  be  not  more  than  15  times 
the  aperture,  this  with  an  extra  rapid  plate  will  probably 
be  found  quite  sufficient.  For  shorter  focal  lengths 
shorter  exposures  or  slower  plates  may  be  used. 

Hand  cameras  may  be  profitably  employed  for  photo- 
graphing the  landscape  dui-ing  the  approach  and  re- 
cession of  the  shadow.     A  series  of  photographs  taken 


at  five  minute. intervals  with  a  uniform  speed  of  shutter, 
such  as  Miss  Bacon  took  at  Buxar  in  India,  would  give 
a  very  interesting  and  certainly  very  pretty  record  of 
the  increase  in  the  darkness  as  the  eclipse  comes  on. 

Finally,  a  valuable  record  of  the  total  light  of  the 
eclipse  can  be  obtained  by  exposing  a  plate  in  a  pi'inting 
frame  to  the  light  of  the  corona  during  totality.  Por- 
tions of  the  plate  can  be  exposed  for  different  lengths 
of  time  or  the  plate  itself  may  be  placed  under  some 
form  of  sensitometer.  Further  information  would  be 
obtained  by  using  as  well  different  coloured  screens  in 
connection  with  plates  of  various  coloured  sensitiveness. 


A     PHOTOGRAPHIC    SEARCH    FOR    AN 
INTERMERCURIAL    PLANET. 

It  has  not  been,  in  general,  the  policy  of  the  Harvard 
College  Observatory  to  send  expeditions  to  observe  total 
eclipses  of  the  Sun.  First,  since  in  the  case  of  cloudy 
weather,  no  return  is  obtained  for  the  ex23enditure  of  a 
sum  of  moncN'  which  is  often  large.  Secondly,  if  clear, 
the  results  in  many  cases  are  only  a  series  of  pictures 
of  the  corona  and  protuberances  which  add  but  'ittle 
to  our  knowledge  of  them.  Therefore,  when  officers  of 
this  Observatory  have  observed  eclipses,  it  has  generally 
been  largely  at  their  own  expense.  When,  however,  a 
new  problem  presents  itself  some  aid  is  rendered  from 
the  funds  of  the  Observatory,  in  the  construction  of 
instruments  and  for  similar  expenses.  The  following 
plan  for  obsci-\'ing  the  Eclipse  of  May  28th,  1900,  has 
been  prepared  by  Professor  W.  H.  Pickering  :  — • 

It  is  a  fact  capable  of  demonstration,  that  the  faint- 
uess  of  a  star  that  may  be  photographed  with  a  given 
instrument,  against  a  bright  background  of  sky  dejjends, 
within  certain  limits,  directly  on  the  length  of  the  focus 
of  the  lens,  and  is  independent  of  its  aperture. 

In  the  Harvard  Observatory  Annals,  Vol.  XVJII., 
p.  104,  it  was  shown  that  if  the  place  in  which  to  lool 
for  the  Pole  Star  is  known,  that  three  minutes  after  it 
first  becomes  visible  to  the  naked  eye  in  the  evening, 
the  light  of  the  sky  in  its  immediate  vicinity  is  of  about 
the  same  photographic  intensity  as  that  of  the  sky  sur 
rounding  the  Sun  at  the  time  of  a  total  solar  eclipse. 

Starting  with  these  two  fundamental  facts,  a  series  oi  ex- 
periments has  been  undertaken  with  a  photographic  lens 
having  an  aperture  of  3  inches,  and  a  focal  length  of 
11  feet  4  inches.  The  curves  adopted  were  those  em- 
ployed in  an  ordinary  landscape  lens,  and  it  was  found 
that  the  field  was  large  enough  to  cover  nine  8x10 
photographic  plates  arranged  in  three  rows  of  three  each 
This  result  was  only  obtained,  however,  by  attaching 
the  plates  to  the  interior  of  a  concave  siu-face  of  double 
curvature,  and  thus  obtaining  a  curved  field. 

By  giving  an  exposure  of  one  minute  in  the  region  of 
the  Pole,  with  this  instrument,  three  minutes  after  the 
Pole  Star  first  became  visible,  it  was  found  that  the 
light  of  the  sky  was  sufficient  to  darken  the  plate  appre- 
ciably, but  not  so  much  as  to  prevent  stars  of  the  eighth 
magnitude  appearing  with  sufficient  intensity  to  be 
found  by  a  careful  search,  in  the  larger  part  of  the  field 
of  view. 

Three  similar  lenses  have  now  been  ordered,  and  the 
four  will  be  placed  upon  one  mounting,  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  photograph  a  region  extending  for  sixteen  degrees 
on  cither  side  of  the  Sun,  and  having  a  breadth  of  ten 
degrees   throughout  its  length.       Throughout  nineteen 


May  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


107 


the 


will 


degrees  of  its  length  every  portioa  of 
appear  iipou  two  separate  plates. 

The  satellit.es  of  Mars,  Jupiter,  and  Saturn  all  revolve 
very  nearly  iu  the  equatorial  planes  of  their  primaries, 
and  iu  the  same  manner  Mercury  revolves  very  nearly 
in  the  equatorial  plane  of  the  Sun,  which  is  inclined 
about  seven  degrees  to  the  plane  of  the  ecliptic.  It  is, 
therefore,  reasonable  to  suppose  that  bodies  still  nearer 
to  the  Sun  would  revolve  in  the  same  plane.  It  so 
happens  that  the  Eaith  pa.sses  through  this  plane  about 
one  week  after  the  date  of  the  solar  eclipse  of  nerl  Mav, 
so  that  there  is  a  strong  probability  that  if  an  inter- 
mercurial  planet  exists,  it  will  appear  somewhere  upon 
the  narrow  line  forming  the  projection  of  this  plane  upon 
the  celestial  sphere.  It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  the 
date  of  this  eclipse  is  especially  favourable  for  the  pro- 
posed search. 

We  have  very  good  evidence,  from  the  visual  observa- 
tions hitherto  made,  that  no  intcrmercurial  planet 
brighter  than  the  third  or  fourth  magnitude  exists.  Wo 
possess  no  evidence  whatever  for  or  against  the  existence 
of  fainter  bodies  in  this  region  having  sufficient  size  to  bo 
properlv  called  planets.  We  are  reasonably  certain  that 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Sun  is  filled  with  countless 
bodies  of  such  size  as  to  be  properly  described  as  meteors. 
If  we  assume  that  at  its  average  brightness.  Mercury 
is  of  the  fii-st  magnitude,  and  that  the  albedo  of  an 
intcrmercurial  planet  is  the  same  as  that  of  Mercury, 
we  shall  find  that  at  the  distance  of  Mercury  from  the 
Sun,  a  body  of  the  eighth  magnitude  would  be  120  miles 
in  diameter.  If  its  distance  from  the  Sun  was  but  one 
half  as  great,  its  diameter  would  be  60  miles,  and  ;f 
but  one  quarter  as  great,  or  9,000,000  miles,  it  would  be 
30  miles  in  diameter.  Judging  by  the  analogous  case 
of  Jupiter,  the  existence  of  such  a  small  planet  is  quite 
possible. 

Should  such  a  body  exist,  and  should  it  appear  upon 
the  plates,  which  it  is  proposed  to  expose  somewhere  in 
the  State  of  .Alabama,  we  should  still  be  entirely  at  a 
loss  to  compute  the  orbit,  or  to  determine  the  distance 
of  the  body  from  the  Sun.  If,  however,  other  photo- 
graphs of  it  should  be  obtained  with  a  similar  apparatus, 
in  Spain  or  Algeria,  we  should  then  be  enabled  to  com- 
pute an  approximate  orbit,  based  upon  the  assuinption 
that  it  moved  in  a  circular  path.  It  might  then  be 
found  again  at  the  following  eclipse,  which  occurs  a 
year  later,  and  a  more  accurate  elliptical  orbit  could  be 
computed  for  it.  While  it  is  desirable  that  the  duplicate 
apparatus  should  be  also  furnished  with  four  lenses,  this 
IS  not  necessary,  and  in  case  the  planet  should  be  found 
upon  our  plates,  two  lenses,  one  photographing  the 
region  on  each  side  of  the  Sun,  would  be  all  that  would 
be  necessary  to  independently  make  the  discovery,  and 
furnish  the  elements  necessary  to  compute  the  circular 
orbit.  It  is  in  the  hope  of  inducing  some  European 
observer  to  supply  himself  with  this  apparatus  that  the 
present  article  has  been  written. 

The  foregoing  plan  appears  to  be  of  sufficient  imoort 
ance  to  justify  aid  from  the  Observatory.  Preparat'ons 
have,  therefore,  been  made  to  give  it  a  careful  trial  It 
is  hoped  that  this  early  publication  may  permit  similar 
obsen'ations  to  be  made  at  a  second  station  sufficiently 
distant  to  reduce  the  danger  of  failure  from  clouds,  anu 
if  an  intcrmercurial  planet  should  be  found,  to  furnish 
an  approximate  determination  of  the  form  of  its  orbit. 

EdW-iVRD    C.    PICKEEI^G. 

Harvard  College  Observatory, 
February  13th,  1900. 


THE    PHOTOGRAPHY    OF    CLOUDS. 

By    EUGENli    AnTvJNIADI,    f.u.a..s. 

(Continued  from  pnge  81.) 

Some  additional  references  to  exposure  may  bo  given  in 
the  data  accompanying  the  aniiexed  pho(()gra]ihs  :  — 


*?^r 


« 


Fig.  1. — Cumuli   t'oivoastinw   fine    weatlipr,   l.S9i>,    .August,  2iW.    9h. 
45m.  a.m.,  loo;il  timiv 

Sulijoiued  Plate,  Fig.  1. — Cirro-cumulus,  following  and 
forecasting    wet   weather.      Photograph    taken    with   the 


FlO.  3.  — Pliotograph  of  the  primary  and  secondary  Rainbow?,  taken 
at  Juvisy  on  1SG9,  September,  28d.  51i.  3m.,  local  time. 


108 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[May  1,  1900. 


1 -04-111011  object  o-lass,  whose  focal  length  is  5'12  inches. 
Yellow  screen  of  moderate  intensity,  on  account  o£  the 
deep  blue  sky.     Stop=-T-     Exposure  =  1  full  second. 

Plate,  Fig.  2.— Nimbus  covering  the  setting  snn,  whose 
rays  gild  the  upper  edge*  of  the  cloud  bank,  duriug  rainy 
weather.  Showers  are  actually  seen  falling  from  the 
cloud  on  the  horizon.  Same  object  glass.  No  yellow 
screen,  owing  to  the  absolute  hu-k  of  blue.  Stop  =  J-. 
Exposure =^  second. 

Figure  1  (text). — Peaceful  cumuli  during  warm  weather. 
Same  glass.  Faint  yellow  screen.  Stop=-'_.  Exposure 
=:|  second,  in  strong  sunshine. 

Figure  2. — Sunset  behind  ragged  clouds.  Same  glass. 
No  screen  at  all.     Stop=,/l.     Exposure= J^  second. 

Figure    3. —  Rainbow,    with    a    nearly    horiz.ontal    sun. 


strong,  while  haste  is  particularly  nugatory.  A  slow, 
methodical  development  always  yields  good  results.  At 
Juvisy,  pyrogallic  acid  is  used  in  preference  to  other  sub- 
stances. An  enfeebled  old  solution,  intensified  when 
necessary,  is,  moreover,  preferable  to  a  new  one.  Finally, 
the  question  of  the  moment  of  stopping  the  development 
is  one  which  experience  only  can  decide. 


3Ltttcrs. 

♦ 

[The  Editors  do  not  bold  themselves  responsible  for  the  opinions 
or  statements  of  correspondents.] 

IS   THE    STELLAR   UNIVERSE   FINITE? 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — I  cannot  enter  into  this  discussion,  but  may  I 
suggest,  as  a  point  which  appears  to  me  to  have  been 


Fig.  2.— Sunset  effect,  18<J9,  Septeml)cr,  2id.  5h.  2om.,  loral  time. 


The  secondary  bow  is  very  marked  on  the  negative  ;  but 
there  are  no  supernumeraries.  Same  glass.  No  yellow 
screen.  Stop  =  whole  aperture.  Exposure=oV  second. 
Short  exposures  are  jMrticularlij  effective  on  rainhows. 

The  excellent  isochromatic  plates  of  Messrs.  A.  Lumiere 
et  ses  Fils,  of  Lyons,  have  been  invariably  used  here  by 
M.  Mathieu  and  the  writer  in  their  attempts  at  cloud 
photography. 

The  development  of  cloud  plates  is  done  in  the  ordinary 
fashion,  though  plates  sensible  to  the  red  should  be 
developed  with  a  very  weak  red  light  only,  in  order  to 
avoid  togging.     The  solution  should,  of  course,  not  be  too 

*  These  golden  fringes,  due  to  the  illumination  of  the  cloud  from 
behind,  are  also  visible  roiuid  cumuli  at  night  during  lightning 
flashes.  lu  a  paper  published,  however,  in  1S'J9,  in  the  "  Bulletin  de 
la  Societe  Astrononiicjue,"  a  M.  Touehet,  quite  misuuderstauding^the 
nature  of  the  oeeurrence,  introduced  tlie  iinseicntific  notion  of 
"  lightning  ribbons  running  along  the  clouds' edges."  ■ 


overlooked,  that  the  Ether  as  a  transmitting  medium 
for  light  IS  limited  in  extent,  and  belongs  speciallv  to 
a  cluster  of  stars  of  which  our  solar  system  is  a  part, 
and  that  it  thins  out  at  a  finite  distance  from  that 
cluster  (in  the  same  way  that  our  atmosphere  thins  out 
at  a  distance  from  the  earth)  until  it  is  incapable  of 
transmitting  light.  In  that  case,  the  Stellar  Universe 
might  be  infinite,  but  there  would  be  a  "  rapid  decrease 
in  the  luminosity  of  the  stars  '  at  a  great  distance  from 
us,  owing  to  the  decreased  transmitting  power  of  the 
ether ;  and  though  the  stars  were  just  as  numerous 
bovond  the  ether,  there  would  be  nothing  to  tran.'^mit 
their  light.  Geo.   Phelps. 


Sirs,- 


TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

-Mr,   Anderson   says   that  "  individually   they  " 


(the  brighter  and  fainter  stars)  "  do  not  lose  the  same 


Knoirhdqe. 


Fig.  1. — Cirro-cumulus,  isyy,  Seiitember,  2.jcl.  21i.  25iii.,  Mean  Local  Time. 


Fig.  2.— R.iin-Cloud,  lUu-in^  Slio«c'i7  Wi-atht-r,  IH'J'.),  ,ht\\,  Id.  »ili.  .J.'jin.  p.in.,  Local  Tune. 

CLOUD       PHOTOGRAPHS      TAKEN      AT      JUVISY. 


May  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


109 


proportion  of  their  total  light  "  by  atmospheric  absorp- 
tion and  similar  causes.  Mav  I  ask  by  what  experiments 
or  observations  this  is  proved  '  All  the  photometries 
with  which  I  am  acquainted  proceed  on  the  opposite 
principle.  In  none  of  them  is  a  different  estimate  made 
for  atmospheric  absorption  in  the  case  of  bright  and 
faint  stars.  Prof.  Prit-chard's  photometer  depends  on 
the  thickness  of  a  plat«  of  neutral-tinted  glass  which  is 
required  to  extinguish  the  light  of  the  stai-.  It  would 
fail  if  there 'was  a  more  rapid  (pi-oportional)  extinction 
in  the  case  of  faint  stai-s  than  of  bright  ones. 

When  a  star  is  near  the  limit  of  vision  a  small  re- 
duction in  its  light  rendei-s  it  imperceptible  as  a  separate 
object.  A  tield-ghiss.  however,  will  suffice  to  di-scover  it. 
With  a  further  reduction  in  the  light  a  telescope  would 
be  required,  and  we  should  afterwai-ds  have  to  discard 
our  first  telescope  and  use  a  more  powerful  one.  But 
can  anvone  suppose  that  in  these  cases  it  pix)duces  no 
effect  at  all  unless  it  is  sepai'ately  visible?  Mr. 
Anderson  disavows  this  argument,  however,  and,  there- 
fore, I  need  not  discuss  it. 

Considering  the  great  number  of  different  places  at 
which  observations  are  now  made,  and  the  fact  that  star- 
gauges  aie  usually  made  at  the  most  favourable  time 
for  observation,  I  can  hardly  believe  that  there  are 
any  stars  brighter  than  sav  the  1 2th  magnitude  which 
have  remained  undiscovered  because  they  were  always 
too  near  the  horizon  to  be  visible  with  a  telescope  cal- 
culated to  show  all  stai-s  down  to  the  14th  magnitude. 
(Of  course  the  visibility  or  invisibility  of  faint  stars  de- 
pends entirelv  on  the  instrument  employed.) 

Supposing  that  with  our  present  instruments  no  star 
below  the  10th  magnitude  can  escape  us,  why  should  we 
not  trust,  our  star-gauges  up  to  that  magnitude  ?  And 
why  should  we  not  use  the  general  luminosity  of  the 
sky  as  an  indication  of  the  distribution  of  still  fainter 
stars  ? 

I  am  not  writing  in  favour  of  either  a  finite  or  an 
infinite  Univei-se.  I  only  desire  to  call  the  attention 
of  astronomers  to  one  of  the  unsolved  problems  which 
the  science  presents ;  and  I  am  surprised  to  find  so 
many  writers  both  in  your  columns  and  elsewhere  dealing 
with  it  on  popular  or  metaphysical  grounds  rather  than 
as  a  scientific  problem. 

W.  H.   S.  MoN-CK. 

P.S. — In  my  last  letter  "  a  Centauri  "  was  printed 
"  and  Centauri."  The  reader  will  no  doubt  have  seen 
the  mistake. 

[I  must  express  my  full  agi-eement  with  the  con- 
cluding words  of  Mr.  Monck's  letter.  The  cjuestion  of 
the  shape  and  extent  of  the  general  .sidereal  universe  as 
it  presents  itself  to  us  seems  to  me  an  interesting  and 
important  one,  and  any  mode  of  enquiry  which  woi  Id 
enable  us  for  instance  to  form  an  estimate  of  the  mean 
distance  of  the  Galaxy  and  of  its  mean  depth  should  I 
think  be  welcomed  and  carefully  examined.  But  the 
general  question  ''Is  the  Stellar  Universe  finite?''  be- 
comes at  once  not  a  physical  but  a  metaphysical  enquiry, 
and  hence  leaves  the  domain  of  astronomy,  and  except  as 
a  purely  mental  exercise  I  see  no  value  in  it.  How  ea^ly 
even  the  keenest  and  most  trained  minds  may  go  astray 
on  the  subject  may  be  learned  from  Prof.  Newcomb  s 
paper  in  the  March  number  of  the  "  Windsor  Magazine.' 
He  writes  "  It  can  be  shown  mathematically  that  an 
infinitely  extended  system  of  stars  would  fill  the  heavens 
with  a  blaze  of  light  like  that  of  the  noonday  sun." 
There  is  a  tacit  assumption  here  that  the  stars  are  on  the 
average  uniformly  distributed  in  space,  an  assumption 


which  for  nearly  a  coulury  astronomei-s  have  known  to 
be  untrue. 

I  must  ask,  therefore,  that  correspondeiKts  in  future 
will  leave  the  general  and  metaphysical  (jucstion  entirely 
alone,  and  confine  themselves  to  the  question  of  the 
actual  distribution  of  the  known  stars. 

[E.    W.\LTi;U    M.WNDKK.J 

■ » I — 
WIRELESS-TELEGHAl'Il    REt'KlVEIl. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGK. 

Sius, — One  evening  la.st  summer  I  was  using  the 
receiver  in  the  ordinarv  wav  in  connection  with  a  Morse 
jirinting  maihine  ;  it  was  a  dull  evening  with  a  good  deal 
of  thunder  about  ;  and  I  noticed  that  a  dot  was  printed 
at  every  flash  of  lightning.  Of  course  that  would  be  ex- 
pected, since  the  receiver  was  not  protected  in  any  way, 
but  when  I  joined  up  a  small  galvanometer  in  place  of 
the  Morse  machine,  I  found  greatly  to  my  surprise  that 
the  needle  of  the  galvanometer  was  affected  by  the 
lightning  through  the  coherer,  an  instant  before  the  flash 
was  visible  to  me.  I  noticed  it  several  times.  The 
only  explanation  I  can  think  of  is  that  the  electric 
discharge  caused  by  the  lightning  has  a  quicker  effect 
upon  the  coherer  than  upon  the  human  brain  or  nerves. 

XoRM.\x    Robinson. 

[The  really  important  conclusion  to  which  your 
correspondent  s  observations  seem  to  point  is  this :  -- 
The  galvanometer  used  was  sensitive  to  something  which 
occurred  immediately  before  the  lightning  flash  was 
made  manifest,  as  regards  which,  it  seems  clear  that  the 
"  recorder  "  took  no  note  of  it.  Two  questions  ai'e  at 
once  suggested :  What  was  this  something,  and,  was 
the  galvanometer  in  no  way  iiffected  by  the  imme- 
diately succeeding,  and  expected,  effect  which  caused 
the  Moi-se  to  "dot"?  Stating  the  second  question  in 
another  way,  "  Did  the  needle  give  but  one  kick?" 

Again,  as  regards  the  producer  of  the  effect  alluded 
to,  apparently  it  was  Hertzian,  Electro-magnetic,  or 
Electro-static.  Possibly  it  was  forces  of  these  three 
natures  acting  together,  or  any  two  of  them  in  con- 
junction —  if  not  a  single  one.  Unfortunately  Mr. 
Robinson  gives  us  no  details  as  to  the  windings  (and 
self  induction  co-eflicients)  of  the  instruments  which  he 
used — and  interchanged.  However,  the  subject  is  one 
of  great  interest,  and  it  seems  that  no  one  has  hitherto 
wandered  into  the  path  indicated. — How.\rd  B.  Little.] 


A  CLOUD  OF  DRIED  BEECH  LEAVES. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — The  following  may  be  interesting,  not  only  as 
an  unusual  occurrence,  but  as  bearing  on  the  question 
of  aerial  tran.sportation  of  seeds,  etc. 

At  about  four  o  clock  on  the  afternoon  of  Sunday 
last  (April  1st),  my  attention  was  arrested  by  the  fall 
of  numbers  of  dried  beech  leaves.  On  looking  up  I 
found  that  the  leaves  were  passing  in  large  numbers 
from  east  to  west,  and  as  high  as  the  limit  of  vision. 
Many  appeared  to  be  mere  specks,  whose  height  r.nd 
motion  promised  them  a  journey  of  some  miles  at  least. 
The  shower  continued  for  perhaps  twenty  minutes.  The 
fall  was  noticed  by  many  persons  here,  who  were  unable 
to  account  for  it,  as  there  arc  no  beech  trees  within  two 
miles  at  nearest.  Probably  the  leaves  had  been  raised 
by  a  whirlwind,  and  at  a  very  considerable  distance 
east  of  this  neighbourhood. 

A  friend,  who  was  some  three  miles  east  of  my  station. 
witnessed  the  phenomenon,  and  states  that  by  the  aid 
of  a  field-glass  he  could  see  leaves  still  higher  than  tnosc 


no 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[May  1,  1900. 


visible  to  the  naked  eye,  and  yet  felt  that  he  had  not 
even  then  reached  the  highest. 

The  morning  had  been  clear  and  bright,  but  at  the 
time  of  this  occurrence  the  east  sky  was  covered  with 
a  thick  thundery-looking  haze.  There  was  no  surface 
wind.     Barometer  steady  at  about  30.2  inches. 

Wallingford,,    Berks.  T.    H.    Astburv. 


LONDON    SUMMERS. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — A  short  time  ago  I  offered  some  evidence  for 
a  connexion  between  our  summers  and  the  sunspot  cycle 
of  about  eleven  years.  While  still  of  oijinion  that 
much  may  be  said  for  this  view,  it  has  of  late  seemed 
to  me  worth  consideration  whether  a  shorter  period, 
Bay  of  about  ten  years,  might  not  give  a  better  account 
of  the  facts. 

Perhaps  you  will  allow  me  to  supplement  that  article 
with  a  diagram  in  which  the  fifty-nine  Greenwich 
summ?rs,  1841-^9,  are  grouj)ed  according  to  the  number 
in  which  the  year  ends  (years  ending  in  0,  in  1,  in  2,  &c.. 
and    so   on   nj)   to   9).     Each   dot   represents    a   summer 


^5 

o 

/ 

2 

3 

^ 

6 

6 

7 

<? 

? 

'\6 

36 

3-^ 

o 

• 

23 

e 

* 

* 

• 

9 

* 

?^ 

•  • 

« 

• 

9 

IG 

• 

• 

_«-A_ 

9 

-e 

/-> 

• 

• 

# 

:  1 

> 

_« 

« 

P 

e 

• 

9 

0 

• 

U- 

• 

«  9 

9 

• 

09 

7 

G 

a 

9 

« 
• 

» 

O 

,, 

i6~ 


Distribution  of  59  Suminevs   (CTivenwirli)   in   10  ('ohimns. 

season,  aj^d  shows  by  its  jjosition  how  many  davs  with 
temperature  80°  or  more  it  had.  The  average  is  15 
(represented  by  a  line). 

(As  the  series  begins  with  1841,  the  column  0  is  one 
dot  short.) 

One  is  struck,  I  think,  by  the  greater  coolness,  gene- 
rally, in  the  earlier  part,  and  the  general  rise  in 
position  of  the  dots  as  the  decade  advances  to  the  6-8 
groups. 

The  averages  of  the  columns  come  out  as  follows:  — 
0.  1.  2.  :;.  t.  .i.  i;.  7.  s.         9. 

10-2  10-5  12-5  12-3  152  12'5  19-8  208  157  16-0 
Thus  the  summers  of  yeai's  ending  in  7  have  had, 
on  an  average,  more  than  twice  as  many  of  those  hot 
days  as  the  summers  of  years  ending  in  0. 

Four  of  the  first  five  values  are  below  the  general 
average;    four  of  the  last  five  values  above  it. 

From  this  point  of  view,  then  (and  it  is  a  purely 
empirical  one),  cool  summers  seem  to  be  more  probable 
than  hot  ones  in  the  immediate  future,  and  we  should 
hardly  expect  any  extremely  hot  ones.  It  remains  to 
be  seen  whether  the  next  sixty  summers  will  have  tho 
same  general  distribution  as  those  now  considered 


Other  facts  pointing  in  the  same  direction  might,  I 
think,   be   given,   but  I   will   not  here   enlarge   on   the 

subject.  Alex.  B.  MacDowall. 

♦ 

OuNdnui.OGiCAL  XoTES. — In  the  absence  from  England  of  Mr. 
Harry  F.  Withcrhy,  the  Ornithologifal  Notes  are  held  over. 


— ♦ — 

Science  loses  one  of  her  chief  ornaments  by  the  death 
of  Professor  St.  George  Mivart,  f.r.s.,  who  exjjired  on 
the  1st  April,  1900.  Born  in  November,  1827,  he  was 
educated  at  Clapham  Grammar  School,  Harrow,  and 
King's  College,  London.  In  1851  he  was  called  to  the 
Bar,  but,  attracted  by  scientific  studies,  he  became  lec- 
turer at  St.  Mary's  Hospital  Medical  School  in  1862. 
Dr.  Mivart  was  at  variance  with  Darwin  as  regards 
"  natural  selection  "  and  evolution  as  applied  to  the 
human  intellect,  and  in  the  early  seventies  engaged  much 
in  controversy  on  these  subjects,  always  with  great  liter- 
ary skill,  however  his  opinions  might  differ  from  those  of 
his  opponents.  In  1867  he  was  elected  a  Fellow  of  the 
Royal  Society,  and  in  1869  he  became  Vice-Pi-esident 
of  the  Zoological  Society.  Dr.  Mivart  was  an  accom- 
plished lecturer,  well  known  in  that  capacity,  not  only 
in  London  but  throughout  the  country.  Among  his 
works  may  be  mentioned  "  The  Genesis  of  Species," 
1871;  "Lessons  in  Elementary  Anatomy,"  1872; 
"Man  and  Apes,''  1873;  "Lessons  from  Nature"  and 
"  Contemporarv  Evolution,"  1876;  "The  Cat,"  1881; 
"  Nature  and  thought,"  1883 ;  "  The  Origin  of  Human 
Reason,"  1889.  Dr.  Mivart's  last  days  were  occupied 
by  a  controversy  with  the  heads  of  his  church.  The 
coi-respondence  in  the  "  Times  "  of  January  27  and  29, 
1900,  indicated  that  for  some  years  a  conflict  had  been 
steadily  growing  in  his  mind  between  the  force  of  private 
judgment  and  the  necessity  of  submission  to  authority. 

Professor  John  Henry  Pepper,  who  died  last  month 
in  his  80tli  year,  attained  fame  by  means  of  the  "  ghost 
illusion  "  which  in  the  sixties  was  very  much  in  vogue 
at  the  theatres.  At  the  Polytechnic  in  Regent  Street 
the  exhibition  succeeded  both  scientifically  and  as  a  com- 
mercial enterprise.  Prof.  Pepper  was  the  author  of  se\7eral 
popular  science  books,  and  these,  together  with  his  skill 
as  a  lecturer,  did  much  to  attract  public  attention  to 
science  subjects.  "  Pepper's  Ghost  "  is  said  to  have 
been  suggested  to  the  inventor  by  observing  the  images 
of  his  fellow  passengers  while  riding  home  in  a  train 
late  at  night,  the  glass  windows  reflecting  their  faces 
on  the  "  darkness  "  outside. 


ilottccs^of_Boofts. 

"  Photographs  of  Stai-s,  Star  -Clusters,  and  Xebula?,  together  with 
Records  of  Results  obtained  in  the  Pursuit  of  Celestial  Photo- 
graphv."  Bv  Isaac  Roberts,  d.sc,  p.r.s.  Volume  II.  (London  : 
Knowledge" Office.  326.  High  Holborn.  W.C.)  1899.  Price  30s. 
It  is  a  very  difficult  matter  for  astronomers  living  at  the  present  day 
to  fully  estimate  the  value  of  Ur.  Isaac  Koberts'  series  of  stellar 
and  ntljular  jliotographs  of  which  the  second  voUune  has  just  b^en 
issued.  Th;it  tliey  are  very  beautiful  photographs  of  beautiful  and 
wonderful  objects  is  clear  ;  it  is  patent  to  the  mo.st  casual  glance. 
That  they  will  amply  repay  the  study  of  Dr.  Dreyer  (in  whose  hands 
we  believe  that  copies  have  been  placed  for  examination)  will  soon 
also  be  evident.  But  it  is  only  a  few  of  their  secrets  that  will  be 
disclosed  by  the  study  of  some  months  or  years,  and  it  will  be  for 
future  generations  to  fully  understand  the  value  of  the  work  wliich 
Dr.  Roberts  has  undertaken.  Dr.  Roberts  has  himself  foreseen  this, 
and  has  felt  it  necessary  that  the  photographs  should  be  printed 
in  permanent  ink,  for  not  only  are  the  original  glass  negatives  liable 
to  be  lost  by  accidental  breakage,  but  he  finds  that,  "  after  the 
lapse  of  a  limited  number  of  years  the  gelatine  films  will  become 
discoloured,  the  images  will  fade,  and  the  faint  stars  and  the  faint 


Mvv    1.  lOOOl 


KNOWLEDGE 


m 


nebulosities  will  eniirely  Uisiippear  from  view.''  This  is  a  factor 
that  should  certainly  be  borne  in  mind  by  the  directors  of  those 
observatories  which  are  takins;  part  in  tlie  work  of  international 
chartin;;,  for  tlioui;h  the  cost  of  reproduction  of  all  the  plates  on 
paper  print  with  permanent  ink  may  be  considerable,  it  is  insij;nili- 
cant  when  compared  with  the  cost  of  procurinir  the  original 
neiratives  which  may  thrimsih  lapse  of  time  become  valueless. 
Though  we  may  be  assured  that  in  these  photofrr.iphs  lie  hidden 
the  solution  of  many  problems  that  have  not  been  even  stated  as 
ret.  the  mere  superficial  investisration  of  one  of  these  photo>;ra)ihs 
set'ms  to  indicate  many  avenues  for  investixation.  Four  or  live 
hours  were  spent  in  the  study  of  one  selected  almost  at  random,  and 
a  few  of  the  forms  and  contisrurations  depicted  in  it  were  fcjlUnved 
out.  Cluster  H  VI.  5  Orionis  which  is  reproduced  in  Plate  2  is 
by  no  means  one  of  the  most  striking  photographs  in  the  vohime. 
It  is  no  huge  cluster,  and  no  trace  of  nebulosity  could  be  discovered. 
To  the  astronomical  eye,  however,  its  star  images  are  objects  of 
extreme  beauty,  being  veiy  small  and  perfectly  round,  the  fainter 
stars  looking  like  needle  points  of  white  on  the  dark  b.iclcgrouml. 
In  the  s.f.  corner  of  the  Plate  there  is  one  of  the  most  ])crfecfc 
spiral  of  stars  that  we  have  ever  seen.  Xo  vestige  of  nebulosity  is  to  be 
seen  stretching  in  the  spaces  between  (he  stars  which  curve  through 
seven  distinct  widening  convolutions  round  the  large  star  which 
is  evidently  the  central  condensation  of  the  original  spiral  nebula. 
The  stars  vary  greatly  in  magnitude,  large  and  small  being  inter- 
twined in  the  convolutions  without  ajiparent  law.  From  its  appear- 
ance the  stellar  spiral  is  a  left  handed  planar  not  a  helical  one,  and 
its  plane  is  not  far  from  being  perpendicular  to  the  line  of  sight. 
The  whole  is  like  the  sevenfold  coil  of  a  huge  serpent  covering  some 
20'  of  arc  in  the  sky.  In  the  centre  of  the  plate  is  another  spiral 
of  stars  of  a  different  species,  and  not  of  so  distinct  and  perfect  a 
nature.  Here  can  be  diiidy  made  out  a  series  of  spirals  which 
radiate  from  a  common  centre  like  the  feelers  of  the  cuttle  lish. 
Following  this  central  cluster  by  about  16'  to  21  ;u'e  two  other 
clusters  which  Dr.  Roberts  says  are  suggestive  of  a  s|iiral  origin. 
A  close  examination  indicates  that  these  two  clusters  are  not  distinct 
but  form  part  of  the  same  helix  of  stars  (which  is  a  very  perfect  one). 
The  apparent  clustering  seems  due  to  the  oblique  presentation  of 
the  helix,  which  might  be  represented  by  three  turns  of  a  corkscrew. 
In  this  spiral  the  stars  do  not  appear  to  present  so  great  a  range  of 
magnitude  as  in  the  other  two  describee!.  These  three  do  not  by 
any  means  exhaust  the  spiral  forms  which  are  to  be  found  in  tliis 
very  wonderful  photograph.  In  every  region  of  the  Plate  are  to  he 
found  spiral  systems  under  some  type  or  ijresentation.  We  heartily 
congratulate  and  thank  Dr.  Roberts  for  his  issue  of  these  beautiful 
and  valuable  photographs. 

'■  Animals  in  Jlotion."  An  Electiopbotographic  Investigation 
of  Consecutive  Phases  of  Animal  Progressive  Movements.  By 
Eadweard  Muybridge.  (Chapman  and  Hall.'l  2Us.  net.  Of  all 
the  results  which  have  followed  tho  introduction  some  quarter 
of  a  century  ago  of  photographic  methods  into  scientifi.-. 
research,  the  knowledge  of  animal  locomotion  which  Mr.  Muy- 
bridge has  given  to  the  world  is  certainly  not  the  least  impor- 
tant and  interesting.  Like  many  other  investigators,  Mr. 
Muybridge  was  put  upon  the  track  of  his  future  elaborate 
experiments  bj-  a  very  simple  incident  As  he  tells  the  reader 
in  his  preface,  he  was  in  the  spring  of  187i!  directing  the  photo- 
graphic surveys  of  the  United  States  Government  on  the 
Pacific  Coast,  and  being  in  San  Franci.sco  he  took  part  in  a 
controversy,  the  pi  incipal  subje -.t  of  which  was  the  possibility 
of  a  horse  while  trotting — even  at  the  height  of  its  speed — 
having  all  four  of  his  feet,  during  any  portion  of  his  stride, 
simnltaneously  free  from  contact  with  the  ground.  Mr. 
Maybriilge  resolved  to  attempt  the  settlement  of  the  question, 
and  though  the  days  of  the  rapid  dry  photogra])hic  process  had 
not  yet  come,  he  was  soon  at  work  with  wet  collodion  plates. 
He  commenced  his  investigation  on  the  race-track  at  Sacra- 
mento in  May  of  the  same  year,  and  in  a  few'  days  made  several 
negatives  of  a  horse  trotting  literally  in  front  of  his  camera  at 
varying  speeds  ;  some  of  the  resulting  photograjdis  exhibited 
the  horse  with  all  four  of  his  feet  clearly  lifted,  at  the  same 
time,  above  the  surface  of  the  ground.  The  next  step  was  to 
obtain  a  series  of  photographs  in  rapid  succession  at  properly 
regulated  intervals  of  time,  or  distance,  so  as  to  discover  the 
true  explanation  of  animal  movements.  After  designing 
special  apparatus  and  utilising  the  leisure  hours  of  a  busy 
official  career,  Mr.  JInybridge  was  able  in  1878  to  deposit  at 
■Washington  Congress  Library  sheets  of  jihotographs  illustiating 
consecutive  phases  of  one  complete  stride  of  a  horse,  while 
walking,  trotting,  galloping,  and  so  on.  Then  came  the  con- 
struction of  the  zoiipraxiscope,  an  instrument  for  synthesising 
the  actual  image  from   these  separate  impressions.     The  dis- 


covery of  celluloid  ribbons,  which  made  it  possible  to  obtain  a 
larger  number  of  successive  phiises  of  motion,  led  the  way  to 
Edison's  kinetoscope.  But  all  these  successes  l\lr.  Muybridge 
regards  as  preliminary  work  to  tho  production  of  bis  uiastorpiece 
of  1887,  known  as  •'Animal  Locomotion,''  and  containing  more 
than  'iOjiltUt  figures  of  moving  men,  women,  children,  beasts, 
and  birds,  in  781  photo-engraviiios,  bound  in  eleven  folio 
volumes.  Tlie  possibility  of  taking  the  luiiidrcMl  thousand 
plates  which  were  used  in'the  iireparatiou  of  this  monuinciital 
work,  and  of  publishing  it,  was  due  to  the  public-spirited  action 
of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  which  undertook  the 
expense.  The  volume  uiuh:r  consideration  comprises  a  selec- 
tion of  the  most  important  plates  contained  in  the  larger 
volume  on  a  reduced  scale,  and  should  be  in  the  bands  of  every 
student  of  science  and  art,  since  the  plates  furnish  a  trust- 
worthy guide  to  tlie  laws  which  control  animal  movements. 

"A  Book  of  Whales."  Bv  F.  K.  Beddard.  Progressive  Science 
Series.  (Murray.)  1900.  "illustrated.  6s.  The  huge  boilily 
size  of  its  more  typical  members,  the  few  ojiportunities  that  lands- 
men have  of  seeing  them,  coujiled  with  the  fact  that,  in  spite  of 
their  generally  lish  like  form,  tliey  are  warm-blooded  animals,  sur- 
rounds the  group  of  Whales,  or  cetaceans,  with  a  halo  of  mystery 
and  fascination  wdiich  cannot  fail  to  attract  general  interest.  It  is, 
therefore,  most  satisfactory  to  have  a  popular  and  succinct  account 
of  the  grouj)  from  a  writer  wlio  lias  evidently  worked  hard  at  his 
subject  and  brought  together  almost  all  that  is  worth  knowing  con- 
cerning the  structure  and  inoile  (jf  life  of  these  strange  creatures. 
Taken  as  a  wliole,  it  niav  be  said  that  Mr.  liedilard's  treatise  is  all 
that  can  be  desired,  and  that  it  is  likely  to  remain  for  a  long  time 
the  standard  poi>ular  work  on  the  subject.  To  a  certain  extent  it 
is  more  than  this,  for  it  enters  on  the  consideration  of  many 
technical  details — notably  as  regards  the  number  of  species,  and 
the  alHnities  of  the  various  genera.  Indeed,  there  may  be  aipiestion 
whether  the  author  has  in  all  cases  descended  to  the  level  i>f  his 
readers,  the  xise  of  terms  like  "  thoracic  niusi^ulature "  when 
"  muscles  of  the  chest "  would  have  served  the  purpose  better, 
being  calculated  to  mystify  the  uninitiated.  Kspecially  is  this 
noticeable  in  the  section  devoted  to  osteology,  where  the  ordinary 
reader  is  likely  to  be  puzzled  as  to  the  exact  meaning  of  terms 
like  "acromion"  and  "  coracoid  process."  And  since  figures  of 
manv  bones  are  given,  the  difficulty  could  have  been  so  easily 
avoifled  by  the  addition  of  descriptive  letters.  Confusion  is  also 
made  by  Hguring  in  Plate  IV.  tympanic  bones  of  the  Right  ''■Vliale 
and  the  Ronpial  wliicli  belong  to  ojjposite  sides.  If  we  were  dis- 
posed to  be  critical  we  could  point  out  a  good  many  typographical 
and  grammatical  blemishes  ;  but  in  regard  to  errors  of  this  de- 
scription we  will  be  content  with  asking  our  readers  to  compare  the 
figure  of  Bahena  australis  facing  page  22  with  the  cast  in  the 
Natural  History  Mu.seuin,  from  which  it  is  taken,  when  we  venture 
to  atlirai  that  a  surprise  will  await  them. 

Among  the  more  interesting  features  of  Whales  are  the  numerous 
"vestigial"  structures  to  be  met  with,  such  as  the  functionless 
teeth  of  ftt'tal  Rorquals,  and  the  bony  plates  on  certain  Porpoises. 
That  Cetaceans  had  toothed  ancestors,  everyone  was  prejiared  to 
admit,  but  that  their  progenitors  should  luive  been  mail-clad 
animals  is  indeed  a  "staggerer."  But  it  is  very  difficult  to  come 
to  any  other  conclusion.  And  this  leads  to  a  puzzle,  for  the  only 
mammals  that  are  known  to  possess  such  an  armour  are  tlie 
Armadillos  and  certain  other  Kdentates,  which  are  in  no  sense 
ancestral  (,'etaceans.  Here,  we  regret  to  say,  the  author  is  not 
quite  so  clear  as  is  desirable.  While  of  opinion  that  both  the 
'VV'halebone  and  the  Toothed  Whales  have  a  common  ancestry 
(p.  106),  he  .seems  undecideil  whether  to  regard  such  ancestry  as 
connected  with  the  Sirenia  or  the  Ungulata,.  But  if  a  dermal 
armour  were  present,  it  is  quite  certain  that  suih  ancestry  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  sea-cows,  while  it  is  difficult  to  see  where  the 
ungulate  connection  could  have  come  in.  Apparently  Mr.  Beddard 
will  h.'ive  nothing  to  do  with  a  carnivorous  ancestry  for  his 
favourites  ;  although  if  this  view  were  accepted  the  arnmur  diffi- 
culty remains  in  full  force. 

An  important  feature  in  the  work  is  the  atteiilion  jiaid  to  fossil 
forms,  and  although  the  reference  to  these  is  for  the  most  part 
satisfactoiy,  exception  may  be  taken  by  some  to  the  statement  that 
Whalebone  Whales  do  not  antedate  the  Miocene.  Being  in  a 
charitable  mood,  we  will  assume  that  the  statement  on  I'age  20  as 
to  the  derivation  of  Whales  from  Rejitiles  is  a  la|isus  calami  :  but 
we  must  take  excejition  to  the  one  on  ])age  220 — that  the  Sabre- 
toothed  Tigers  were  hindered  by  the  conformation  of  their  tusks 
from  opening  their  mouths  to  the  fullest  extent ! 

In  some  parts,  too,  the  author  appears  unnecessarily  sceptical, 
as  for  instance  when  I  p.  199)  he  refuses  to  credit  the  statement 
that  the  Sperm  Whale  drops  its  lower  jaw  when  feeding.  Mr. 
Bullen's  observations  in  the  "  Cruise  of  the  '  Cachalot '  "  ought 


112 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[May  1,  1900. 


rather  to  have  raised  the  question  \rhether  this  animal  can  ever 
close  its  mouth  when  in  the  normal  position.  In  refusing  credence 
to  the  stories  of  Thresher  Sharks  attacking  Whales,  the  author  may 
have  more  justification  on  liis  side.  In  reference  to  minor  errors, 
it  may  be  added  that  the  late  Sir  William  Flower,  and  not  Mr. 
Ijvdekker,  is  responsible  for  the  statement  that  the  Greenland 
Whale  has  only  twelve  ribs.  It  may  also  be  mentioned  that  the 
names  Pontoporia.  Xeomeris  and  Ziphius.  used  by  Mr.  Beddard, 
are  all  preoccupied. 

"British  Dragon -Flies."  By  W.  J.  Lucas.  E..\.  (L.  Upcott 
Gill.)  31s.  6d.  Mr.  Lucas  has  accomplished  a  very  useful  piece 
of  work.  Xot  only  has  he  brought  together  into  one  volume  in- 
formation which  hitherto  was  only  to  be  found  scattered  through 
the  journals  of  scientific  societies  and  periodicals  concerned  with 
natural  history,  but  he  has  by  means  of  his  handsome  book  drawn 
attention  to  a  group  of  the  Xeuroptera  which  has  been  neglected 
in  this  country.  Many  reasons  have  conspired  to  bring  about  this 
neglect.  The  poiiular,  though  unfounded,  dread  of  dragon-flies  has 
had  something  to  do  with  it.  The  comparative  scarcity  of  the 
Odonata  (the  name  under  which  the  dragon-flies  are  known  to  the 
entomologist  I  is  another  cause  tending  to  bring  about  the  same 
result,  while  the  obscure  manner  in  which  the  early  stages  of  these 
insects  are  passed  has  not  helped  their  piopularity  with  the  or- 
dinary collector.  But  dragon-flies  will  repay  a  careful  study.  The 
complete  cycle  of  changes  constituting  their  life-history  is  somewhat 
prolonged,  it  is  true,  but  these  animals  are  fascinating  always,  and 
indirectly  of  great  use  in  the  world.  They  are  carnivorous  and 
show  no  compunctions  as  to  cannibalism.  Of  their  beauty  it  is 
unnecessary  to  say  anything  :  few  people  have  failed  to  notice  their 
graceful  movements,  rapid  flight,  and  marvellous  play  of  colours. 
Widespread  as  is  the  belief  in  their  stinging  powers,  and  accen- 
tuated as  this  superstition  is  as  evidenced  by  their  common  name 
of  "Horse-stingers,"  yet  in  reality  they  have  no  sting,  and  the 
very  worst  they  can  do  is  to  inflict  a  slight  bite  which  is  almost 
painless.  The  insects  peculiar  habit  of  curling  the  tip  of  its 
abdomen  seems  to  be  entirely  responsible  for  the  dread  in  which 
the  rustic  holds  it.  The  volume  is  provided  with  twenty-seven 
beautifully  coloured  plates.  The  drawings  of  the  larger  species 
are  given  of  the  natural  size,  those  of  the  smaller  varieties  being 
suitably  magnified. 

"  Malay  Magic ;  being  an  Introduction  to  the  Folk-lore  and 
Popular  Religion  of  the  Malav  Peninsula."  By  W.  W.  Skeat. 
With  a  Preface  by  C.  0.  Blagden.  1900.  (Macinillan.)  21s.  net. 
It  has  been  objected  to  the  study  of  "  Folk-lore  "  that  it  deals  with 
fancies  and  myths  rather  than  with  serious  "  facts,  '  and  that  it  is 
therefore  unworthy  the  attention  of  sober-minded  men.  But  it 
may  be  hoped  that  such  objections  are  now  entertained  only  by 
the  few ;  the  majority  admitting  that  from  a  psychological  point 
of  view  such  studies  cannot  but  lay  claim  to  a  large  share  of 
interest,  while  occasionally  they  may  be  of  great  practical  import- 
ance. As  stated  in  the  preface.  "  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  an 
understanding  of  the  ideas  and  modes  of  thought  of  an  alien  people 
in  a  relatively  low  stage  of  civilisation  facilitates  very  considerably 
the  task  of  governing  them."  Every  Anglo-Indian  can  recall 
instances  where  gross  mistakes  have  been  made  by  Government 
officials  from  want  of  touch  with  the  feelings  and  jjrejudices  of  the 
I)eople  under  their  charge  ;  and  since  the  greater  portion  of  the 
Slalay  Peninsula  is  now  under  British  control,  this  alone  affords 
a  sufficient  raison  d'etre  for  the  work  before  us. 

The  author  apjiears  to  have  carried  out  a  very  laborious  task  with 
conscientiousness  and  thoroughness,  and  has  at  the  same  time 
succeeded  in  producing  a  highly  entertaining  and  in.structive 
volume.  Among  the  various  subjects  treated  of,  we  find  legends 
connected  with  the  creation  of  man  and  the  world,  magical  rites 
and  magicians,  spirits  and  demons,  the  various  ceremonies  con- 
nected with  the  chief  ei)ochs  of  human  existence,  together  with 
dances,  sjioits.  games,  theiitrical  exhibitions,  an  1  war  and  weapons. 
A  series  of  photographic  reproductions  illustrate  some  of  the  more 
interesting  of  the  objects  and  ceremonies  described. 

On  this  occasion  we  may  confine  our  attention  to  a  few  of  the 
myths  connected  with  animals.  Xaturally.  the  elephant  and  the 
tiger  loom  large  in  Malay  myth  ;  and  legends  of  ghost-elephants 
('■  gajah  kramat  ")  and  ghost-tigers  C  rimau  kramat  ")  take  the  place 
of  the  "  wehr-wolf "  of  Eurojjean  tradition.  "  Far  away  in  the 
jungle."  rims  the  myth.  "  the  tiger-folk  (no  less  than  the  elei^hants) 
have  a  town  of  their  own.  where  they  live  in  houses,  and  act  in 
every  resjject  like  human  beings.  In  the  town  referred  to  their 
house-]Kist«  are  made  of  the  heart  of  the  tree-nettle,  and  their  roofs 
thatched  with  human  hair,  ....  and  there  they  live  quietly 
enough  until  one  of  their  periodical  attacks  of  fierceness  comes  on 
and  causes  them  to  break  bounds  and  range  the  forest  for  their 
chosen  prey."  Elsewhere,  we  find  the  origin  of  the  tiger's  stripes 
attributed  to  the  chastisement  inflicted  on  an  unruly  bov,   who 


thereupon  took  the  form  of  the  great  cat.  The  existence  of  the 
ghost-tiger,  who  is  supposed  to  be  invulnerable  and  to  have  one  foot 
smaller  than  the  rest,  is  a  veritable  reality  to  the  Malays,  who 
know  the  myth  to  be  true,  and  act  accordingly.  When  a  wounded 
tiger  escapes,  it  is  believed  to  cure  itself  by  eating  a  particular 
plant ;  and  on  the  death  of  one  of  these  marauders  a  special  cere- 
mony is  held  in  honour  of  the  body,  which  is  propped  up  on  all 
fours  as  if  still  alive,  with  the  mouth  kept  wide  opien  by  means  of 
a  stick  supporting  the  upper  jaw.  The  ceremony,  says  the  author, 
■'  was  evidently  regarded  as  a  sort  of  "  reception  '  given  by  the 
people  of  the  village  to  a  live  and  powerful  war-chief,  a  champion 
who  had  come  to  pay  them  a  visit,  the  dancing  and  fencing  which 
takes  place  on  such  occasions  being  intended  for  his  entertainment." 
Many  other  equally  interesting  extracts  might  be  made  did  space 
permit,  but  we  must  refer  the  reader  to  the  work  itself,  where  he 
will  scarcely  fail  to  find  much  matter  alike  for  amusement  and  for 
reflection. 

"The  Railways  of  England."  Fifth  Edition.  By  W.  M.  Ack- 
worth.  (Murray.)  Illustrated.  10s.  6d.  We  are  pleased  to  see 
a  reprint  of  this  useful  work.  Among  the  most  wonderful  inno- 
vations of  the  nineteenth  century  must  be  included  that  great 
spider's  web  of  rails,  spreading  out  in  all  directions  over  the  land ; 
and  anyone  who  has  not  already  attained  a  comprehensive  acquain- 
tance with  our  chief  highways  of  eommimication  will  do  well  to 
secure  a  copy  of  Mr.  Ackworth's  book.  Here  some  idea  of  the 
enormous  strides  effected  by  man's  ingenuity  since  the  year  1830. 
when  the  first  public  railway  was  opened  in  Lanc;ushire,  may  be 
formed.  Even  during  the  past  decade  it  is  surprising  to  note  what 
rapid  transitions  have  taken  place,  rolling  stock  becoming  to  a 
great  extent  antiquated  in  so  brief  a  period.  The  present  edition 
has  been  put  in  touch  with  the  latest  developments,  although  the 
main  features  remain  the  same  as  in  the  first  edition  published 
ten  years  ago.  All  the  leading  railways  are  separately  described, 
and,  wherever  possible,  illiLstrations  accompany  the  text.  The 
picture  of  Waterloo  Station  as  it  appeared  in  1848  forms  an  agree- 
able contrast  w  ith  the  present  imposing  structure  ;  also  the  fac- 
simile of  a  handbill  announcing  a  four-days"  journey  to  York  in 
1706  by  means  of  a  stage  coach,  and  the  same  journey  accompUshed 
in  three  and  a  half  hours  in  1888  by  railway,  illustrate  in  a  telling 
fashion  the  advantages  of  modern  modes  of  travelling.  We  may 
add  that  the  book  is  by  no  means  technical  in  character,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  it  is  written  in  a  clear  and  luminous  style. 

"  Recent  and  Coming  Eclipses."  By  Sir  Norman  Lockyer, 
K.C.B.,  F.R.s.  Second  Edition.  Containing  an  accotmt  of  the 
observations  made  at  Viziadrug.  India,  in  1898.  and  of  the  con- 
ditions of  the  eclipses  visible  in  1900,  1901,  and  1905.  (London  : 
MacmiUan  &  Co.,  Limited.)  1900.  Price  6s.  net.  The  issue  of 
the  second  edition  of  Sir  Xorman  Lockyer's  eclipse  book  is  timely, 
just  before  the  observers  start  on  their  several  expeditions  to  see  the 
eclipse  of  May  28th,  1900.  In  view  of  a  third  edition  before  the 
Sumatra  eclipse,  we  would  like  to  relate  the  comment  of  a  doctor  in 
India  who  read  chapter  II.  on  "  Eclipse  Work  for  Amateurs  "  before 
the  1898  eclipse  with  interest,  and,  after  it.  with  sorrow  tempered  by 
indignation.  "I  shoidd  like  to  make  Sir  X'orman  Lockyer  sit  down  to  a 
microscope  and  draw  in  two  minutes  the  essential  features  of  a  patho- 
logical specimen  of  liver  unstained  that  he  has  never  seen  before. 
Then  he  might  understand  the  feelings  of  a  doctor  who  was  lured 
into  trying  too  many  observations  of  the  eclipse."  Sir  X'orman 
Lockyer  is  certainly  a  past  master  in  eclipse  observation,  but  there 
is  a  serious  defect  in  all  his  books  which  is  also  painfully  apparent 
in  this,  that  he  himself  seems  to  be  both  centre  and  circumference 
of  the  only  field  of  research  about  which  he  cares  to  write.  The  gibing 
little  rhyme  written  of  him  a  third  of  a  century  ago.  that  he 
■'  Thought  himself  owner 
Of  half  the  corona." 
seems  to  express  but  a  moiety  of  the  truth  to-day.  The  book  is  a  record 
of  much  good  work,  admirably  plaimed  and  skilfully  executed,  nor  is 
there  any  oth-.r  single  astronomer  who  could  present  an  equal  record 
of  eclipse  work  from  his  own  personal  experience.  But  from  the  undue 
concentration  upon  his  own  theories  and  research  the  book  is  dis- 
tinctly inadequate  as  a  history  of  recent  eclipse  work.  His  recognition 
of  other  workers  is  extremely  meagre.  Thus  in  the  eclipse  of  1398  no 
reference  at  all  is  made  to  the  observing  party  at  Talni,  although 
the  spectra  there  obtained  by  Mr.  Evershed  were,  in  some  respects 
at  least,  unequalled  by  any  obtained  elsewhere.  The  book  is  got  up 
in  the  style  which  we  are  accustomed  to  connect  with  Sir  Norman's 
other  publications  ;  the  paper  and  print  are  good  ;  the  illustrations 
of  a  very  inferior  class. 

"Anatomical  Diagrams  for  the  Use  of  Art  Students."  By  James  M. 
Dunlop,  A.E.c.A.  (George  Bell  &  Sons.)  An  admirable  and  much 
needed  work-  The  principles  of  action  from  the  artistic  point  of 
view  are  expressed  with  absolute  clearness.  We  commend  it  heartily 
to  art  students.  , 


May  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


113 


■'The  Norwegian  North  Polar  Expedition,  18951896.  Scientific 
Results."  Volume  I.  Kdited  by  Fridtjof  Nausen.  (Longmans,  i 
Illustrated.     40s.  net. 

I'BELIMIN.VHY     NOTICE. 

The  publication  of  the  memoirs  relating  to  the  now  famous 
"  Fram  '  expedition  will  be  eagerlv  welcomed  by  the  scientific 
world.  The  first  volume,  a  handsome  quarto,  very  finely  illustrated, 
is  before  us ;  it  is  to  be  followed  by  four  or  five  of  the  same 
character. 

The  present  volume  contains  memoirs  on  "  The  Jurassic  Fauna 
of  Cape  Flora,  '  by  l)r.  Pompeckj  ;  the  fossil  plants  from  Franz 
Josef  Land,  by  Dr.  A.  G.  Xathorst ;  an  account  of  the  birds 
collected  bv  Mr.  Collet  and  Dr.  Xansen ;  and  the  Crustacea,  bv  Mr. 
G.  O.  Sar^. 

The  second  volume  w  ill  in  all  probability  be  taken  up  with  the 
astronomical  and  magnetic  results  of  the  expedition.  The  mono 
graph  on  the  Celanographv  of  the  Polar  Regions  bv  Dr.  Nansen  is 
expected  to  appear  in  the  third  volume,  together  with  "  The 
depths  and  submarine  features  of  the  North  Polar  Regions.  '  by 
the  same  author.  The  whole  work  will  be  completed  in  the  course 
of  about  two  years. 

Our  countrymen  will  be  gratified  to  learn  that  the  work  is  [lub 
lished  in  the  English  language  orJy,  which  is  regarded  by  the 
Editor  as  the  most  international  tongue. 


BOOKS    RECEIVED. 

Illustrated  Annual  of  Microscopy  — 1900.     (Percy  Lund.) 

Opfn  Access  in  Public  Libraries  Eaposed.  By  Edw.  Foskett. 
(Curtis  i  Beamish.)     3d. 

Calendar  of  the  Science  and  Art  Department — 1900.      8id. 

Official  Proceedings  of  the  International  Commercial  Congress. 
(Philadelphia  Commercial  Museum.) 

The  Theorii  and  Practice  of  Interpolation.  By  Herbert  L.  Rice. 
(The  Nichols  Press,  Lvnn.  Mass.) 

The  Humane  Retie'ir.     April.  1900.     (Bell.)     Is. 

Practical  Phi/sics — Descriptive  Catalorjue  of  Apparatus.    (GrilI'm.) 

Francis  Marif  Buss  Schools — Jubilee  Magazine.     April,  1900. 

A  Surgical  Operating  Table  for  the  Horse.  By  Jno.  A.  W.  Dollar. 
(Douglas.)     2s.  Bd. 

The  Seliquart/  and  Illustrated  Archeeologist.  April.  (Bcmrose.) 
2.-.  6d. 

Inorganic  Evolution.    By  Sir  Jfonnan  Loekyer.    (llacmUlan. )    ^s. 

Sexual  Dimorphism  in  the  Animal  Kingdom.  By  J.  T.  Cunning- 
ham.    (Black.)     Illustrated.     125.  6d.  net. 

A  2'reatise  on  Zoology.  Edited  by  E.  Kay  Lankester,  f  e.s.  Part 
III. — The  Echinoderma.     (Black.)     Illustrated.     15s.  net. 

Micro-Organisms  and  Fermentation.  Third  Edition.  By  Alfred 
Jorgensen.      (Macmillan.)     10s.  net. 

Mental  Culture.     By  George  A.  Ilight.     (Dent.)     3s.6d.net. 

Man  and  His  Ancestor.     Bv  Chas.  Morris.     (Macmillan.)     5s. 

The  Struggle  for  Empire.     By  Robt.  W.  Cole.     (Elliot  Stock.) 

Lessons  in  Flementarg  Physiology.  New  Edition.  By  Thomas 
H.  nuiley.     (Macmillan")     Illustrated.     43.  6d. 

Wireless  Telegraphy  and  Hertzian  Waves.  By  S.  R.  Bottone. 
(Whittaker.)     Bs.  ~ 

The  Concise  English  Dictionary.  New  Edition.  By  Clias. 
Annandale.     (Blackie.)     3s.  6d. 

Smithsonian  Institution — The  Secretary's  Report  for  the  t/ear 
ending  June  30th,  1899. 

The  Studio.     April,  190O.     Is. 


WIRELESS    TELEGRAPHY.-II. 

By    G.    W.    DE    TUNZELMANN,   B.SC. 

After  the  digressions  made  in  the  last  article  I  will 
now  ask  my  readers  to  return  to  the  main  subject  of  the 
present  series,  Hertzian  Telegi-aphy,  viz.,  a  system  of 
telegraphic  communication  by  means  of  electric  disturb- 
ances set  up  in,  and  transmitted  from  place  to  place 
through,  the  ether.  The  general  outline  of  the  subject 
contained  in  the  earlier  portion  of  the  article  referred 
to  suflSciently  indicates  the  simplest  and  most  logical 
order  of  development  of  the  subject  to  be  the  study,  in 
the  first  place,  of  the  medium  in  which  the  disturbances 
are  excited,  secondly,  an  inquiry  into  the  nature  of  these 
disturbances;  and  here  so  liltle  is  definitely  known 
that  I   can   do   little   more   than   set   forth    hypotheses 


which  would  more  or  loss  fully  explain  the  observed 
phenomena  and  which  probably  have  a  more  or  less 
distant  resemblance  to  the  actual  facts;  and,  finally, 
an  account  of  the  app:u-atus  and  methods  which  have 
been  employed  in  the  winning  of  such  knowledge  as  we 
have  so  far  obtained,  or  which  are  now  being  employed 
in  putting  it  to  practical  use. 

THE    ETIIEK. 

Sir  Isaac  Newton  formulated  a  theory  of  light  known 
as  the  corpuscular  theory,  according  to  which  light  was 
supposed  to  bo  due  to  very  minute  particles  or  corpuscles 
projected  with  enormous  velocity  from  luminous  bodies 
Newton  adopted  this  merely  as  a  working  hypothesis 
which  gave  a  fairly  reasonable  explanation  of  what  was 
known  of  light,  but  he  was  by  no  means  satisfied  with  it. 
It  accounted  for  the  ordinary  phenomena  of  rcficction 
and  refraction,  but  in  order  to  account  even  for  the 
simpler  phenomena  of  polarised  light  it  was  necessary 
to  make  various  more  or  less  com23licated  additional 
assumptions.  Still  for  a  long  time  the  corpuscular 
theory  found  a  number  of  adherents  to  maintain  it 
against  the  theory  developed  by  Huyghens  and  others 
that  light  was  a  wave  motion,  the  great  objection  to  the 
acceptance  of  the  undulatoi-y  theory  being  the  necessity 
of  assuming  the  existence  of  a  medium  filling  the  whole 
space  occupied  by  the  visible  universe  and  having  pro- 
perties of  a  character  hitherto  quite  unfamiliar.  It 
was  not  until  it  became  possible  to  make  comparative 
measurements  of  the  velocity  of  light  in  media  of  vary- 
ing density  that  the  coi-puscular  theory  was  definitely 
overthrown,  since  it  demanded  that  the  speed  of  trans- 
mission of  light  should  increase  with  the  density  of  the 
medium,  whereas  it  is  found  that  it  decreases  as  the 
density  increases,  as  is  required  by  the  wave  theory. 
Since  then  new  phenomena  have  been  predicted  from  the 
wave  theory  and  experimentally  verified,  and  the  whole 
theory  of  spectrum  analysis  rests  upon  it,  so  that  it, 
and  therefore  the  existence  of  the  luminiferous  ether, 
is  no  longer  regarded  as  a  working  hypothesis  but  as 
a  fact,  the  evidence  in  its  favour  being  quite  as  strong 
as  that  for  the  truth  of  Newton's  law  of  Universal 
Gravitation. 

At  the  present  time  we  not  only  know  that  light  and 
radiant  heat  are  due  to  etheric  vibrations  but  we  know 
the  exact  nature  of  the  vibrations,  and  as  regards  light 
we  know  the  lengths  of  the  waves  corresponding  to  the 
various  coloui's  of  the  spectrum.  We  know,  too,  that 
heat  waves  are  exactly  similai'  to  light  waves  except 
that  they  are  of  greater  length,  and  the  only  reason 
that  we  cannot  make  measurements  of  heat  waves  with 
the  same  degree  of  accuracy  as  of  light  waves  is  that  we 
have  no  special  organ  for  the  heat  sense  coiTespondiug 
to  the  eye,  which  forms  an  instrument  of  extreme  sen- 
sitiveness for  light  observations. 

Sound  waves  ai'e  transmitted  by  ordinary  matter, 
either  solid,  liquid  or  gaseous,  and,  as  is  well  known, 
sound  cannot  be  transmitted  through  a  si^ace  which 
does  not  contain  matter  of  very  sensible  density,  a  com- 
paratively thin  stratum  of  even  such  an  imperfect 
vacuum  as  can  be  obtained  by  the  aid  of  a  good 
ordinai-y  air-pump  being  sufficient  to  entirely  stop  it. 
When  somid  travels  through  a  solid  mass  of  matter  the 
vibration  takes  place  in  all  possible  directions,  but  when 
it  is  transmitted  through  fluids,  whether  liquid  or 
ga-scous,  the  vibrations  are  entirely  longitudinal,  that  is 
to  say  the  motion  of  the  moving  particles  is  always 
parallel  to  the  direction  in  which  the  sound  is  travelling. 
The  reason  of  this  is  that  while  fluids  possess  volume 


114 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[May  1,  1900. 


elasticity,  or  resistance  to  change  of  volume,  they  have 
no  rigidity,  or  resistance  to  change  of  shape,  and  sub- 
stances without  rigidity  can  only  transmit  longitudinal 
vibrations,  the  transverse  vibrations  being  entirely  due 
to  resistance  to  shearing,  that  is,  to  the  sliding  of  ons 
portion  of  the  substance  over  another. 

It  has  long  been  known  from  the  phenomena  of  light 
that  the  vibrations  are  entirely  transverse,  that  is  to 
say,  any  pai-ticle  of  the  vibrating  medium  i-emains 
throughout  its  motion  always  in  the  plane  pei-pendicular 
to  the  direction  of  transmission  of  the  ray  of  light,  the 
longitudinal  vibrations  being  non-existent.  No  explana- 
tion of  this  suppression  of  the  longitudinal  vibrations 
was  obtained  until  Maxwell  showed  theoretically  that 
this  was  characteristic  of  electro-magnetic  waves,  and 
suggested  the  probability  of  light  waves  being  simply 
electro-magnetic  waves  having  wave  lengths  betw.ien 
the  limits  within  which  the  human  eye  was  capable  of 
responding  to  them. 

Between  fifty  and  sixty  years  ago  that  great  philo- 
sopher and  experimentalist,  Michael  Faraday,  seems  to 
have  had  some  kind  or  instinctive  glimmering  of  an  idea 
that  there  was  some  connection  between  electricity  and 
light.  In  the  then  state  of  knowledge  there  was  nothing 
apparently  to  warrant  it,  but  he  tried  a  number  of 
experiments  upon  the  effects  of  electric  and  magnetic 
fields  upon  rays  of  light  before  he  obtained  any  result. 

He  allowed  a  beam  of  plane  polarised  liglit  to  pass 
through  holes  in  the  poles  of  a  powerful  electro-magnet, 
so  that  the  direction  of  transmission  of  the  ray  was 
parallel  to  the  lines  of  force  of  the  magnetic  field.  A 
very  dense  kind  of  glass  containing  borate  of  lead,  a 
glass  which  Faraday  had  himself  discovered  and  made 
some  yeais  before,  was  then  placed  between  the  poles, 
when  it  was  found  that  if  an  analyser  was  so  aiTanged 
as  to  stop  all  the  light  before  the  magnet  was  excited, 
then  on  excitation  taking  place  there  was  a  slight 
brightening  of  the  field  which  could  be  reduced  to 
darkness  again  by  slightly  rotating  the  analyser. 

Neither  Faraday  nor  anyone  else  was  able  at  the  time 
to  account  for  a  fact  obtained  through  the  coincidence 
of  a  number  of  circumstances  all  requisite  for  success, 
though  not  one  of  them  could  have  been  predicted,  and 
which  furnishes  a  wonderful  example  of  the  thorough- 
ness and  utter  disregard  of  repeated  failures  which  was 
one  of  the  leading  characteristics  of  Faraday's  experi- 
mental work. 

The  meaning  of  this  experiment  was  fii-st  pointed  out 
by  Sir  William  Thomson,  now  Lord  Kelvin,  and  its 
important  consequences  were  fully  investigated  by 
Maxwell,  who  in  all  probability  was  led  by  it  to  formu- 
late his  electro-magnetic  theory  of  light. 

I  have  already  pointed  out  that  the  vibrations  form- 
ing a  ray  of  light  are  all  in  a  plane  perpendicular  to  the 
direction  of  the  ray.  In  general  the  vibrations  take 
place  in  all  possible  directions  in  this  plane,  but  it  is 
possible  by  allowing  a  beam  of  light  to  pass  through 
certain  crystals,  and  by  other  means,  to  break  up  these 
vibrations  in  all  possible  directions  in  the  plane  into 
vibrations  in  two  directions  at  right  angles  to  each 
other,  and  it  is  further  possible  by  simple  means  to  get 
rid  of  one  set  of  vibrations,  leaving  only  vibrations 
which  are  all  perpendicular  to  a  plane  containing  the 
ray  and  which  is  known  as  the  plane  of  polarisation, 
the  light  being  said  to  be  plane  polarised. 

Faraday's  discoveiy  was  that  it  was  possible  by  means 
of  a  magnetic  field  to  produce  rotation  of  the  plane  of 
polarisation. 


Maxwell  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  observed 
velocity  of  light  was,  within  the  limits  of  errors  of 
obsei-vation,  identical  with  the  rate  of  propagation  of 
an  electro-magnetic  disturbance  deduced  theoretically 
from  certain  electrical  measurements,  and  cited  other 
experimental  facts  in  its  favour ;  and  many  other  facts 
since  discovered  have  confirmed  Maxwell  s  conclusions, 
more  particularly  the  work  of  Hertz,  which  I  shall 
consider  later  in  some  detail,  and  in  which  he  demon- 
strated experimentally  that  electro-magnetically  excited 
waves  could  be  made  to  interfere  with  each  other  and 
could  be  reflected  and  refracted  exactly  like  light 
waves. 

Heat  and  light  are  therefore  found  to  be  mere  special 
cases  of  electro-magnetic  waves  which  may  vary  through 
all  gradations  of  wave  lengths  varying  from  thousands 
of  miles  down  at  any  rate  to  a  few  hundred  thousandths 
of  an  inch  in  the  case  of  light  waves,  and  the  great 
electro-magnetic  spectrum  extends,  we  know,  far  beyond 
this,  for  we  can  detect  by  their  effect  on  photographic 
chemicals  the  existence  of  waves  far  beyond  the  violet 
end  of  the  spectrum,  that  is  to  say  of  waves  shorter  than 
the  shortest  light  waves  which  the  eye  can  perceive. 

Lord  Kelvin,  in  a  paper  published  in  the  "  Trans- 
actions of  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh  "  in  May, 
1854,  has  shown  how  a  probable  minimum  limit  may  be 
assigned  to  the  density  of  the  ether. 

The  French  physicist,  Pouillet,  as  the  result  of  a 
series  of  carefully-made  measurements,  had  found  that 
the  heating  effect  of  direct  sunlight  fallng  on  a  surface 
of  a  square  centimetre  at  the  distance  of  the  earth  from 
the  sun  amounted  to  L7633  gramme  Centigrade  units 
of  heat  per  minute,  or  1.234x10^  ergs  per  second.  This 
would  evidently  be  the  amount  of  energy  due  to  sun- 
light contained  in  a  prism  with  a  base  having  an  area 
of  a  square  centimetre  and  with  a  height  equal  to  the 
velocity  of  light  in  centimetres  per  second,  viz.,  3.004  x  10'", 
which  gives  as  the  energy  per  cubic  centimetre  per 
second  : 

1.234  xl0»  ,  ,       ,,.^, 

=  4.1  X  10  ^  ergs. 

3.004  X  10 1"  " 

Lord  Kelvin  deduces  from  this  datum  a  superior  limit 
to  the  velocity  of  a  vibrating  particle  of  the  medium 
transmitting  radiant  heat  or  light,  on  the  assumption 
that  the  amplitude  of  vibration  is  a  small  fi-action  of  the 
wave  length  and  that  the  maximum  velocity  of  a  vibrating 
pai'ticle  is  small  compared  with  the  speed  of  propaga- 
tion of  waves.  The  first  assumption  is  certainly  justi- 
fiable, and  the  second  follows  from  it,  for  considering 
the  case  of  plane  polarised  light  where  the  vibration  is 
a  simple  harmonic  one,  if  V  be  the  velocity  of  wave 
transmission,  v  the  maximum  velocity  of  a  vibratini^ 
particle,  A  the  semi-amplitude  or  distance  of  the  vi- 
brating particle  at  the  extremity  of  an  excursion  from 
the  position  of  equilibrium,  and  X  the  wave  length, 
then  it  is  known  that 

V  J,      A 

—    =   2  Jr 

V  \ 

Now  the  whole  mechanical  energy  of  homogeneous 
plane  polarised  light  in  an  infinitely  small  space 
containing  only  particles  sensibly  in  the  same  plane  of 
vibration  is  entirely  potential  when  the  particles  are  at 
rest  at  either  end  of  an  excursion,  entirely  kinetic  when 
the  particles  ai-e  in  the  position  of  equilibrium,  and 
partly  potential  and  pai-tly  kinetic  in  all  other  cases. 

This  energy  being  constant  in  amount  is  equal  to  ^  m  v-, 
where  m  is  the  mass  in  vibration,  for  v  is  a  maximum  in 


May  1.  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


115 


the  position  of  eiiuilibrium.  If,  thoivfoiv,  p  is  the  mass 
of  vibrating;  matter  in  unit  volume,  or.  in  other  words,  the 
density  of  the  matter,  the  mechuuical  value  of  the  energy 
is^p  1-^ 

lu  the  ease  of  eireularly  yx)larised  li.Lfht.  in  wliich  every 
partiele  describes  a  eirele  with  eoustaut  velo"-ity,  the  eueriry 
is  half  potential  and  half  kiuetie.  so  tliat  if  c  is  the 
constant  velocity  the  energy  is  p  c'-'. 

In  the  case  of  elliptically  polarised  light,  the  value 
lies  between  the  two.  Moreover,  for  co-existent  series 
of  waves  of  different  periods  polarised  in  the  same  plane. 
the  mechanical  energy  is  the  sum  of  the  portions  due 
to  each,  from  which  it  follows  that  the  maximum 
velocity  is  the  sum  of  the  separate  velocities. 

The  same  reasoning  applies  to  circularly  polarised 
light  of  different  periods.  It  follows,  therefore,  that  the 
mechanical  energy  must  certainly  be  less  than  the  pro- 
duct of  half  the  mass  into  the  square  of  the  maximum 
velocity  acquired  by  a  particle  in  the  case  of  plane 
polarised  waves,  and  it  may  be  concluded  that  for  any 
radiation,  unless  homogeneously  circularly  polarised,  the 
mechanical  value  of  the  disturbance  is  less  than  the 
product  of  the  mass  into  the  maximum  velocity  of  a 
vibrating  particle. 

That  is  to  say.  4.1  x  lU"^  eri,'s  is  less  than  p  v  ',  and  there- 
fore verv  much  less  than  pY-,  or  p  is  certainly  very  much 

greater  than    ,^3  0^04)' x  lO^"" 

If  we  assume  V=100  v,  which  is  a  reasonable  one  to 
make,  then  peonies  out  as  somewhere  about  ^  x  10^-'. 
Now  the  ratio  of  rigidity  to  density  is  equal  to  the  square 
of  the  sj>eed  of  transmission,  which  gives  for  the  rigidity 
i  x  10"= '  X  i1  X  10- ",  or  about  f.  This  is  small  compared 
to  the  density  of  any  known  solid.  Steel  is  the  most  rigid 
substance  kaown  to  us,  and  its  rigidity  is  as  bigh  as 
8x10". 

It  is  not  only  in  free  space  that  luminous  and  other 
electrical  vibrations  are  transmitted  by  ether.  Water 
and  other  fluids,  for  example,  transmit  light,  but  it 
cannot  be  the  fluid  which  acts  as  the  medium,  for  it  has 
no  rigidity,  and  is  therefore  incapable  of  transmitting 
transverse  vibrations.  Even  in  transparent  solids  the 
waves  must  be  transmitted  by  ether  penetrating  the 
interstices  of  the  matter  composing  them,  for  the  rate 
of  transmission  is  far  too  great  for  the  matter  itself 
to  be  the  medium. 

The  ether,  however,  within  different  kinds  of  matter 
is  largely  modified  to  an  extent  depending  on  the  sub- 
stance. For  example,  in  heavy  glass  the  speed  of  trans- 
mission of  a  luminous  wave  is  only  about  two-thirds 
of  the  speed  in  free  space.  The  ether  must,  therefore, 
either  have  its  density  increased  or  its  rigidity 
diminished  by  the  presence  of  the  particles  of  glass. 

Many  considerations  appear  to  me  to  favour  the  latter 
hypothesis  in  preference  to  the  former  one.  If  the  ether 
is  capable  of  having  its  density  varied  it  must  be  com- 
pressible, and  therefore  its  structure  must  be  molecular, 
and  these  molecules  must  be  elastic,  and  then  if  we  are 
to  adhere  to  our  plan  of  assuming  that  evei-y  action 
between  distant  bodies  is  due  to  actual  pushing  or 
pulling  of  bodies  actually  in  contact  with  them,  we 
shall  require  a  second  ether  to  explain  the  elasticity  of 
the  molecules  of  the  first. 

We  therefore  seem  to  be  driven  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  ether  is  to  be  regarded  as  continuous  and  there- 
fore incompressible,  so  that  the  modification  of  ether  in 
contact  with  matter  must  consist  in  a  diminution  of 
rigidity  and  not  in  an  increase  of  density. 


This  conclusion  appears  to  me  to  be  strongly  confirmed 
by  the  simple  explanation  which  it  gives  of  opacity. 
There  is  no  such  thing  as  a  perfectly  opaque  body,  but 
some  come  very  neai-  it,  and  on  our  theory,  which  is 
practically  that  of  McCuUagh,  the  explanation  is  that 
in  such  bodies  the  rigidity  of  the  ether  ap])ioaclics  the 
vanishing  point.  If  we  adopted  Fresnel's  theory  of  the 
increase  of  density  of  ether  in  contact  with  matter  we 
should  have  to  supjjose  the  density  of  the  ether  in  prac- 
ticallv  ojj.ique  bodies  to  be  increased  to  an  enormous 
extent. 

Another  ])oiiit  in  favour  of  this  view  is  that  if 
we  assume  with  McCullagli  that  the  diminution  in 
rigidity  is  due  to  a  sort  of  straining  of  the  ether  towards 
the  particles  of  matter  we  get  at  something  like  the  ex- 
planation of  gravitation,  for  under  those  circumstances 
two  bodies  would  tend  to  draw  together.  Objectors  to 
the  ether  on  the  ground  of  the  complication  involved 
in  the  co-existence  of  two  apparently  so  distinct  things 
as  matter  and  ether  may  be  interested  to  learn  that 
Lord  Kelvin  has  suggested  a  simplification  of  a  very 
beautiful   character. 

While  fluids  at  rest  have  no  rigidity,  portions  of  them 
may  become  rigid  by  being  set  in  rapid  motion,  as  is 
well  illustrated  by  the  smoke  rings  which  some  smokers 
are  very  skilful  in  blowing  from  their  mouths  and  which 
may  easily  be  produced  in  air,  water,  and  other  fluids. 

Lord  Kelvin  made  the  beautiful  suggestion  that  the 
apparently  unchangeable  atoms  of  different  kinds  might 
simply  be  vortex  rings  of  various  shapes  in  the  ether, 
which  from  this  point  of  view  must  act  as  a  perfect 
fluid. _  _ 

En-ata  to  last  Article,  p.  25,  column  2,  line  2(i,  read  "  this  medium 
is  relativelt/  to  its  densiti/  far  more  rigid  than  steel "  ;  p.  26,  column  2, 
line  13,  for  "  electric  bodies  "  read  "  electric  waves." 


DROPS   AND   THEIR   SPLASHES. 

The  beauty  and  scientific  meaning  of  familiar  pheno- 
mena cannot  be  gauged  by  popular  views  regarding 
them.  It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  anything  more 
commonplace  to  the  ordinary  observer  than  the  splash 
of  a  drop,  yet  Professor  A.  M.  Worthington  s  researches, 
extending  over  many  years  as  they  have  done,  and  the 
first  series  of  which  were  but  recently  completed,  show 
that  this  apparently  simple  occurrence,  when  examined 
by  the  refined  methods  which  science  makes  possible, 
is  really  a  succession  of  bewilderingly  beautiful  phases, 
which  for  their  complete  intei-jjretation  require  the  re- 
sources of  higher  mathematical  analysis.  The  same  dis- 
tinguished investigator  has  demonstrated  that  a  variety 
of  allied  phenomena,  while  fundamentally  dependent 
upon  the  same  properties  of  matter,  are  all  characterized 
by  their  individual  peculiarities  of  changing  forms, 
which  can  be  reproduced  at  will  by  the  experimenter. 

It  is  not  necessai-y  in  this  place  to  trace  the  develop- 
ment of  the  perfected  form  of  apparatus  used  in  the 
most  recent  experiments,  for  the  steps  by  which  the  final 
disposition  of  the  instruments  was  reached  may  be  fol- 
lowed in  the  "  Proceedings  '  and  "  Philosophical  Trans- 
actions of  the  Royal  Society."  The  essence  of  the 
problem  which  Prof.  Worthington  had  to  solve  can  be 
very  briefly  stated.  How  could  a  drop  of  definite  size 
be  allowed  to  fall  fz-om  a  known  height  in  comparative 
darkness  upon  a  surface,  and  be  illuminated  by  a  flash 
of  exceedingly  short  duration  at  any  desired  instant, 
at  any  particular  stage  of  the  impact  of  the  drop,  so  as 
to  exclude  all  other  stages  previous  and  subsequent  to 


116 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[May  1,  1900. 


the  one  picked  out?  More  than  this,  if  necessary  the 
experiment  must  be  capable  of  repetition,  with  an 
exactly  similar  drop  falling  from  exactly  the  same 
height,  and  illuminated  at  exactly  the  same  stage.  It 
must  then  be  possible,  after  this  particular  stage  has 
been  sufficiently  examined,  to  be  able  to  arrange  that  a 
later  stage,  say  one-thousandth  of  a  second  after  the  other, 
may  be  studied  in  the  same  manner  as  the  earlier  one, 
and  in  this  way  to  follow  step  by  step  the  course  of  the 
whole  series  of  changes. 

In  his  early  observations,  as  no  photographic  plates 
were  then  available  sufficiently  sensitive  to  respond  to 
the  very  short  exposures  that  were  required.  Prof. 
Worthington  had  perforce  to  study  the  different  stages 
by  eye  and  make  drawings  of  them.  Though  he  was 
enabled  by  this  means  to  trace  with  marvellous  accuracy 
the  complete  spla-sh,  yet  the  application  of  the  photo- 
graphic method  in  more  recent  years  has  made  it  possible 
to  confirm,  to  extend,  and  in  some  cases  correct,  the 
results  of  ocular  observations.  Following  Prof.  Boys' 
suggestion,  who  had  in  his  popular  flying  bullet  experi- 
ments used  sensitive  plates,  Prof.  Worthington  and  his 
colleague,  Mr.  R.  S.  Cole,  employed  Thomas's  cyclist 
plates,  with  excellent  results.  To  give  an  idea  of  the 
results  of  an  extended  series  of  experiments  on  splashes 
of  a  great  many  kinds,  which  have  all  been  photo- 
graphed and  examined  in  the  same  systematic  way,  it 
will  be  best  to  select  two  typical  instances  for  de- 
scription. The  two  cases  chosen,  which  are  shown 
graphically  in  the  accompanying  illustrations,  are,  first, 
the  splash  of  a  drop  of  mercxu'y  4.83  millimetres  in 
diameter  falling  through  fifteen  centimetres  upon  a  jjlate 
of  glass;  and  second,  of  a  large  stone  sphere  3.2  centi- 
metres in  diameter,  falling  through  a  height  of  14 
centimetres  into  water  mixed  with  milk,  contained  m 
a  glass  bowl  about  one  foot  deep  and  nine  inches  in 
diameter. 

The  first  set  of  pictures  were  obtained  by  allowing 
the  drop  of  mercui-y  to  fall  upon  the  naked  photographic 
plate  itself.  The  illuminating  spark  was  produced 
vertically  above  the  plate,  and  consequently  the  figures 
only  show  a  horizontal  section  of  the  di'op  in  various 
stages.  Very  soon  after  the  first  instant  of  impact 
minute  rays  are  shot  out  in  all  directions.  These  are 
afterwards  united,  and  then  main  rays  shoot  out  (see 
Fig.  3),  from  the  ends  of  which,  in  some  cases,  minute 
droplets  of  liquid  split  off,  to  be  left  lying  in  a  circle 
on  the  plate  and  visible  in  all  subsequent  stages.  Figs. 
4,  4a  and  5  show  how  the  central  mass  contracts  but 
leaves  long  arms  or  rays  which  contract  more  slowly. 
In  Fig.  5a  the  thin  film  has  torn  open  in  the  middle 
and  yielded  an  annulus,  which  in  turn  would  separate 
into  a  ring  of  drops  surrounded  by  a  second  circle  of 
the  still  smaller  and  more  numerous  droplets  that  split 
off  the  ends  of  the  rays.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
the  interval  of  time  during  which  all  the  stages  shown 
in  the  figui-e  ai-e  passed  through  is  very  small,  being, 
as  the  numbers  indicated  show,  only  about  the  one- 
seventy -fifth  pai-t  of  a  second. 

Before  refen-ing  to  the  second  series  of  photographs 
it  is  necessai-y  to  point  out  that  the  foi-m  of  the  splash 
in  this  case  depends  very  much  upon  the  condition  of 
the  surface  of  the  sphere.  When  a  polished  sphere  of 
marble,  rubbed  very  di-y  with  a  cloth  just  beforehand, 
is  dropjjod  into  water,  the  water  spreads  over  the  sphere 
so  rapidly  that  it  is  sheathed  with  the  liquid  even  befoie 
it  has  passed  below  the  general  level  of  the  surface. 
The  spla,sh  is  insignificantly  small  and  of  short  duration. 


But  if  the  sjjhere  be  roughened  with  sand-paper  or  left 
wet,  the  water  is  driven  away  laterally,  forming  a  ribbed 
basketrshaped  hollow,  which,  however,  is  now  prolonged 
to  a  great  depth,  the  drop  being  followed  by  a  cone  of 
air,  while  the  water  seems  to  find  great  difficulty  in 
wetting  the  surface  of  the  sphere  completely.  The  first 
photograjjh  shows  a  highly  polished  sphere  just  before 
the  impact  with  the  liqiiid.  The  beginning  of  the  rise 
of   the   sheath    can    easily    be   made   out   in   the   second 


1.  — Actual  size,  4'83  mm.  id  diameter. 


2.-(l=0.) 


5.  — (<=0O63.) 


5a.— (<=0094.) 


.     •    • 

4.-U--^0032.) 


•  •    •    « 

6.— {/=-0]34.) 

Instantaueous  Shadow  Pliotograplis  (life  size)  of  the  Splash  of  a 
Drop  of  Mercury  falling  15  cm.  on  to  Glass. 

photograi^h,  while  the  want  of  symmetry  in  the  fourth 
stage  depicted  is  due  to  the  sphere  having  been  rough 
on  the  right  side  and  polished  on  the  left.  This  photo- 
graph shows  at  a  glance  the  great  difference  between 
a  "  rough  "  and  a  "  smooth  ''  splash.  The  puckering  of 
the  surface,  which  is  strongly  marked  in  the  fifth  photo- 
graph, indicates  that  the  lines  of  flow  near  the  surface 
of  the  liquid  when  once  detennined  are  very  persistent. 
The  general  surface  of  the  milk-and-water  in  the  next 
stage  is  very  level,  while  the  volume  of  the  column 
which  can  be  very  clearly  seen  is  scarcely  more  than  one- 
tenth  that  of  the  sphere.  This  proves  that  there  is  an 
instantaneous  general  rise  of  level  even  at  a  great  dis- 


May  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


117 


tance.       The  int-erval   of  timo  between   the   instant   at 
impact  and  the  fomi  of  the  splasli  shown  in  the  fifth 


(3)  (6) 

Splash  produced  by  a  polished  stone  ball,  32  em.  in  diameter,  when 
falling  iutp  a  basin  of  milk  and  water,  from  si  heiglit.  of  14  em. 
Starting  from  the  in.^^tant  at  which  the  sphere  touched  the  surface 
of  the  liquid,  the  intervals  of  time  that  have  elapsed,  in  fractions  of 
a  second,  are  as  follows  : — ■ 

(1)  t  =  0.     The  ball  has  just  reached  tlie  liquid. 

(2)  t  =  •0025  sec.     Sheath  of  liquid  bc^dnning  to  rise. 

(3)  t  =  -0080  sec.     Ball  already  covered. 

(4)  t  =  0110  sec.     Shows  the  effect  of  polishing  the  left  side  only, 

leaving  the  right  side  rough. 

(5)  t  ='  '0134  sec.     Regularity  restored  by  complete  polishing. 

(6)  t  =  '0243  see.     Column  resulting  from  converging  streams  of 

liquid. 

photograph  when  the  sphere  is  completely  covered  was 
a  little  under  one-seventy-fourth  of  a  second. 

The  mechanics  of  the  phenomena  to  which  special 
attention  has  been  thus  briefly  referred  is  a  subject  of 
too  abstruse  a  nature  to  be  gone  into  here,  but  the 
interested  reader  who  wishes  to  become  more  intimately 
acquainted  with  these  particularly  interesting  researches 
should  make  a  point  of  studying  the  papers  under  Prof. 
Worthington's  name  in  the  Royal  Society's  "  Proceed- 
ings '  and  "  Transactions."  The  illustrations  here  re- 
produced show  that  the  commonest  occurrences  may  be 
made  fruitful  subjects  of  scientific  analysis. 


By  John  H.  Cookk,  f.l.s.,  f.g.s. 

Dr.  H.  C.  Sorby,  f.b.s.,  contributes  to  the  current  is.sue  of  the 
Journal  of  the  Royal  Microscopical  Socieli/  a  paper  on  "  The 
Preparation  of  ilarine  Worms  as  Microscopical  Objects.''  With 
a  view  to  preserving  the  minute  blood  vessels  of  Xerc/s  from 
decomposition,  the  author  experimented  with  many  reagents, 
but  rejected  all  of  them  in  favour  of  glycerine.  His  method  is, 
briefly,  as  follows  : — Specimens  measuring  from  two  to  three 
inches  in  length  were  killed  by  jilacing  them  in  strong  glycerine 


diluted  with  an  cr|Ual  volume  of  water,  and  were  afterwards 
immersed  in  fresh  water  for  ton  miiuites  to  eliniinato  tlio 
glycerine.  They  were  then  arranged  on  a  microscope  slide,  and 
dried  quickly  in  the  open  air  at  the  ordinary  temperature.  A 
cell  built  of  glass  slips  was  attached  to  a  .slide,  and  the  specimens 
were  mounted  in  balsam  and  protected  by  a  thin  cover  glass  in 
the  usual  way.  Dr.  Sorby  has  specimens  that  were  treated  thus 
two  years  ago,  and  they  not  only  show  no  signs  of  change,  but 
the  structure  of  tlie  animal  is  more  clearly  defined  in  the 
preserved  state  than  it  is  when  the  animal  is  alive  or  recently 
dead. 

At  a  demonstration  recently  given  before  the  Royal  Jlicro- 
scopical  Society  of  Londou,  Dr.  Spitta  exhibited  some  very  fine 
micro-jihotographic  work  which  he  had  done  with  lenses  by 
Zeiss,  Powell,  Reck,  and  Wr.ay.  He  spoke  very  highly  of  the 
one-eighth  apochromatic  N.A.  l'4()by  Zeiss,  which  he  considers 
to  be  "the  linest  lens  in  the  world"  for  micro-photography. 

Mr.  W.  Colquhon  has  been  e.\pcrimcnting  with  staining 
processes  for  the  |)urpose  of  differentiating  the  canalieuli  in 
iione.  None  of  the  usual  methods  gave  satisfactory  results,  for 
though  the  nuclei  of  the  bone  corpuscles  were  stained,  the  out- 
lines of  the  canalieuli  were  only  faintly  shown.  Glass  tubing 
was,  therefore,  arranged  in  lengths  of  twelve  feet  on  a  wall,  and 
a  bone  with  the  head  sawn  off,  the  medullary  cavity  cleaned 
out  and  one  end  corked,  was  connected  with  the  glass  tube  by 
means  of  a  wide  rubber  tube.  The  periosteum  was  removed, 
and  any  holes  visible  on  the  out.side  were  plugged  with  wooden 
pegs.  The  tuliing  was  then  tilled  the  whole  length  with  stain, 
to  which  a  little  antiseptic  had  been  added.  The  bone  being  in 
a  dry  room,  dried,  and  as  this  occurred  the  stain  was  drawn  in 
to  take  the  place  of  the  evaporated  moisture.  After  about  a 
month  all  of  the  nuclei  of  the  bone  cells  were  found  stained, 
and  also  the  lining  membranes  of  the  canals.  The  bone  matrix 
remained  unstained,  but  the  canalieuli  were  faintly  outlined. 

The  new  section  of  "  Laboratory  Photography,''  which  has 
recently  been  included  in  the  Journal  of  Applied  Micntucn/ii/^ 
is  both  interesting  and  useful.  Among  many  articles  bearing 
on  the  methods  and  technique  of  microscopy  is  a  suggestive 
paper  on  "  Practicable  Photo-micrography,"  by  Mr.  C.  Potter, 
and  a  note  by  Mr.  W.  K.  Britton  on  "  The  Ray  Filter  in 
Laboratory  Photography." 

An  electric  microscope  lamj)  has  recently  been  placed  on  the 
market  by  Messrs.  J.  Swift  &  Son.  It  was  designed  by  Mr. 
J.  E.  Barnard  to  give  an  evenly  illuminated  ineld  in  the  micro- 
scope, without  the  image  of  the  filament  of  the  incandescent 
lamp  being  thrown  up  from  the  mirror  in  the  field  of  view. 
This  is  effected  by  a  light  from  the  incandescent  filament  falling 
upon  a  flat  plane  placed  at  an  angle  of  46°  to  the  axis  of  the 
lamp,  and  the  surface  of  which  is  covered  with  a  preparation 
which  throws  off  an  intensely  white  light  in  such  volume  that 
the  largest  mirror  of  any  microscope  can  be  fully  illuminated. 
The  lamp  is  mounted  on  a  swivel,  enabling  it  to  be  placed  at 
any  angle*  and  can  also  be  lowered  or  raised  at  will. 

The  focussing  of  a  microscojiic  object  on  a  ground  glass  screen 
requires  much  skill  and  care.  The  screen  which  is  supplied 
with  the  ordinary  camera  is  generally  too  coarse,  and  in  high 
power  photo-micrography  even  the  finest  ground  glass  obtainable 
does  not  always  give  satisfactory  results.  For  critical  and 
medium  work  it  is  essential  that  the  focussing  screen  should  be, 
as  far  as  possible,  without  gi-ain.  A  simple  way  of  preparing 
such  a  screen  is  as  follows: — Take  an  unexposed  photographic 
dry  plate  and  immerse  it  in  a  solution  of  chloride  of  barium  for 
ten  minutes.  Transfer  it  to  a  bath  of  dilute  sulphuric  acid 
and  gently  rock  the  solution  to  and  fro  until  a  fine,  even  pre- 
cipitate of  b.arium  sulphate  has  been  deposited.  Wash  and  dry 
the  plate,  and  it  will  be  ready  for  use. 

Another  method,  recommended  by  Prof.  Gage  and  others,  is 
to  find  the  centre  of  the  ground  glass  screen  and  then  to  place 
a  large  circular  or  square  cover-glass  on  it  with  Canada  balsam. 
To  do  this,  warm  the  ground  glass  carefully,  add  a  drop  of  rather 
thick  balsam  to  the  centre  on  the  ground  side,  and  then  apply 
the  cover  and  ])ress  it  down  firmly.  Put  it  away  on  a  warm 
shelf  for  a  few  days  to  harden,  after  which  the  excess  of  baLsam 
may  be  removed  from  the  edges  with  the  aid  of  a  penknife  and 
xylen  or  alcohol.  The  l)al.sam  will  fill  up  the  inequalities  in  the 
glass,  and  being  of  about  the  same  refractive  power  will  make  this 
part  of  the  glass  clear  as  if  it  were  unground.     The  focussing 


118 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[May  1,  1900. 


screen  as  thus  prepared  with  a  clear  centre,  servos  both  for 
the  general  focussing  and  the  finest  focussing,  and  avoids  the 
danger  of  using  the  double  screen. 

For  the  photography  of  opaque  substances,  such  as  metals,  &c., 
a  metal  microscope,  such  as  that  which  is  made  by  Reichert, 
of  Vienna,  is  necessary.  The  microscope  must  be  fixed  in 
an  upright  position,  and  reflected  light  used.  The  source  of 
light  should  be  at  a  distance  of  one  to  one  and  a  half  metres 
from  the  apparatus,  and  must  be  on  the  same  level  as  the 
reflecting  lens  at  the  side  of  the  vertic:il  illuminator  on  the  tube 
of  the  microscope.  The  specimen  should  be  everywhere  equally 
illuminated  and  then  focussed.  Eosin  plates  and  the  use  of  a 
yellow  screen  are  to  be  recommended  for.  this  work. 

The  selection  of  plates  and  .screens  for  photo-micrography  is 
a  subject  upon  which  we  propose  to  say  more  in  future  issues. 
The  following  points  are  of  practical  importance,  and  should 
receive  careful  attention  : — For  stained  preparations  ortho- 
chromatic  plates  give  the  best  results,  but  it  is  of  advantage  to 
place  a  screen,  complementary  in  colour  to  the  stain  used, 
between  the  source  of  light  and  the  microscope.  Generally 
speaking,  a  light  filter  of  picric  acid  should  be  used  for 
specimens  stained  dark  red,  or  violet  ;  for  light  red  staius,  a 
greenish-yellow  one  ;  and  for  preparations  stained  with  methylene 
blue,  a  dark  orange-jellow  filter  is  recommended. 

[•-1/^  C(jiniaunicaUo)is  in  reference  to  this  Column  xhoiiltl  be 
adilresaed  to  Mr.  J.   H.   Cooke  at  the  Office  of  Kxowledgf.,] 


NOTES   ON   COMETS   AND   METEORS. 

By  W.  F.  Denning,  f.r.a.s. 

Thr  Di.scovery  of  Comkts.— In  the  century  from  1700  to  1799 
inclusive  64  comets  were  discovered  and  observed  sufficiently  well 
for  their  orbits  to  be  computed.  The  average  rate  of  discovery  was 
therefore  0.64  annually  or  about  two  comets  every  three  years.  A 
vast  increase  in  the  number  of  these  discoveries  is  shown  by  the 
figures  for  the  century  from  1800  to  1899.  315  comets  were  found, 
including  redetectiims  of  periodical  comets,  so  that  the  annual 
average  was  3.15.  Comparing  the  first  with  the  last  half  of  the 
century  the  numbers  were — 

Comets  AnniKil 

found.  .averiitre. 

1800  to  1849     91     1.8 

1850  to  1899     224     4.5 

There  were  comparatively  few  comets  found  before  1840,  but  in 
that  year  and  the  few  ensuing  ones  a  marked  rise  occurred,  and 
observers  have  been  veiy  successful  in  this  field  ever  since.  The 
numbers  of  comets  discovered  in  the  various  months  of  the  year 
during  the  period  1800  1899  were  as  follows  :  — 

January     17  July     35 

February 19  August  ...     40 

March        24  September      ...     25 

April         27  October  ...     26 

May  20  November       ...     51 

June  28  December        ...     33 

Of  the  spring  months  March  and  April  show  the  best  returns.  In 
the  summer  there  is  a  ra])id  rise  from  June  to  August,  the  latter 
being  apparently  the  best  month  of  the  year  for  sighting  new 
comets.  In  the  autumn,  November  has  a  good  record,  notwith 
standing  the  unfavourable  weather  often  prevailing  at  this  period. 

Gi.iCOBiNi's  Comet. — During  the  coming  summer  conietary  ob- 
servers will  have  an  interesting  object  for  study  though  it  will  be 
bv  no  means  bright.  It  wiU,  however,  occupy  an  extremely  favour- 
able position  in  the  sky  during  the  four  months  June  to  August 
inclusive.  At  the  end  of  May  the  comet  will  become  visible  in  the 
morning  sky,  being  placed  in  the  N.E.  extremity  of  Pisces  and 
about  7  degrees  south  of  Beta  Andromedse.  Thence  it  moves  to 
the  north-west,  and  early  in  July  will  be  found  in  the  left  hand  of 
Andromeda,  near  Nu,  "C^hi,  Psi,  and  Lambda  in  that  constel- 
lation. It  afterwards  traverses  I>acerta  and  Cygnus,  passing  near 
Al]iha,  and  at  the  end  of  July  will  be  about  2  degrees  south  of  DeU.>. 
Passing  then  through  Lyra  it  enters  the  eastern  borders  of  Hercules, 
and  will  be  near  Alpha  Ophiuchi  at  the  middle  of  September.  But 
its  great  increase  of  distance  will  now  have  rendered  it  faint,  and 
its  motion  south  will  cany  it  out  of  sight  altogether.  Our  last 
number  contained  an  outline  ephemeris  by  Berberich.  and  it  is 
intended  to  give  its  path  with  more  det.nil  so  that  the  object  may 
be  attentively  followed  during  ensuing  months. 

Stationary  Radiation  of  Mf.tf.ors. — Tins  may  be  s,i,id  to  form 
one  of  the  moot  points  of  astronomy.  It  is  not  a  discordance 
between  rival  observers,  but  a  difficulty  of  explaining  observed 
facts  on  apiuoved  mathematical  theories"     In  1878,  when  fixed  or 


recurring  radiants  were  brought  prominently  into  notice,  it  was 
asserted  that  they  must  be  due  to  successive  but  different  showers 
accidentally  grouped  in  such  a  manner  as  to  render  their  apparent 
directions  almost  identical.  But  ob  ervation  showed  that  this  idea  did 
not  satisfactorily  account  for  the  facts  because  the  points  of  diver- 
gence remained  constant  (allowing  for  small  and  unavoidable  errors 
of  observation),  and  that  there  were  no  such  dift'erences  as  a  mere 
chance  grouping  of  streams  must  certainly  occasion.  Wherever  a 
radiant  is  placed  relatively  to  a  neighbouring  star  there  it  remains 
during  the  whole  period  of  its  visible  activity,  and  this  often  covers 
several  months.  Of  late  several  able  mathematicians  have  attacked 
the  matter,  and  valuable  papers  have  appeared  from  Profs.  A.  S. 
Herscliel.  H.  H.  Turner,  and  G.  von  Niessl,  Dr.  Bredikhine,  ;ind 
M.  0.  Callandreau.  Prof.  Turner  has  offered  a  very  ingenious 
explan.ation  of  stationary  radi,ation  ("  Monthly  Notices,"  Jan.,  1899), 
on  the  basis  of  planetary  perturljaticm  operating  through  vast  inter- 
vals of  time  u])on  meteoric  ]}articles,  and  the  observed  peculiarity 
seems  in  a  fair  way  of  being  understood.  More  observations  would 
be  very  valuable.  Very  few  astrftnomers  have  ever  practically  in- 
vestigated the  matter,  for  the  reason  that  it  requires  a  vast  number 
of  very  accurate  materials  before  any  satisfactoiy  tests  can  be 
applied  as  to  the  stationary  aspect  of  the  minor  showers  generally. 
Instead  of  examining  the  whole  question  it  would  be  better  to  select 
a  test  case,  say  that  supplied  by  the  Orionids  of  October.  If  this 
notable  autunm  shower  were  attentively  watched  between  October 
12  and  25  and  the  radiant  independently  determined  on  each  nlulit 
it  would  be  easily  seen  whether  the  radiant  were  stationary.  And 
if  one  well  known  shower  is  found  perfectly  stationary  during  a 
fortnight  there  can  be  no  reason  why  other  showers  may  not  present 
a  similar  aspect  during  even  longer  interv.als. 

May  Meteors. — The  spring  season  may  be  described  as  one  of 
meteoric  scarcity.  The  Aquarids,  sometimes  visible  in  the  morning 
twilight,  and  possibly  associated  with  Halley's  comet,  furnish,  how- 
ever, an  interesting  system  which  well  deserves  looking  for.  It 
furnishes  fine  long  meteors  with  streaks  during  the  first  week  in 
May,  but  they  are  only  perceptible  just  before  daylight  as  the 
radiant  is  below  the  horizon  in  the  early  part  of  the  night. 

FiRKBALL,  March  28th,  8h.  31m. — A  barge  meteor  giving  two 
outbursts  like  vivid  lightning  flashes  was  seen  by  Mr.  tj.  T.  Davis 
at  Reading.  He  says  it  ]iassed  from  near  Cor  Caroli  towards 
Denebola,  but  descrilied  a  curve  ending  near  E)isilon  Virgiuis.  It 
exploded  twice,  finally  breaking  up  into  sparks.  The  meteor  lit  the 
place  up.  Mr.  T.  H.  Astbury,  of  Wallingford,  writes  that  he  was 
looking  north  at  the  time,  and  only  saw  the  brilliant  flashes  of 
light  which  the  meteor  occasioned.  From  inquiry  afterwards  he 
found  that  tlic  meteor's  apparent  path  was  from  about  188"  + 18°  to 
193—6",  aud  that  it  was  very  much  brighter  than  the  planet 
Venus. 


THE   FACE   OF   THE   SKY   FOR    MAY. 

By  A.  Fowler,  f.r.a  s. 

The  Sun. — On  tlie  1st  the  sun  rises  at  4.33  and  sets  at 
7.21 ;  on  the  31st  he  rises  at  3.51  and  sets  at  8.3.  One 
of  the  most  striking  astronomical  events  of  the  year  will 
be  the  eclipse  of  the  sun  on  the  28th.  Full  particulars  as 
to  the  jiarts  of  the  earth's  surface  from  which  the  total 
phase  will  be  visible  are  given  by  Mr.  Maunder  in  the 
March  number  of  Knowledge.  Over  the  British  Islands 
a  large  partial  eclipse  will  be  visible,  the  data  given  in  the 
Nautical  Almanac  being  as  follows  : — 


a 

s 

S 

a 

o    . 

s 

« 

E 

fl 
1 

Angle  fr 
North 

1^ 

"1 

Is 

M 

St 

g 

o 

•< 

•< 

o 

o 

o 

o 

Greenwich 

0.681 

2.47 

lOSW. 

146  W. 

3.56 

4.58 

lllE. 

69  E. 

Cambridge 

0.664 

2.47 

109  W. 

146  W. 

.■i.54 

4.56 

112  E. 

70  E. 

Oxford 

o.es! 

2.4.5 

108  W. 

145  W. 

3.54 

4.57 

IIIE. 

69  E. 

Liverpool 

0.656 

2.42 

now. 

1«W. 

3.50 

4.53 

11.'  E. 

72  E. 

Edinburgh        -  . 

0.599 

2.41 

114  w. 

144  W. 

3.46 

4.47 

115  E. 

78  E. 

Dublin 

0.670 

2.38 

109  W. 

141  W. 

3.47 

4..52 

HI  E. 

71  E. 

All  the  times  above  are  expressed  in  Greenwich  Mean 
Time,  and  are  p.m.  ;  the  position  angles  of  the  contacts  are 
for  direct  image. 

Three  phases  of  the  eclipse  at  Greenwich  are  illustrated 
ill  the  accompanying  diagram,  which  is  constructed  with 
the  vertex  at  the  top  in  each  case. 


May  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


119 


Eciipss    OP    TUK    Srs,    Mat    2Sth. 
as  it  will  a|>(H'ar  in  London 


19<^>, 


3.5."i   I'.M. 


2A-   P.M. 


4.45   I-  M. 
E(lii)si'  ends,  4.57  P.M. 


3    P.M. 

Ecli|)si>  hegin* 

The  Moon  ■will  enttM*  first  quarter  on  the  <3tb  at 
1.89  P.M. ;  will  be  full  on  the  1-ith  at  :l.o7  p.m.  ;  will  enter 
last  quarter  on  the  "Jlst  at  8.31  p.m.  ;  and  will  l>e  new  on 
the  28th  at  2.50  p.m.  The  solar  eolipsf  on  the  28th  will 
furnish  a  good  opportunity  of  observing  the  Moon's  linil). 

The  principal  oecultations  during  the  month  arc  as 
follows : — 


s 

& 

s 

4 

1 

Si 
a 

a 

id 

®  c 

r 

a 

a 

is 

a 

o 

a 

f 

o 

a 

<! 
1 

o 

o 

d.  b. 

May   1 

I  Tauri 

4-7 

8.58  P.M. 

no 

71 

9.48  P.M. 

■i39 

224 

2    li: 

..     5 

A-  Cancri 

.V6 

11.48  P.B. 

vu 

K( 

12.42 

'J7T 

24<) 

6  lit 

..     6 

tu  Leoiiis 

.5-(; 

11.1     P.M. 

"9 

40 

11.51  P.M. 

:i2H 

2WI 

7   18 

..      t 

19  Sestautis 

60 

in.«  P.M. 

IS! 

M 

11.49  P.M. 

■JW 

247 

S   18 

,.    19 

B.A.C.  670r 

<i-2 

12:.!»  .».M. 

2> 

4.1 

1. IS  A.M. 

:II5 

:«7 

19   20 

The  Planets. — Mercury  is  a  morning  star  until  the 
30th,  when  he  is  in  superior  eoujuuction.  He  is  not  well 
placed  for  observation  in  our  latitudes.  He  will  be  very 
close  to  the  sun  during  the  total  eclipse  on  the  28th. 

Venus  remains  an  evening  star  throughout  the  month, 
and  will  reach  her  greatest  brilliancy  at  the  end.  The 
apparent  diameter  will  increase  from  24"2  on  the  1st  to 
36'  -t  on  the  31st,  and  on  the  15th  the  illuminated  portion 
of  the  disc  will  be  0  402.  The  path  of  the  planet  is 
easterly  through  Gemini.  Tlie  planet  will  lx>  near  to 
Epsilon  Geminorum  on  the  14th  and  15th,  about  Ipto 
the  north,  and  a  little  over  3°  to  the  north  of  Delta  on 
the  27th. 

Mars  is  a  morning  star,  not  well  j)laeed  for  observation. 

Jupiter  will  be  in  opposition  on  the  27th.  On  the  1st 
he  rises  about  9.45  p.m.,  and  crosses  the  meridian  .shortly 
before  2  a.m.  On  the  31st  he  rises  at  7.31  p.m.,  and 
crosses  the  meridian  at  11.39  p.m.  The  apparent  diameter 
is  41"  on  the  1st,  and  42"  on  the  31st.  On  account  of  his 
southerly  declination  of  nearly  2P,  the  planet  only  reaches 
a  low  altitude,  even  when  on  the  meridian.  The  path  is  a 
westerly  one,  a  few  degrees  north  of  Antares.  The 
satellite  phenomena  are  most  interesting  on  the  3rd,  7th, 
10th,  16th,  17th,  18th,  19ih,  23rd,  26th  and  27th. 

Saturn  rises  shortly  before  midnight  on  the  1st,  and  a 
little  before  10  p.m.  on  the  31st.  The  planet  describes  a 
short  westerly  arc  a  little  north  of  Lamlxla  Sagittarii. 
The  apparent  polar  diameter  increases  from  16"'2  to  16'  8 
during  the  month  ;  the  ring  is  widely  open,  and  its 
northern  surface  is  presented  to  us. 

Uranus  rises  alxiut  lO  p.m.  at  the  Iseginning,  and  about 
8  P..M.  at  the  end  of  the  month.  The  plane!  traverses  a 
short  westerly  path,  alwtit  2^^  east  of  Jupiter,  on  the  1st, 
and  about  5°  east  on  the  31st. 

Neptime  sets  about  11  p.m.  on  the  1st,  and  a  few- 
minutes  after  9  p.m.  on  the  31st.  He  is  nearly  midwav 
between  Zeta  Tauri  and  132  Tauri. 

The  Stars. — About  10  p.m.,  at  the  middle  of  the  month, 


Spica  Virginis  will  be  due  south,  .A  returns  a  little  east  of 
south,  Ursa  Major  nearly  overhead,  Scorpio  rising  in  the 
south-east,  Vega  pretty  high  up  in  the  east,  Cygnus 
ni>rtli-east,  Leo  in  the  soutli-west,  and  Gemini  a  little 
north  of  west. 


Cl^tss  CEolumn. 

By  C.  D.  LococK,  b.a. 


Communications  for  this  column  should  be  addressed 
to  C.  D.  LorocK.  Netherfield,  Canibeiley,  and  be  posted 
by  the  lOth  of  ca*-!!  month. 

Solutions  of  April  Problems. 

No.   1. 

(W.  Cleave.) 

1.   Kt  (Q5)  to  K3,  and  mates  next  move. 

No.  2. 
(H.  A.  Wood.) 

1.  R  to  QB5,  and  mates  next  move. 

Correct  Solutions  of  both  problems  received  from 
\V.  Nash,  Alpha,  G.  A.  Forde  (Capt.),  H.  S.  Brandreth, 
W.  de  P.  Crousaz,  K.  W.,  J.  W.  Meyjes,  J.  Baddeley, 
H.  Le  Jeune.     Of  No.  2  only,  from  W.  A.  Roger.son. 

B.  G.  Laws. — Many  thanks  for  your  three-mover.  It 
is  marked  to  appear  in  the  June  number. 

K.  W. — Mr.  Rayner's  book  is  entitled  ''  Chess  Problems, 
their  Composition  and  Solution."  Price  Is.  The  publishers 
are  Messrs.  Swan  Sonneuschein  &  Co.,  Paternoster  Sijuare, 
E.C.  I  am  indebted  for  this  information  to  Mr.  B.  G.  Laws, 
the  author  of  "  The  Two-move  Chess  Problem." 

W.  Parkinson. — If  (No.  1)  QxB,  R  moves,  there  is 
no  mate  at  QB2,  as  the  Pawn  can  cover.  In  No.  2,  1.  Q 
to  Q7  is  answered  by  P  to  K7  or  otlier  equally  good 
defences. 

W.  A.  RoGERsoN. — Q  X  Kt  very  nearly  solves  No.  1, 
but  1  .  .  .  R  to  B3  just  prevents  it,  as  Kt  x  R  is  not  mate. 
Tour  notation  is  quite  correct. 

H.  D.  Dryerre,  Junr. — See  reply  above. 


PROBLEMS. 

No.  1. 

By  N.  M.  Gibbins  (Repton). 

Black  (5). 


m  ......mim 


%........m 


''^fi^-\\l'''^^        ^'«S^  .•v"'''^'^ 


m„ 


Whits  (S). 

White  mates  in  two  moves. 


120 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[May  1,  1900. 


No.  2. 
By  W.  Clugstou  (Belfast). 

Black  (3). 


A    ■    »  , 

^    ■    ^   &J 

m    m    ;^  i  J 


w^/     mm     mm     mm 
ij     ^     •     Wi 


w 


\\  Hill    (") 

W  bite  mates  in  two  moveb. 


CHESS    INTELLIGENCE. 


The  luter-University  Chess  Match  resulted  in  a  not  un- 
expected win  for  Cambridge  by  five  games  to  '2.  The 
teams  being  as  under  : — 

C'.\MBEIDGE. 

C.  Tattei-sall  (Trinity)          ...  1 

H.  G.  SofUaw  (Trinity  MM)  1 

C.  Wiles  (St.  John's)            ...  1 

E.  Ooleman  (Trinity)           ...  0 

W.Burnell  (Cuius)' 0 

,T.  Wright  (Trinity) 1 

W.  Ostle  (Jesus)  '      1 


Oxford. 

1.  F.  Soddy  (Merton)           ...  0 

2.  A.  Gfor't^c  (New  College)  I) 

3.  G.  Ellis  (Lincoln)             ...  0 

4.  H,  AVilton  (Majdalcu)    ...  1 

5.  P.  Babeork  (Wadhara)    ...  1 

6.  H.  Artliur  (New  College)  0 

7.  G.  Waterrield  (Clirist  Cli.)  0 


The  Anglo-American  Cable  Match  took  place  on  March 
23rd  and  24.th,  and  resulted,  as  last  year,  in  a  victory  for 
the  American  team  liy  G  games  to  4.  Should  they  succeed 
in  winning  again  next  year,  they  will  retain  possession  of 
the  Newnes  Trophy.  Appended  is  the  score,  and  a  brief 
description  of  the  games. 


America. 

Gheat  Britain. 

1. 

H.  N.  Pillsbury     . 

i 

J.  H.  Blackburne 

2. 

J.  W.  Showalter   . 

i 

F.J.Lee       

3. 

J.  H.  IJarrv    ...      . 

..   1 

H.  E.  Atkins        ...      . 

.  0 

4. 

A  B.  Hodges 

..   1 

G.  E.  H.  Bellingham  .. 

.   0 

5. 

E.  Hvnies 

..     h 

D.  Y.  Mills . 

6. 

H.  Voiffht       ,       . 

..   I 

T.  F.  Lawrence    

.   0 

7. 

F.  J.  Marshall 

.    0 

E.  M.  -Jackson 

.  1 

8. 

S.  W.  Bampton 

,.  0 

Herbt.  Jacobs 

.  1 

9. 

C.  J.  Newman 

..   i 

W.Ward      

10. 

E.  Delmar      ...      . 

1 

H.  W.  Trenchard  . .      . 

.  0 

Total 6  Total 4 

BoABD  No.  1. — Mr.  Blackburne  defended  with  an 
original  variation  of  Philidor's  defence,  which  cost  him  a 
clear  Pawn  very  early  in  the  game.  After  the  exchange 
of  Queens  he  manosuvred  his  minor  pieces  with  such  skill 
that  a  win  appeared  at  one  time  within  the  bounds  of 
possibility.  Mr.  Pillsbury,  however,  succeeded  in  escaping 
with  the  loss  of  a  Pawn,  and  equality  finally  resulted. 

Board  No.  2. — Mr.  Lee  played  the  Stonewall  attack, 
and  having  compromised  his  game  on  the  King's  side,  was 
compelled  to  Castle  on  the  other  wing,  where  he  was 
subjected  to  a  violent  attack.  He  defended  himself  skil- 
fully, and  judiciously  submitted  to  the  loss  of  the  exchange 
in  return  for  two  Pawns,  remaining  finally  with  none  the 
worst  of  the  ending. 


Board  No.  3. — Mr.  Atkins  played  an  old-fashioned 
Sicilian  defence,  and  obtained  an  early  attack  on  the 
King's  side.  In  endeavouring  to  make  too  much  of  it  he 
exposed  his  King  to  the  assault  of  Queen  and  Queen's 
Bishop,  Mr.  Barry  soon  forcing  the  jjosition  by  the  entry 
of  a  Rook  at  QG. 

Board  No  4. — Mr.  Bellingham  obtained  considerably 
the  best  position  in  a  Queen's  Gambit,  declined  and  was 
tempted  to  indulge  in  a  promising  Pawn  sacrifice.  Mr. 
Hodges,  however,  defended  very  patiently,  and  finally  won 
another  Pawn  and  the  game. 

Board  No.  5. — Mr.  Mills,  defending  with  the  Sicilian, 
soon  became  subjected  to  a  violent  attack,  which  he 
nevertheless  managed  to  survive.  Though  two  Pawns  to 
the  bad,  he  contrived  to  remain  with  Bishops  of  opposite 
colours,  and  so  drew  without  difficulty. 

Board  No.  G. — Mr.  Lawrence  obtained  a  good  game 
against  his  ojiponent,  Sicilian  defence,  but,  after  losing  a 
Pawn  owing  to  a  mi.^take,  his  game  broke  up  with  great 
rapidity. 

Board  No.  7. — Mr.  Jackson,  defending  the  Lopez  with 
Kt  to  B3  and  B  to  K2,  obtained  a  slight  advantage  in  the 
end-game.  The  positions,  however,  were  practically  even 
when  Mr.  Marshall  exceeded  his  time-limit  and  so  lost  the 
game. 

Board  No.  8. — Mr.  Jacobs  won  a  Pawn  very  early 
from  his  opponent,  who  declined  the  King's  Gambit,  and 
afterwards  made  a  very  weak  defence,  allowing  the  English 
player  to  wind  up  with  a  pretty  sacrificial  combination. 

Board  No.  9. — Mr.  Ward  declined  the  Queen's  Gambit 
in  the  normal  manner.  Pieces  were  rapidly  exchanged, 
and  the  defending  player  was  left  with  a  weak  Pawn  at 
K5.  As,  however.  White  could  not  attack  it  without 
exposing  liii  King,  a  draw  was  speedily  agreed  on. 

Board  No.  10. — Mr.  Trenchard  played  the  Stonewall 
opening,  and,  after  the  Queen's  side  was  blocklid,  became 
subject  to  a  King's  side  attack.  He  lost  the  exchange, 
but  owing  to  the  peculiar  situation  of  Mr.  Delmar's  Pawn 
it  was  some  time  before  he  found  an  opportunity  of  finally 
breaking  through. 

Mr.  Burn  succeeded  in  winning  three  consecutive  games 
in  his  match  with  Mr.  Bellingham,  and  so  retrieving  his 
lost  reputation,  the  match  being  left  drawn  with  the  score 
standing  at  4.^  all. 

Mr.  T.  F.  Lawrence  has  won  the  championship  of  the 
City  of  London  Club  for  the  fourth  time.  His  score  was 
14f  out  of  a  possible  17.  Mr.  W.  Ward  was  a  very  good 
second,  only  half  a  point  behind  ;  Mr.  E.  0.  Jones  being 
third  with  IH.  Mr.  Lawrence  has  been  singularly  un- 
fortunate in  the  cable  matches,  having  lost  his  game  on  all 
three  occasions  on  which  he  has  played. 

For  Contents  of  the  Two  last  Numbers  of  "  Knowledge,"  see 
Advertisement  pages. 


The  yearly  bound  volnmes  of  Knowledge,  cloth  gilt,  8a.  6d.,  post  free. 
Binding  Cases,  Is.  6d.  each ;  post  free.  Is.  9d. 

Subscribers'  numbers  bound  (including  case  and  Index),  2s.  6d.  each  volume. 
Index  of  Articles  and  Illustrations  for  1891,  1892,  1894,  1895,  1896,  1897,  and 
1898  can  be  supplied  for  3d.  ea^h. 
All  remittances  should  be  made  payable  to  the  Publisher  of  "  KNOWLKnoE." 


"Knowledge"   Annual    Subscription,  throughout   the    world, 
78.  6d.,  post  fipee. 

Commonications  for  the  Editors  aud  Books  for  Review  should  be  addressed 
Editors,  "  KxowLXDax,"  32$,  High  Holbom,  London,  W.C. 


JCNK    1,   1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


121 


Founded  by  RICHARD    A.    PROCTOR. 


LONDON:    JUNE    1,   1900. 


CONTENTS. 


Contrasts     in     Bavaria.      By    Ghexviilk    A.    J.    Con:, 

M.R.I.A..  F.0.3 

Modern  Pisciculture:  Being  a  Description  of  the 
Solway  Fishery.  Bv  T.  A.  Geeai.d  Stbicsl.^nb. 
(Hlu-Hra/ed)      " 

The  Evolution  of  Simple  Societies.  — III.    The  Pastoral 

Societies.  B\  Pivf.  Aljekd  C.  HABroN,  m.a.,  sc.D.,r.R.s. 

The    Royal    Academy    Exhibition     

Artificial     "  Reseau     Photospherique.         By    the    Rev. 

Arthtr  East.     (Itliisfrafed) 
Photographs  of  the    Nebulae  M.  8   Saglttarii   and   of 

H  VI.  Ceti.     Br  Isaac  Kohekts,  d.sc.,  f.h.s 

Nebulae  M.  8  Saglttarii  and  i:i  VI.  Ceti.     (Plate) 

Astronomy  without  a  Telescope.  — V.  Observations 
of  the  Sun.     Bv  K.  Waltee  Maundee.  k.e.a.s. 

Letters : 

Search  foe  an  IntraMeecubial  Planet.    Bj  V,'.  F. 
Denning  

S.  U.  Cygni.     By  David  Fla^eey 

WiEET.ESsTElEQBAPn   RECEIVER.     By  K.  ChILD  BaTI.ET 

Notices  of  Books  

Books  Becbitbd        

The  First  Musk-Oxen  in  England  since  the  Glacial 
Epoch.     By  R.  Ltdeekee.     UUustmled)  

Chemical  Evolution  :  A  Chapter  of  History.  By 
G.  Cecil  Frv 

Microscopy.     By  John  H.  Cooke,  f.l.s.,  e.o.s. 

Notes  on  Comets  and    Meteors.      By  W.  F.  Denning, 

P.B-A.S 

The  Face  of  the  Sky  for  June.     By  A.  Fowlbb,  p.b.a.s. 
Chess  Column.     By  C.  D.  Locock,  b.a.  


121 


123 


126 

128 


12i) 
132 


132 


134 
1.34 
13.5 
13.5 
137 

137 

139 
141 

142 
143 
143 


CONTRASTS   IN   BAVARIA. 

By  Geenville  A.  J.  Cole,  m.r.i.a.,  f.g.s.,  Professor  of 
Geology  in  the  Royal  College  of  Science  for  Ireland. 

Certain  cities,  such  as  Munich  and  Nuremberg,  certain 
highland  resorts  in  the  south,  commonly  associated  in 
the  tourist  mind  with  Tyrol — these  are  all  that  the  name 
Bavaria  conveys  to  us  in  ordinary  conversation.  Lovers 
of  the  arts  may  add  Bayrcuth,  far  away  in  the  north, 
planted  against  the  granite  knot  of  the  Fichtelgebirge ; 
while  travellers  to  Vienna  may  remember  something  of 
the  Danube  plain,  and  of  the  banks  of  willows  between 
Regensburg  and  Vilshofen.  Bavaria,  however,  with  its 
plateaux  and  its  devious  by-ways,  offers  a  variety  of  geo- 
logical features,  and  is  rich  in  scenic  contrasts. 

The  country,  on  the  other  hand,  has  its  drawbacks, 
which  mainly  arise  from  the  stolid  nature  of  a  prolific 
and  inebriate  peasantry;  but  greater  life  and  lightness 
are  introduced  into  the  community  in  proportion  as  one 


ncars  the  Austrian  bortkr.  Doublloss  the  chief  charm 
of  the  country  lies  in  tiio  quaint iicss  of  it»s  towns;  but 
tiie  sites  of  these,  and  much  of  their  cliaracter,  depend 
upon  their  geological  surroundings. 

Tiio  great  feature  of  nortiicrn  Bavaria  is  t.lio  sei-ics  of 
plateaux  which  rise  from  the  left  bank  of  tbo  Danube 
above  Keliieim,  and  which  stretch,  under  the  names  of 
the  Rauhe  Alb  and  tlio  Swabian  ,Tura,  south-west 
through  Wiirttcniberg  to  the  Rliine.  After  a  step  down 
to  the  north-west,  a  still  broader  plateau-country  spi-eads 
away  northward  to  the  Main.  As  in  our  own  chalk 
districts,  the  gentle  dip  of  the  strata  is  accountable  for 
the  prevalence  of  ono  type  of  country  over  so  broad  an 
area.  The  upland  of  the  Swabian  and  Franconian  .Tura 
is  formed  of  Jurassic  strata,  which  run  north-east  from 
Stuttgart  to  near  Nuremberg,  and  then  swing  round  to 
the  north ;  Nuremberg  itself,  and  many  other  busy 
towns,  stand  on  the  next  plateau,  that  of  the  Keuper, 
which  rises  with  the  gently  inclined  beds  to  some  1,500 
feet  above  the  sea.  Viewed  broadly,  then,  we  encounter 
here  two  systems  of  sti-ata,  the  more  northern  dipping 
under  tli.at  which  lies  to  the  south  and  east.  Tha 
Keuper,  with  its  other  Triassic  associates,  does  not  re- 
appear until  we  find  its  marine  representatives  upturned 
and  contorted  on  the  flanks  of  tho  Alpine  chain.  The 
Jurassic  beds  similarly  vanish,  as  they  dip  down  towards 
the  Danube,  to  come  up  again  in  the  Alpine  foothills; 
and  the  wide  basin  fonned  on  their  backs  is  filled  by 
Cainozoic  deposits,  many  of  them  marine,  and  mostly  of 
Miocene  age.  Into  this  lowland,  the  growing  Alps 
sent  down  their  detritus,  and  the  Miocene  beds  have 
been  covered  in  turn  by  va.st  glacial  and  alluvial  accu- 
mulations. 

The  northern  plateaus  form  a  somewhat  irregular 
watershed.  The  rivers  rise  mostly  on  the  surface  of 
the  Keuper,  in  which  they  have  cut  deep  grooves  ;  but 
it  is  difficult  to  judge,  when  we  cross  any  ono  of  them, 
to  which  system  of  drainage  it  belongs.  The  Kocher, 
for  example,  draws  much  of  its  water  from  the  higher 
step,  the  .Jurassic  plateau,  but  escapes  down  the  escarp- 
ment and  i-uns  across  the  Keuper  to  the  Neckar,  and 
thence  into  the  Rhine.  The  Wornitz,  a  little  further 
east,  rises  on  the  Keuper  plateau,  cuts  south  across 
the  Jurassic  beds,  and  joins  the  Danube  at  Donauworth. 
The  Altmiihl,  its  next  neighbour  on  the  east,  takes  .. 
similarly  determined  course ;  but  the  Rednitz,  starting 
in  the  same  direction,  swings  entirely  round  below 
Ansbach,  runs  due  north,  and  joins  the  Main  at  Bam- 
berg. All  this  jioints  to  the  lack  of  conspicuous  guiding 
lines  in  this  region  of  almost  horizontal  plateaux. 

Though  we  travel  here  all  day  at  a  height  of  some 
1200  feet  above  the  sea,  there  is  little  to  suggest  the 
elevation.  As  we  rise  from  the  valley  of  the  Neckar, 
we  wind  this  way  and  that,  for  purely  agricultural 
convenience,  across  a  country  of  great  unfenced  fields ; 
here  and  there  a  scarp,  the  next  step  on  the  plateau, 
stands  more  seriously  against  us,  with  some  fortress-town, 
like  Waldenburg,  planted  on  its  level  crest.  The  purple 
crocus  flourishes  in  the  meadows,  a  reminder  of  the  Alps 
in  this  expanse;  only  at  length,  the  growth  of  the  blue 
distance,  the  slow  fall  of  the  land  on  cither  hand,  shows 
that  wc  have  reached  the  watershed,  and  stand  on  the 
Hohenlohe  Plain.  Tho  true  highland  landscapes  are 
here  in  reality  below  us,  the  rivers  have  force  enough 
to  cut  ravines,  though  the  atmospheric  weathering 
merely  flakes  away  the  level  strata,  and  forms  no  salient 
feature  on  the  highland.  This  is,  in  consequence,  a 
country  of  sui-prises,  like  the  canon-region  of  Arizona. 
Suddenly  we  may  find  ourselves  dropped  into  one  of  the 


122 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[June  1,  1900. 


unseen  valleys;  the  road  hurries  clown  into  a  new  and 
iinsuspected  world  ;  forests  climb  the  steep  slopes  round 
us,  and  bare  rock  juts  out,  in  mountainous  style,  among 
the  trees.  The  villages  lose  all  their  leisurely,  un- 
hampered, agricultural  air,  and  become  cramped  in 
along  the  watercoitrses.  Here  again,  if  we  have  left 
regretfully  the  Black  Forest  or  the  Vosges,  we  hear  with 
pleasure  the  rush  of  streamlets,  and  the  disciplined 
thunder  of  the  mills.  The  incident  comes  as  a  revelation, 
only  too  soon  to  be  taken  from  us.  We  may  well  nib 
our  eyes,  when  we  have  toiled  up  some  winding  ascent 
again,  far  above  the  timber  hou.ses  and  the  red-tiled 
spires,  and  emerge  upon  the  vSst  uniform  plateau,  across 
which  the  approaching  night  has  thrown  a  veil  of  purple- 
grey  and  brown.  Here  the  air  is  full  of  the  scent  of  hay, 
blowing  from  the  meadows,  and  making  sweet  the 
gathering  dusk.  The  lights  shine  from  scattered  farms, 
each  one  a  beacon  in  this  featureless  expanse ;  you  can 
almost  picture  the  Little  People  rising  from  the  soft 
warm  earth,  whispering  to  one  another,  and  wondering 
at  a  world  of  stars.  One  glowing  band,  rai.sed  slightly 
towai-ds  the  sky,  marks  out  some'  clustered  city,  still 
seven  or  eight  miles  away. 

It  is  thus,  perhaps,  that  we  enter  Rothenburg,  the 
type  of  an  old  Bavarian  town.  The  double  gate,  the 
central  watch-tower,  the  naiTow  street  of  half-timber 
houses,  take  us  back  to  the  days  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War, 
when  the  Swedes,  like  a  north  wind,  swept  the  plateaux, 
and  pa.ssed  into  the  great  plain  of  the  Danube.  The 
(own  stands  on  the  edge  of  the  Taubcr  valley,  and  looks 
across  it  to  the  farms  and  fields.  The  bridge  leading 
from  the  west  side  lies  far  below,  and  is  easily  com- 
manded from  the  wall;  but  on  all  the  other  sides  the 
l)Osition  lies  open  to  attack.  The  structure  of  the  great 
part  of  Bavaria  has  led  t-o  the  formation  of  walled  towns 
at  every  market.-centre.  In  many  cases,  these  are  merely 
clusters  of  houses,  intimately  connected  with  the  farm- 
lands that  lie  beyond  their  gates.  However,  in  a 
jjopulation  brought  together  for  mutual  protection, 
division  of  labour  soon  arises,  and  the  lower  floors  of 
many  houses  become  turned  into  the  shops  of  specialists. 
Other  ground-floors  to  this  day.  even  in  Rothenburg. 
are  used  as  stabling  for  the  cattle;  and  at  morning  the 
cows  are  driven  out  through  big  barn  doors  from  be- 
neath the  houses  of  the  burghers,  and  are  brought  in 
again  at  evening  within  the  protection  of  the  walls.  The 
whole  history  of  this  open  country  is  typified  in  the 
story  of  its  towns.  The  collective  voice  of  what  was  once 
a  settlement  of  agriculturists  became  in  due  course  re- 
presented in  the  Rathhaus,  where  civic  custom  soon 
held  sway  ;  the  craftsman,  at  first  a  necessary  adjunct, 
became  the  critical  purchaser  and  controller  of  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  farms ;  the  great-grandsons  of  the  men  who 
dug  the  moat  and  built  the  ramparts  learnt  to  carve 
the  most  exquisite  panels  on  their  house-fronts,  and 
turned  their  proud  and  self-centred  city  into  a  sort  of 
Gothic  Florence.  From  the  farrier  and  the  maker  of 
rude  weapons  sprang  the  men  whose  art  in  metal-work 
was  destined  for  the  table  of  an  Emperor.  Yet  still, 
at  evei7  turn,  the  inflocking  peasantry,  the  slow  ox- 
wagons,  the  shop-windows  full  of  scythes  or  apple- 
baskets,  proclaim  the  absolute  dependence  of  the  city 
on  the  open  plateau  round  it. 

The  smaller  towns  thi-oughout  Bavaria,  which  are 
often  mere  walled  villages,  are  built  upon  so  uniform 
a  plan  as  to  suggest  a  common  ancestry.  The  high 
wall  forms  a  rectangle,  with  a  gateway  in  the  centre 
of  each  of  the  shorter  sides.  Above  these  gates  rise 
square  towers,  capped  by  conical  red  roofs.     The  houses 


are  built  with  their  backs  close  along  the  wall,  so  that 
the  single  street  is  in  reality  the  marketsquare.  The 
high  road  runs  straight  from  gate  to  gate,  but  expands 
on  either  side  into  a  great  area,  paved  with  rough  stone 
setts. 

The  children  play  here  after  school-hours ;  the  older 
women  look  for  their  husbands  from  the  doorways  as 
evening  settles  down  ;  and  then,  seven  or  eight  together, 
the  men  come  through  the  mediaeval  gates,  with  scythes 
over  their  shoulders,  or  urging  on  the  tired  oxen. 
Surely  this  is  the  stereotype  of  the  ancient  laager  of  the 
plains,  the  old  square  fonned  by  the  wagons  drawn  up 
at  each  nightfall  of  the  march ;  and  within  it  the 
women  and  children  are  gathered,  and  tlie  cattle  are 
sheltered,  and  the  next  day's  work  is  planned. 

The  old-world  forest  still  covers  a  large  part  of  the 
plateaux,  and  forms  a  welcome  shelter  from  the  cloud- 
less midland  sky.  Ponds  also  abound  upon  the  Keuper 
clays,  and  provide  the  peasantry  with  fish.  A  man  will 
thus  go  outside  the  town-gate  on  your  an-ival,  catch  a 
weighty  perch,  and  serve  it  forthwith  for  the  mid-day 
dinner. 

After  a  few  days  among  the  dusty  grooves  that  are 
regarded  as  roadways  in  the  forests,  it  is  pleasant  to  drop 
down  by  one  of  the  small  streams  to  the  Danube.  The 
contrast  provided  by  the  valley-scenery  is  in  itself  re- 
freshing. Green  hill-sides  set  with  white  castles  or 
monasteries;  towns  holding  the  passage,  built  across  the 
roadway,  and  girt  about  with  towers;  a  j^opulation  no 
longer  scattei'cd,  but  gathered  thickly  along  the  one  line 
of  communication — all  this  makes  one  forget  the  mono- 
tonous upper  plateau.  At  last  we  reach  the  foot  of 
the  Jurassic  .slope,  and  see  the  green  Danube  winding 
in  its  own  alluvium. 

Nothing  could  difi'er  more  in  character  (han  the  (wo 
roads  from  Nuremberg  to  Kelheim,  down  the  slope  of 
the  same  geological  formation.  They  divide  at  Neu- 
markt,  and  the  one  takes  to  the  valley  of  the  Suiza, 
joining  the  finer  Altmiihl  river  at  Beilngries.  Such 
towns  as  Berching,  and  other  scenes  unknown  to 
Bredeker,  conspire  to  give  this  route  an  air  of  high 
romance.  The  other  road  runs  across  the  plateau,  bare 
and  uniform,  until  it  drops  into  the  ravine  in  which 
even  the  Danube  runs  at  Kelheim. 

South  of  the  Danube,  there  is  little  material  for  gorge- 
cutting.  The  one  exception  is  the  fine  caiion  of  the  Inn 
upon  the  eastern  frontier,  between  the  water-gate  of 
Scharding  and  the  river-mouth  at  Passau ;  but  here  the 
rapid  stream  has  cut  down  into  the  gnei.ss  of  the 
Bavarian  Forest  range,  to  join  the  Danube,  which  has 
become  similarly  entangled.  The  gneiss,  which  belongs 
structurally  to  the  plateau  of  Bohemia,  forms  the  north- 
east border  of  Bavaria,  and  was  once  submerged  beneath 
the  Cretaceous  sea.  Now,  by  the  general  Cainozoic 
uplift,  it  has  become  bared  again,  and  forms  a  steejD 
mountain  range,  on  which  the  fir-woods  gather. 

As  already  hinted,  the  basin  between  the  ancient 
gneiss  and  the  Franconian  Jura  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  Alpine  foothills  on  the  other,  has  served  as  a  gather- 
ing ground  for  all  manner  of  detritus.  Marine  and 
lacustrine  deposits  were  at  one  time  common  on  it;* 
but  these  older  Cainozoic  beds  were  formed  before  the 
Alps  began  to  rise,  and  when  the  basin  was  wider  and 
more  open.  They  became  folded  into  the  Alpine  foot- 
hills on  the  south,  and  were  soon  covered  in  the  lowlands 
by  the  alluvium  of  the  Alpine  streams.     In  the  great 

*  C.  W.  Giimbel,  "  Geopno.stisclie  Bescliveiliung  des  bayerisclien 
Alpengebirges  "  (1861\  pp.  756  and  770. 


June  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


123 


davs  of  denudation,  when  the  Alps  vere  at.  their  height, 
enormous  quantities  of  pebbles  were  brought  down;  one 
fan  of  (/r 't/v  spread  across  another ;  the  frequent  flood- 
ing thi-ew  several  rivers  into  one  :  and  the  whole  low- 
land became  invaded  by  a  vast  detrital  cone.  On  the 
slope  of  this  inland  delta^  the  rivei-s  still  iiiu  down  in 
force;  but  they  are  now  caa-viug  out  shallow  valleys  in 
their  old  accumulations,  and  are  exposing  the  Miocene 
beds  below.  Floods,  such  as  those  of  1899,  tend,  how- 
ever, to  restore  matters,  and  the  whole  country  between 
the  Danube  and  the  Alps  is  in  a  stat.e  of  flux,  and 
give."!  us  an  amazing  picture  of  the  decay  of  contincntaJ 
barriers. t  The  growth  of  the  delta  has  forced  the 
Danube  up  against  the  hai'd  rocks  to  the  north,  and  is 
probably  responsible  for  the  ravine  of  Kclhoim  in  the 
Jurassic  limestone,  as  well  as  for  that  in  the  gneiss 
from  Vilshofen  to  Passau.  Regensburg  lies  at  the  most 
northerly  extension  of  the  cone,  140  kilometres  from  the 
source  of  its  material  in  the  Alps. 

The  great  southern  tributaries  of  the  Danube  inin 
north-easterly,  eroding,  as  M.  RedusJ;  points  out,  their 
right  or  eastern  banks ;  this  is  attributed  to  the  earth's 
rotation,  wliicli  afltects  these  moving  bodies  of  water 
equally  with  the  winds.  The  result  has  been  a  steady 
shortening  of  tbeir  tributaries  on  the  east,  and  a  steady 
elongation  of  those  entei'iug  from  the  west.  It  is,  how- 
ever, noteworthy  that  the  north-easterly  trend  does  not 
set  in  until  the  coarse  deposits  near  the  Alpine  chain 
have  been  left  behind  ;§  the  resisting  character  of  these 
relics  of  glacial  times  has  probably  allowed  the  general 
northward  slope,  modified  by  any  local  irregularities,  to 
play  the  most  important  part  in  directing  the  courses  of 
the  streams. 

The  glacial  beds  in  Upper  Bavaria  often  consist  of 
tough  conglomerates,  which  at  one  time  choked  the 
valleys,  just  as  they  did  in  the  gorges  of  the  Alps  above 
Trieste.  The  rivers,  attacking  these  beds  with  youthful 
vigour,  before  their  enti-y  on  the  plains,  have  cleared 
out  their  courses  again  through  them,  showing  fine 
sections  on  the  vertical  walls  of  the  ravines.  The 
frontier-road  from  Neu-Otting  to  Salzburg  runs  on  a 
plateau  of  these  deposits,  and  the  River  Salzach  for  the 
most  part  is  seen  far  below  in  its  ravine.  At  Burg- 
hausen,  which  is  set  low  down  to  guard  a  bridge,  the 
castle  is  built  on  the  face  of  the  cliff  itself,  and  the  single 
street  is  narrowed  almost  to  a  foot-path,  with  one  line 
of  hoiLses  between  it  and  the  swift  green  water.  A  period 
of  excavation  has  evidently  again  set  in,  as  is  the  case  in  so 
many  of  the  choked  valleys  in  our  own  islands.  The 
rivers  in  old  days  must  have  been  more  rapid,  flowing 
from  yet  higher  hills ;  but  the  very  intensity  of  de- 
nudation along  the  crests  supplied  them  with  too  much 
material.  Nowadays,  the  clearer,  if  slower,  water  is  re- 
moving the  obstruction  and  is  gradually  restoring  the 
topography  of  the  mountain-slopes,  much  as  they  were 
at  the  close  of  Pliocene  times. 

As  is  the  case  in  so  many  areas  of  deposition,  a  sink- 
ing of  the  floor  of  Bavaria  can  be  proved  to  have  taken 
place  between  the  northern  plateaux  and  the  Alps.  The 
edge  of  the  Bavarian  forest,  where  the  contrast  of  the 
alluvium  and  the  crystalline  rock  is  so  conspicuous,  is, 
according  to  Prof.  Sucss,  a  lino  of  differential  movement. 
The  Bohemian  highland,  with  its  forest-rim,  thus  owes 
some  of  its  eminence  to  the  sinking  of  adjacent  land. 


t  Compare  "The  Heartof  a   Continent,"  K.vowledge,  Vol.  XX. 
(1897),  p.  284. 

X  '■  Geographie  Universelle,"  tome  III. 

§  See  Lepsiui's  "  Geol.  Kartc  des  Deutschen  Eeicbs,"  sect.  27. 


It  is  thus  that  great  receptive  basins  continue  to  be 
available  for  the  successive  accumulations  that  come 
down  ;  at  the  same  time,  the  highlands  that  supply  the 
pebbles,  the  sands,  or  the  clays,  escape  being  entirely 
banked  up  and  covered  over  by  the  products  of  their 
own  destruction.  Giinibel||  believed  that  the  finer 
material  covering  the  glacial  beds  in  southern  Bavaria 
was  deposited  in  a  lake,  formed  as  the  Al|)s  themselves 
sank,  and  thereby  altered  the  curvature  of  their  northern 
slopes.  Prof.  Heim  has  urged  the  same  subsidence  of 
the  central  chain  to  account  for  the  sinuous  lakes,  which 
are  clearly  flooded  valleys,  on  either  side  of  the  Alps 
in  Switzerland.  From  this  jjoint  of  view,  the  curious 
lakes,  the  Chiem  Sec  and  others,  with  their  low  and 
often  boggy  shores,  now  found  in  the  southern  plain, 
are  relics  of  a  vast  sheet  of  water  which  spread  down  to 
Munich  in  recent  geological  times. 

The  Alps  form  a  natural  boundary  to  Bavaria  on  the 
soutii ;  but  the  watershed,  alo!ig  which  the  nietamorphic 
rocks  crop  out,  falls  within  Austrian  territory.  Con- 
sequently, as  Reclus  has  remarked,  Bavaria  docs  not 
possess  the  sources  of  any  of  her  larger  rivers.  The  Isar, 
for  example,  rises  on  the  back  of  the  wonderful  rock- 
wall  abovo  Innsbruck  ;  but  a  good  part  of  its  course 
through  tlie  forests  of  the  highland  is  none  the  less 
effected  in  Bavarian  ten-itory.  The  Inn,  however,  has 
performed  all  the  grand  part  of  its  journey,  in  a  valley 
almost  unsurpassed  in  Europe,  before  it  emerges  on 
Bavaria,  where  it  only  adds  in  flood-time  to  tho  wreck 
and  desolation  of  the  plain.  It  recovers,  as  we  have 
seen,  some  trace  of  its  former  gi-andeur  when  it  en- 
counters the  northern  crystalline  rocks  near  Passau. 

Such  of  the  Alpine  foothills  as  fall  within  Bavaria 
repeat  the  features  of  the  Bavarian  Forest,  though  with 
more  variety  of  scarp  and  slope,  owing  to  their  being 
formed  of  stratified  materials.  Fir-woods  clothe 
them  for  the  most  part,  and  it  is  strange  to  pass  from 
these  gloomy  uplands  to  tho  vast  fan-taluscs  known  as 
the  Bavarian  plain.  It  is  thus  in  the  extreme  south, 
or  again  in  the  north-east,  on  the  bold  descent  to  the 
Danube  from  the  forests  of  Bohemia,  that  we  may  best 
realise  the  charm  of  Bavaria  as  a  land  of  fascinating  con- 
trasts. 


MODERN    PISCICULTURE. 

BEING    A    DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    SOLWAY 
FISHERY. 

By  T.  A.  Gerald  Strickland. 

The  interesting  and  most  useful  pursuit  of  artificial 
propagation  of  fish  is  no  fin-tl e-xih-l e  discovery.  The 
Chinese  have  practised  it  from  time  immemorial  down 
to  the  present  day.  A  quite  modern  traveller,  C.  F. 
Gordon  Gumming,  says: — "I  inspected  some  artificial 
fish-tanks,  the  lowest  of  which  is  periodically  drained 
by  means  of  an  endless  chain  of  buckets  worked  by  a 
treadmill."*  The  Romans  also  went  in  rather  exten- 
sively for  fish  ponds,  and  spent  large  amounts  on  them, 
indeed  the  ponds  of  Lucullus  are  said  to  have  cost  a 
sum  of  about  £30,000  in  our  money.  The  Roman 
.system  was  very  simple  compared  with  modern  fish 
culture,  for  "  it  appears  to  have  consisted  rather  in 
conveying  the  spawn  of  fish  from  the  spawning  bed  to 
an  exhausted  lake,  and  thus  replenishing  the  waters, 
than  actually  ejecting  the  ova  and  impregnating  them 
with   milt   by    an   artificial   process. "f     In   the   middle 

II  Op.  ci/.,  pp.  852  and  872. 

•  •■  Wandoi-ings  in  China, "  by  C.  F.  Gordon  C'ummnig. 

t  Dr.  E.  Perc-ival  Wright  in  "  Animal  Life." 


124 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[Jink  1,  1900. 


ages  the  monks  kept  ponda  of  carp  in  preparation  for 
their  fast  days,  and  Jacobi,  who  wrote  an  elaborate 
treatise  on  the  subject,  brought  the  art  down  to  our 
own  time. 

When  in  Scotland  last  autumn  I  had  the  opportunity 
of  examining  at  leisure  a  large  modern  fish  farm,  the 
Solway  Fishery,  and  it  is  this  that  I  am  about  to 
describe. 

Most  of  the  quotations  appearing  in  this  article,  the 
sources  of  which  are  not  stated,  are  from  "  An  Angler's 
Paradise,"  by  Mr.  J.  J.  Armistead,  who,  some  nineteen 
years  ago,  started  the  fish  farm  on  its  present  site. 

The  fishery,  which  is  situated  in  a  beautiful  valley, 
surrounded  by  h  ather-clad  hill-;  and  grouse  moors,  is 
sheltered  from  gsles  by  extensive  fir  woods,  and,  what 
is  naturally  of  the  greatest  importance  in  an  under- 
taking of  this  sort,  is  copiously  and  unfailingly  watered 
by  the  Pow  and  Tannox  burns.  The  source  of  the 
latter  aris'js  on  the  mountain  Criffel,  which  stands  like 
a  grim  sentinel  in  the  background.  The  grounds  of  the 
fish  farm,  which  comprise  many  acres,  are  divided  into 
various  sized  ponds,  connected  by  "  raceways."  through 
which  water  is  always  flowing. 

Each  pond  is  inhabited  by  fi.sli  either  of  different  species 


ponds,  now  in  course  of  construction,  are  lined  with 
concrete,  and  so  are  easier  to  keep  clean.  At  the  end 
of  each  pond  is  a  perforated  zinc  plate  that  allows  the 
water  to  flow  through  but  keeps  the  fish  prisoners.  This 
has  to  be  scrubbed  every  evening  to  keep  clean  and  free 
from  weeds,  as,  the  water  supply  being  natural,  in  the 
event  of  a  heavy  storm,  there  would  be  a  rush  of  water 
which,  if  the  outlets  were  insufficient,  would  flood  the 
ponds  mixing  all  species  and  sizes  of  stock  together ! 
This,  as  may  be  imagined,  would  be  fatal  for  more 
reasons  than  one,  for  Shakespear  was  quite  correct  in 
stating  that  "  fishes  live  in  the  sea — as  men  do  a-land; 
the  great  ones  eat  up  the  little  ones."| 

Yes,  all  fish  of  the  same  size  and  age  have  to  be  kept 
in  separate  po.ids.  as  trout  are  great  cannibals ;  year- 
lings eating  fry,  three  year  olds  devouring  yearlings, 
and  so  on.  The  stock  fish,  when  allowed  to  spawn 
naturally,  have  been  seen  eating  their  own  ova  !  When  the 
fry  have  become  yearlings  ''  it  is  found  necessary  to 
take  them  out  of  the  pond  and  sort  them.  If  this  be  not 
done  the  larger  fish  will  eat  many  of  the  smaller  ones, 
and  at  the  end  of  two  or  three  vears  their  sizes  would 
be  altogether  disproportioned.  some  weighing  two  or 
tliive   r}nnces.   others   a.s   many   pounds.     I   have  known 


HaiCHEBI   .11    THE    SOLWAV   FlSHEET. 


(Photo   III  AY.    ASDEBSOX.) 


or  of  varying  ages.  For  instance,  one  pond  has  800 
specially  selected  British  two-year  old  trout,  another 
from  2,000  to  3,000  large  Rainbow  (Salmo  irideus)  and 
American  trout  (S.  fontinalis),  and  others  are  the 
homes  of  innumerable  fry,  two-year  old  salmon  (S. 
salar),  dace,  bream,  roach,  perch  and  other  fish.  One 
stagnant  pond  is  inhabited  by  carp,  and  there  is  also  a 
pond  of  stickleback  in  which  the  greater  duckweed 
flourishes.  There  is  never  any  scarcity  of  water  as, 
besides  the  two  streams  already  mentioned,  there  are 
splendid  springs ;  but  the  water  from  these  is  unsuit- 
able for  fish  until  its  character  is  entirely  altered  by 
flowing  through  raceways  which  are  inhabited  by 
various  aquatic  plants  and  moUusks. 

The  fry  ponds  are  about  60  feet  long  by  4  feet  broad, 
and  those  that  contain  the  adult  fish  are  about  the 
sams  length  but  from  9  to  10  feet  broad.     The  newer 


cases  of  trout  (Salmo  fai'io  and  S.  levenensis)  reaching 
the  weight  of  four-  pounds  in  two  years,  whereas  it 
usually  takes  three  years  for  a  trout  to  reach  a 
poiuid."§ 

The  process  of  modern  fish  culture  is  briefly  as 
follows  :  — Trout  and  salmon  are  the  only  fish,  as  a  rule, 
artificially  spawned  and  hatched,  the  so-called  coarse 
fish  being  allowed  to  make  their  own  family  arrange- 
ments in  the  ponds.  For  instance,  perch  spawn 
uatiu'ally  on  weeds. 

Salmon  are  generally  disposed  of  in  the  "  eyed  ova  " 
stage,  as,  being  anadromous,  they  will  not  come  to  per- 
fection if  kept  entirely  in  fresh  water.     According   to 

t  Pericles,' II.,  1. 

§  "  Atmospheric  and  other  Influences  on  the  Migration  of  Fishes," 
by  J.  J.  Armistead. 


JusK  1,  1900.1 


KNOWLEDGE 


I2i 


Isaak  Walton,  "The  Salmon  i^j^.ilnx.  .-ahu  )  is  the  king 
of  freshwater  fish,  and  he  has,  like  some  persons  of 
honour  and  riches,  which  have  both  their  Summer  and 
Winter  residences,  the  fresh  rivers  for  Summer  and  salt 
■water  for  Winter  to  spend  his  life  in." 

We  must  conclude  then  that  it  is  a  case  of  "  uneasy 
lies  the  head  that  wears  a  crown,  '  because  a  more 
modern  authority  (^Frank  Buckland)  remarked  in  a 
lecture.  '"  perhaps  the  most  unfortunate  thing  in  the 
world  is  the  salmon.  Everybody  and  everything,  from 
the  otter  to  the  fisherman,  persecutes  him."  Again, 
"the  trout  then  comes  to  eat  the  eggs,  next  a  whole 
swarm  of  flies  and  insects;  then  the  water-ouzel,  who 
goes  to  eat  the  flies,  is  shot  by  ourselves  under  the  idea 
that  the  bird  is  after  the  eggs,  and  not  after  the  flies ; 
the  result  is  that  not  one  egg  out  of  ten  thousand  ever 
becomes  food  for  man.''||  So,  though  fish  culliirists 
cannot  keep  the  salmon  till  they  arrive  at  maturity, 
artificial  spawning  and  hatching  obviates  these  initial 
evils,  etnd,  so  to  say,  gives  the  young  salmon  a  fair  start 
in  life. 

The  spawning  season  of  trout  is  from  October  to 
January  inclusive,  and  they  begin  to  spawn  when  about 
three  years  old.  The  stock  fish  are  examined  from 
time  to  time  by  an  expert,  who  can  tell  at  a  glance  if 
they  are  ripe  for  spawning.  An  expert  can  also  dis- 
tinguish the  males  from  the  females  easily,  as  a  rule, 
which  would  not  be  a  simple  matter  for  an  ordinjiry 
observer  to  determine. 

When  the  fish  are  ready  to  spawn  they  are  netted 
from  the  stock  ponds,  and  the  finest  selected  are  re- 
moved to  the  spawning  shed  in  large  two-handled  tubs. 
The  female  fish  are  placed  in  a  large  trough  with 
divisions,  and  the  males  in  a  large  tub.  Two  or  three 
females  are  removed  from  one  of  the  divisions  of  the 
trough  in  a  landing  net,  which  is  then  held  over  a 
carefully  dried  basin  and  the  ova  gently  squeezed 
(stripped)  from  the  fish  into  the  receptacle.  The  fish 
are  then  returned  to  the  trough  but  are  placed  in  an 
empty  division.  When  the  basin  is  considered  to  con- 
tain enough  ova,  a  male  is  netted  from  jhe  tub,  held 
over  the  basin,  and  his  milt  squeezed  on  to  the  ova. 

The  spawTi  and  milt  are  then  gently  stirred  together, 
when  they  adhere  for  a  short  time  and  then  again  be- 
come separate.  When  this  occurs  the  ova  are  well 
washed  and  placed  on  '  grilles.  '  These  grilles  are  shallow 
trays  with  wooden  sides  and  glass  bottoms  made  of  glass 
rods  placed  side  by  side,  which  keep  the  eggs  from 
washing  away,  but  alio-  the  water  to  flow  over  and 
through.  Each  grille,  which  holds  from  3,000  to  4,000 
eggs,  IS  then  removed  to  the  hatchery.  The  hatchery 
is  one  of  the  most  interesting  buildings  on  the  farm, 
and  the  photograph  conveys  a  good  idea  of  its  internal 
appearance  when  in  full  work.  The  water  is  laid  on 
through  underground  pipes  so  that  the  supply  shall 
never  freeze  in  transit,  and  the  hatchery  itself  is 
heated  with  hot-water  pipes,  as  before  this  was  done, 
the  supply  of  water  on  arrival  sometimes  froze  and 
consequently  might  have  ceased  flowing  through  the 
hatchery  boxes  had  not  an  attendant  remained  present 
all  night  in  order  to  prevent  such  a  contingency.  The 
hatchery  boxes  containing  the  grilles  must  have  a  con- 
stant stream  of  water  running  through  them.  These 
boxes  are  provided  with  removable  covers,  as  the  process 
of  hatching  has  to  take  place  in  the  dark.  When  the 
alevins  appear  a  part  of  the  cover  is  removed  so  that  the 
fish    can    be    in    light    or    dark    surroundings    as    they 

II  "  Life  of  Frank  Buckland,"  by  G.  C.  Bomiws. 


iouili.5  to  hatch  ac- 


prefcr.     Spawn   UiiiLo   .lO^^,..    ;i;. 
cording  to  temperature. 

The  ova  are  forwarded  to  all  paits  of  the  world 
when  they  aro  "  eyed,  '  which  occurs  from  50  to  60 
days  after  spawning.  The  packing  of  the  ova  is  a 
very  important  matter  and  tlie  eggs  aro  never  touched 
by  hand.  Wooden  trays  are  constructed  with  bottoms 
of  well-seasoned  perforated  zinc.  On  the  zinc  is  laid  a 
sheet  of  felted  moss  (a  suitable  moss  is  cultivated  for 
the  purpose),  and  over  that  a  pieco  of  fine  net  is  placed, 
then  a  layer  of  eggs,  then  more  fabric,  more  felt,  fabric, 
eggs,  and  so  on.  Each  tray  holds  three  layers  of  eggs, 
and  eight  trays  are  placed  in  an  inner  case  \/hich  is 
packed  round  with  sawdust.  For  sea  voyages  of  long 
duration  an  extra  tray  with  perforated  bottom  is  filled 
with  ice  and  put  on  top  of  the  inner  c;ise;  this  lowers 
the  temj)erature  sufliciently  to  retard  completion  of 
hatching  till  arrival  at  the  destination.  Sometimes, 
for  very  long  journeys,  the  eggs  are  packed  simply 
between  moss  felt  without  intervening  fabric. 

Rivers  and  lakes  in  Australia,  the  Cape,  New 
Zealand,  Canada,  etc.,  have  been  stocked  with  fish 
from  this  farm,  and  have  done  well,  so  evidently  the 
eggs  travel  satisfactorily  in  this  way.  Only  spawn  is 
sent  abroad,  but  fish,  from  the  fry  stage  to  adult,  are 
sent  all  over  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  for  stocking 
rivers  and  lakes.  The  fry  arc  retained  in  the  hatching 
boxes  for  six  weeks  after  emerging,  and  they  require 
no  food  for  the  first  month,  as  they  have  an  umbilical 
sac,  on  the  contents  of  which  they  live  till  their  mouths 
are  in  a  sufliciently  developed  state  to  take  external 
sustenance;  for  the  alevins  on  first  leaving  the  egg, 
though  more  finished  in  appearance  than  the  wormlike 
offspring  of  the  kangaroo,  are  by  no  means  the 
"  speckled  beauties  '  they  become  eventually.  After 
six  weeks  or  so  the  fry  are  removed  to  small  fry  or 
nursery  ponds.  The  adult  fish  are  fed  twice  a  day  and 
the  fry  four  times;  their  food  consists  of  horseflesh, 
beef,  etc.,  which  is  passed  through  mincing  machines. 
The  best  food  of  all  is  said  to  be  shrimps,  but  these, 
though  the  company  keeps  a  private  trawler  for  the 
puiijose,  are  not  always  procurable;  other  foods  are 
also  largely  used,  and  one  of  them  is  maggots.  There 
is  a  large  maggot  "  factory,"  where  all  meaty  scraps, 
offal  and  dead  vermin  .u-e  collected  and  quickly  turn 
into  an  appetizing  (?)  nutritive  food.  The  meat  is 
suspended  on  an  iron  grating,  and  the  grubs,  as  they 
appear,  fall  through  into  a  tray  and  are  swept  up,  meal 
fed,  scalded  and  divided  among  the  ponds.  Tadpoles 
are  also  used  in  immense  quantities,  and  frog  spawn  is 
procured  literally  by  the  ton  every  season  to  breed  from. 
Crustaceans,  mollusks,  insects,  etc.,  are  also  of  great 
benefit,  but  these  I  will  return  to  later.  The  food  of 
the  adult  fish  is  thrown  on  the  surface  of  the  ponds. 
It  is  a  curious  sight  to  see  the  fish  fed;  one  moment, 
you  look  on  an  unruffled  sheet  of  water  reflecting  the 
trees  and  clouds  as  a  mirror;  the  next,  an  attendant 
having  thrown  a  handful  of  mince  in,  the  pond  suddenly 
becomes  a  rough  sea,  and  some  of  the  inmates  leap 
right  out  of  the  water  in  the  exuberance  of  their  spirits, 
their  sleek,  spotted  sides  glistening  in  this  sun.  The  fry 
are  too  small  to  swallow  the  ordinary  minced  meat,  so 
they  are  fed  in  a  different  manner.  An  instrument 
called  a  feeder  is  used.  It  is  a  box  about  9  inches 
square  and  4  inches  deep,  made  with  wooden  sides,  a 
perforated  zinc  bottom,  and  a  long  handle.  A  little 
food  is  put  in  this  box,  which  is  then  half  immersed 
in  the  water  of  the  fry  pond  and  moved  from  side  to 
side.     The  smaller  particles  of  food  gravitate  through 


126 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[June  1,  1900. 


the  perforated  bottom,  and  the  thousands  of  fry  which 
can  be  seen  feeding  form  a  pretty  sight.  The  large 
pieces  left  in  the  feeder  are  given  to  the  adults. 

The  fish  are  sent  all  over  the  country  in  specially 
designed  cans,  externally  not  unlike  milk  cans.  In  the 
packing  room  the  fish  are  placed  temporarily  in  tanks, 
sorted  as  to  size  and  age,  and  then  put  into  the  travel- 
ling cans  which  are  three  parts  filled  with  water.  The 
cans  have  false  tops,  which  form  receptacles  for  ice. 
The  jolting  of  the  train  or  vehicle  keeps  the  water 
splashing  against  the  perforated  bottom  of  the  false  lid 
filled  with  ice,  which  effectually  cools  and  oxygenates 
it.  The  fish  are  not  fed  for  some  time  before  starting 
on  a  journey,  so  as  to  prevent  them  fouling  the  water, 
and  they  evidently  do  not  mind  shaking,  as  "  in  some 
cases  fish  have  been  carried  miles  over  rough  and  track- 
less mountains  in  carriers  specially  made,  which  are 
fitted  with  wooden  handles,  by  means  of  which  two 
men  can  carry  each  over  the  roughest  ground,  hauling 
them  up  the  face  of  the  steep  rocks  and  floating  them 
across  streams.  Where  mountain  ponies  can  be  used  we 
can  send  carriers  that  can  be  slung  jsannier  fashion 
across  their  backs. "^ 

Large  fish  on  arriving  at  their  destination  are  dipped 
in  salt  water  before  turning  out  into  their  new  abode 
This  immersion  in  salt  water  seems  to  be  the  great  cure 
for  the  dreaded  fungus  (Saprolcgnia  ferax)  and  the 
various  parasites  fish  are  so  subject  to.  The  yearling 
stage  seems  to  be  the  most  satisfactory  for  stocking 
waters,  though  fry  have  turned,  out  extremely  well, 
too,  and,  of  course,  are  very  much  cheaper. 

I  must  not  bring  this  article  to  a  close  without  men- 
tioning the  ponds  of  various  beautiful  aquatic  plants. 
Some  plants  and  fish  seem  to  have  formed  a  kind  of 
mutual  benefit  society,  the  former  "  consuming  carbon 
and  returning  oxygen,'  and  the  latter  "  consuming 
oxygen  and  returning  carbon."  Of  course  certain 
species  of  plants  are  more  beneficial  than  others;  for 
instance,  some,  besides  producing  oxygen,  form  perfect 
strongholds,  or  colonies  of  the  much-to-be  desired  mem- 
bers of  the  crastacca  and  niollusca  that  suit,  and  indeed 
are  so  necessary  ti.  the  fish. 

Interesting  experiments  in  acclimatization  are  carried 
out  on  aquatic  plants  from  all  parts  of  the  world; 
Japan  and  India  supplying  their  quota.  Besides  those 
plants  that  are  grown  from  a  strictly  utilitarian  point 
of  view  are  others  that,  if  not  of  much  use  as  food 
producers,  are  at  all  events  harmless  to  fish  and  culti- 
vated for  their  magnificent  foliage  and  beautiful 
flowers. 


THE    EVOLUTION    OF    SIMPLE    SOCIETIES. 

By  Professor  Alfued  C.  Haddon,  m.a.,  sc.d.,  f.r.s. 
III.— THE   PASTORAL  SOCIETIES. 

In  my  last  ai'ticle  I  dealt  with  the  Kalkas,  as  illustrating 
a  simple  and  homogeneous  human  society.  I  now  pro- 
pose to  take  a  general  survey  of  three  main  types  of  the 
pastoral  mode  of  existence.  In  doing  so  I  follow  in  the 
steps  of  M.  E.  Demolins  ("  La  Science  Sociale,"  XV., 
p.  173,  etc.).     The  selected  types  arc  the  following:  — 

1.  The  type  of  the  Steppes. 

2.  The  type  of  the  Tundra,s. 
■3.  The  type  of  the  Deserts. 

These  three  groups  agree  in  the  intense  development 
of     the     family     community,      and     the      absence     of 

IT  The  Company's  Catalogue. 


higher  social  organisations,  but  they  differ  in  the  or- 
ganisation and  extent  of  the  community  of  the  family. 

In  the  Steppes  the  family  community  attains  its 
highest  degree  of  purity  and  intensity.  We  have  al- 
ready seen  how  the  steppes  produce  abundant  grass  on 
which  large  flocks  can  be  supported,  and  how  the  family 
communities  find  in  the  pastoral  life  sufficiently  complete 
resources.  They  are  not  obliged  to  have  recourse  to 
accsssory  industries,  being  so  self-contained  the  com- 
munitary  influences  of  the  pastoral  art  are  scarcely 
influenced  from  the  outside.  Nowhere  do  communities 
attain  a  higher  degree  of  independence,  nowhere  is 
paternal  authority  so  powerful  or  uncontested.  The 
father  is  in  very  deed  magistrate,  priest,  and  king. 

Ill  the  Tundrna  a  marked  weakening  of  the  family 
community  is  observable.  Here  grass  is  scaixe  and  of 
poor  quality,  and  its  place  in  the  far  north  is  taken  by 
the  lichen  known  as  "  reindeer  moss."  The  herders  of 
reindeer  in  this  inhospitable  circumpolar  region,  the 
Lapps  of  Norway,  the  Samoyads  of  Siberia,  and  the 
Eskimo  of  North  America  ai-c  well  known,  and  of  these 
the  Samoyad  is  the  least  changed.  Life  cannot  be  main- 
tained, as  fuither  south,  by  the  pastoral  art  alone,  and 
so  recourse  must  be  had  to  fishing  and  hunting.  The 
reindeer  are  well  broken  in  and  trained,  and  have 
reached  a  high  excellence  as  draught  beasts.  The  sledge, 
too,  is  perfectly  adapted  to  the  physical  difficulties  pre- 
sented by  the  tundra.  The  reindeer  is  a  veritable  "  staff 
of  life  "  ;  its  skin  makes  the  tent,  and  constitutes  the 
chief  material  for  clothing.  Its  body  is  the  main  food 
for  the  Samoyad,  and  its  hide  and  sinews  are  made 
into  harness,  cordage,  and  thread.  It  is  the  only 
animal  which  is  fitted  to  draw  burdens  across  the  tundra, 
a  cjuaking  bog  in  summer,  a  howling  frozen  plain  in 
winter.  J  n  the  latter  season  the  Samoyad  hunts,  attacks 
and  snares  the  white  bear,  brown  bear,  sable,  fox,  lynx 
and  other  fur-bearing  animals ;  in  summer  he  catches 
enormous  numbers  of  birds,  geese,  swans,  duck,  etc. 
Parties  of  Samoyads  bring  furs  to  the  markets  across  the 
tundra,  before  the  melting  of  the  snow  makes  it  impos- 
sible for  liim  to  take  heavy  loads  across  the  tundra; 
those  who  remain  behind  complete  the  season's  harvest; 
these  are  rejoined  by  the  trading  pai-ties  before  the 
rivers  burst  free  from  ice,  and  the  whole  country  bo- 
comes  an  impassable  swamp.  But  the  two  occupations 
of  fishing  and  hunting,  which  require  agility  and 
strength,  tend  to  augment  the  importance  of  the  young 
to  the  decrease  of  the  influence  of  the  old,  that  is  to  say, 
of  the  natural  chiefs  of  the  community. 

In  the  tropical  dexerts  of  North  Africa  and  Western 
Asia  the  pastoral  art  is  insufficient  to  support  the 
populatioa.  The  insufficiency  in  this  case  is  due  to 
extreme  heat  and  drought,  which  only  admit  of  sparse 
and  poor  grass.  Hence  the  camel  is  the  dominant 
animal  in  that  zone  where  this  social  tvpe  is  most 
characteristic. 

It  is  necessary  tio  have  recourse  to  supplementary  re- 
sources. These  resources  are  indicated  by  each  particular 
locality;  but  the  main  features  are  similar,  since  these 
deserts  lie  between  the  tropics  with  their  rich  pro- 
ductions, and  the  southern  temperate  region,  with  a 
population  enriched  by  cultivation.  The  pastor  of  the 
desert  will  go  to  one  or  other  confine  to  procure  the 
necessai-y  supplement  to  his  means  of  subsistence,  which 
he  exchanges  for  various  fabrics  for  which  his  flock 
furnishes  the  raw  material,  and  wliich  are  manufactured 
by  his  family.  This  mode  of  life  was  early  developed 
into  an  organised  system  of  trade,  thus  the  pati'iarch  of 
the  desert  naturally  becomes  the  leader  of  a  caravan, 


JuN-K  1.  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


\-21 


and  acts  as  a  middloiuau  between  the  civilizations  of  the 
Mediterranean  and  the  savage  tribes  of  Central  Africa 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  civilizations  of  the  Orient  on 
the  other. 

This  simple  difference  in  the  conditions  of  life  im- 
poses a  grave  transformation  on  the  family  community. 
Each  year  very  long  journeys  have  to  be  made  from  the 
interior  of  the  desert  to  its  bordei-s  in  order  to  exchange 
merchandise.  Other  communities,  also  on  the  mai'ch, 
aro  met  with,  and  dispute  pasturages  and  wells,  as 
these  are  few  in  number  and  limited  in  extent.  The 
merchandise  must  always  be  protected,  hence  the  trading 
parties  must  be  as  numerous  as  possible,  and  have  ex- 
perienced chiefs — the  most  experienced  possible,  it  is  a 
matter  of  life  and  death. 

This  necessity  constrains  the  development  of  the 
family  community.  When  a  community  is  too  numerous 
in  the  prairies  a  portion  separates  under  a  new  patriarch, 
usually  one  of  the  brothers  of  the  old  one.  Here  a 
community  is  never  too  large.  They  do  not  separate 
into  family  groups,  but  remain  together  and  become  a 
tribe. 

The  tribe  contains  several  hundreds,  sometimes  several 
thousands  of  persons.  In  order  that  such  multitudes 
may  exist  on  so  poor  a  soil  they  are  divided  into  small 
groups  or  "  douars,"  which  are  like  the  companies  of  a 
regiment.  But  all  these  groups,  who  follow  one  another 
on  the  march,  form  only  a  single  community  under  the 
direction  of  one  chief,  and  arc  always  ready  to  rally  at 
the  fii-st  signal  and  at  the  least  danger. 

In  this  way  the  family  community  has  extended  to 
the  pioportions  of  the  tribe.  It  is  the  first  complication; 
but  it  induces  another  which  is  yet  more  characteristic. 

This  grouping  pemiits,  even  necessitates,  the  elevation 
of  certain  specialists  in  the  midst  of  the  group,  thus 
appear  *^hc  special  ministers  of  religion  such  as  the  well- 
known  m.u'about  arab.  The  mai'about  is  at  the  same 
time  a  specialist  in  intellectual  culture,  and  to  him  is 
given  the  teaching  of  the  children.  Thus  two  functions 
are  withdrawn  from  the  father,  tliose  of  religion  and 
teaching,  it  is  a  first  and  grave  diminution  of  the 
patriarchal  attributes. 

But  this  is  not  all :  the  direction  of  affaii's  is  also 
taken  away  from  the  heads  of  the  families ;  they  are 
constrained  on  the  one  hand  by  the  council  of  the  tribe 
which  is  composed  of  the  most  notable  patriarchs,  and 
on  the  other  by  the  chief  of  the  tribe.  It  is  necessai'y 
for  the  chief  to  be  armed  with  gi-eat  authority,  for  he 
must  defond  and  protect  not  only  the  public  interests 
but  also  those  of  private  life;  he  not  only  organises 
attack  and  defence,  but  he  also  regulates  the  watering 
and  commonage  of  the  flocks,  and  indicates  the  pastur- 
age :    he  is  thus  the  patron  of  labour. 

The  attributes  of  the  patriarch  are  very  sensibly 
diminished,  nevertheless  the  type  still  belongs  to  the 
societies  of  the  simple  comniunitary  foi'mation  of  the 
family,  for  the  tribe  is  only  an  enlarged  patriarchal 
family. 

These  three  types  differ  in  their  aptitude  for  dispersal, 
and  in  the  influence  they  have  exerted  on  neighbouring 
peoples.  The  pjistors  of  the  steppes  are  apt  to  swarm, 
but  are  not  qualified  to  organise  invasion  or  to  remain 
masters  of  the  conquered  country.  The  pastoi-s  of  the 
tundras  are  not  liable  to  expand,  also  there  is  no  question 
of  their  organising  invasions  or  of  conquering  other 
peoples.  The  pastors  of  the  deserts  are  notoriously  apt 
to  spread,  to  organise  invasion  and  to  remain  masters 
of  the  conquered  countries. 


The  aptitude  ^ii'  thu  I'astors  of  the  Prairies  to  spread 
is  naturally  explained  :  they  are  nomads  and  conse- 
quently accustomed  to  shift  their  quarters;  in  order  to 
invade  they  have  only  to  march  in  a  straight  line  to- 
wards a  definite  point  instciwl  of  wandering  hero  and 
there  on  the  steppes ;  they  have  scarcely  to  change 
their  ordinary  life.  Further  they  possess  the  horee, 
which  is  an  incomparable  means  for  transport.  The 
problem  of  the  commissariat,  so  important  and  (iifiicult 
in  a  militai'y  exi)edilion,  is  spontaneously  solved,  their 
food — i.e.,  their  flocks — marches  with  them. 

So  far  good,  but  here  commences  the  difficulty,  the 
population  of  this  type  arc  not  good  at  organization. 
These  societies  ai'e  formed  of  absolutely  independent 
families.  No  superior  organization  exists  above  the 
simple  patriarchal  family.  At  certain  times  a  number 
of  people  from  different  families  may  associate  in  a  more 
general  group,  as,  for  example,  to  go  on  a  pilgrimage 
to  some  distant  lamasery,  but  these  caravans  are  purely 
accidental  and  the  power  of  the  chiefs  of  the  caravan 
ceases  as  soon  as  the  caravan  reaches  its  goal. 

In  these  societies  of  small  autonomous  groups,  without 
constituted  government,  and  subject  to  a  centrifugal 
force,  all  collective  action  is  very  difficult.  To  produce 
it,  to  blaze  out  into  an  invasion,  it  needs  a  rare  com- 
bination of  favourable  circumstances,  which  renders  one 
man  prominent,  some  chief  of  a  caravan,  for  ex- 
ample, able  and  celebrated,  fit  to  lead  these  masses 
which  are  without  cohesion. 

It  is  precisely  because  this  combination  of  circum- 
stances is  so  exceptional  that  these  populations  over- 
flow their  natural  boundaries  only  at  very  rare  intervals. 
But  then  the  invasion  is  the  more  formidable,  and  such 
are  the  innumerable  throngs  who  precipitate  themselves 
in  the  wake  of  an  Attila,  of  a  Jenghiz-Khan,  of  a 
Tamerlane. 

These  very  names  suggest  the  idea  of  unorganised 
multitudes,  rushing  like  a  torrent,  but  not  advancing 
like  an  aimy.  The  original  inaptitude  of  the  type  for 
any  large  grouping,  for  any  complicated  organisation, 
and  for  surpassing  the  narrow  limits  of  the  patriarchal 
community,  is  manifestly  brought  to  light. 

For  a  very  good  reason  these  invadei-s  ai'e  precluded 
from  organising  and  administrating  the  conquered 
peoples ;  how  could  they  bring  to  them  the  social 
elements,  the  organization  of  public  life  which  they 
themselves  lack?  Thus  is  explained  the  state  of  anarchy 
and  the  lapid  disappearance  of  the  empires  of  Attila, 
of  Jenghiz-Khan,  and  of  Tamerlane;  they  traversed 
history  like  a  flash  of  lightning  which  rends  a  cloud  and 
immediately  disappears  into  obscurity. 

2'/ie  Fadors  of  the  Tundrae  are  still  less  favoured. 
They  have  not  even  the  first  requisite  for  invasion,  the 
means  of  transport.  They  only  possess  the  reindeer,  the 
dog,  the  sledge,  and  skates.  With  these  it  is  impossible 
to  go  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Boreal  region.  It  is  a 
serious  ,^lfficulty  to  enter  into  a  campaign.  In  these 
icy  regions  it  is  absolutely  impossible  to  agglomerate  a 
large  number  of  men  and  animals  on  account  of  the 
scarcity  of  pasturage,  and  large  areas  are  necessary  for 
even  a  small  herd  of  reindeer. 

Never  has  history  recorded,  nor  will  it  ever  record, 
a  single  invasion  by  Eskimo  or  Lapps. 

With  the  Pastors  of  the  Destrts  we  meet  with  a  type, 
the  most  capable  not  only  to  swarm  but  to  organise 
invasion,  and  to  remain  master  of  the  conquered  country. 

As  means  of  transport  they  have  the  camel  and  the 
Arab  horse.     The  nomad  life  renders  these  people  even 


128 


KNOWLEDGE 


[June  1,  1900. 


more  facile  for  movement  than  the  pastors  of  the  stejjpes, 
as  the  poverty  of  the  pasturages  necessitates  the  frequent 
shifting  of  their  abode.  No  nomad  surpasses  the  Arab 
in  celerity  of  movement. 

Thanks  to  the  habitual  life  of  the  caravan,  for  the 
tribe  is  only  a  permanent  caravan,  this  type  possesses 
the  complete  framework  of  an  army.  It  is  an  army 
always  on  the  march,  always  in  exercise,  always  ready 
to  shift  the  camp,  with  a  council  of  chiefs  and  a  com- 
mander-Ja-chief.  And  the  army  is  as  well  prepared  for 
attack  as  for  defence,  for  life  in  the  deserts  is  a  continual 
straggle  against  inimical  tribes.  When  a  favourable 
occasion  offers  to  expansion  the  tribe  affords  an  effective 
organization,  ready  at  a  moment's  notice,  with  a  proved 
chief,  who  knows  his  men,  and  is  known  by  them. 

This  type  is  also  veiy  superior  to  that  of  the  steppes 
from  the  point  of  view  of  administrating  the  conc^uered 
countiy. 

No  one  can  ignore  that  the  empire  of  the  Arabs  has 
played  a  very  different  part  in  histoi-y  from  that  of 
Attila  and  Tamerlane.  There  has  been  an  Arab  civili- 
sation and  it  was  brilliant;  the  justice  and  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  Caliphs  ai-e  celebrated,  and  justly  so. 
They  knew  how  to  rule  not  only  the  Orient  but  Spain, 
they  knew  how  to  develop  not  only  culture  but  the  ai-ts, 
letters,  and  the  sciences.  For  there  was  an  Ar-ab  art 
and  science.  No  one  has  ever  heard  of  an  art  or 
science  of  the  Tatars  or  of  the  Mongols. 

The  aptitude  for  government  is  equally  the  result  of 
the  jjermanent  organisation  into  tribes.  As  tribes, 
these  societies  possess  the  machinery  for  government 
under  those  conditions  which  assure  permanence  and 
solidity.  In  this,  the  Arab  societj'  approaches  the  com- 
plicated societies  of  tho  west.  The  tribe  is  a  natural 
and  permanent  grouping  which  does  not  tend  to  dissolve 
after  victory.  The  necessity  to  annually  sell  the  pro- 
ducts of  fabrication  25uts  the  Arabs  also  into  relation 
with  town  life. 

There  are  certain  characteristics  that  are  common  to 
the  peoples  under  review.     There  is  :  — 

(1)  Community  in  occupation.  The  nomad  pastoral 
art  requires  a  numerous  staff  (a)  to  herd  and  make  use 
of  the  flocks  that  are  necessarily  spread  over  consider- 
able areas ;  (6)  to  defend  themselves  and  theu-  flocks, 
for  they  can  have  no  other  security  in  these  solitudes; 
(c)  to  counteract  the  tedium  of  isolation,  and  to  meet 
the  adventures  of  a  wandering  life ;  (d)  to  provide  for 
the  numerous  articles  of  domestic  use,  for  most  usually 
each  group  has  to  be  comjjletely  self-suSicing  owing  to 
the  distance  it  is  from  all  the  resources  of  commerce. 

(2)  Community  in  property.  Grass  grows  without  the 
labour  of  man  hence  there  is  no  work  exjjended,  which 
of  itself  tends  to  create  a  jfroprietary  right.  The  soil  is 
unappropriated  by  individuals  or  even  by  family  groups 
for  the  nomad  population.  Extensive  commonage  is 
more  useful  than  the  exclusive  possession  of  a  restricted 
definite  area. 

(3)  Community  in  the  family.  Since  a  pastoral  life 
demands  a  numerous  staff,  the  various  households 
derived  from  a  common  ancestor  tend  to  remain  together 
under  the  rule  of  the  community,  instead  of  separating 
t'">  establish  themselves  independently.  The  girls  naturally 
separate,  but  onlj'  to  enter  into  another  community, 
into  that  of  their  husbands.  Such  is  the  type  of  the 
patriarchal  family  which  groups  a  large  number  of 
households  around  each  chief  or  patriarch. 

What  characterises  this  group  of  societies  is  not  only 
the  intenr.e  development  of  the  community,  but  also  the 
absence  of  all  higher  nucial  oryanisatiuns. 


These  societies  are  entirely  limited  to  the  community 
of  the  family,  it  is^  precisely  this  which  gives  to  all  this 
group  of  .'ocieties  its  great  character  of  simplicity.  None 
of  the  coQiplications  which  result  from  the  higher  or- 
ganisations of  social  life,  or  of  public  life,  can  be  pro- 
duced here,  since  these  organisations  do  not  exist.  Or, 
at  least,  Ihey  only  exist  latent,  so  to  sjjeak,  in  the  state; 
they  are  not  separated  from  the  family,  they  are  blended 
with  it. 

It  is  in  fact,  the  chief  of  the  community  who  fulfils, 
according  to  circumstances,  the  diverse  functions,  which 
elsewhere  are  specialised,  of  patron,  teacher,  religious 
instructoi',  policeman,  magistrate,  sovereign.  These 
functions  appear  here  as  the  attributes  and  extension  of 
the  paternal  authority. 

In  a  word,  each  community  is  in  itself  a  little,  com- 
plete, auionomous  state;    it  is  a  social  microcosm. 

Two  principal  effects  are  produced  by  the  communi- 
tai-y  organisation  :  — 

1.  Aversion  to  Hard  Work. — It  is  evident  that  people 
who  live  under  the  regime  of  the  community,  who  draw 
upon  the  common  estate,  not  in  proportion  to  their 
labour,  but  in  proportion  to  their  needs,  are  naturally 
inclined  to  work  as  little  as  possible  ;  each  has  a  tendency 
to  rely  on  the  labour  of  others  much  more  than  upon  his 
own,  and  as  a  consequence  is  tempted  to  make  the  least 
effort. 

The  indolence,  passiveness,  fatalism,  which  charac- 
terise the  pastoral  peoples,  or  those  derived  from  pastors, 
appear  to  owe  their  origin  to  the  communitary  organi- 
sation. 

2.  The  Minimising  of  Individual  Initiative. — Men  who 
are  born,  who  live,  and  who  die  in  a  community ;  who 
during  their  whole  life  have  no  need  to  take  a  personal 
decision,  ror  to  incur  any  responsibility ;  who  in  every- 
thing have  to  submit  to  the  authority  of  the  chief  of  the 
community ;  who  cannot  do  anything  without  the  sanc- 
tion of  this  community;  men,  in  a  word,  who  are 
pei-petually  considered  as  minors,  can  have  no  initiative. 
How  can  they  have  even  the  conception  of  it?  One  sees 
here  the  cause  which  has  so  profoundly  developed  the 
principle  of  authority  in  the  East,  and  which  has  made 
the  patriarchal  power  the  highest  exjDressiou  of  this 
authority. 

The  absence  of  hard  work  and  of  initiative  is  very 
slightly  inconvenient  in  pastoral  societies,  where  the 
problem  of  life  is  greatly  simplified. 

Man  is  not  naturally  inclined  to  work  :  the  grass, 
which  is  the  princijjal  resoiu'ce  of  the  herders,  requires 
no  labour,  it  renews  itself  each  year.  The  soil  upon 
which  he  pastures  his  flocks  cannot  be  lost  to  him, 
for  it  belongs  to  evei'yonc.  Each  enjoys  it  in  perpetuity, 
despite  his  improvidence  and  comparative  laziness.  This 
happy  proprietor  has  no  dread  of  mortgage,  of  usuiy,  nor 
of  dispossession. 

Mankind  is  by  Nature  little  inclined  to  initiative.  The 
pastoral  art  is,  by  its  natiu-e,  immobile ;  it  is  not  sus- 
ceptible of  improvements,  the  pastor  has  only  to  do 
tranquilly  what  has  been  done  since  time  immemorial 
by  his  predecessors ;  he  may  act  by  routine  at  his  ease, 
without  compromising  his  interests. 


THE   ROYAL   ACADEMY   EXHIBITION. 

The  labour  bestowed  by  the  Royal  Academy  of  Arts  in 
selecting  works  for  its  annual  exhibition  is  enormous, 
while  the  efforts  made  to  deal  justly  and  generously  with 
the    multitude    of    artists    and    others    who    send    in 


Jr.vK  1.  1900] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


129 


works  for  acceptance,  arc  such  as  can  only  be  bestowed 
by  a  highly  trained  and  a  high-minded  body  of  men. 

Works  in  sculptuiT,  oil  and  wator  colour,  black 
and  white,  and  archit-ectural  designs,  pour  into  the 
cellai-s  of  Burlington  House  during  the  tliree  days 
granted  to  would-be  exhibitoi's  until  they  total  some 
14.000.  The  names  and  addresses  of  the  authors  of 
each  work  have  to  be  recorded,  and  the  thousands  of 
pictures,  or  framed  works,  have  to  be  sorted  and  arranged, 
more  or  less  according  to  size,  in  order  that  they  may  be 
viewed. 

When  the  viewing  day  comes,  a  council  of  ten  Mem- 
bei-s  of  the  Academy  sit  and  see  the  whole  of  these 
works.  It  is  obvious  that  men  of  the  highest  standard 
in  their  art,  trained  in  eve  and  mind,  are  able  to  reckon 
up  the  relative  merits  of  very  many  of  the  works 
brought  before  them  in  a  moment.  A  Council  of 
Examiners  conducting  a  rire  rare  examination  on  some 
hundreds  of  students,  seeking  to  pass  in  French,  would 
dispose  in  an  instant  of  such  as  could  not  speak  three 
words  of  that  language.  Thus  fall  some  thousands  of 
works,  which  their  authors  and  friends  esteemed  highly. 
no  doubt  ou  the  principle  "  Where  ignorance  is  bliss 
'tis  folly  to  be  wise."  Tolerable  works  receive  more 
attention,  but  the  greater  number  of  these  follow  the 
multitude  downstairs  into  the  cellars.  Anything  that 
the  eagle-eyed  Council  regard  as  good  v/ork  is  set  aside 
as  doubtful  (that  is,  accepted  to  be  hung  if  space 
permits),  and  these  works  are  so  numerous  that  it  is 
utterly  impo.ssible  for  anything  like  the  whole  of  them 
to  obtain  a  place  upon  the  walls.  A  very  small  quantity 
of  exceptionally  good  works — seldom  more  than  eighty — 
are  "  accepted  "  to  be  "  placed  "  in  excellent  positions. 

The  labour  of  viewing  some  14,000  works  is  enormous. 
A  procession  of  bearers  carry  the  pictures  in  a  stream 
before  the  Council,  the  names  of  the  various  artists  not 
being  mentioned.  Sometimes  the  stream  rolls  on,  dull 
and  heavy,  at  other  times  it  sparkles  with  "  good  things." 
Woe  to  the  mediocre  work  that  finds  itself  amongst  the 
pearls ;  had  it  appeared  in  the  midst  of  the  dull  and 
heavy  it  might  have  had  a  chance,  but  in  all  things  com- 
pajisons,  if  odious,  tell.  A  very  small  part  of  a  second 
can  be  given  to  the  larger  number  of  the  works,  as  here 
described. 

A  vast  number  of  the  works  have  now  to  return  to 
the  cellars.  As  the  works  leave  the  large  gallery, 
where  the  Council  sit,  they  are  classified  at  once  by 
a  staff  of  commissioners  stationed  in  the  various  galleries, 
and  are  thus  alphabetically  registered.  Some  thousands 
of  cards  are  issued  to  the  authors  of  these  works,  the 
educational  effect  of  which  should  be  to  make  each 
recipient  "  A  sadder  but  a  wiser  man." 

The  first  part  of  the  Council's  labour  is  now  over,  and 
so  great  is  the  strain  of  the  concentrated  attention 
given  to  the  work,  that  most  of  its  members  are  ex- 
hausted.    This  portion  takes  from  seven  to  eight  days. 

Then  there  comes  a  selection  of  the  selected  works — a 
second  viewing.  The  "  doubtfuls  '  are  far  too  numerous 
for  the  space  yielded  by  the  walls  of  the  Academy,  and 
hence  this  fresh  sifting. 

The  duty  of  the  Hanging  Committee,  consisting  of  five 
Members,  now  begins. 

The  Academicians,  whose  works  have  been  passed  in 
outside  the  turmoil  of  the  14,000,  have  first  to  be  con- 
sidered. This  year  the  Academicians  are  particularly 
strong,  and  their  works  are,  as  a  whole,  such  as  have  not 
been  seen  for  many  years.  Each  Academician  is  en- 
titled to  have  four  only  of  his  pictures  upon  "  the  line," 


a  graceful  act  to  the  outside  artists,  who  otherwise 
would  hardly  ever  obtain  this  desired  position.  Places 
of  honour  are  apportioned  to  the  finest  works  of  Mem- 
bers, and  after  that,  places  of  honour  and  position  ai'e 
given  to  the  "  accepted  '  works,  and  the  best  of  the 
doubtfuls. 

Tlic  mass  that  is  left  is  picked  over  for  the  remaining 
space.  The  sizes  of  pictures  tell  for  or  against  their 
being  hung,  as  also  does  the  subject,  and  the  colour 
of  the  work.  Let  anyone  sit  down  in  a  room  of  the 
Exhibition  and  observe  how  well  balanced  in  size,  sul> 
ject,  and  colour,  most  of  the  walls  are,  and  consider 
the  labour  of  the  Hanging  Committee. 

No  Member  of  the  Council  (with  the  exception  of 
the  President  and  Keeper)  is  allowed  in  the  Galleries 
until  the  hanging  is  complete.  Then  the  other  half  of 
the  Council,  together  with  the  President  and  Keeper, 
go  through  the  rooms.  They  pass  the  work  of  the  Hanging 
Committee,  should  it  be  approved,  but  it  very  often 
happens  that  what  is  considered  an  injustice  in  the 
hanging  of  a  picture  is  at  this  final  viewing  altered  by 
the  Council. 

But  the  labour  is  not  yet  over.  First  and  foremost, 
the  endeavour  of  the  Hanging  Committee  has  been  to 
give  as  good  a  show  as  is  possible;  still  eiTors  may  have 
crept  in.  Has  any  "  acceptetl  "  picture,  with  its  red 
star,  been  overlooked?  Has  an  old  exhibitor  who  once 
earned  fame  for  himself  been  lost  sight  of?  If  such  is 
the  ea.se,  the  Committee  orders  such  works  to  be  hung, 
and  down  must  come  other  works  to  make  room.  No 
alteration  can  take  place  after  this. 

Everything  that  can  be  done  to  act  justly  and  gene- 
rously has  been  done,  but  there  are  hundreds  of  "  doubt-- 
fuls  "  for  which  no  place  can  be  found,  and  some,  no 
doubt,  are  better  than  works  that  are  hung.  Perhaps 
these  did  not  fit,  perhaps  they  were  overlooked.  Also, 
as  it  is  impossible  to  satisfy  everyone  whose  work  finds 
a  place  in  the  Exhibition,  there  must  always  be  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  annoyance  caused  to  exhibitors 
whose  work  is  poorly  located. 

The  Royal  Academy  of  Arts  holds  itself  highly.  On 
the  Press  day  none  of  its  Members  appear.  The  critics 
are  left  severely  alone  to  say  their  worst  or  best.  The 
critic  who  finds  fault  is  less  likely  to  be  laughed  at  for 
his  ignorance  than  he  who  falls  into  the  error  of  lauding 
an  inferior  piece  of  work. 


ARTIFICIAL   "RESEAU    PHOTOSPHERIQUE." 

By  the  Rev.  Arthur  Eabt. 

Every  student  of  solar  physics  is  acquainted  with  Sir 
W.  Huggins'  drawing  of  solar  granules  which  is  given 
in  all  the  text  books.  Since  that  drawing  was  made, 
some  thirty  years  ago,  we  have  had  the  magnificent 
photographs  of  Mons.  Janssen  taken  at  Meudon,  .showing 
with  marvellous  detail  the  granulation  of  the  solar 
surface,  and  exhibiting  somewhat  the  same  rectilinear 
arrangement  of  certain  portions  of  the  photosphere, 
which  Mons.  Janssen  has  named  the  "  rescau  photo- 
spherique."  So  far  no  explanation  has  been  given  for 
the  disposition  shown  in  Sir  W.  Huggins'  drawing,  so 
that  failing  a  better  the  following  is  offered,  derived 
chiefly  from  a  study  of  artificial  granules — that  we  have 
here  a  beautiful  demonstration  of  the  exchange  we  know 
must  always  be  going  on,  by  means  of  vertical  currents 
between  the  upper  and  lower  levels  of  the  photosphere. 
Masses   of   the   heated   lowest  strata  must   of  necessity 


130 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[June  1,  1900. 


rise,  become  relatively  cool,  travel  hither  and  thither 
over  the  upper  surface,  so  far  as  other  heated  masses 
also  striving  equally  to  extend  themselves  will  aJlow, 
and  sink  again  to  make  room  for  others,  and  rise  again 


Fix.  1. — Photograph  of  the  Sun's  Surface,  showing  granule  pattern. 

in  an  endless  series.  And  to  these  larger  masses  applies 
no  doubt  M.  Janssen's  remark  as  to,  what  he  names, 
the  "  I'li'raents  grauulaires." 

"  On  sent  que  la  sphere  a  ete  la  forme  jireminre  des  elements,  ces 
elements  sont  constitues  par  une  niatiere  tres  mohile  qui  oMe  avec 
facilite  aux  actions  extericures." 

That  is  to  say,  the  rising  masses  of  heated  photo- 
spheric  material  are  normally  spherical,  and  the 
rectilinear  aiTangement  forming  the  "  reseau  "  is  the 
result  of  the  mutuaJ  pressure  of  the  masses. 

An  attempt  has  been  made  to  reproduce  these  reticu- 
lations by  the  artificial  method  previously  given  in 
Knowledge,  and  some  examples  are  presented  in  the 
accompanying  illustrations,  together  with  two  repro- 
ductions of  the  Meudon  photographs.  The  method  con- 
sists in  floating  granules  of  the  curd  of  milk  in  a 
saturated  solution  of  salt  and  water,  and  putting  the 
pan  containing  the  solution  on  a  hot  plate;  almost 
immediately  spherical  or  at  least  round-headed  masses 
of  the  granules  begin  to  rise,  and  when  these  masses 
meet  they  mutually  compress  one  another,  the  lines  of 
impact  being  mostly  straight :  thus  we  get  a  very  regular 
"  reseau,"  with  this  remarkable  piece  of  information  that 
the  lines  of  separation  between  the  areas  are  formed 
exclusively  by  descending  granules,  the  middle  of  the 
reticulations  being  the  area  of  ascending  granules.  Let 
me  quote  again  M.  Janssen's  description  of  his  "  reseau." 

"  I'n  examcn  attentif  des  jihotograpliies  montre  que  la  surface 
Ac  la  jiliotosphire  n'a  pas  une  con.stitution  iiniforme  dans  toutes  ses 
parties,  mais  qu'ellc  se  divise  en  une  sferie  de  figures  plus  ou  moins 
distantes^  les  unes  des  autres,  ct  presentant  une  constitution 
partieuliere. 

"  Ces  figures  ont  des  contoui-s  plus  ou  moins  arondis,  sou\ent 
rectilignes,  et  rapj)elant  le  plus  ordinairement  des  polygoues." 

These  polygons  are  a  very  distinct  feature  in  the 
artificially  produced  "  reseau  photospherique." 


There  is  one  jsoint  absolutely  essential  to  the  success 
of  making  the  granules  play  in  this  manner — they  must 
be  able  to  move  freely  in  the  fluid,  any  tendency  to 
become  flocculent,  or  to  sink  to  the  bottom  in  a  mass, 
instantly  stops  this  pattern  forming;  in  this  case  spots 
may  be  formed  in  the  compacted  granule  masses,  as 
explained  in  a  previous  article  (Knowledge,  December, 
1897),  but  no  granule  patterns  will  play  on  the 
surface. 

Now,  if  these  artificial  granules  truly  represent  the 
behaviour  of  the  solar  granules,  it  is  evident  that  the 
conditions  on  the  sun  whem  spots  are  formed  are 
exactly  the  opposite  of  those  when  reticulations  are 
fashioned,  the  former  depending  on  the  compactness, 
and  the  latter  on  the  diffusiveness  of  the  photosf)heric 
materials. 

Consequently,  it  became  important  to  ascertain  at 
what  period  of  sun-spot  activity  Sir  W.  Huggins'  draw- 
ing was  made.  Sir  William  very  kindly  informs  me 
that  "  the  drawing  was  made  on  April  26,  1866,  one 
year  before  the  minimum,  the  previous  minimum  of 
1856  having  been  a  remarkable  one.  The  diagram 
does  not  represent  the  actual  appearance  of  any  one 
area  of  the  sun's  surface,  but  some  of  the  more  charac- 
teristic of  the  modes  of  grouping  of  the  bright  granules." 

It  seems  to  be  always  taken  for  granted  that  maximum 
"  sun-spottedness  "  and  maximum  solar  activity  are  the 
same  thing — in  fact,  convertible  terms.  I  venture  to 
submit  that  it  may  be  nothing  of  the  kind,  but  the 
exact  opposite  may  be  nearer  the  truth  :  when  the  solar 
energy  is  at  its  maximum  the  photosphere  may  be  so 
torn  and  churned  and  dispersed  that  it  has  not  com- 
pactness enough  left  for  spots  to  be  able  to  form,  and  if 


Fig.  2. — Artilicial  ^!olar  granule  pattern. 

some   few   form   they   are   small    and   soon   obliterated. 
M.  Janssen  observes:  — 

"  J'ai  pu  constater,  par  nos  series  photospherique  que  quand  le 
soleil  est  a  I'epoque  d'uu  minimum,  les  taclies  ont  une  surprenante 
tendance  .^  se  dissoudre.  L'annee  187(5  en  presente  plusieurs 
examples  remarkables." 

I  would  suggest  that  spots  are  a  sign  of  reviving  solar 
fury,  which  does  not  reach  its  maximum  \intil  it  has 


June  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


131 


reut  the  sun's  outer  garment  into  shreds  and  tatters  and 
the  suu-spot  minimum  has  arrived. 

It  may  be  objected  that  even  at  a  period  of  sun-spot 
maximum  the  total  area  occupied  by  spots  is  very  small 


wa!#-. 


:*>      v.!<i*- 


Fig.  3. — Pliotograph  of  the  Sun's  Surface,  showing  gi-aiiule  jiatterii. 

relatively  to  the  soleir  surface,  and  that  wc  .should  see 
more  signs  of  this  enormous  disturbance  of  the  photo- 
sphere if  it  really  existed ;  but  if  reference  is  made  to 
Professor  Hale's  spectro-heliogi-aphs  given  in  Know- 
ledge for  August,  1898,  it  will  be  seen  at  once  that  the 
solar  surface  is  vastly  more  disturbed  than  the  spots 
shown  telescopically  give  any  indication  of,  and,  indeed, 
that  the  telescopic  appearance  of  the  sun  is  exceedingly 
misleading.  As  was  to  be  expected,  sun-spots  are  after 
all  only  symptoms  of  the  state  of  the  photosphere,  which 
may  or  may  not  be  in  a  spot-forming  state,  a  fact  which, 
owing  to  the  extreme  interest  attaching  to  the  spots 
themselves,  one  is  perhaps  often  inclined  to  forget. 

Again,  there  is  the  obvious  reply  that  the  magnetic 
curve  so  closely  follows  the  sun-spot  ciuve  that  we  are 
obliged  to  allow  that  when  the  magnetic  cui-ve  indicates 
a  maximum  of  magnetic  disturbance  the  sun-spot  maxi- 
mum curve  must  also  indicate  a  maximum  of  solar  dis- 
turbance ;  but  the  conclusion  is  not  necessarily  true, 
and  I  would  urge  that  the  electricity  generated  by  a 
rush  of  escaping  steam,  say,  from  a  volcano,  or  from  a 
boiler,  depends  not  on  the  volume  of  steam,  nor  on 
the  fierceness  of  the  fire  below,  but  on  the  friction  of 
the  steam  against  the  sides  of  the  orifice,  and  that  the 
same  volume  of  steam,  if  it  were  free  to  escape  where 
it  would,  might  generate  no  electricity  at  all.  The  two 
cases  may  not  be  parallel ;  magnetic  storms  may  not  be 
caused  by  the  in-i-ush  or  out-rush  of  vapours  in  a  gi-eat 
sun-spot;  but  until  we  know  what  the  cause  is  it  would 
not  be  at  all  safe  to  infer  a  maximum  outbreak  of  solar 
energy  because  we  find  a  maximum  magnetic  disturb- 
ance. 

Or,  again,  it  may  be  said  that  the  prominences  by 
their  number  and  height  must  clearly  indicate,  coming 
as  they  do  so  markedly  in  direct  proportion  to  the  sun- 
spot     maximum,     that     solar     activity,     the     sun-spot 


maximum,  and  the  prominence  maximum  arc  syn- 
chronous. 

It  is  agreed  that  the  prominence  maximum  syn- 
chronises with  the  spot  maximum.  I  claim  it  as  a 
strong  proof  of  the  theory  now  advanced;  if  a  common 
gas  jet  is  partly  obstructed  the  llamo  will  shoot  out 
a  suii^rising  distance,  and  the  smaller  the  orifice  the 
longer  the  jet;  so  when  the  photosphere  is  diffuse  as 
it  is,  ex  hypothesi,  at  niinimuiu  the  solar  llames  have 
but  little  altitude,  when  compact  all  the  force  is  con- 
centrated at  the  openings  of  the  spots  and  vast  jets  of 
flame  ai-e  expelled. 

There  are  some  important  consequences  which  will 
follow  if  the  foregoing  explanation  of  the  cause  of 
granule  patterns  bo  admitted  as  a  true  one ;  the  ex- 
planation, namely,  that  the  absence  or  presence  of 
spots  depends  on  the  free  floating  of  the  solar  granules 
m  tho  vapours  out  of  which  they  are  formed;  or, 
on  the  conti-ary,  on  their  subsiding  into  strata  much 
denser  and  nearer  to  tho  .solar  surface.  The  Poles  will 
never  exhibit  spots,  for  there  tho  photospheric  matter 
will  always  be  too  closely  packed,  owing  to  slowness  of 
rotation,  for  the  surface  to  be  broken  through ;  as 
the  churning  of  the  jahotosphei'e,  pi-oduced  by  a  maxi- 
mum, subsides  the  granules  will  gradvially  sink  down 
again  first  towards  the  Poles  where  rotation  is  least ; 
when  the  new  spot  cycle  will  again  begin,  and  con- 
tinuously sink  towards  the  Equator,  whither  the  sjjots 
will  follow. 

The  question  of  tho  irregularity  of  tho  cloven-year 
cycle  will  then  bo  a  question  as  to  how  quickly  or  how 
slowly  tho  granules  composing  the  photosphere  aro 
allowed  to  sink  down  after  a  maximum  outburst  of  solar 
energy,  and  each  sun-spot  pcrioil  will  depend  in  somo 
degree  on  the  state  in  which  tho  photosphere  was  left 
by  the  preceding  one. 

The  cause  of  the  eleven-year  cycle   itself  remains,  of 


Fig.  4.— Artificial  S.jliir  granule  [.alUin. 

course,  still  untouched,  but  possibly  if  the  cause  of  the 
irregularities  were  known  we  might  get  some  hint  as  to 
the  direction  in  which  to  look  for  a  solution  of  the  main 
problem. 


132 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[June  1,  1900. 


PHOTOGRAPHS    OF    THE    NEBULA    M.  8 
SAGITTARII  AND  OF  iji  VI.  CETl. 

By    Isaac    Roberts,    d.sc  ,    f.r.s. 

NEBULA  M.  8  SAGITTARII. 

R.A.  17h.  57m.  33s.     Decl.  24°  23'0  South. 

The  iihoto^raph  was  taken  with  th"  20-iuch  refiector  on 
the  11th  July,  1800,  between,  sidereal  time,  18h.  2ni.  and 
lOh.  32m.,  with  an  exposure  of  the  plate  during  ninety 
minutes. 

Scale — one  millimetre  to  twenty-four  seconds  of  arc. 

The  nebula  is  referred  to  in  the  jSf.G.C.  No  6523,  G.C. 
43(il.  h  3722. 

The  photograph  shows  it  to  be  a  cloud  of  nebulous 
matter  extending  in  north  follotviny  to  south  prerediiii/ 
direction  forty-eight  minutes  of  arc,  and  about  the  same 
extent  in  south  foUowiny  to  north  preceding.  Near  the 
2>recediufi  end  the  nebulosity  is  dense,  with  a  bright  star 
apparently  touching  the  margin,  and  giving  it,  on  the 
negative,  the  appearance  of  an  eye  on  one  side  of  which  is 
a  prominent  space  free  from  nebulosity ;  there  are  also 
extensive  spaces  in  some  parts  of  the  nebula  which  are 
almost  free,  and  some  rjuite  free,  from  nebulosity  ;  these 
give  it  a  structural  ajipearance. 

There  are  many  stars  of  between  8th  and  1 7th  magnitude 
either  involved  or  seen  in  projection  upon  the  nebula,  and 
on  the  following  side  they  resemble  a  cluster  of  bright 
stars,  but  I  do  not  think  they  are  physically  connected 
with  it ;  they  are  probably  between  the  earth  and  the 
nebula. 

The  place  we  should,  with  our  present  knowledge,  assign 
to  this  nebula  in  the  order  of  stellar  evolution,  would  be 
an  early  state  pjrior  to  a  spiral  formation. 

But  we  must  have  patience  as  well  as  moderation  in  our 
speculations,  for  millions  of  years  will  probably  elapse 
before  it  is  completely  develoi)ed  into  a  cluster  of  stars. 

NEBULA     y    VI.    CETI. 
R.A.  Oh.  42m.  36s.     Decl.  25°  50'-6  South. 

The  photograph  was  taken  with  the  20-iuch  reflector  on 
the  25th  December,  1809,  with  an  exposure  of  the  plate 
during  ninety  minutes. 

Scale — one  millimetre  to  twenty-four  seconds  of  arc 

The  nebula  is  referred  to  in  the  N.G.C.  No.  252,  G.C. 
138,  h  61=2354,  and  is  figured  by  Herschel  in  the  Phil. 
Trans.,  1833,  PL  14,  Fig.  52,  p.  495.  Also  by  Lassell  iu 
the  Mem.  B.A.S.,  Vol.  XXXVI.,  PI.  1,  Fig.  1,  p.  40. 

The  photograph  shows  the  nebula  to  be  a  spiral  viewed 
at  an  acute  angle.  It  measures  twenty-four  minutes  of 
arc  in  diameter,  which  is  in  the  direction  north  j^ireceding 
to  south  following,  and  is  studded  with  numerous  conden- 
sations of  a  stellar  character ;  there  are  also  six  stars,  of 
the  normal  tyi)e,  wliicli  are  probably  seen  in  projection 
upon  it.  These,  together  with  the  stellar  condensations, 
will  afford  reliable  fiducial  points  for  the  measurement 
from  other  stars  around  the  nebula  with  the  object  of 
detecting  any  movements  either  of  rotation  or  of  transla- 
tion that  may  in  future  take  place  in  it. 

Both  these  nebulte  are  between  twenty-four  and  twenty- 
six  degrees  of  south  declination  ;  they  can  therefore  be 
photographed  under  much  more  favourable  conditions  in 
(ibservatories  near,  or  to  the  south  of  the  equator,  and 
tliere  can  be  no  doubt  that  Dr.  Gill  at  the  Cape,  or  Prof. 
Pickering,  will  give  a  good  account  of  them. 

If  we  consider  the  nebula  Ijl  VI.  Ceti  with  reference  to 
the  evolution  of  stellar  systems  its  place  would  be  far  in 
advance  of  M.  8  Sagittarii.  In  this  the  convolutions  are 
not  only  formed  but  the  development  of  the  stars  in  them 


has  also  reached  an  advanced  state  ;  some  of  them  appear 
like  small  well-formed  nebulous  stars;  and  the  nebula  in 
time — who  can  imagine  how  long — will  appear  as  a  star- 
cluster,  and  resemljle  those  which  have  already  been  photo- 
graphed and  described  in  the  volumes  of  "Photographs  of 
Stars,  Star-Clusters,  and  Nebulae." 


ASTRONOMY   WITHOUT  A  TELESCOPE. 

By   E.   Walter  Maunder,   f.r.a.s. 

v.— OBSERVATIONS    OF    THE    SUN. 

It  may  seem  at  first  sight  a  useless  and  idle  suggestion 
that  beginners  in  Astronomy  should  set  themselves  to 
the  redetermination,  on  the  roughest  scale  and  with  the 
simplest  of  instruments,  of  astronomical  constants  which 
were  first  determined  more  than  five  millenia  ago,  and 
which  are  now  ascertained  in  our  modei^n  observatories 
to  an  almost  inconceivable  degree  of  exactness.  Yefc  if 
we  think  for  a  moment  we  shall  see  that  this  is  but  the 
method  which  experience  has  taught  us  is  the  most 
effective  in  learning  the  other  physical  sciences.  We 
know  perfectly  well  wc  can  never  make  a  chemist  of  a 
boy  by  giving  him  a  course  of  chemical  text^books.  We 
set  him  to  repeat  for  himself  experiments  which  were 
first  made  in  the  very  infancy  of  the  science.  We  make 
him  determine  again  the  combining  weights  of  different 
elements,  though  these  are  known  far  more  exactly  than 
he  can  possibly  work  them  out ;  and  in  so  doing,  he  not 
only  acquires  skill  as  a  worker,  but  the  subjects  of  his 
study  become  real  to  him ;  he  learns  to  know  them  in 
a  sense  which  no  amount  of  reading  about  them  could 
ever  supply. 

It  has  been  the  drawback  of  Astronomy  that  this 
course  has  so  seldom  been  adopted,  and  the  inevitable 
result  has  been  seen  in  that  no  science  whatsoever  has 
produced  so  large  a  proportion  of  paradoxers  and  cranks. 
There  is  no  science,  the  chief  facts  of  which  are  so  widely 
disseminated  ;  there  is  none  of  which  those  facts  are  so 
little  known  by  practical  personal  observation. 

Much  of  this  unfoi-tuuate  state  of  things  is  due  simply 
to  the  modern  tendency  to  live  in  towns.  Here  the 
smoky  atmosphere  dulls  the  shining  of  the  heavenly 
bodies ;  the  crowded  buildings  hide  the  horizon  and 
curtail  the  view  of  the  sky,  and  at  night  the  ai'tificial 
lights  in  streets  and  houses  completely  di'own  the  feebler 
glitter  of  the  stars  and  draw  off  attention  from  them. 
We  do  not  need  moon  and  stars  as  our  ancestors 
did,  and  therefore  we  do  not  notice  them.  We 
do  not  need  to  observe  the  sun  to  give  us  the  time 
of  the  year;  our  almanacs  tell  us  that.  Therefore, 
except  in  observatories,  the  sun's  place  in  the  heavens 
remains  unnoted. 

But  in  early  times  this  observation  was  of  the  very 
first  importance.  The  constellations  as  wo  have  seen, 
were  mapped  out  some  5000  years  ago.  (Knowledge, 
Februai-y,  1900,  p.  37.)  Before  that  was  done^ — how 
long  before  we  cannot  tell — the  length  of  the  year  had 
been  determined  and  the  appai-ent  path  of  the  sun 
amongst  the  stars  had  been  laid  down.  The  exact 
methods  and  instruments  those  early  astronomers  em- 
ployed are  not  recorded,  nor,  if  they  were,  would  there 
be  any  reason  for  slavishly  copying  them  in  repeating 
the  work  to-day.  But  in  all  piobability  the  first  a.s- 
tronomical  instrument  was  one  of  Nature  s  own  pro- 
viding, the  natural  horizon.  And  wherever  a  fairly 
good  one  is  available,  the  beginner  in  astronomy  is 
strongly  recommended  to  make  use  of  it. 

If  this  were  so  then  no  doubt  those  primeval  observers 


< 

h 

O 

< 

00 


< 

O 
W 


u 


PQ 
2: 


Junk  1.  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


133 


had  their  attcutiou  drawn  to  the  fact  that  as  seen 
from  some  given  station  the  suu  rose  and  set  behind 
different  portions  of  the  horizon  at  different  times  of  the 
yeai'.  In  an  open  country  free  from  mist«  aiid  ground 
fogs,  this  observation  would  be  one  of  great<?r  delicacy 
than  might  be  expected — a  delicacy  the  greater  accord- 
ing to  the  distance  of  the  horizon  and  to  the  number 
and  distinctness  of  the  objects  which  could  be  recognised 
upon  it.  They  would  serve  the  purpose — so  to  speak  — 
of  the  divisions  of  a  gigantic  azimuth  circle,  and  a  few 
years"  cai'eful  and  sedulous  record  of  the  exact  position 
of  the  sun  at  rising  and  setting  would  give  an  ex- 
ceedingly close  determination  of  the  true  length  of  the 
tropicaJ  year. 

They  would  do  more  than  this.  They  would  give  the 
means  of  determining  the  south  point  of  the  horizon — in 
other  words  of  the  meridian  line.  A  lino  drawn  at  right 
angles  to  the  line  joining  the  point  of  rising  and  setting, 
would  be  roiif/Iih/  but  not  precisely  the  meridian  line. 
But  the  mean  of  all  the  points  this  indicated  as  due 
south  would,  unlsss  the  horizon  were  much  more  ob- 
structed on  one  side  than  the  other,  approximate  very 
closely  indeed  to  the  true  south  point. 

The  conditions  for  different  observei-s  will  vary  so 
widely  that  it  would  be  useless  to  give  detailed  directions 
as  to  making  this  observation,  and  it  would  be  u.5eless 
for  another  reason.  It  is  most  important  that  those 
who  take  up  the  pursuit  of  naked  eye  Astronomy  should 
make  their  observations  independently,  and  too  detailed 
instruction  beforehand  would  defeat  the  very  object 
for  which  those  observations  were  made. 

It  would  soon  be  felt  that  the  natural  horizon  was  a 
rough  and  inconvenient  instrument  to  work  with.  The 
objects  ranged  along  it  which  serve  as  division  marks 
are  apt  to  be  irregular,  the  horizon  itself  to  deviate 
very  considerably  from  an  ideal  plane.  So  perhaps  the 
next  step  in  the  obsei-vation  of  the  sun  would  be  the 
erection  of  some  means  of  observing  the  shadow  it  casts 
— in  other  words  a  simple  sun-dial. 

It  is  probable  that  the  earliest  sun-dial  was  simply  the 
spear  of  some  nomad  chief,  stuck  upright  in  the  ground 
before  his  tent.  Amongst  those  desert  wanderers,  keen 
to  observe  their  surroundings,  it  would  not  be  a  difScult 
thing  to  notice  that  the  shadow  shortened  as  the  sun 
rose  higher  in  the  sky,  and  that  the  shortest  shadow 
always  pointed  in  the  same  direction — north.  Ths  re- 
cognition would  have  followed  very  soon  that  this  noon- 
day shadow  changed  in  its  length  from  day  to  day. 
A  sLx-foot  spear  would  give  a  shadow  at  noonday  in 
latitude  40°  of  12  feet  at  one  time  of  the  year,  of  less 
than  2  feet  at  another.  This  instniment,  so  simple, 
so  easily  carried,  so  easily  set  up,  may  well  have  begun 
the  scientific  study  of  Astronomy,  for  it  lent  itself  to 
measurement,  and  science  is  measurement;  and  pro- 
bably we  see  it  expressed  in  permanent  form  in  the 
obelisks  of  Egyptian  solar  temples,  though  these  no 
doubt  were  retained  merely  as  solar  emblems  ages  after 
their  use  as  actual  instruments  of  observation  had  ceased. 
An  upright  stick,  carefully  plumbed,  standing  on  some 
level  surface,  may  therefore  well  make  the  fii'st  advance 
upon  the  natural  horizon.  A  knob  at  the  top  of  the 
stick  will  be  found  to  render  the  shadow  more  easily 
observed. 

The  careful  study  of  this  instrument  will  enable  the 
meridian  line  to  be  marked  with  some  considerable 
exactness.  This  should  be  done  by  taking  an  observation 
at  some  time  in  the  morning,  a  good  while  before  noon, 
drawing  a  circle  with  the  base  of  the  stick  as  centre, 
and  the  length  of  the  shadow  as  radius,  and  then  in  the 


afternoon  watching  till  the  tip  of  the  shadow  again 
lengthens  itself  to  exactly  reach  the  circle.  We  shall 
lind  the  north  point  lie  midway  between  the  two 
positions  of  the  shadow.  Here  again  we  must  trust  not 
one  observation  but  many,  and  the  mean  will  give  us  a 
very  close  approximation  to  the  true  meridian. 

The  date  of  the  summer  or  of  the  winter  solstice  would 
not  be  very  readily  ascertained  from  such  an  instrument 
— the  very  word  solstice  intimating  that  the  change  in  the 
sun's  }K)sition  at  that  season  is  scarcely  perceptible.  But 
the  time  of  the  equinoxes  can  be  fixed  with  sufficient 
exactness,  since  the  length  of  tho  noonday  shadow  of  a 
six-foot  rod  will  vary  in  our  latitude  more  than  an  inch  a 
day  at  that  time  of  the  year. 

A  far  cxacter  instrument  for  the  observation  of  the 
sun  can  bo  made  with  the  very  slightest  trouble;  a 
light  tube,  f)  feet  4  inches  long,  made  cither  of  tin  or  of 
piusteboard,  and  covered  at  one  end  wit,h  a  cardboard 
disc,  with  a  pinhole  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  in  diameter, 
carefully  perforaUxl  in  its  centre,  and  at  the  other  with 
a  cap  of  oiled  paper,  will  enable  the  sun  to  be  observed 
with  great  ease.  If  this  tube  is  directed  t,o  the  sun  an 
image  of  the  sun  will  be  formed  by  the  pinhole  on  the 
oiled  paper  some  six-tenths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and 
if  a  cardboard  disc  some  ten  or  twelve  inches  in  diameter 
is  fixed  to  the  tube— the  tube  passing  through  the  centre 
of  it — so  as  to  screen  the  observer  from  the  rays  of  the 
sun,  he  will  find  the  sun's  image  on  the  oiled  paper  quite 
bright  enough  to  observe,  and  much  better  defined  than 
the  shadow  given  him  by  tho  rod. 

The  next  step  would  be  to  fit  the  tube  with  a 
graduated  circle.  The  mateinal  of  which  tho  circle 
should  be  made  and  the  manner  in  which  it  should  be 
graduated  may  be  left  to  the  ingenuity  of  the  student. 
Protractors  of  horn,  metal,  glass,  or  card  can  be  very 
easily  purchased  and  may  well  serve  the  jourpose.  The 
reading  of  the  circle  may  be  accomplished  in  one  or  two 
ways ;  the  circle  may  be  fixed  firmly  to  the  telescope 
so  as  to  turn  with  it,  and  the  altitude  of  tho  tube 
may  then  be  read  by  a  plumb-line  dropped  from 
the  centre  of  the  circle  across  its  circumference;  or  the 
circle  may  itself  be  fixed  in  one  position  with  respect  to 
the  vertical,  and  the  tube  may  be  turned  round  upon 
the  same  centre  as  that  of  the  circle.  In  this  case  the 
tube  should  be  supplied  with  pointers  to  read  on  the 
circle. 

The  tube  being  provided  by  a  vertical  circle  and  con- 
structed so  as  to  turn  in  a  vertical  plane,  should  also 
have  its  stand  so  arranged  that  it  may  turn  iu  a  hori- 
zontal plane  also,  and  it  should  be  fitted  with  a  second 
ciixle,  the  centre  of  which  is  the  pivot  on  which  it  turns. 
This  circle  must  be  fixed  iu  the  horizontal  plane,  and 
our  instiTjment  will  then  be  a  rough  model  of  an 
altazimuth. 

Its  fir.st  u.sc  will  be  to  determine  the  meridian — by 
taking  an  observation  in  the  morning  reading  botli 
circles — then  in  the  afternoon,  waiting  until  the  sua 
had  descended  to  tho  same  altitude  a  second  time,  and 
then  reading  the  azimuth  circle  again.  To  set  the 
telescope  to  the  azimuth  midway  between  these  two 
azimuths  would  be  to  set  it  roughly  in  tho  meridian. 
Here  again  the  observations  should  be  repeated  many 
times,  and  the  mean  should  bo  taken  as  the  true  south 
point. 

The  south  point  once  found,  the  observation  of  the 
varying  altitude  of  the  sun  at  noon  from  day  to  day 
throughout  the  year  would  be  a  simple  and  easy  matter. 
At  midsummer  and  midwinter  the  meridian  altitude  of 
the   sun   will   not   vary   perceptibly   for  a  fortuigu*    or 


134 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[June  1,  1900. 


more,  so  that  wc  shall  obtain  a  uiuiiber  of  observations 
for  the  greatest  and  least  height  of  the  sun  Half  the 
difference  between  these  two  must  plainly  be  the 
obliquity  of  the  ecliptic;  and  the  altitude  which  is  the 
mean  of  these  two  extreme  altitudes  must  be  the 
altitude  of  the  equator,  that  is  to  say  of  the  sun  when  it 
is  at  the  equinox.  The  date  of  the  equinox  will  be 
determined  to  the  nearest  day  without  any  difficulty, 
for  if  we  set  our  tube  in  the  meridian,  and  pointing  to 
the  equator — in  other  words  at  an  altitude  equal  to  the 
co-latitude  of  our  station — a  single  day's  variation  ii> 
the  height  of  the  sun  at  the  time  of  the  equinox  will 
make  a  change  in  the  position  of  the  sun  in  the  fiell  of 
our  pinhole  tube  of  about  four-tenths  of  an  inch- -an 
amount  which  the  very  roughest  of  observers  could  no*" 
overlook. 

Such  an  instrument,  simple  as  it  is,  would  therefo.-e 
enable  the  observer  to  determine  the  date  of  the  equinox 
to  the  nearest  day,  and  consequently  the  length  of  the 
tropical  yeai',  and  also  the  obliquity  of  the  ecliptic  and 
the  co-latitude  of  the  place  of  observation.  The  exact- 
ness with  which  these  could  be  determined  w(  uld  depend 
upon  the  skill  and  patience  of  the  observer,  who  could, 
ere  long,  if  he  were  sufficiently  exact,  begin  to  detect 
causes  of  irregularity  in  his.  results,  some  due  to  defects 
in  his  instrument,  and  some  due  to  causes  apart  from 
that  apparent  motion  of  the  sun  which  it  was  his  first 
object  to  determine.  These  we  must  leave  for  the 
present,  though  their  detection  and  the  discovery  of 
their  cause  would  give  a  keen  delight  to  anyone  with 
a  true  observer's  spirit,  especially  when  he  found  that 
a  proper  allowance  for  them  brought  his  observations 
into  ever  closer  and  closer  accord. 


Utttcrs. 


[The  Editors  do  not  hold  themselves  responsible  for  the  opinions 
or  statements  of  correspondents.] 

SEAECH  FOR  AN  INTRA-MERCURIAL  PLANET. 

TO    THE    EDITORS    OF    KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — "With  refei-ence  to  Prof.  E.  C.  Pickering's  pro- 
posal to  search  for  an  intra-mercurial  jjlanet  during  the 
total  phase  of  the  solar  eclipse  of  May  28,  I  should  like 
to  remark  that  if  such  a  jjlanet  exists  it  is  probably 
exceedingly  small.  In  fact  it  must  be  too  small  to  be 
distinguished  when  in  transit  over  the  sun,  or  it  would 
certainly  have  been  discovered  long  ago  unless  indeed 
its  orbit  is  much  inclined,  and  it  is  enabled  to  pass 
N.  or  S.  of  the  sun  at  its  conjunctions,  which  is  highly 
improbable.  The  instances  of  rapidly  moving  dark 
spots  quoted  by  Webb  may  be  dismissed  as  too  doubtful 
to  throw  any  definite  light  on  the  subject.  The  obser- 
vations are  too  imperfect  to  afford  data  for  the  satisfac- 
tory computation  of  the  orbit,  though  Lescai'bault's  re- 
ported discovei-y  of  1859,  Mai-ch  26,  enabled  M.  Lu 
Verrier  to  derive  approximate  elements.  But  Lescar- 
bault's  description  is  probably  the  most  untrustworthy 
of  all,  for  the  same  observer  announced  to  the  Academy 
of  Sciences  on  1891,  January  11th,  that  he  had  dis- 
covered a  bright  body  in  Leo,  which  he  could  not 
identify,  and  had  therefore  concluded  it  to  be  a  ne;v 
star.  This  "  new  star  "  proved  to  be  the  planet  Saturn  : 
Lescarbault,  so  easily  deluded  in  this  case,  was  no  doubt 
similarly  mistaken  in  1859,  when  a  normal  sun-spot 
must  have  encouraged  visions  of  a  mobile  planetary 
body.  In  this  connection  it  may  be  added  that  M. 
Emmanuel  Liais,  whose  decease  has  recently  been  an- 
nounced,  was  watching  the  sun  in  Brazil   at  the  very 


hour  when  Lescarbault  thought  he  had  detected 
"  Vulcan,"  and  positively  averred  that  no  object  of  the 
kind  was  visible. 

At  various  times  I  have  obtained  some  thousands  uf 
solai'  observations  with  different  instruments,  but  chiefly 
with  refractors  of  4^in.  and  3in.,  and  a  reflector  of  4in. 
aperture  with  a  view  to  the  detection  of  an  iiitra- 
mcrcurial  planet.  The  months  of  observation  were  usually 
March — Ajjril,  and  September — October.  On  some 
days  the  sun  was  examined  at  short  intervals  duriug 
the  whole  time  that  he  remained  above  the  horizon,  but 
I  never  met  with  any  object  representing  an  intra- 
mercurial  planet.  Occasionally  a  suspicious  looking 
spot — pretty  round,  small,  and  without  penumbra — was 
noticed,  but  upon  being  closely  watched  it  always  proved 
a  veritable  sun-spot.  I  believe  that  spots  with  certain 
planetary  aspects  appear  more  often  than  is  generally 
supposed,  and  perhaps  it  is  no  wonder  that  their  charac- 
ter has  been  sometimes  mistaken  by  persons  who  have 
formed  hurried  conclusions  without  applying  proper 
tests.  W.  F.  Denning. 

Bishopstou,  Bristol, 
May  5th,  1900. 


S.  U.  CYGNI. 

TO    THE     EDITORS    OF    KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — As  but  little  so  far  as  I  know  has  been  pub- 
lished of  the  movements  of  Miller  &  Kempf's  Variable, 
designated  by  them  as  S.  T.  Cygni,  and  by  a  late  writer 
in  the  Agronomical  Journal  as  S.  U.  Cygni,  the  following 
observations  though  lengthy  may  be  worthy  of  a  portion 
of  your  valuable  space. 


Matrni- 

Date. 

tude 

observed. 

Aiigt.  2+ 

ti.51 

27 

6-51 

„       28 

7  07 

,.       2!l 

7-22 

..       30 

7'22 

,.       31 

(i-7I 

Sept.     1 

ti71 

,,       23 

tJ-91 

i 

6  63 

5 

7-12 

!' 

708 

.,       11 

715 

,,       12 

6'6S 

,,       13 

7-13 

„       It 

7-25 

,.       21 

7-96 

22 

7-10 

,,       23 

7-13 

,.       25 

-•OS 

,.       2') 

6  98 

6-49 

,.       29 

7-18 

„       30 

7-18 

Oft.       1 

7-18 

2 

7-l!l 

3 

-•30 

5 

(p-9 

„         ' 

T-27 

K 

-•;!0 

;i 

671 

„      10 

7-35 

,.       12 

7^3S 

„      13 

e^89 

.,      n 

7^27 

,,       15 

7-27 

.,       16 

e-58 

Maximum  due. 
G.M.T. 


D.  H,     M. 

Aus-t.  -23    17    3!) 
„'      -27     13    55 


„      31  10  10 

Sept.     i  6  25 

8  2  41 

„       11  22  56 

,,       15  19  11 

.,       19  15  27 

,,       23  11  U2 

,,      27  7  58 

Oct.       1  4  Vi 

,,        5  0  29 

8  20  45 


Magni- 

Date. 

tude 

observed. 

Oct.     15 

7^^27 

„       16 

6^58 

,.       18 

7-11 

,,       19 

7-10 

„       '20 

7  •OS 

.,       21 

7-08 

22 

7-27 

„       23 

7-3.5 

.,       24 

7-08 

.,      24 

608 

„       25 

6-.% 

.,       26 

7-21 

„       -28 

697 

„       29 

6  •93 

,.      30 

7-39 

.,       31 

7-32 

Not.     3 

720 

s 

6-79 

.,       15 

6-85 

„      19 

7-27 

„      23 

7-23 

„      23 

6^94 

„      28 

695 

..      30 

-13 

Dec.      2 

661 

3 

7-12 

4 

7^19 

5 

6-56 

..       11 

7^31 

..       12 

7-31 

,.       15 

6-56 

,,       16 

yo6 

,.       25 

671 

„       26 

6-56 

„      28 

6-30 

Maximum  due. 
G.M.T. 


Li.  H.      M. 

Oct.     16     13     1.5 


24      5    45 


„      31     22    16 
Nov.      4    IS     31 


20       3    32 
23     23     47 


„       27     20    02 
Dec.      1     16     17 


5  12  32 

9  8  48 

13  5  03 

17  1  18 

24  17  48 

27  It  04 


These  observations  were  made  in  the  evenings  not 
later  than  8  p.m.  local  time,  which  is  six  hours  and 
twelve  minutes  behind  G.M.T. 

Following  the  elements  given  by  the  discoverers  I 
have  given  the  dates  upon  which  maxima  were  due 
G.M.T.  Their  period  is  3.844  or  20h.  15m.  21.4,  while 
Luzctte's    (Paris)    period    is    3.846    or    20h.    18m.    14  2, 


Jdns  1,  lyoo.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


1  •^^^ 


making  quite  a  difference.  To  wliat  I  have  said  of  this 
star  in  March  Knowledge  I  will  add  nothing  till  I  sgt 
more  of  it.  David  Flanery. 

Memphis.  Tenn..  U.S.A., 
11th  April,  1900. 

«  ♦  ♦       — 

AVIRELESS-TELEGKAPH   RECEIVER. 

Mr.  R.  Child  Bay  ley,  Editor  of  Photographij,  writes 
to  us  : — 

'■  The  interesting  letter  fi-om  Jlr.  Nonuan  Robinson  in 
your  May  issue  and  the  appeal  by  Mr.  Little,  leads  ine  to 
think  that  jtossibly  those  gentlemen  may  not  be  acquainted 
with  the  very  remarkable  paper  by  Mr.  Glew  read  before 
the  Royal  Photographic  Society  about  a  year  ago.  In 
that  eommimieation  the  author  described  a  method  by 
which  it  apjieared  perfectly  possible  for  the  Hertzian 
disturbances  to  which  a  flash  of  lightning  gives  rise,  so  to 
actuate  the  shutter  applied  to  a  camera,  that  the  plate 
itself  should  be  exiiosed  to  record  the  lightning  before  the 
light  waves  had  time  to  i-each  the  plate  " 

This  paper  was  published  in  the  Photographic  Journal 
of  March,  1899. 

OBSITHOI.OGICAL  XoTES. — In  the  absence  from  England  of  .Mr. 
Harry  F.  Witherby,  the  Ornithological  Notes  are  held  over. 


j^oticts  of  Boolts. 

— • — 

"Text-book  of  Palsontologr."  By  K.  A.  von  Zittel.  Translated 
and  edited  by  C.  R.  Eastman.  Vol.  1.  (Macmillan.)  Illustrated. 
25s.  net.  Professor  von  Zittel's  "  Handbuch "  and  the  smaller 
"  Grundzuge  (Outlines)  der  I'aleontologie "  have  attained  such  a 
world-wide  reputation,  and  contain  such  a  vast  amount  of  matter 
which  can  be  found  nowhere  else  within  the  limits  of  a  single  work, 
that  it  is  a  matter  for  congratulation  that  the  latter  is  at  last 
produced  (so  far  as  the  Invertebrates  are  concerned)  in  English. 
The  English  edition  has  been  undertaken  by  Mr.  Eastman,  of 
Harvard  College,  with  the  assistance  of  a  brilliant  staff  of  American 
specialists  ;  and  the  result  seems,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
all  that  can  be  desired.  At  the  commencement  of  the  undertaking 
it  was  intended  to  give  a  literal  translation  of  the  German  original 
of  the  "  Grundzuge,"  but  as  the  work  progressed  it  was  found, 
with  the  lapse  of  time  since  the  publication  of  the  former,  the 
incorporation  of  so  much  new  matter  was  essential  in  order  to 
bring  it  up  to  date  that  this  became  a  practical  impossibility. 
Accordingly,  after  the  tran.slation  of  the  chapters  on  Protozoa  and 
Ccclenterata,  which  stand  almost  in  their  original  form,  it  was 
determined,  with  the  assent  of  the  author,  to  rewrite  and  expand 
the  remaining  sections  so  as  to  bring  them  thoroughly  abreast  of 
the  present  state  of  science.  It  will  be  found,  therefore,  that  while 
some  of  the  later  chapters,  especially  the  one  on  the  MoUusca,  are 
but  little  altered  from  the  German  text,  a  large  portion  of  the  work 
although  following  the  general  lines  of  the  original,  is  practically  a 
new  production.  A  praiseworthy  feature  is  the  large  amount  cf 
bibliographical  matter  added  in  the  form  of  foot-notes,  which 
renders  the  work  more  valuable  not  only  to  the  ordinary  student, 
but  likewise  to  the  advanced  .specialist. 

Taken  as  a  whole,  the  work  is  written  in  a  much  more  technical 
style  than  the  corresponding  portion  of  the  "Manual  of  Palieon- 
tology  "  by  Nicholson  and  Lydekker ;  and  it  cannot,  therefore,  in 
any  sense  be  regarded  as  a  "  readable "  volume,  in  which  the 
mere  amateur  will  find  deliglit  for  his  leisure  moments.  It  is,  in 
fact,  a  purely  scientific  manual,  written  for  students  and  scientific 
men  ;  and  as  such  may  lay  claim  to  the  highest  praise.  To  assimi- 
late its  contents  the  reader  must,  indeed,  be  well  acquainted  with 
the  meaning  of  a  large  vocabulary  of  abstruse  terms  ;  and  almo.st 
the  only  improvement  we  can  suggest  would  be  the  addition  of  a 
glcssary  of  such  terms. 

In  a  brief  notice  like  the  present  it  is  impossible  to  attempt 
criticism  ;  and  we  can  only  state  that  the  definitions  are  drawn  up 
with  a  precision  and  preciseness  which  are  really  admirable,  while 
the  illustrations  (reproduced  from  the  original)  are  all  that  can  be 
desired.  Especial  attention  may  be  directed  to  the  figures  of 
Ammonites,  in  which  the  form  of  the  complicated  "  sutures  "  is  in 
most  cases  clearly  shown  on  a  small  segment  of  the  shell  in  a 
manner  rendering  ea.sy  the  determination  of  the  generic  characters. 


We  hope  before  long  to  have  the  opportunity  of  according  an  equal 
hearty  welcome  to  the  Vertebrate  section  of  this  most  valuable  and 
important  work. 

"The  Boyhood  of  a  Naturalist."  By  Fred  Smith.  (Blackie.) 
3s.  6d.  It  is  only  <mce  in  a  while  that  we  come  across  such  an 
optimistic  book  as  the  one  under  notice.  All  who  wish  to  recall  the 
happy  days  of  boyhood,  and  to  again  rehearse  the  buoyancy  of 
youth — and  who  does  not? — will  do  well  to  rea<l  this  most  exhilara- 
ting narrative  of  a  naturalist.  The  .author,  as  a  boy,  was  devoted 
to  natural  history,  and  preferred  a  countiy  ramble  ten  limes  over 
to  a  game  of  cricket.  He  relates  the  stratagems  by  means  of  which 
ho  avoided  the  national  ])astime,  and  the  fines  he  had  to  |)ay  as  the 
result  of  foll(iwin>;  the  bent  of  his  mind.  Very  amusing  is  the 
account  of  a  lecture  on  the  snail  given  by  the  author  as  a  boy  of 
twelve  years  of  age,  and  the  enthusiastic  description  of  the  building 
of  an  aquarium  will  aflcjrd  delightful  reading.  We  feel  sure  tliat 
the  decidedly  charming  way  in  whidi  the  author  has  narrated  his 
experiences  will  commend  itself  to  all  young  jieople  who  are  fortu- 
nate enough  to  gain  access  to  the  book,  the  jjages  of  which  will 
indeed  appeal  to  all  lovers  of  nature  whether  of  large  or  small 
growth. 

"A  First  Book  of  Organic  Evolution."  By  D.  K.  Sluite,  M.n. 
(Kegan  Paul.)  Illustrated.  7s.  6d.  net.  "  Tlieie  is  nothing  great 
in  the  world  but  man,  nothing  great  in  man  but  mind,  and 
nothing  great  in  mind  but  character."  ])r.  Shute's  idea  as 
to  the  goal  of  evolution  seems  to  be  men  with  great  minds 
of  high  character,  and  he  holds  that  the  subject  is  of  such 
vast  importance  and  commamling  interest  as  to  be  a  necessary 
ingredient  in  what  is  called  a  libenil  education.  The  truth  of  the 
theory  of  evolution  is  herein  assumed,  and  the  author  disposes  facts 
collated  by  other  observers  in  a  way  which  he  regards  as  most  likely 
to  be  helpful  to  the  beginner  in  finding  the  .shortest  route  through 
the  labyrinthine  maze  of  ways  and  bye-ways  investing  the  whole 
fabric.  The  title  is  misleading,  as  no  one  unacquainted  with  the 
elements  of  gener.al  biology  can  aiqireciate  the  theme,  and,  seeing 
that  the  book  amounts  to  no  more  than  an  essay,  the  ground  covered 
is  too  comprehensive  to  admit  of  the  amplification  necessary  for 
those  beginning  the  subject.  A  good  bibliography  is  provided, 
and  some  excellent  coloured  plates  adorn  the  text. 

"Practical  Exercises  in  Elementary  Meteorology."  By  Robert 
De  Courcy  Ward,  ((jinn.)  The  teaching  of  meteorology  in  thi.s 
country,  though  scanty  at  present,  is  probably  on  the  increase,  an  1 
many  who  are  engaged  in  it  will  reg.ard  with  interest  this  American 
book,  in  which  Mr.  Ward  offers  us  the  fruits  of  some  ten  years' 
experience  as  "instructor  in  climatology"  at  Harvard  (U.S.). 
American  ways  of  dealing  with  weather,  as  well  as  American 
weather,  differ  from  ours  ;  and  if  this  ju'obably  detracts  from  tha 
usefulness  of  such  a  book  "  on  this  side,"  one  may  see  compensating 
advantage  in  a  widened  view  ;  perhaijs,  also,  if  we  are  not  too 
"  insular,"  in  the  dtscovery  of  some  things  brother  .Jonathan  does 
better  than  ourselves.  After  showing  how  weather  may  be 
studied,  so  far,  without  instruments,  the  author  gives  a  good 
account,  first  of  "  elementary,"  then  of  "  advanced,"  instrumental 
observations  (a  .somewhat  rough  distinction,  of  course).  With  the 
aid  of  a  sheet  of  weather  data  for  six  days  at  a  number  of  American 
stations,  the  pupil  is  next  shown,  in  an  interesting  way,  how  to 
draw  isotherms,  isobars,  wind-arrows,  etc.,  and  generally  prejiare 
a  "  daily  weather  map."  Further  on,  he  learns  to  make  "  couip<isite 
portraits  "  (not  photographic)  of  various  features  of  cyclones  and 
anticyclones.  Then  we  have  a  discussion,  in  eleven  chapters,  of  the 
correlation  of  certain  elements  of  weather,  and  weather  forecast- 
ing ;  next,  six  chapters  on  "  problems  of  observational  meteoro- 
logy," followed  by  24  pages  of  tabular  matter  relating  to  humidity, 
dew-point,  etc.  A  frequent  practice  throughout  the  book  is  that  of 
telling  the  pupil  to  do  this  or  that,  and  then  jnitting  a,  number  of 
suggestive  questions  as  to  what  he  finds  when  he  has  done  it.  lii 
the  section  on  instruments  the  author  might  have  been  more  ex- 
plicit as  to  the  best  hours  for  observing  temperature,  etc.  The 
neplioscope  is  described,  but  not  the  sun.shine  recorder  (which  is 
growing  in  importance  with  us).  The  weather  table  lacks  d.ates, 
and  is  incorrectly  referred  to  in  several  places  as  "  the  table  in 
chapter  VIII."  (where  it  is  not).  This  chapter  is  headed  "  weather." 
but  the  word  is,  confusingly,  sometimes  lestricted  (,as  here)  to  the 
state  of  the  sky,  and  precipitation,  occasionally  used  in  the  common 
wider  sense.  Mr.  Ward,  in  general,  writes  clearly  and  well  ;  though 
here  and  there  doubtful  statements  are  met  with.  There  is  also 
some  useless  repetition  (comjjare,  e.g.,  what  is  said  of  the  sirocco 
on  pp.  103  and  133).  Indeed  the  general  plan  of  the  book  tends, 
we  are  afraid,  to  repetition.  Apropos  of  this,  we  note  the  remark 
(p. 183)  that  "the  correlation  exercises  will,  as  a  whole,  teach  few 
entirely  new  facts  to  the  brighter  scholars  who  have  faithfully  com- 
pleted the  preceding  work."  The  aim  appears  to  be  to  "impress 
firmly"   the  lesson  "by  repeated  illustrations."       Still,    we   are 


136 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[June  1,  1900. 


inclined  to  think  those  later  sections  might  be  improved  by  a  little 
condensation,  if  not  rearrangement.  Once  more,  the  subject  of 
thunder-storms  ;ind  atmospheric  electricity  is  hardly  touched  upon. 
Having  said  this  much  in  criticism,  we  heartily  commend  the  work 
as  one  likely  to  be  of  real  service  to  the  school  teacher  and  others. 
The  "  get  up  "  of  the  book  is  e.xcellent.  There  is  an  appendix  con- 
taining suggestions  to  the  teacher,  and  another  on  the  equipment 
of  a  meteorological  laboratory. 

''  Animal  Report  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  for  the  jear  ending  June  3(llh,  1897."  Report  of  the 
United  States  National  Museum.  Part  I.  (Washington  Governnient 
Printing  Olfice.)  This  report  consists  of  two  piirts,  the  first  being 
the  report  of  the  acting  assistant-secretary  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  in  charge  of  the  Xational  Museum,  the  second  emliracing 
papers  describing  and  illustrating  collections  in  the  museum.  The 
report  forms  a  lunidsonie  volume  of  over  a  thousand  pages,  with 
upwards  of  five  hundred  illustrations.  It  is  distributed  gi'utuitously 
with  lavish  munificence,  as  many  as  ten  tlunisand  copies  being  in  this 
way  disjioeed  of.  If,  in  face  of  facts  like  these,  it  is  permissible  to 
offer  a  kindly  criticism,  we  should  like  to  suggest  that  the  world  has 
been  reminded  by  the  gi'catest  of  ethical  authorities  tliat  the  heathen 
will  not  be  heard  by  reason  of  their  much  speaking.  It  is  similarly 
possible  to  write  too  voluminously,  and  there  is,  we  think,  a  dis- 
position on  the  part  of  our  American  contemporaries  to  suppose  that 
the  imjiortance  of  a  publication  is  magnified  by  increasing  its  lengtli, 
rather  than  concentrating  its  contents.  But  there  can  be  no  question 
of  the  value  and  importance  of  tliis  latest  addition  to  a  wholly  valuable 
series.  The  descriptive  catalogue  of  recent  foraminifera  wliieli  Dr. 
Flint  lias  conipiled,  with  the  eiglity  beautiful  plates  accompanying  tlie 
monograph,  will  prove  a  mine  of  wealth  for  students  of  this  interesting 
branch  of  tlic  protozoa.  The  account  of  tlie  pipes  and  smoking  customs 
of  the  American  aborigines,  based  upon  the  material  in  the  I'nited  States 
National  Museum,  which  Mr.  Joseph  D.  McG-uire  contributes,  runs  to 
nearly  three  hundred  pages,  and  being  provided  with  well  over  two 
hundred  pictures,  exhausts,  we  should  suppose,  nearly  evcr\  tiling  that 
can  be  said  on  the  subject.  Mr.  Wert  Tassin  writes  in  a  similarly  ex- 
haustive manner  on  the  "  Properties  and  Classification  of  Minerals." 
Mr.  George  II.  Cooke  deals  with  "  Easter  Island,"  aiul  Dr.  Otis  Tufton 
Mason  with  the  man's  knife  among  the  North  American  Indians. 
The  remaining  part  of  the  volume  is  occupi<'d  with  an  account  of  the 
arn>w  points,  spear-heads,  and  knives  of  prehistoric  times,  by  Dr. 
Thomas  Wilson.  A  mere  statement  of  the  contents  of  the  volume 
indicati'S  the  wide  range  of  subjects  comprised,  but  to  impart  anything 
like  an  ailcquate  conception  of  the  sumptuous  character  of  the 
feast  which  is  here  set  before  the  reader  is  quite  impossible  in  a  short 
review.  We  can  only  hope  it  will  be  possible  fur  students  to  examine 
the  volume  itself  in  one  of  our  national  libraries,  since  it  is  only  in 
this  way  that  an  ap]ireciation  of  how  things  are  done  in  America  is 
possible. 

"Practical  Zoologv."  An  Elementary  Course  of  Practical 
Zoology.  By  the  late  T.  J.  Parker  and  W.  N.  Parker.  Mac- 
millan's  ilanuals  for  Students.  London.  1900.  Price  10s.  6d.  It 
is  sometimes  made  a  reproach  to  the  zoological  workers  of  the 
present  day  that  they  deal  too  much  with  "  outside  zoology  "  ;  but 
the  publication  of  a  volume  like  the  present  does  much  to  remove 
this  reproach,  at  least  so  far  as  a  .selected  series  of  typical  animals  are 
concerned.  The  work  before  us  is  indeed  essentially  of  the  "  section- 
cutting  "  type  ;  and  puts  before  the  student  in  a  lucid  manner  the 
mechanical  construction  of  rejiresentatives  of  the  leading  groups  of 
animals,  together  with  the  functions  of  the  different  organs  de- 
scribed. The  work  is  to  some  extent  an  exjiansion  of  the  plan 
followed  in  the  second  half  of  the  late  Prof.  Rolleston's  "  Forms  of 
Animals,"  but  gives  a  much  greater  preponderance  to  the  Verte- 
brates as  compared  with  the  Invertebrates.  Since,  however,  tlie  book 
is  intended  for  medical  students  (among  otliers)  the  large  amount 
of  space  devoted  to  the  foimer  group  is  an  advantage  rather  than 
otherwise;  and  in  any  case,  as  the  authors  themselves  state,  a 
cfimparative  study  of  tlie  several  types  of  Vertebrates  forms  as  good 
a  training  for  beginners  as  can  be  desired.  Whether,  however,  the 
title  chosen  for  the  work  is  altogether  a  happy  one,  may  be  an  open 
question.  In  our  own  opinion  the  term  "  practical  zoology  "  is  at 
least  as  applicable  to  the  description  of  the  external  forms  of 
animals,  and  the  observations  of  their  habits  in  the  field  (the  true 
work  of  the  naturalisti,  as  it  is  to  section-cutting  in  the  labora- 
tory ;  and  "  Practical  Anatomy  "  would  better  have  expressed  the 
nature  of  the  subject  of  the  present  work.  Commencing  with  a 
general  sketch  of  the  scope  of  biology,  the  authors  take  the  frog 
as  an  example  from  which  to  illustrate  the  structure  of  animals  in 
general.  After  treating  its  anatomy  in  great  detail,  they  then  take 
a  series  of  animal  types  to  illustrate  the  gradual  progression  from 
the  simjile  to  the  complex,  beginning  with  the  Amoeba,  and  ending 
with  the  rabbit.  After  describing  the  Monads  and  Bacteria  in  one 
chapter,  and  the  Rotifers  and  their  allies  in  a  second,  the  Messrs. 
Parker  follow  on  with  Hydra  as  an  example  of  the  Ccelenterata ; 


while  the  earth-worm  does  duty  for  the  Annulata,  the  cray-fish 
for  the  Arthropods,  and  the  pond-mussel  for  the  MoUuscs  ;  the 
lancelet,  the  dog-fish,  and  the  rabbit  (in  addition  to  the  frog) 
serving  as  illustrations  for  the  Vertebrates.  A  better  selection 
could  not  have  been  made  ;  and  the  extensive  experience  of  both 
authors  in  teaching  has  enabled  them  to  bring  into  prominence  just 
those  points  on  which  the  attention  of  the  students  should  be  con- 
centrated. And  as  the  descriptions  of  the  dissections  are  (with  the 
help  of  the  illustrations)  admirably  adapted  for  their  purpose,  the 
book  should  command  a  large  circulation  among  the  zoological 
students  of  our  science  schools. 

"  The  Standard  Intermediate  School  Dictionary  of  the  English 
Language."  By  .faiiics  C.  Feriiald.  (Funk  and  Wagnalls  Co.)  Tins 
nicely  jirinted  si'liool  ilictionary,  witli  its  8l»0  pii-torial  illustrations,  is 
an  abridgiMcnt  of  Funk  and  Wagnall's  Standard  Dictionary.  It  gives 
the  orthography,  pronunciatioii,  meaning,  and  etymology  of  about 
38,0tHJ  words  and  jihrases  which  are  common  in  the  language  and 
literature  of  Englisli-speaking  people.  It  is  already  widely  used  in 
the  schools  of  America,  where  it  was  first  published.  There  are, 
however,  already  so  many  good  school  dictionaries  in  this  country  that 
we  suspect  tliat  it  is  not  likely  to  attain  a  great  jiopularity  with  our 
schoolmasters.  A  want  of  precision  is  exhibited  in  the  meanings 
assigned  to  certain  scientific  terms  we  have  looked  up,  e.g.,  "  asteroid" 
is  defined  as  "  one  of  a  group  of  small  bodies  between  Mars  and 
Jupiter,"  but,  as  children  in  secondary  schools  are  more  familiar  with 
Roman  deities  than  with  the  planets,  the  vagueness  of  the  explanation 
is  likely  to  cause  confusion.  Or,  again,  "  basalt  "  is  said  to  be  "  an 
igneous  rock  of  a  dark  colour  and  often  of  columnar  structure,"  but 
the  .same  thing  is  more  or  less  true  of  igneous  rocks  which  no  one 
would  call  basalts. 

"  The  Makers  of  Modern  Prose  :  a  popular  Handbook  to  the 
greater  Prose  writers  of  the  Century."  By  W.  G.  Dawson.  (Hodder 
&  Stoughton.)  6s.  This  is  the  second  volume  of  Mr.  Dawson'.s 
projected  series  on  the  makers  of  modern  English,  and  it  forms  in 
the  main  an  acute  and  discerning  appreciation  of  some  of  the 
makers  of  modern  prose,  beginning  M'ith  Johnson  and  concluding 
with  F.  W.  Robertson.  The  writer  appears  to  have  included  Froude 
in  his  selection  for  no  other  reiison  than  to  exhibit  that  unhajqiy 
writer  as  an  example  to  be  avoided.  He  sliould  have  been  more 
ajipropriately  included  in  the  last  volume  of  the  work,  which  is  to 
deal  with  the  makers  of  modern  fiction. 

"  The  Natural  History  of  Echinoderms."  A  Treatise  on  Zoology. 
Edited  by  E.  R.  Lankester.  Part  III.  The  Echinoderma.  By 
F.  A.  Bather,  assisted  by  J.  W.  Gregory  and  E.  S.  Goodrich. 
(London  :  A.  &  C.  Black.)  1900.  Cambridge  having  started  a 
"  Natural  Histoiy  "  of  its  own,  the  sister  University  has  deemed  it 
advisable  to  enter  the  same  field  with  a  work  bearing  the  more 
liretentio'is  title  of  a  "  Treatise  on  Zoology,"  or  as  the  editor  would 
ajiparently  prefer  to  call  it,  a  "  Treatise  on  Animal  Mori)hography." 
The  Cambridge  series  is  written  on  somewhat  pojiular  lines,  while 
the  present  one,  as  is  stated  in  the  editorial  preface,  is  addressed 
to  the  serious  student  of  zoology.  And  there  can  be  no  question 
but  that  the  authors  of  the  present  volume,  which  is  the  first  of  the 
series  to  ajjpear,  have  treated  their  subject  m  a  very  serious  manner 
indeed.  No  one  but  the  student  who  desires  to  master  a  very 
technical  subject  in  all  its  details  is  at  all  likely  to  be  tempted 
to  dip  into  the  pages  of  the  volume  before  us.  For  the  advanced 
student  of  the  palaeontology  and  morphology  of  the  Echinoderms 
(that  is  to  say,  sea-urchins,  star-fishes,  sea-cucumbers,  stone-lilies, 
and  their  extinct  allies)  the  work  seems,  however,  to  be  all  that 
can  be  desired,  and  will  doubtless  long  remain  the  standard  treatise 
on  the  subject.  For  a  "  Treatise  on  Zoology  "  the  present  volume 
is  remarkable  for  the  large  amount  of  palaeontology  it  contains  ; 
no  less  tlian  169  out  of  a  total  of  332  pages  being  devoted  to  groups 
which  are  for  the  most  part  entirely  extinct.  In  the  case  of  a 
group  like  the  Echinodennata  (as  we  prefer  to  call  it)  such  a  treat- 
ment was  inevitable  if  the  subject  was  to  be  made  anything  like 
complete  ;  and  this  bold  disregard  of  pojiular  ])rejudices  affords 
testimony,  if  such  were  required,  of  the  Editor's  comprehensive 
view  of  the  meaning  of  "  zoology."  The  Echinoderms  have 
indeed  suffered  almost  more  severely  at  the  hands  of  time  than  any 
other  group  of  animals  that  is  still  strongly  represented  at  the 
present  day  ;  and  no  proper  understanding  of  the  existing  represen- 
tatives of  the  group  can  bie  gained  without  an  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  liard  anatomy  of  their  fossil  predecessors.  As  we  learn 
from  the  preface,  the  series  of  works  is  to  be  written,  so  far  as 
jiractieable,  by  graduates  of  Oxford  ;  and  it  is  a  fortunate  circum- 
stance that,  while  possessing  this  qualification,  Mr.  F.  A.  Bather, 
in  this  country  at  least,  is  facile  princeps  in  his  knowledge  of  the 
extinct  classes  of  the  Echinoderms.  The  portion  of  the  work  dealing 
with  the  Cystids,  Blastoids,  Crinoids,  etc.,  has  accordingly  been 
assigned  to  him ;  wliile  he  has  also  written  the  chapter  on 
Holothurians.  On  the  other  hand  Dr.  J.  W.  Gregory  is  responsible 
for  the  account  of  the  Star-fishes,  Brittle-Stars,  and  Sea-urchins.  A 
feature  of  the  voliune  is  the  number  and  beauty  of  the  illustrations, 


June  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


137 


whioli  are  for  the  most  part  original :  and  an  examination  of  these 
is  alone  sutfitient  to  show  the  extraordiuarv  amount  of  care  and 
labour  the  authors  have  bestowed  on  their  suDject.  Evidently  they 
had  their  whole  hearts  in  their  work  :  and  the  result  will  contribute 
in  no  small  degree  to  the  well-deserved  reputation  they  already 
enjoy.  The  general  classification  of  the  group  is  the  one  now 
usually  accepted,  save  that  Dr.  Gregory  h.is  considered  it  a<lvisable 
to  briir.ide  the  Asteroidea  (Star  fishes)  and  Dphiaroidea  (Hrittle-stars) 
in  a  single  class.  In  this  he  is  no  doubt  justified,  but  we  question 
whether  linguistic  purists  will  accept  the  hybrid  term  "  Stelleroidea  " 
as  tile  title  for  the  class  as  thus  extended.  In  our  own  opinion  it 
would  have  been  preferable  to  have  employed  "  Asteroidea  "  in  this 
sense ;  designating  the  sub-classes  "  Asteroidea  Vira "  and 
"Ophiaroidea." 

"The  Teaching  of  Geographv  in  Switzerland  and  North  Italv." 
By  Joan  Bei-enice  Keynolds.  (C.  J.  Clay  &  Sons.)  2s.  6d.  This 
little  book  consists  of  the  report  wliich  Miss  Keynolds  presented 
to  the  Court  of  the  University  of  Wales  on  her  visit  to  Switzerland 
and  North  Italy  as  t>ilchrist"  Travelling  Student,  and  it  has  beeii 
published  because  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  University  be- 
liexe  that  the  infonuation  it  contains  will  be  of  material  value  to 
teachers,  and  to  all  those  interested  in  education,  an  opinion  in 
which  we  heartily  concur. 

"Journal  of  Re.searches."  By  Charles  Darwin.  (Ward,  Lock.) 
Illustrated.  2s.  Messrs.  Ward,  Lock  and  Co.  have  issued  a  new 
and  cheap  edition  of  Darwin's  Journal  of  his  voyage  in  the 
"  Beagle,"  within  chaste  artistic  covers  which  present  a  most 
agreeable  appearance,  and  those  with  the  most  slender  resources 
mar  now  add  this^-one  of  the  immortals — to  their  collection. 

The  ever-valued  Kodak  has  again  evolved  a  new  variety,  namely, 
the  I.K  Folding  Pocket,  the  mechanism  of  which  is  of  the  familiar 
■■  folding-pocket  "  order,  but  the  size  of  the  picture — 4^  by  2^ — is 
more  pleasing. 

Entomologists,  ornithologists,  botanists,  and  othci's  interested  in 
natural  history,  should  have  by  them  a  copy  of  Messrs.  Watkins 
and  Doncaster's  new  Catalogue,  which  is  issued  in  handy  form. 
Taxidermists'  tools,  arti6cial  eyes,  birds'  skins  and  eggs,  cabinets,  etc. 
are  entered  against  figures  whicli  will  meet  with  general  acceptance. 

BOOKS    RECEIVED. 

Primiiive  Constellations.  Vol.  II.  By  Eobert  Brown.  (Williams 
&  Norgate.)     10s.  6d. 

Fhoto- Relief  Map  of  Africa.     (S.P.C.K.)     9d. 

Origin  and  Character  of  the  British  People.  By  Nottidge  Charles 
Macnamara.     (Smith,  Elder  &  Co.)     6s. 

Alternating  Currents.  By  W.  S.  Franklin  and  R.  B.  Williamson. 
(Macmillan.)     Illustrated.     78.  6d.  net. 

Electricity  and  Magnetism.  New  Edition.  By  Silvanus  P. 
Thompson.     (Macmillan.)     Illustrated      4s.  6d. 

Zoolog'cal  Results  based  on  Material  from  New  Guinea,  Loi/aliy 
Islands.  Sf'c.  Part  IV.  By  Aj-thur  Willey.  (University  Press, 
Cambridge.)     Illustrated.     21s. 

Papers  on  Mechanical  and  Physical  Subjects.  By  Osborne 
Reynolds,  r  B.s.  (University  Press,  Cambridge.)  Illustrated 
156.  net. 

Primeval  Scenes.  By  the  Rev.  H.  N.  Hutchinson.  (Lamley.) 
lUnstrated.     69. 

The  Story  of  the  Alphabet.  By  Edward  Clodd.  (Newnes.) 
Illustrated.     1  s. 

Journal  of  the  Society  of  Comparjfive  Legislation.  April,  19IX).  os. 

Elementary  Practical  Chemistry.    By  T.  Cartwright.   (Nelson.)    28. 

Travels  on  the  Amazon.     By  A.  R.  Wallace.     (Ward,  Lock  )     2s. 

Letters  of  Berzelius  and  Schonbein,  1836-47.  Edited  by  Georg 
W.  A.  Kahlbaum.     (Williams  &  Norgate.)     3s. 

Negritos.     By  A   B.  Meyer.     (Stengel :  Dresden.) 

Note  on  the  Unpublished  Observations,  1774-1838,  Badcliffe 
Observatory.     By  Arthur  A.  Rambaut,  DSC,  Radcliffe  Observer. 


THE  FIRST  MUSK-OXEN  IN  ENGLAND  SINCE 
THE  GLACIAL   EPOCH. 

By  R.  Lydekkf.r. 
Some  persons  are  unfortunate  in  their  names,  and  the 
same  is  the  case  with  certain  animals.  The  ruminant 
popularlj-  known  as  the  Musk-Ox  and  scientifically  as 
Ovibos  moschatus  is  an  instance  of  this,  for  although 
no  objection  can  be  taken  to  the  prefix  "  Musk,"  and  its 
Latin  equivalent  moschatus,  yet  the  English  title  "  ox  " 
is  in  the  highest  degree  misleading,  while  the  technical 
"  Ovibos,  "  which  suggests  characters  intermediate  be- 
tween the  oxen  and  the  sheep,  is  equally  unsatisfactory. 
To  say  that  the  creature  is  an  animal  sui  generis  would 


be  a  truism,  seeing  that  it  is  the  sole  existing  represen- 
tative of  the  genus  Ovibos ;  and  yet  this  expression, 
perhaps,  best  conveys  the  real  slate  of  the  case,  namely, 
that  it  is  a  more  or  less  isolated  member  of  the  ruminant 
group,  coming  under  the  designation  neither  of  an  ox 
nor  a  sheep,  nor  yet  being  a  connecting  link  between  the 
two.  Under  these  circumstances  it  would  bo  much 
better  if  the  name  "  Musk-Ox  "  could  be  dropped  al- 
together, and  (unless  it  be  altogether  unpronounceable) 
its  native  Greenland  equivalent  adopted  instead.  Un- 
fortunately, however,  I  have  hitberto  been  unable  to 
ascertain  by  what  name  the  creature  is  known  to  the 
GrcenJanders. 

Although  now  restricted  to  Greenland  and  Arctic 
America  eastward  of  the  Mackenzie  River,  the  Musk- 
Ox  was  formerly  a  circumpolar  animal,  its  remains  being 
occasionally  met  with  in  the  interior  of  Alaska,  more 
commonly  in  the  frozen  cliffs  of  Eschscholtz  Bay,  and 
also  in  the  ice-bound  soil  of  the  Lena  and  the  Yenisei 
valleys.  Although  unknown  in  Franz  Josef  Land  and 
Spitzbcrgen,  the  Musk-Ox  extends  polewards  through 
Parry  Island  and  GrinncU  Land  into  North  Greenland, 
where  its  northward  range  is  probably  only  limited 
by  the  limits  of  vegetation.  South  Greenland  at  tht; 
present  day  is,  however,  too  hot  for  such  a  cold-loving 
beast,  and  Melville  Bay  now  forms  the  southernmost 
point  to  which  it  wanders  on  the  west  coast.  Conse- 
quently it  would  seem  probable  that  the  Musk-Oxen  on 
the  west  coast  are  completely  isolated  from  those  on  the 
eastern  seaboard;  the  central  mountain  range  of  the 
interior  of  Greenland  being  apparently  impassable  even 
by  such  hardy  animals,  while  a  transit  via  Cape  Farewell 
is,  as  we  have  seen,  barred  by  climatic  conditions  of  an 
opposite  nature. 

In  America,  however,  the  Musk-Ox  still  ranges  con- 
siderably further  south,  its  limits  in  this  direction  being 
approximately  formed  by  the  sixtieth  pai'allel  of  north 
latitude ;  but  it  is  stated  that  year  by  year  its  southern 
range  is  slowly  contracting— possibly  owing  to  pursuit 
by  man  When  the  Musk-Ox  ceased  to  be  an  inhabitant 
of  the  Siberian  tundra,  or  why  it  should  ever  have 
disappeared  from  regions  apparently  so  well  suited  to 
its  habits  as  are  Northern  Asia  and  Alaska,  there  are 
no  means  of  ascertaining.  But  the  date  of  its  disappear- 
ance was  probably  by  no  means  remote,  comparatively 
speaking,  and  it  is  even  possible  that  man  himself  may 
have  taken  a  shai-e  in  its  extermination.  However  this 
may  be,  it  is  beyond  doubt  that  the  Musk-Ox  was  an 
inhabitant  of  the  South  of  England,  as  well  as  of  pai-ts 
of  France  and  Germany,  during,  or  about  the  time  of 
the  glacial  epoch;  its  remains  occurring  not  uncommonly 
in  the  gravels  of  the  English  river-valleys,  such  as 
those  of  the  Thames  and  Severn,  as  well  as  in  the  brick- 
earths  of  Kent.  It  is  also  probable  that  they  occur 
in  the  "  forest^bed  '  of  the  Norfolk  coast,  which  some- 
what antedates  the  great  glaciation  of  Britain. 

This  being  so,  it  is  evident  that  the  Musk-Ox  was  a 

j  living  British  animal  within  the  period  during  which 
our  islands  have  been  inhabited  by  man,  for  in  many 
of  the  deposits  in  which  its  remains  occur  flint-imple- 

I  ments  and  other  evidences  of  human  presence  are  like- 

j  wise  found.  Probably,  indeed,  the  early  human 
inhabitants  of  Britain  not  unfrequently  made  a  meal  of 
Musk-Ox  beef;  but  the  disappearance  of  the  animal 
from  the  British  fauna  may  apparently  be  attributed 
rather  to  a  change  in  climatic  conditions  than  to  pursuit 
by  man. 

From  that  long  distant  day  when  the  last  indigenous 

[  British  Musk-Ox  departed  this  life  no  living  represen- 


138 


KNOWLEDGE 


[June   1,  1900. 


tative  of  the  species  appears  to  liave  been  brought  to 
our  islands  till  the  autumn  of  last  year,  when  a  couple 
of  young  bulls  were  added  to  the  collection  of  the  Duke 
of  Bedford  at  Woburn  Abbey.  These  wore  captured  in 
August  last  in  Claveriug  Island,  situated  off  the  coast 
of  Ea-st  Greenland,  opposite  Kouig  Wilhelm  Land,  in 
about  latitude,  74.5°  N.  When  they  arrived  they  were 
about  the  size  of  a  rather  large  sheep,  but  by  March  of 
the  present  year  (when  the  photograph  here  reproduced 
was  taken)  the  solitary  survivor  had  increased  con- 
siderably in  size,  although  the  horns  are  only  just  be- 
coming visible  above  the  long  hair  of  the  sides  of  the 
forehead. 

Prob:iblv  most  of  mv  readers  are  more  or  less  familiar 


the  calves  at  Woburn  Abbey  than  their  movements, 
which  recalled  those  of  a  Polar  Bear  more  than  those 
of  an  ox  or  a  sheep,  the  hocks  being  turned  outwards  in 
an  altogether  peculiar  and  distinctive  manner.  If  this 
strange  gait  is  also  chai-acteristic  of  the  adult,  it  is  pro- 
bably adapted  for  progression  on  glaciers  and  other  ice- 
coated  surfaces ;  firmness  of  foothold  being  secured  by 
the  presence  of  a  considerable  amount  of  hair  on  the 
under  surface  of  the  foot. 

But  there  is  one  respect  in  which  the  Clavcring  Island 
calves  differ  from  the  adult  specimens  exhibited  in  the 
British  Museum,  as  well  as  from  the  description  gene- 
rally given  of  the  si^ecies.  This  is  the  presence  of  a 
large  patch  of  white  hair  on  the  forehead,  as  well  as  of 


YovMi   BuLi   MrsK-Ox. 


[F,-. 


a  Photo'ifai'lt  }>ii  the  Duchess  of  Bedfori». 


with  the  general  ajipearance  of  the  adult  Musk-Ox ; 
but  those  who  are  not  would  do  well  to  turn  to  its 
portrait  in  some  work  on  natural  history,  or,  still  better, 
pay  a  visit  to  the  British  Museum  at  South  Kensington, 
where  both  the  mounted  skin  and  the  skeleton  are  ex- 
hibited. The  absence  of  the  large  flattened,  fibrous, 
and  downwardly  curving  yellow  horns  which  almost 
meet  in  the  middle  line  of  the  forehead  of  the  adult 
bull  renders  the  aspect  of  the  head  of  the  calf  very 
different.  In  other  respects,  however,  the  calves  arc 
very  like  the  full-grown  animals  in  general  appearance, 
showing  the  same  long,  straight,  and  rather  coarse  hair, 
the  conspicuous  light-coloured  "  saddle  on  the  back,  the 
white  ■'  stockings,  '  the  woolly  triangular  ears,  the  broad 
and  almost  completely  hairy  muzzle,  and  the  entire 
burying  of  the  rudimentary  tail  in  the  long  hair  of  the 
hind-quarters.  Owing,  however,  to  the  inferior  length 
of  the  hair  on  the  flanks,  more  of  the  legs  is  exhibited 
in  the  young  than  in  the  adult;  and  this  enables  the 
peculiarly  heavy  and  massive  form  of  the  pasterns  and 
feet  to  be  better  seen.     Nothing  was  more  curious  ivbout 


an  ill-defined  white  streak  down  each  side  of  the  face, 
and  some  scattered  white  hairs  in  the  middle  line  be- 
tween the  muzzle  and  the  eyes.  When  this  featui'e 
was  first  noticed,  it  was  thought  that  the  East  Greenland 
Musk-Ox  might  prove  to  be  a  race  distinct  from  the 
West  Greenland  and  American  form,  in  which  the  face 
is,  at  least  in  most  cases,  uniformly  dark  brown.  I  have, 
however,  received  from  Dr.  A.  G.  Nathorst  an  illustrated 
account  in  Swedish  of  Musk-Ox  hunting  in  East  Green- 
land in  1899 ;  and  the  photographs  in  this,  although 
they  are  unfortunately  on  a  very  small  scale  and  by  no 
means  distinct,  seem  to  show  that  while  some  of  the  bulls 
have  brown  faces,  in  others  there  is  a  considerable 
amount  of  white,  yet  the  large  frontal  patch  of  white 
which  forms  such  a  conspicuous  feature  of  the  calves  is, 
of  course,  obliterated  by  the  expanded  bases  of  the 
horns.  Accordingly,  there  seem  to  be  no  grounds  for 
separating  the  Musk-Os  of  East  Greenland  from  its 
representative  in  West  Greenland  and  Arctic  America, 
although  the  two  would  appear  to  be  completely 
isolated. 


June  1,  1900] 


KNO  WLE  DGE 


T3D 


To  discuss  the  affinities  of  the  Musk-Ox  on  this 
occasion  would  obviously  be  out  of  place .;  but  my 
readers  may  probably  like  to  be  informed  of  some  of  the 
reasons  which  preclude  its  being  classed  either  with  the 
oxen  or  with  the  sheep.  As  regards  the  horns,  it  will 
suffice  to  say  tliat  they  arc  quite  unlike  those  of  either 
of  the  gi'oups  in  question.  From  the  oxen  the  animal 
is  broadly  distinguished  alike  by  the  structure  of  its 
upper  teeth,  and  also  by  its  hairy  muzzle.  But  this 
broad  and  hairy  muzzle,  in  which  there  is  a  narrow, 
naked  and  granulw  ai'ca  immediately  above  and  be- 
tween the  nostrils,  is  equ.ally  unlike  the  narrow  and 
short-haired  muzzle  of  the  sheep  and  goats.  In  the 
structure  of  its  ui)per  teeth,  as  well  as  in  the  prescucc 
of  glands  below  the  eyes  and  of  only  two  mammae  in  the 
female,  the  Musk-Ox  is,  however,  much  more  like  the 
latter  group.  But  these  two  latter  features*  are  of  no 
great  zoological  importance,  some  sheep  lacking  face- 
glands,  while  one  species  of  goat  has  four  mamma; ; 
and  thty  in  no  wise  serve  to  prove  the  existence  of  any 
close  relationship  between  Musk-Oxeu  and  sheep.  It 
may  be  added  that  the  aborted  tail  of  the  IVIusk-Ox 
separates  it  very  widely  from  the  oxen,  in  all  of  which 
this  appendage  is  of  great  relative  length;  but  in  this 
respect  the  animal  comes  neai-er  to  the  sheep,  nearly 
all  the  wild  forms  of  which  have  short  and  stumpy  tails. 
In  the  extremely  late  development  of  the  horns  (as 
attested  by  the  survivor  of  the  Wobum  pair,  which  must 
now  be  at  least  a  year  old)  the  species  seems  to  stand 
apart  from  both  groups. 

Judging  from  the  photographs  in  Dr.  Nathorst's 
account,  it  would  seem  that  in  East  Greenland  Musk- 
Oxen  arc  commonly  found  in  small  herds  of  from  eight 
to  nine  or  a  dozen  in  number.  Their  favourite  haunts 
seem  to  Ijc  the  gently  sloping  and  bouldei'-strewn  short 
valleys  at  the  foot  of  the  cliffs.  Here  they  can  be 
approached  without  much  difficulty  and  shot  down  in 
the  open,  the  members  of  the  herd  standing  to  gaze 
unconcernedly  at  the  aggressor  after  one  or  more  of 
their  number  has  been  shot  down.  When  separated 
from  their  mothers,  the  young  calves  are  by  no  means 
difficult  to  capture.  I  have  been  told  by  a  friend  that 
during  an  expedition  to  Greenland  some  officers  suc- 
ceeded in  capturing  a  number  of  these  calves,  which 
they  were  caiTying  down  on  their  shoulders  to  the  coast; 
but  the  captive  animals  squealed  so  loudly  as  to  attract 
the  attention  of  all  the  Polar  Bears  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, ^\  hich  thereupon  started  in  pursuit  and  soon 
induced  the  unarmed  captors  to  drop  their  booty ! 


CHEMICAL  EVOLUTION. 

A    CHAPTER    OF    HISTORY. 

By    G.    Cecil    Fry. 

The  whirligig  of  time  brings  its  revenges,  and  the 
fanciful  speculations  of  chemists  about  the  elements, 
from  the  time  of  Prout  onwards,  have  in  recent  years 
found  confirmation  in  a  science  which  no  chemist  of  fifty 
years  ago  could  imagine  as  having  any  relation  to 
chemistry.  Astronomy  has  contributed  solid  facts  to 
what  was  merely  an  attractive  theory ;  and  the  spec- 
troscope, by  which  this  result  has  been  brought  about,  is 
an  instrument  equally  important  to  both  sciences. 

•  The  existence  of  face-glands  as  well  as  the  normal  presence  of 
onlr  two  pairs  of  mamma;  has  been  recently  discovered  )>y  my  friend 
Dr.  Einar  Loimberg,  of  Upsala. 


There  have  In.  n    :  ..linusis  Id  whom  the  notion 

of  sixty  or  seventy  distinct  kinds  of  matter  \v<is  unthii'.k- 
able.  Ancient  philosophers  conceived  all  the  manifold 
varieties  of  matter  as  but  different  manifestations  of  one 
"  first  matter,"  or  protyle.  The  old  division  of  matter 
into  four  "  elements  "  was  physical  rather  than  chemical. 
The  so-called  elements  were  states  or  conditions  of 
iiiatter,  not  matter  itself.  Tlie  idea  of  "  protyle  "  sur- 
vived long  in  the  minds  of  alchcmisU; ;  but,  after  a 
period  of  oblivion,  it  was  introduced  to  modern  science 
with  a  new  and  .special  meaning. 

In  1815  there  appeared  in  the  '' Annals  of  Philo- 
sophy "  an  anonymous  paper  on  the  relations  between 
specific  gi-avities  and  atomic  weights.  The  following 
sentence  occurs  in  this  paper  :  "  I  had  often  observed 
the  near  approach  to  round  numbers  of  many  of  the 
weights  of  the  atoms  before  1  was  led  to  investigate  the 
subject." 

This  wivs  merely  a  statement  of  fact  or  supposed  fact; 
hut  in  the  next  volume  of  the  "  Annals  "  a  second  paper 
on  the  same  subject  appeared,  containing  a  full-fledged 
hypothesis.  The  following  is  the  most  notable  jjart  of 
the  paper: — "  If  the  views  we  have  ventured  to  advance 
be  correct,  we  may  almost  consider  the  protyle  of  the 
ancients  to  be  realised  in  hydrogen;  an  opinion,  by-tlie- 
by,  not  altogether  new.  If  wo  actually  consider  this 
to  be  the  case,  and  further  consider  the  specific  gravities 
of  bodies  in  their  gaseous  state  to  represent  the  number 
of  volumes  condensed  into  one  ;  or,  in  other  words,  the 
number  of  the  absolute  weight  of  a  single  volume  of  the 
first  matter,  protyle,  which  tlicy  contain,  which  is  ex- 
tremely probable,  multiples  in  weight  must  always 
indicate  multiples  in  volume,  and  vice  versa;  and  the 
specific  gravities  or  absolute  weights  of  all  bodies  in  a 
gaseous  state  must  be  multiples  of  the  specific  gravity  or 
absolute  weight  of  the  first  matter,  protyle,  lecause  all 
bodies  in  a  gaseous  state  which  unite  with  one  another 
unite  with  reference  to  their  volumes." 

This,  then,  was  "  Prout's  hypothesis,"  as  it  was  called 
when  the  identity  of  its  author  became  known.  It  sup- 
poses, in  brief,  that  the  elements  have  been  formed  by 
successive  condensations  or  polymerisations  of  hydrogen, 
the  protyle  from  which  all  other  forms  of  matter  arc 
derived. 

Prout's  idea  was  taken  up  with  enthusiasm  by  Thomas 
Thomson,  Professor  of  Chemistry  at  Glasgow.  He  sup- 
ported it  by  a  series  of  experiments  which  was  j'l'obably 
the  worst  quantitative  work  ever  jJublished  in  chemical 
literature.  Berzelius  reviewed  Thomson's  results  in 
1827,  and  hinted  very  plainly  that  the  experimental 
part  of  the  work  had  been  done  at  the  writing  deak ; 
in  other  words,  that  Thomson  had  delibera*^ely  "  faked  " 
his  figures  in  support  of  an  untenable  theory.  Tlii.3 
was  doubtless  untrue,  but  certainly  Thomson's  results 
were  grotesquely  inaccurate,  and  his  cxjjeriments  were 
carelessly  performed  by  bad  methods. 

The  atomic  weight  determinations  of  Berzelius 
appeared  to  have  settled  Prout's  hypothesis  altogether 
in  the  negative.  But,  in  1840,  Dumas  discovei-ed  that 
the  great  Swedish  chemist  had  made  a  serious  mistake 
in  the  atomic  weight  of  carbon,  which  he  found  to  be 
12.2.  Dumas  found  it  to  be  almost  exactly  12,  and  became 
in  consequence  strongly  prepossessed  in  favour  of  Prout's 
hypothesis.  His  atomic  weight  determinations  were  done 
in  the  expectation  of  confirming  it.  The  case  of  chlorine, 
however,  SLHjmcd  irreconcilable,  and  Marignac  suggested 
a  protyle  having  half  the  atomic  weight  of  hydi-ogcn  as 


140 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[June  1,  1900. 


the  unit  of  atomic  weights.  This  was  the  first  appear- 
ance of  the  modified  or  ''  elastic  "  Prout,  as  it  has  been 
sarcastically  named.  A  little  later,  Dumas  proposed 
one-quarter  of  the  atomic  weight  of  hydrogen.  Someone 
suggested  ether  as  the  hypothetical  protyle,  and  gave 
it  an  atomic  weight  of  .0001,  a  figure  which  is,  of  couj-se, 
quite  beyond  the  reach  of  analytical  chemistry. 

A  theory  that  is  being  continually  changed  like  this 
needs  no  disproof;  but  the  magnificent  work  of  Stas 
was  destined  to  give  the  death-blow  to  both  the  original 
and  the  elastic  Prout,  as  far  as  it  could  be  given  by  exact 
analysis.  Yet  Stas  himself  began  his  work  as  a  firm 
believer  in  Prout.  He  wrote: — "When  I  began  my 
researches,  I  had  an  almost  absolute  confidence  in  the 
exactness  of  Prout's  Law."  His  "  absolute  confidence  ' 
soon  vanished,  and  he  afterwards  described  the  hypo- 
thesis as  a  pure  illusion. 

In  a  paper  on  the  atomic  weight  of  aluminiitm,  pub- 
lished in  1880,  Mallet  criticised  Stas'  work  on  the  ground 
that,  though  accidental  errors  had  been  practically 
abolished,  there  might  still  remain  undetected  constant, 
errors.  This  is  highly  improbable,  considering  the 
variety  of  methods  used  by  Stas;  and,  even  if  true,  it 
would  prove  little  or  nothing.  For  while  the  detection 
of  a  constant  error  may  bring  one  element  nearer  the 
required  value,  it  is  just  as  likely  to  take  an'^ther 
element  farther  away  from  it.  Oxygen  is  a  case  in 
point.  Since  the  date  of  Mallet's  paper  it  has  fallen  out 
of  the  list  of  elements  whose  atomic  weights  are  approxi- 
mate whole  multiples  of  that  of  hydrogen.  The  work  of 
Keiser,  Cooke  and  Eichards,  Rayleigh.  Scott,  Morley  and 
others,  leaves  little  doubt  that  the  atomic  weight  of 
oxygen  is  less  than  15.9,  and  is  probably  very  near  io 
15.88. 

There  is  nevertheless  a  real  and  striking  approxima- 
tion of  many  atomic  weights  to  whole  multiples  of  *^hat 
of  hydrogen.  In  the  paper  already  refeiTed  to.  Mallet 
gave  a  list  of  eighteen  elements  whose  atomic  weights 
have  been  most  acctirately  determined.  Ten  of  these 
atomic  weights  were  within  0.1  of  whole  numbers.  (As 
already  stated  oxygen  has  fallen  out  of  this  list.)  The 
chances  against  this  occiuTing  accidentally  are  more  than 
1,000  to  1.  F.  W.  Clarke  extended  this  argument  to 
sixty-six  elements,  of  which  forty  have  atomic  weights 
falling  within  the  0.1  limit  of  variation.  He  says  that 
forty  agreements  include  nearly  all  the  t•rustwor^.hy 
determinations. 

The  case  seems  to  stand  thus: — Prout's  hypoth?sis 
in  its  original  form,  and  in  the  modifications  proposed 
by  Maiignac  and  Dumas,  is  untrue.  But  there  is,  never- 
theless, a  certain  approximation  to  it,  which  is  scarcely 
likely  to  be  quite  accidental. 

All  this,  however,  does  not  really  affect  the  wider 
question,  whether  the  elements  are  primordially  distiuct 
bodies,  or  whether  they  are  derived  by  aggregation  from 
a  simpler  form  or  forms  of  matter.  For  a  long  tim? 
there  was  only  negative  evidence  on  both  sides;  but  for 
a  good  many  years  now  positive  evidence  has  been 
pccumulating  in  favour  of  the  evolution  of  the  elemen*^s. 

To  begin  with,  the  only  evidence  in  favour  of  the 
elementary  nature  of  the  elements  is  ptirely  negative. 
The  definition  of  an  element  is  based,  not  on  any 
attribute  of  the  thing  defined,  but  on  the  limitdtions 
of  human  power.  It  is  merely  a  confession  of  im- 
potence. 

The  progress  of  science  is,  in  general,  a  process  of 
simplification.  Larger  and  larger  groups  of  facts  aie 
brought   under  more    and   more   general    laws.        Thus 


chemists  have,  during  the  last  two  centuries,  reduced  the 
millionfold  chemical  complexity  of  heaven  and  earth 
to,  say,  a  seventyfold  complexity.  Is  there  to  be  at 
this  point  a  solution  of  continuity,  or  is  the  simplifi- 
cation to  go  on  to  its  logical  conclusion  ? 

Physics,  it  may  be  noted,  takes  small  account  of 
chemical  differences.  AU  forms  of  matter  alike  obey  the 
laws  of  phvsics  in  the  same  way.  Graham,  who  was 
both  phvsicist  and  chemist,  was  strongly  impressed  by 
this  physical  unity  underlying  chemical  diversity,  fie 
wrote  in  1863: — "It  is  conceivable  that  the  various 
kinds  of  matter,  now  recognised  as  different  elementary 
substances,  may  possess  one  and  the  same  ultimate  or 
atomic  molecule  existing  in  different  conditions  of  move- 
ment. The  essential  unity  of  matter  is  an  hypothesis 
in  harmony  with  the  equal  action  of  gravity  on  all 
bodies." 

Again,  the  relations  between  the  atomic  weights  of 
the  elements  render  their  complete  independence  of  one 
another  hardly  supposable.  The  gi-eatest  generalisatiou 
made  in  chemistry  since  the  atomic  theoi^y  is  "  the  pro- 
perties of  the  elements  are  functions  of  their  atomic 
weights " ;  and  the  prediction  of  the  properties  of 
gallium,  scandium  and  germanium  was  a  greater 
triumph  to  chemistry  than  was  the  prediction  of 
Neptune  to  astronomy. 

The  work  of  Sir  William  Grookes  on  the  rare  earths 
is  of  the  highest  significance.  He  has  shown  that  a 
substance  like  yttrium,  which  from  every  chemical  point 
of  view  behaves  as  an  element,  can  by  repeated  fractional 
precipitations  be  split  up  into  several  groups  having 
different  spectra,  and  presumably  different  atomic 
weights.  The  process  of  fractionation  implies  differenras 
smong  the  "  elementary "  atoms,  and  a  possibility  of 
selection.  Crookes  writes  thus  about  didymium,  after 
splitting  it  up  into  neodymium  and  praseodymium  :  — 
"  Didymium  is  certainly  a  compound.  It  has  a  definite 
atomic  weight  and  well-defined  salts,  and  has  been 
closely  scrutinised  by  some  of  the  ablest  chemists  in  the 
world.  But  it  emerged  as  a  seeming  element  from  every 
trial." 

The  distribution  of  the  elements  in  the  earth  also 
deserves  consideration.  How  can  this  be  explained 
apart  from  the  theory  of  evolution?  Why,  for  instance, 
should  nickel  and  cobalt  be  always  found  together  ? 
Why  should  the  platinum  group  of  metals  and  the  rare 
earths  be  so  localised  and  so  rare  ?  Why  should  meteoric 
iron  always  contain  nickel  and  cobalt,  and  very  often 
manganese  and  chromium  as  well  —  all  elements  of 
similar  properties,  and  nearly  equal  atomic  weights? 
These  facts  are  just  what  one  would  expect  if  these 
elements  had  been  formed  under  nearly  identical  con- 
ditions from  simpler  forms  of  matter. 

The  remainder  of  the  evidence  is  more  positive  in 
character,  and  is  chiefly  due  to  the  spectroscopic  re- 
searches of  Sir  Norman  Lockyer.  So  long  ago  as  1876, 
Lockyer  showed  that  the  spectrum  of  calcium  varies  at 
different  temperatures,  and  that  the  changes  brought 
about  by  rising  temperature  are  exactly  parallel  to  the 
changes  in  the  spectrum  of  a  compound  as  it  is  gradually 
dissociated  by  heat.  In  short,  this  element  behaves, 
spectroscopically  speaking,  as  a  compound. 

The  spectrum  of  iron  is  well  known  to  be  enormously 
complex;  and  it  ought  to  be  noticed,  in  passing,  that 
this  complexity  is  in  itself  some  evidence  against  the  ele- 
mentary nature  of  iron ;  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  an 
indivisible  atom  vibrating  in  so  many  hundreds  of  dif- 
ferent ways.     But  the  iron  lines  in  the  solar  spectinm 


June  1,  1000.] 


KNOWLEDGE, 


141 


differ  in  many  ways  from  those  in  the  terrestrial  spec- 
trum. Lookyer  has  found  that  on  certain  days  cei-tain  lines 
are  absent;  on  other  days  other  lines  ;  and  so  on  in  almost 
endless  variety.  The  lines  of  a  sun-spot  are  different 
from  those  of  a  prominence.  Some  of  the  iron  lines 
may  be  bent,  indicating  rapid  motion  of  the  luminous 
material,  while  other  lines  in  the  same  spectrum  remain 
straight,  indicating  comparative  rest.  The  lines  indi- 
cating motion  vary  from  place  to  place  and  from  dr.y 
to  day.  The  set  of  bent  lines  in  a  sun-spot  is  different 
from  the  set  of  bent  lines  in  a  prominence.  In  short, 
an  indivisible  atom  can  move  and  remain  at  rest  at  one 
and  the  same  time  I  The  only  feasible  explanation  of 
these  facts  seems  to  be  that  the  iron  has  been  dissociated 
by  heat,  and  that  the  constituents  have  been  pai'tly 
separated. 

The  idea  that  each  substance  ha.s  a  spectrum  entirely 
and  specially  its  own  is  untrue.  Many  lines  of  different 
metals  coincide.  Thus  out  of  sixty-two  lines  of  iron  in 
the  region  39  to  40,  no  less  than  forty-four  coincided 
with  lines  of  other  metals. 

It  has  also  been  shown  that  many  elements  have 
fluted  as  well  as  line  spectra.  The  former  are 
characteristic  of  low  temperatures.  As  the  temperature 
rises,  the  lines  appear  one  bv  one.  The  series  of  spectra 
so  obtained  is  exactly  pai-allel  in  appearance  with  the 
series  obtained  when  a  known  compound  is  dissociated 
bv  heat.  There  is  a  gradual  thinning-out  of  bands  and 
appearing  of  lines. 

The  witness  of  the  stars  to  elementai-y  evolution  is 
much  more  striking  and  direct.  Lockyer,  long  agj, 
pointed  out  in  a  general  way  that  the  hottest  stars  have 
the  simplest  chemical  composition,  and  he  has  I'ecently 
developed  this  subject  much  more  fully.  In  a  lecoure 
.deliver&i  in  the  spring  of  last  year  he  said: — "Disso- 
ciation reveals  to  us  the  forms  the  coming  together  of 
which  has  produced  the  thing  dissociated  or  broken  up 
by  heat.  If  this  be  so.  the  final  products  of  di.ssociation 
or  breaking  up  by  heat  must  be  the  earliest  chemical 
forms.  Hence  we  must  regard  the  chemical  substances 
which  visibly  exist  alone  in  the  hottest  stars  as  repre- 
senting the  ear-liest  evolutionary  forms.' 

The  lecturer  then  gave  details  concerning  the  increase 
of  chemical  complexity  in  stars  with  decrease  of  tem- 
perature : — "We  find  that  in  the  hottest  stars  we  get 
a  very  small  number  of  chemical  elements ;  as  we  come 
down  from  the  hottest  star  to  the  cooler  ones  the  number 
of  spectral  lines  increases,  and  with  the  number  of  lines 
of  course  the  number  of  chemical  elements.  In  the 
hottest  stars  of  all,  we  deal  with  a  form  of  hydrogen 
which  we  do  not  know  anything  about  here  (but  which 
we  suppose  to  be  due  to  the  presence  of  a  very  hif;li 
temperature),  hydrogen  as  we  know  it,  the  cleveite  g..ses, 
and  magnesium  and  calcium  in  forms  which  are  difficult 
to  get  here ;  we  think  we  get  them  by  using  the  highest 
temperatures  available  in  our  laboratories.  In  the  stars 
of  the  next  lower  temperature  we  find  the  existence  of 
these  things  continued  in  addition  to  the  introduction 
of  oxygen,  nitrogen  and  carlx)n.  In  the  next  cooler 
stars  we  get  silicon  added;  in  the  next  we  get  the 
forms  of  iron,  titanium,  copper,  and  manganese,  which 
we  can  produce  at  the  very  highest  temperatures  in  our 
laboratories;  and  it  is  only  when  we  como  to  stars  much 
cooler  that  we  find  the  ordinai-y  indications  of  iron, 
calciiim  and  manganese  and  other  metals.  All  these, 
therefore,  seem  to  be  forms  produced  by  the  running 
down  of  temperature.  As  certain  new  forms  are  intro- 
cuced  at  each  stage,  so  certain  old  forms  disappear." 


This  chain  of  facts,  thus  briefly  stated,  confirms  in  a 
most  striking  way  tho  chemical  speculation  that  has  been 
going  on  more  or  less  continuously  since  tho  time  of 
Prout ;  and  gives  solid  support  to  the  theory  of  the 
evolution  of  the  elements.  Tho  only  mistake  that  Prout 
made — a  very  natural  mistake  at  the  time — was  in 
taking  hydrogen  as  his  starting  point.  For  if  evolution 
of  the  elements  has  really  taken  place,  some  modification 
of  Prout's  hypothesis  must  bo  true.  The  atomic  weights 
of  the  elements  must  bo  multiples  of  that  fraction  of  hy- 
drogen which  may  residt  from  tho  di.ssociation  of  hy- 
drogen. The  fact  that  the  verification  of  this  is  beyond 
the  reach  of  analytical  chemistry  is  beside  tho  question ; 
but  it  is  worth  noting  that  some  of  the  most  accurate 
atomic  weight  determinations  ever  made  were  due  to 
tho  controversy  over  Prout's  hypothesis,  which  has,  in 
this  way,  at  least,  borne  practical   fruit. 

It  has  long  ago  been  noticed  that  the  essential  ele- 
ments of  living  matter  are  all  of  relatively  low  atomic 
weight.  Sir  Norman  Lockyer  has  also  pointed  out  tho 
interesting  fact  that  these  elements  are  precisely  those 
found  in  the  hottest  stars.  In  other  words,  organic 
evolution  began  among  the  earliest  and  simplest  chemical 
forms ;  and  the  mai-vellous  mobility  and  plasticity  of 
the  protoplasmic  cell  are  due  to  its  being  formed  from 
the  simplest,  and,  presumably,  the  most  mobile  and  most 
plastic  of  the  elements.  We  have  hero  "  a  quite  new 
bond  between  man  and  the  st,ars." 

Before  biological  evolution  could  begin,  there  was  a 
chemical  evolution  like  it  in  many  respects,  chai-acterised 
by  the  same  progi-ess  from  simplicity  to  complexity,  bv 
the  appearance  of  new  forms  and  the  disappearance  of 
old  ones.  As  tho  rocks  are  divided  into  strata  according 
to  the  fossils  they  contain,  so  the  stars  can  be  divided 
into  "  strata "  according  to  their  chemical  composition 
and  the  period  of  evolution  they  have  reached. 

This  chemical  evolution  comes  very  exactly  under  ih*j 
philosophical  definition  of  evolution  in  general.  It  is  a 
progress  from  "  an  indefinite,  incoherent  homogeneity 
to  a  definite,  coherent  heterogeneity." 


i*ticvoscopi>. 

By  John  H.  Cooke,  p.l.s.,  f.g.s. 

The  residua  and  strainintjs  obtained  from  ordinary  tap  water 
will  provide  the  microsoopist  with  an  abundance  of  matori,-d  for 
examination.  Among  the  organisms  that  he  will  ])robablv  meet 
with  ai'e  the  fat  little  rotifer,  Triai-ihra  hriKjiseta,  hobbling 
along  on  his  long  delicate  stilts  in  company  with  the  pretty 
little  long-spined  Aiiureii.  hm(//.i2>'>ui.  The  Vortieellida;  and 
Entomostraca  are  often  in  great  force,  with  diatoms  and 
desmids  i  nnumerable.  Diiiuhri/nn  xerhilmia,  a  curious  compound 
flagellate  organism,  like  animated  ears  of  barley,  though  not  so 
numerous,  are  invariably  present  in  greater  or  lessor  nnmliers. 
A  b.ag  made  of  several  thicknesses  of  very  fine  nnislin  and  tied 
on  the  water  tap,  so  that  tho  water  strains  gently  tlirougb  it,  is 
a  rough  and  ready,  but,  on  the  whole,  a  satisfactciry  way  of 
capturing  them. 

A  practical  way  for  obtaining  crystals  from  dog's  blood  is 
suggested  by  Dr.  S.  Waterman.  Oolibrinate  and  mix  water  in 
e<iual  parts  to  each  volume  of  blood.  Add  to  four  volumes  of 
the  blood  .solution  one  vohime  of  alcohol.  Set  the  mixture  to 
rest  for  twenty-four  hours  at  a  terai)erature  of  C^  or  less. 
The  crystals  formed  arc  filtered  off,  pressed,  dissolved  in  the 
smallest  c|uantity  of  water,  say  '25  to  .^d  |)er  cent.,  exposed  to  a 
temperature  of  10",  and  left  umlisturbed  for  twcnty-fourhours. 
The  whole  solution  will  be  found  converted  into  a  crystallised 
mass. 

The  production  of  lutmoglobin  crystals  is  surrounded  at  times 
with  more  or  less  difficulty,  owing  to  the  rapidity  with  which 


11-2 


KNOWLEDGE 


[June  1,  1900. 


the  hemoglobin  decomposes.  A  simple  method  is  to  allow  the 
blood  to  coa,t;ulate,  express  the  serum,  and  separate  the  fibrin  by 
filtration.  Through  this  solution  pass  a  current  of  oxygen  for 
half-an-hour,  and  then  carbonic  acid  gas  for  ten  or  fifteen 
minntes.  Crystals  may  be  readily  obtained  from  the  blood  of 
the  dog  and  other  animals  by  adding  alcohol  in  small  quantities 
during  the  passage  of  the  gas  currents. 

Sunlight  is  par  excellence  the  best  source  of  illumination 
for  photomicrography.  A  good  substitute  for  a  heliostadt  is  a 
fair-sized  mirror  swinging  on  a  double  axis,  and  capable  of  being 
regul.ated  by  hand.  No  difiiculty  is  experienced  in  keeping  the 
light  centred,  as  ex]iosures  by  sunlight  are  of  such  short 
duration.  When  using  sunlight,  care  should  be  taken  to  ]>ass 
the  rays  through  a  cell  of  saturated  snlution  of  alum,  in  order 
to  absorb  the  he.at  r.ays,  otherwise  serious  damage  may  be  done 
to  the  ol^jective  and  the  sub-stage  condenser. 

After  sunlight,  diffused  daylight  from  a  window  witli  a 
northern  exposure  is  the  next  best  light  at  the  dispos;il  of  the 
photo-microscopist,  but  when  it  is  necessary  to  use  artificial 
illumination,  acetylene  gas  or  magnesium  wire  will  be  found  to 
give  satisfactory  results.  Some  objects  are  better  shown  under 
a  diffused  light,  such  as  may  be  obtained  by  the  interposition  of 
a  ground-glass  screen,  or  near  a  window  witliout  the  aid  of  a 
condenser.  If  the  colour  of  the  object  be  dark,  or  reflects  but 
little  light,  the  bull's  eye  should  be  tocussed  on  the  S]iecinien, 
care  being  taken  to  avoid  glare  or  excess  of  illumination,  wliich 
will  result  in  a  confused  image  in  the  negative.  With  some 
objects,  the  Lieber  kuhn  may  be  used  advantageously,  with 
others  the  parabolic  reflector,  but  the  majority  yield  better 
results  under  the  most  simple  forms  of  illumination. 

Potato-agar  is  suggested  as  a  good  cultivating  medium  for 
thermophilous  bacteria.  It  is  pre]iared  as  follows  : — Potatoes 
are  steamed,  peeled,  and  pounded.  To  100  grammes  of  potato  add 
one  litre  of  water,  steam  the  mass  for  half  an  hour  and  then 
filter.  To  the  filtrate  add  two  per  cent,  of  agar  and  autoclave 
the  whole  for  fifteen  minutes.  It  has  been  found  advantageous 
to  add  one  per  cent,  of  salt.  After  neutralization  with  soda, 
and  further  steaming,  filter  the  potato-agar  into  test  tubes  and 
sterilize  once  more. 

To  prepare  photo-microgra])hs  of  diatoms,  first  photograph 
the  diatoms  with  a  magnification  of  not  more  than  100 
diameters,  then  enlarge  so  as  to  obtain  a  jihotograph  of  MO 
diameters,  proper  for  photo-printing.  The  finest  details  are 
thus  brought  out,  which  otherwise  are  invisible  to  the  eye  in 
the  smaller  photograph.  Even  forgeries  in  legal  documents  can 
be  discerned  by  using  enlargement  pictures,  which  microscopi- 
cally are  not  visible  if  printed  on  bromide  or  velox  paper. 

Magnesium  as  an  illuminant  for  photo-micrography  is  not  a 
new  idea.  It  was  used  for  this  purpose  by  Dr.  R.  L.  Maddox 
as  far  back  as  1804,  but  owing  to  the  expense  of  its  production 
it  never  became  renlly  popular.  Magnesium  is  prepared  com- 
mercially from  the  melted  chloride  of  electrolysis,  or  by 
metallic  sodium,  and,  when  heated  either  in  air  or  oxygen  it 
first  glows  and  then  burns  with  a  bluish-white  dazzling  flame. 
The  experiments  of  Bun.sen  and  Iloscoe  have  shown  that  the 
sun  at  its  zenith  has  only  'M'rC)  times  more  chemical  brightness, 
and  :)^2i^^  times  more  visual  brightness  than  magnesium.  It  is 
therefore  suitable  in  a  special  degree  for  photographic  purposes, 
and  now  that  the  price  of  the  metal,  either  as  bar,  wire,  ribbon,  or 
powder  is  so  low,  there  is  every  inducement  to  the  photo- 
micrographer  to  call  in  its  aid. 

The  following  method  of  jireparing  sections  of  the  teeth  of 
fish  is  suggested  by  Jlr.  A.  Underwood,  of  the  Leicester  Square 
Dental  Hospital.  Sections  of  fishes'  teeth  should  not  be  ground, 
but  the  jaws  and  teeth  should  be  decalcified  in  a  6  per  cent, 
solution  of  chromic  acid,  or  a  10  jier  cent,  solution  of  hydrochloric 
acid.  After  sections  have  been  cut  and  stained,  they  should  be 
well  washed  in  distilled  water,  dehydrated  for  three  minutes 
in  absolute  alcohol,  cleared  in  oil  of  cloves,  and  mounted  in 
Canada  balsam.     Carmine  is  the  best  stain  for  fishes'  teeth. 

In  collecting  any  fleshy  fungi,  care  should  be  taken  to  obtain 
all  the  fleshy  structure,  as  some  of  the  most  important  characters 
are  only  to  be  observed  in  the  basal  parts.  To  remove  the  basal 
portion  entire,  a  knife  or  small  trowel  should  lie  emplo\od. 
Specimens  that  are  broken  off  short  with  the  ground  are  seldom 
of  much  value   for  scientific  purpo.ses.     Fleshy   ascomycetous 


fungi  can  best  be  jireserved  in  alcohol,  but  many  of  them  may 
also  be  satisfactorily  dried.  It  is  well,  when  fungi  gathering,  to 
take  a  stock  of  tissue  paper  to  wrap  the  specimens  in.  Each 
form  should  be  wrapped  up  separately  so  as  to  prevent  breaking, 
or  soiling  from  contact  with  one  another. 

A  good  dead  black  for  varni.shing  the  inteiiur  of  microscope  tubes 
and  cameras  may  be  made  l)v  mixing  two  grains  of  lamp-black  with 
just  enough  gold  size  to  liold  the  la.mp-ldack  together.  Add  the 
size  drop  by  dro])  from  a  lead  pencil.  After  the  lamp-black  and 
size  are  tlioroughlv  mixed  and  worked  up,  add  twenty-four  drops 
of  turpentine  and  worlc  up  again. 

To  the  oui'i'eni  issue  of  tlie  journal  i»f  I  he  Quekftt  t'lul)  .Mi'.  A. 
Earland  <(iiitrilniles  an  interesting  artirle  on  the  structure,  distri 
hution  and  life  history  of  the  Radiolaria.  illustrated  by  three  plates 
from  the  Report  on  the  Radiolaria  of  the  "  Challenger  "  Expedition. 

[All  communications  in  reference  to  this  Column  should  be 
(idilressed  to  }fr.  J.  11.  Coohe  at  the  Office  of  Knowledge.] 


NOTES   ON   COMETS   AND   METEORS. 

By  W.  F.  Denning,  f.r.a.s. 

Gl.\coiiiNi'.s  Comet. — This  object  is  now  about  7  degrees  south 
of  the  star  Beta  .^lulromedae,  and  is  moving  to  the  north-west  It  is 
rapidly  becoming  more  favourably  situated,  and  is  aijproaching  the 
earth.  The  twilight  is  now,  however,  very  strong,  and  the  comet 
being  a  faint  one,  a  powerful  telescope  must  necessarily  be  employed 
in  its  observation.  The  comet  will  be  presented  under  its  best 
aspect  during  the  alisence  of  moonlight  in  tlie  last  half  of  .July.  At 
the  middle  of  that  montli  the  apparent  brightness  of  the  oljject 
will  be  about  twice  that  at  discovery  on  January  31.  In  February 
the  comet  >vas  of  the  13th  magnitude,  and  described  as  a  somewhat 
difficult  object  on  .account  of  its  faintness  by  several  of  the  observers 
who  were  fortunate  to  obtain  views  of  it.  The  following  is  an 
ephemeris  of  the  comet  by  A.  Berberich  (Ast.  Nach.  3636)  :  — 

Distance  iu 
E.  A.  Dec.  Millions  of 

Date.  h.   m.    s.  "       '  Miles. 

June    2  1     3  53  -H   28  36  ...  17-1 

„      6  ...  o  57  49  +  30  11         ...         167 

„     10  ,..  0  EO  40  +  31  52  ...  161 

,,     14  ....  0  42     9-1-  33  39         ...         155 

„     18  ...  0  31  .59  +  35  31         ...  148 

„     22  ,..  0  19  43  +   37  29  ...  140 

„     26  ...  0     4  .50  -I-  39  31  ...  134 

.,     3(1  ...  23  46  53  +  41  32  ...  128 

July     4  ...  23  25  11  +  43  27         ...  122 

CoMKT  DiscovKRERS. — The  close  of  the  last  century  terminated 
the  interesting  .and  numerous  series  of  conietary  discoveries  effected 
by  Miss  C'aroUne  Herschel,  and  by  Messier  and  Mechain.  But  Pons 
very  sliortly  afterwards  came  into  the  fielrl  and  eclipsed  all  the 
efl'iats  of  las  predecessors  in  this  productive  line  of  work.  Originally 
n  .loor  keeper  at  the  observatory  at  Marseilles,  the  instruction 
and  encouragement  he  received  from  the  director  Thulis  (discoverer 
of  Encke's  Comet  at  its  return  in  1805),  resulted  in  his  taking  up 
the  search  for  comets,  and  liis  jierseverance  and  genius  for  the  work 
enabled  liim  to  make  a  remarkaljle  number  of  discoveries.  Now,  at 
the  close  of  the  nineteentli  century  we  liave  m.any  successful  comet 
Imnters,  including  Brooks.  Swift,  Perrine,  and  Ciacobini.  Among 
those  wlio  liave  earned  special  distinctiort  in  this  br.anch  during  the 
last  half  of  the  century  are  Tempel,  Winnecke,  Donati,  and 
Klinkerfries,  who  have  "gone  over  to  the  majority."  Others  in- 
cluding Bainard,  Borelly,  Coggia,  H.  P.  Tuttle  and  a  few  others 
of  less  renown  are  still  living  though  engaged  in  other  astronomical 
work.  When  the  history  of  cometary  discovery  in  the  nineteenth 
century  ccjmes  to  be  written  due  praise  will  be  given  to  Pons, 
Tempel,  Brooks,  Barnard,  Swift,  and  Winnecke,  who  have  proved 
themselves  the  most  successful  workers  in  this  .ittractive  and  ex- 
citing field. 

The  April  Meteobs. — The  weather  was  clear  and  the  evening 
sky  moonless  at  the  epoch  of  this  shower,  but  it  did  not  return  in 
any  strengtli.  Meteors  generally  were  rare — a  characteristic  of  the 
Spring  season — and  the  Lyrids  only  reappeared  in  sutficient  numbers 
to  prove  their  existence.  Prof.  A.  S.  Herschel  watched  the  sky  at 
Slough  for  short  intervals  on  April  15.  16,  17  and  18,  and  during 
an  aggreg.de  of  7  hours  of  fibservation  only  recorded  7  meteors. 
On  April  19  he  saw  12  meteors  in  4^  hours.  On  April  20,  25  meteors 
in  5  hours,  and  on  April  21,  35  meteors  in  4^  hours.  Tlie  true 
foiuetary  Lyrids  from  a  radiant  at  i7t)''-H32''  were  in  very  weak 
evidence,  only  3  or  4  being  seen,  while  about  12  were  from  a  good 
radiant  at  277" -H  30".  Outlying  radiant.^  were  in  Draco  and  Lyra 
at  261"  +  48°  and  280°  +  47",  comprising  between  them  15  or  20  fine 


June  1.  IPOO.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


143 


streakeil  lurtem-s.  Mr.  A.  R.  Hinks  at  Cambiiilgo  watilieil  tlu" 
sky  for  several  lumrs  on  April  20,  hut  saw  no  Lyruls,  ilunijili  a 
detinite  shower  appeared  to  be  proteeilin^  from  the  rejiioii  of  Hela 
l>raconis.  Mr.  A.  Kins;  at  Leicester  made  observations  on  several 
niihts  and  lecistered  a  number  of  meteors,  but  there  were  only  a 
tow  Lyrids.  and  tlie.«e  showed  a  mdiant  at  271'' +  33"'.  bciii;;  a  liule 
east  of  the  vsual  position,  and  eonlirniin''  fairly  well  I'rof.  Herschel's 
lOiitro  at  27<"'' +311".  As  tlii'  radiant  is  priibably  a  moriiini;  oiii'. 
the  mean  of  the  two  positions  woulil  nearlj-  represent  its  usual  place 
on  April  21.  but  would  be  several  degrees  east  of  its  position  on 
April  19.  In  observations  of  this  and  similar  showers  it  is  therefore 
of  great  importance  to  keep  the  observations  for  each  night  separate. 
and  determine  the  individual  radiants  for  successive  dates  if  tliere 
are  sufficient  materials  for  the  purpose.  This  is,  however,  not  often 
the  case,  as  the  l.yrids  form  a  very  short-lived  shower,  and  one 
very  meagre  in  the  distribution  oi  its  meteors.  They  are  usually 
rare  except  on  the  night  of  maximum,  and  even  then  the  .shower  is 
so  po«>r  as  to  be  scarcely  distinguishable.  Two  meteors  of  the 
tlisplay  appear  to  have  been  doubly  observed  this  year.  On  April 
20  at  lOh.  19m.  a  small  meteor  of  about  4th  mag.  was  recorded  by 
Prof.  Herschel  at  .Slough,  and  by  Mr.  H.  ('order  at  Uridgwater. 
Tlie  former  found  the  radiant  from  the  combined  tracks  was  ,it 
257°  +  4(-l'',  and  the  heights  from  ;U  to  3ll  miles  over  a  iioiiit  N.W. 
of  Basingstoke,  Hants.  The  elevation  is  unusually  low,  hut  there 
seems  little  doubt  as  to  the  identity  of  the  objects.  A  meteor 
which  appeared  on  April  21  at  lOh.  32m.  of  3J  magnitude,  was  seen 
by  Prof.  Herschel  and  by  Mr.  A.  King  at  Syston,  near  Leicester. 
Prof.  Herschel  places  the  radiant  in  180"  — 2oo,  and  gives  the 
heights  of  the  meteor  as  from  65  to  53  miles  from  over  Woodstock 
to  near  Leice.ster.  The  path  was  54  miles  long,  and  the  speed 
about  15i  miles  per  .second,  which  agrees  veiy  well  with  the  theo 
retical  velocity,  which  would  be  15  miles  per  second. 

FlRF.BAi.T.  OK  March  28. — A  masnificent  meteor  was  seen  on 
March  28  at  about  8h.  32m.  by  Mr.  Astbury  at  Wallingford,  Mr. 
Crommelin  at  HIackhcath,  Mr.  0.  T.  Davis  at  Reading,  Mr.  Knight. 
Bishops  Stortford,  and  other  observers.  It  was  several  times 
brighter  than  Venus,  and  lit  up  the  sky  with  a  vivid  flash.  Prof. 
Herschel  has  discussed  the  observations  and  finds  the  radiant  at 
182° +  43*,  and  lieights  of  from  about  CM  to  35  miles  over  the  S.E. 
part  of  England.  The  observations,  however,  disagree  in  some 
e.Nsential  particular's,  and  it  does  not  seem  possible  to  derive  a 
perfectly  satisfactory  result  from  them.  A  few  additional  de 
scriptions  of  this  fine  meteor  would  be  very  valuable,  and  it  is  to  b" 
hoped  that  thev  will  be  forthcoming. 

■•■ ^ 

THE   FACE   OF  THE   SKY   FOR  JUNE. 

By    A.    Fowler,    f.r..^.s. 

The  Scn. — On  the  Ist  the  sun  rises  at  3.51  and  set« 
at  8.5;  on  the  30th  ho  rises  at  3.48  and  sets  at  8.19. 
The  sun  enters  Cancer,  and  Summer  commences  at 
10  P.M.  on  the  21st.  Sun  spots  arc  still  occasionally  to 
be  seen. 

The  Moon. — The  moon  will  enter  first  quarter  at 
6.59  A.M.  on  the  5th;  will  be  full  at  3.39  a.m.  on  the 
13th;  will  enter  last  quarter  at  0.57  a.m.  on  the  20th; 
and  will  be  new  at  1.27  a.m.  on  the  27th.  Among  other 
occultations  during  the  month,  that  of  Satm-n,  on  the 
13th,  will  be  of  special  interest.  Particulars  of  the 
three  occultations  visible  at  Greenwich  arc  given 
below  :  — 


There  will  be  a  partial  eclipse  of  the  moon,  beginning 
just  before  it  sets  on  the  morning  of  June  13th.  The 
magnitude  of  the  eclipse  is  0.001,  and  the  moon  is  only 
in  the  shadow  proper  for  about  7  minutes.  First  con- 
tact with  the  shadow  takes  place  at  3.24  a.m.,  and  last 
at  3.31  A.M.,  the  moon  setting  at  3.54  a.m.  The  shadow 
will  fall  on  the  lower  part  of  the  moon,  to  the  left. 


The  Planets. — Mercury  is  an  evening  star,  but  at  (his 
season  one  can  scarcely  expect  to  observe  him, 

Venus  is  an  evening  star  and  attains  her  greatest 
brilliancy  on  the  1st.  The  planet  will  bo  stationary 
in  Gemini  on  the  16th,  after  which  it  will  rapidly 
approach  the  sun  and  be  lost  to  our  view  until  it  re- 
appears as  a  morning  star.  On  the  15th  one-seventh  of 
the  disc  will   be  illuminated. 

Mars  is  a  morning  star,  but  as  it  rises  less  than  two 
hours  before  the  sun  during  the  greater  part  of  the 
month  no  further  data  need  be  given. 

Jupiter  is  fairly  well  placed  for  observation  from  ,-lusk 
until  the  early  morning  hours.  His  path  is  a  short 
westerly  one  in  Scorpio,  and  at  the  onil  of  the  month 
will  bo  very  near  to  Beta  Seorpii;  on  the  30th  ho  will 
be  li  minutes  following  and  18'  south  of  the  star.  The 
apparent  diameter  on  the  15th  is  41  ".6,  and  the  meridian 
passage  on  the  same  date  is  at  10.32  p.m.  The  satellite 
phenomena  are  most  interesting,  at  convenient  hours, 
on  the  Ist  (8.19—11.0),  3rd  (9.35—11.56),  4th 
(8.44—10.45),  8th  (10.33—12.58),  11th  (8.27—12  43), 
17th  (10.26),  18th  (10.13—12.57),  ]9lh  (10.13),  and  29tli 
(9.49—10.58). 

Saturn  is  visible  throughout  the  greater  part,  of  the 
night,  rising  about  9.30  on  the  1st,  and  about  7.30  on 
the  30th.  He  is  in  opposition  on  the  23rd.  On  the 
13th  the  planet  will  be  occulted  by  the  moon.  During 
the  month  the  planet  describes  a  westerly  path  between 
Mu  and  Lambda  Sagittarii.  On  the  19th,  the  diameter 
of  the  ball  is  17",  while  the  outer  major  and  minor  axes 
of  the  outer  ring  are  respectively  42". 6  and  18". 9.  The 
northern  surface  of  the  ring  is  visible. 
•  Uranus  is  in  opposition  at  11  a.m.  on  the  1st,  when 
ho  rises  at  8  p  m.  During  the  month  he  describes  a 
short  westerly  path  in  the  south-western  part  of 
Ophiuchus,  a  little  to  the  south -ea.st  of  the  star  Omega 
in  that  constellation. 

Neptune  is  not  observable,  being  in  conjunction  with 
the  sun  on  the  18th. 

The  Stabs. — About  10  p.m.  at  the  middle  of  the  month 
Cygnus  will  be  in  the  east ;  Lyra  will  be  high  up,  a 
little  to  the  south  of  east;  and  Aquila  will  be  ''n  the 
same  direction  but  lower.  Near  tlie  meridian  will  bo 
Hercules,  Corona,  Ophiuchus,  Libra,  and  Scorpio. 
Arctunis  will  be  a  little  west  of  the  meridian,  Virgo 
rather  low  in  the  south-west,  and  Leo  almost  due  west. 


C!)rss   Column. 

Bv  C.   D.   LofocK,   H..1 


Communications  for  tliis  column  sliould  be  addiessed 
to  C.  D.  Loc'ocK,  Netherfield.  Camberley,  and  be  posted 
bv  the  10th  of  each  month. 


Solutions  of  Mav  Problems, 

No.   1. 

(N.  M.  Gibbins.) 

1.   Kt   to   K5,   and   mates   next  move. 

No.  2. 

(W.   Clugston.) 

1.   R    to   Kt4,   and    mates   next   move. 

Correct  Solutions  of  both  problems  received  from 
W.  de  P.  Crousaz,  Alpiia,  G.  A.  Fordo  (Capt.),  J. 
Humble,  J.  W,  Mevjes,  G.  W.  Middleton,  J.  Baddeley 
W.  F.  Denning,  W'  Clugston,  H.  C.  Jclliman. 

Of  No.  1  onlv,  from  Otto  Schachel. 


144 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[June  1,  1900. 


Of  No.  2  only,  from  D.  D.,  A.  Gorham. 

D.  D. — KtxP  will  not  solve  No.  1. 

A.  Gorham. — If  1.  Kt  lo  K3,  Q  x  Q,  ami  l.liere  is  no 
mate. 

Otto  Schachel. — None  of  your  solutions  to  No.  1 
will  work.  Black's  best  defence  must  be  assumed  in 
every  case. 

W.  Clugston. — Many  thanks.  You  will  see  that  Mr. 
Gundry's  problem  appears  below. 

PROBLEMS. 

No.  1. 
By  B.  G.  Laws. 

Black  (8). 


:q. 


AVhite  (10). 

White    mates   in   three   moves. 

No.  2. 
By  W.  H.  Gundry. 

Blv  k    (I) 


//,/o. 


^l^i ■1'^^, 


/,T^//  ///M  ^P 

mm.     mm 


.,*.•. 


WuiTK  (In,. 

White  mates  in  two  moves. 


America. 

}-. 

Rice  (Hai-viii-d)      ... 

1 

Hunt  (Priueetoii)  ... 

..     0 

1 

Sewall  (Coluuibia)  .. 

..     n 

1 

Cooke  (Tale) 

..     () 

0 

Hopkins 

..     1 

1 

Austell         

..     0 

Pillsbury,  Maroczy,  Janowski,  Schlecter,  Brody,  Burn, 
Mason,  Tchigorin,  and  about  twelve  others,  including 
perhaps  Blackbume. 

The  death  of  Rudolph  Charousek  deprives  the  world 
of  a  brilliant  player  who  might  easily  have  risen  to  the 
championship.  Before  his  death,  at  the  age  of  27,  most 
judges  would  have  placed  him  among  the  first  five  liviujj 
players.  Charousek  won  the  Berlin  touniament  and  was 
second  to  Tchigorin  at  Budapest,  and  to  Bum  at 
Cologno,  the  last  tournament  in  which  he  took  part. 

The  Hastings  Chess  Festival  was  brought  to  a  success- 
ful conclusion  last  month.  Messrs.  Blackbume.  Lee 
and  Teichmann  were  the  masters  engaged,  five  drawn 
games  being  the  result  of  their  consultation  games. 
Mr.  Teichmann's  simultaneous  performance  resulted  in 
a  score  of  15  wins  and  5  draws  out  of  20.  Mr.  Black- 
bume, blindfold,  was  also  in  excellent  form,  winning  5 
games  and  drawing  one.  In  the  duplicate  series  of 
consultation  games  Mr.  Teichmann  made  the  best  score, 
winning  both  his  games,  while  Messrs.  Blackbume  and 
Lee  won  one  and  drew  one. 

After  an  adjournment  over  Easter  the  City  of  London 
invitation  tournament  was  brought  to  a  conclusion  with 


CHESS     INTELLIGENCE. 

The  Anglo-American  inter-universities  cable  match 
has  resulted  in  a  decisive  win  for  the  English  univer- 
sities.    The  score  was  as  under :  — 

Enqland. 
Tattersall  (Camb.) 
Softlaw  (Camb.) 
Ellis  (Oxon.)  ... 
George  (Oxon.) 
Soddv  (Oxon.) 
Wiles  (Oxon.) 

The  Paris  International  Tournament  is  just  beginning 
as    we    go    to    Press.       The    entries    include    Lask-^r, 


the  following  score  :  — 


E.  Teichmann    ... 

...     9i 

First  prize 

J.  Ma.*on 
I.  Gunsberg 

...     9 
...     9 

J  Tie  for  seconc 

W.  Ward 

...     8J 

Fourth  prize 

L.  Van  Vliet        .. 

...     8 

Fifth  prize 

J.  H.  Blackbume 

...     7i 

Sixth  prize 

T.  P.  Lawrence... 

...     6 

Seventh  prize 

F.  J.  Lee 

...     5 

R.  Loman 

...      4J: 

A.  Tietjeu 

...     4 

E.  O.  Jones 

...     3i 

T.  Pbvsick 

...     2 

S.  Pa.ssmore 

...     li 

.  £20 

(  £12 

(.  £12 

.  £8 

.  £6 

.  £4 

.  £2 


Messrs.  Teichmann  and  Mason  both  started  badly. 
Mr.  Blackbume,  on  the  other  hand,  secured  a  good  lead 
at  the  start,  but  after  the  adjournment  was  severely 
handicapped  by  illness.  Mr.  Ward  is  to  be  congratulated 
on  an  excellent  performance;  to  be  one  poi«it  only 
behind  the  first  prize  winner  is  a  most  creditable  achieve- 
ment in  such  company.  Mr.  Gunsberg  showed  that  he 
has  lost  little  of  his  former  skill,  though  lie  retired 
from  serious  chess  some  years  ago.  Mr.  Loman,  on  the 
other  hand,  has  done  better  things  in  his  time. 

The  annual  tournament  of  the  Southern  Counties' 
Chess  Union  will  be  held  this  year  at  Bath,  the  date 
fixed  being  September  3  to  12.  The  Scottish  Associa- 
tion tourney  has  resulted  in  a  tie  between  Mr.  D.  Y. 
Mills,  the  perennial  holder  of  the  trophj',  and  Dr.  Mac- 
donald  ;  the  tie  is  to  be  played  off  during  the  summer. 
The  championship  of  the  Southern  Counties  Chess' 
Union  has  again  been  won  by  Surrey,  who  defeated 
Gloucestershire  in  the  final  tie. 


For  Contents  of  the  Two  last  Numbers  of  "  Knowledge,"  see 
Advertisement  pages. 


The  yearly  boimd  volumes  of  Knowledge,  cloth  gilt,  Ss.  6d.,  post  free. 
Bindiug  Cases,  Is.  6d.  each ;  post  free,  Is.  9d. 

Subscribers'  uumbers  bound  (including  case  and  Index),  2s.  6d.  each  yolome. 
Index  of  Articles  and  Illastrations  for  1891,  1892,  1894,  1895,  1896,  1897,  and 
189S  can  be  supplied  for  3d.  each. 
All  remittances  should  be  made  payable  to  the  Publisher  of  "  Knowledge." 


"  Knowledge "    Annual    Sobscription,   throughout   the    world, 
7b.  6d.,  post  free. 

Communicatione  for  tbe  Editors  and  Books  for  Reriew  should  be  addressed 
Editors,  *'  KNOWLZDez,"  3'J6,  High  Holbom,  London,  W.C. 


July  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


145 


y^  ILLUSTRATED  MAG.\Z1NE    <^ 

^N€E,  LITER  AT!]RE4ite 


Founded  by  RICHARD    A.    PROCTOR. 
LONDON:    JULY 


I'll 'it. 


PAOIi 

115 


CONTENTS. 

— ^ — 

The   Total    Solar  Eclipse  of    May    28,    1900.      By  1 

Waltfb  XlArxDER,  F.K.i.s.     {lUiist rated) 
The  Corona  of   1900,  May  28.    (Pla/e) 
The   Great   Indian   Earthquake  of  1897.    By  Cuaelks 

Davison,  sc.d.,  f.q,s.     (Illuslrafed)  ...         ...         ...     147 

American  Indians.     By  R.  Ltdkkkee.     (Illustrated)       ...     ISO 
Some    Early   Theories   on    Fermentation.— I.     By   W. 

Stanley  Smiiu,  th.d.  .         ...         .  .         ...         ...     154 

Letters : 

Is    THE     SlBLUlB    UsiTEBSE    FINITE?       By    ARTHUR    E. 

Mitchell 155 

A  Lakgb  Meteob.     By  W.  Eakp 155 

British   Ornithological   Notes.     Conducted  by  Habbt  F. 

WiTHBBBT,   P.Z.3.,    M.B.O.IT 156 

Notices  of  Books  150 

Books  KECErrED        157 

Astronomy    without    a    Telescope.— VI.      The    Milky 

Way.     By  E.  "SValtee  MArxDBE.  f.r.a.s.     (lUuslrated)     158 

Plants  and  their  Food.  — IV.     By  II.  H.  W.  Peaesos,  m.a. 

(Illustrated)       1.59 

The  Karkinokosm.  or  World  of  Crustacea, — 
Fish-Bears  and  their  Kindred.  By  the  Rev.  Thomas 
E.  K.  Stbbbino,  m.a.,  t.e.s.,  p.l.s.,  f.z.s.     (Illustrated)       1G2 

Microscopy.     By  John  H.  Cookb,  f.l.s.,  p.g.s 165 

Notes  on  Comets  and    Meteors.      By  W.  F.  Denning, 

P.B.A.8.     (Illustrated) 166 

The  Face  of  the  Sky  for  July,     By  A.  Fowlbe,  p.e.a.s.      167 

Chess  Column.    By  C.  D.  Locock,  b.a.  167 

THE  TOTAL  SOLAR  ECLIPSE  OF  MAY  28, 1900. 

By  E.  Walter  Maunder,  f.r.a.s. 
In  one  important  respect  the  total  eclipse  successfully 
observed  in  January,  1898,  differs  from  that  successfully 
observed  in  May,  1900.  The  first  had  its  sunrise  and 
sunset  limits  in  the  inaccessible  regions  of  Central 
Africa  and  Western  China  respectively.  Its  central  or 
midday  portion,  however,  lay  across  the  Peninsula  of 
Hindustan,  so  that  the  observers  were  comparatively 
speaking  massed  together,  and  their  conditions  either  of 
time  or  weather  did  not  greatly  differ  fi'om  each  other. 
The  latter  eclipse,  on  the  other  hand,  had  its  high  noon 
in  mid  Atlantic,  where  there  was  no  convenient  island 
lying  in  the  track  from  which  obsei-vers  might  view 
the  eclipse  high  in  the  sky  and  with  the  greatest  total 
phase.  The  observers  had  perforce  to  go  either  to 
the  extreme  west,  where  the  shadow  track  lay  across 
the  southern  states  of  North  America,  or  to  the  extreme 
east,  where  stations  were  available  on  the  terra  firma 
of  the  Peninsula  or  the  northern  states  of  Barbary. 
Though  the  sun  was  in  no  case  very  high,  and  the  periods 
of  totality  were  short,  we  have  in  the  eclipse  just  past 
— since  the  shadow  passed  through  clear  weather  fi-om 
Mexico  to  Tripoli — the  great  advantage  of  being  able 
to  compare  results,  both  coronal  and  spectroscopic, 
obtained  before  and  after  the  interval  of  a  few  hours. 
This  comparison  will  be  of  the  utmost  value  in  deciding 


many  points  as  to  the  slow  or  rapid  change  in  the  form 
and  direction  of  the  coronal  filaments  and  streamers,  but 
naturally  some  weeks  must  elapse  before  such  com- 
parison can  be  made,  and  at  the  moment  I  can  speak 
only  of  the  observations  secured  in  Algiers  and  the 
neighbourhood. 

All  eclipse  observations  tend  to  take  on  a  routine 
character,  and  rightly  so.  No  fact,  either  in  the  form 
or  the  spectrum  of  the  corona,  can  be  completely  worked 
out  from  the  observations  of  a  single  eclipse,  or  even 
three  or  four  eclipses.  Thus,  though  we  may  not  now 
expect  to  make  any  very  startling  discovery  from  tlio 
medium-sized  photographs  of  the  inner  corona,  or  even 
from  the  very  large  scale  ones,  yet  it  is  necessary  that 
these  should  bo  taken  regularly  and  in  considerable 
numbei-g  at  each  eclipse.  It  is  from  the  permanence 
or  the  variation  in  their  minor  details  that  it  will  be 
ever  possible  to  learn  the  nature  of  the  structure  of  the 
corona.  Of  their  value,  even  when  it  comes  to  prophesy- 
ing the  coronal  form,  an  instance  may  be  taken  from  the 
pi-esent  eclipse.  From  the  coronal  photographs  of 
1898  it  was  strongly  suspected  that  there  was  an 
intimate  relationship  between  the  gi-eat  coronal 
streamers  and  the  prominences ;  these  lying  at  the  base 
of  the  great  synclinal  cui-ves,  and  apparently  modifying 
the  fomi  and  nature  of  the  corona  in  their  immediate 
neighbourhood.  Though  this  could  not  be  proved  to 
be  more  than  a  suspicion  it  was  sufficient  for  us, 
when  Mr.  Evershed  telegraphed  to  us  from  Pont 
Mazafrara  on  the  morning  of  the  28th  that  there 
was  a  large  prominence  in  position  angle  226°,  to  warn 
Mr.  Wesley  and  those  other  observers  who  were  intend- 
ing to  draw  in  detail  a  small  portion  of  the  corona 
in  the  telescope,  that  this  region  was  probably  the  base 
of  a  great  ray.  The  event  justified  the  prophecy,  and  Mr. 
Wesley,  Mr.  Crommelin  and  Miss  Leake  have  examined 
with  great  particularity  this  part  for  comparison  with 
the  photographs  of  the  base  of  the  great  ray. 

So,  too,  it  will  be  necessary  to  continue  the  observa- 
tions of  the  spectrum  of  the  "  Flash  "  and  of  the  corona, 
both  with  the  slit  spectroscope  and  with  the  object- 
glass  prism,  even  though  we  may  not  expect  them  to 
differ  in  any  important  particular  from  those  that  have 
been  taken  at  previous  eclipses. 

Apart  from  these  regular  and  routine  observations, 
several  strong  efforts  have  been  made  in  the  1900 
eclipse  to  push  forward  enquiries  in  various  directions 
into  the  nature  and  form  of  the  sun's  surroundings. 

Of  these,  the  most  important  are  the  attempts  of  Sir 
Norman  Lockyer  and  of  Mr.  Evershed,  by  different 
methods,  to  gain  a  more  intimate  and  detailed  know- 
ledge of  the  spectrum  of  the  "  Flash."  Sir  Nonnan 
Lockyer  took  his  station  on  the  central  line  in  the 
ordinary  way,  and  relied  for  his  success  on  the  use  of  a 
longer  focal  length  and  consequently  a  larger  image  of 
the  sun  with  his  objective  prism  than  has  ever  yet  been 
employed.  lie  was  favoured  by  very  clear  skies,  and 
his  telegrams  have  announced  the  general  success  of  his 
photographs.  How  far  he  has  been  successful  in  his 
special  object  of  finding  to  a  more  minute  degree  the 
level  or  levels,  above  the  sun's  surface  of  the  gases 
which  give  the  spectrum  of  the  "  Flash,"  it  must  of 
course  be  many  weeks  before  we  can  know. 

Mr.  Evershed  conceived  a  bolder  plan,  which  proved 
successful  in  all  but  one  vital  point,  for  which  indeed 
Mr.  Evershed  cannot  in  any  way  be  held  responsible. 
Forsaking  the  central  line  with  its  many  seconds  of 
totality,  he  took  his  station  near  the  edge  of  the  shadow, 
wheri  as  he  hoped  his  total  phase  would  be  reduced 


146 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[July  2,  1900. 


to  some  20  or  25  seconds.  His  object  was  two-fold ;  to 
get  a  rolling  or  grazing  contact  of  the  limbs  of  the  sun 
and  moon  whereby  the  "  Flash  "  would  be  given  out 
all  along  the  osculating  surface ;  and  to  get  the 
"  Flash  "  not  near  the  sun's  equatorial  regions,  as  do 
the  observers  on  the  central  line,  but  at  the  sun's  pole. 
Thereby  it  may  be  judged  whether  the  constituents  of 
the  sun's  surroundings  vary  with   their  solar   latitude. 


Mr.  Evershed's  Obseniiig  Iliit  nt  Mazafram,  sliowiiig  the  Ccelostat. 

rhoiotirajthci]  hit  E.  Walter  Maunder. 

In  addition  he  used  two  large  prisms  in  conjunction 
with  a  large  reflector.  It  is  already  a  matter  of  history 
liow  that  Mr.  Evershed  found  himself,  when  the  shadow 
passed,  about  one  hundred  yards  outside  it,  and  not  as 
he  had  hoped  two  miles  within.  Though  actually  out> 
side  the  total  phase,  he  got  some  photographs  of  the 
"  Flash  "  of  most  exceptional  beauty  ;  but  probably  not 
one-fourth  of  the  result  which  he  would  have  got  had 
he  had  more  accurate  values  for  the  joosition  of  the 
shadow  track. 

In  another  way  his  experience  is  of  very  great  value, 
though  not  by  any  means  in  the  manner  he  intended 
or  desired.  The  farmers  and  sightseers  in  his  near 
neighbourhood  had  a  vehement  discussion  as  to  whether 
the  eclipse  was  total  or  not.  They  divided  themselves 
into  two  parties,  those  who  saw  the  sun  completely 
disappear,  and  those  who  described  the  coi-ona  as  creej)- 
ing  round  to  the  moon  up  to  a  point  where  there  was  a 
small  remnant  of  sunlight.  It  got  as  far  as  this  point 
but  no  further,  and  straightway  began  to  creep  back 
again  and  vanish.  These  latter  also  spoke  of  the  shai-p 
dividing  line  of  light  and  shadow  which  sped  across  the 
Mediterranean  to  their  left  hand.  The  division  was, 
or  appeared  to  them  to  be,  bordered  by  a  bright  line. 
Investigation  proved  that  both  the  parties  were  in  the 
right,  for  they  had  been  separated  by  some  five  hundred 
yards,  the  line  of  total  phase  passing  between  the  inner 
party  and  Mr.  Evershed's  tent.  This  unique  obser- 
vation affords  a  most  accurate  datum  to  correct  the 
computation  of  solar  eclipses  in  the  future.  It  is  a 
pity,  however,  that  such  an  observation  should  have 
been  at  the  expense  of  Mr.  Evershed's  special  re- 
searches. 

Besides  Mr.  Evershed  at  Mazafram,  Mr.  Newall,  Prof. 
Turner  and  Mr.  Wesley  at  Bou  Zarea,  and  a  strong 
party  of  Swiss  and  Italian  astronomers  at  Menerville, 
more  than  twenty  members  of  the  British  Astronomical 
Association    took    up    their    quarters    in    the    city    of 


Algiers  itself,  and  observed  with  us  from  the  roof  of 
the  Hotel  dc  la  Regence. 

Our  own  particular  work  was  photographic.  It  may  be 
remembered  that  our  programme  in  India  was  to  take 
in  duplieate  a  series  of  graduated  exposures  varying  in 
equivalent  efficiency  from  1  to  1800.  Our  hope  had  been 
that  the  longer  of  these  exposures  might  secure  the  faint 
coronal  extensions,  but  our  purpose  was  in  any  case  to 
learn  more  than  had  yet  been  done  as  to  the  real 
efficiency  of  different  exposures  in  coronal  photography. 
It  was  the  first  time,  it  was  the  only  time,  that  such 
an  attempt  had  been  made  except  within  quite  narrow 
limits. 

It  is  well  known  that  we  were  doubly  fortunate. 
Our  series  included  six  different  exposures  equivalent 
to  1,  4i,  20,  90,  400,  1800,  each  exposure  being  given 
in  duplicate  so  that  twelve  plates  were  exposed  in  all. 
From  the  twelve  plates  we  secured  four  photographs 
successful  as  such,  but  each  plate  had  its  full  value  as 
a  lesson  in  exposures,  and  three  recorded  the  long  rays. 

Seeing  that  our  longest  exposures  were  the  most 
successful  in  bringing  up  the  long  rays,  the  question 
before  us  this  time  was,  Had  we  reached  the  limit  in 
India  of  successful  exposure,  or  had  we  not?  If  not, 
how  far  could  we  extend  it? 

Here  we  met  a  serious  difficulty,  for  totality  at 
Algiers  would  last  barely  62  seconds,  and  we  could  not 


On  till-  Roof   of  tlie  Hotel  de  la  Eegence,  Algiers.     Rev.  C.  D.  P. 
Davies  and  Telephotograpbie  Camera. 

Pliotoji-ajilirrl  !■!/  Miss  Emth  Maunder. 

expose  for  the  entire  time.  It  was  moreover  our  prin- 
ciple to  trust  nothing  to  a  single  plate ;  we  resolved 
to  adhere  strictly  to  our  Indian  precedent  in  this  respect 
and  make   every  exposure  in  duplicate. 

We  got  over  the  difficulty  in  this  way.  We  pur- 
chased a  second  Dallraeyer  stigmatic  lens  of  the  same 
aperture  and  focal  length  as  that  used  in  1898, 
and  we  exposed  a  plate  with  each  for  48  seconds 
instead  of  20  seconds  in  India.  This  was  to  increase 
the  exposure  in  the  ratio  of  12  to  5.  We  were 
anxious,  however,  not  to  confine  ourselves  to  a  pair  of 
exposures  of  one  length  only,  and  consequently  pur- 
chased a  pair  of  R.R.  lenses  of  focal  length  double  that 
of  the  stigmatic,  and  which  we  used  at  the  same  aper- 
ture as  we  had  done  the  former,  namely,  \\  inches. 
The  effective  exposure  therefore  for  these  lenses — which 
we  also  exposed  for  48  seconds — was  but  one-quarter 
that  of  the  stigmatic  or  three-fifths  the  longest  exposure 


linoirledije. 


THE    CORONA    OF      1900,     MAY    28. 

From  a  Drawing  by  Miss  Catherine  O.   Stevens,  at  the  Hotel  cle  la  Regence.  Algiers. 


^. 


July  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


1-17 


given  in  India.  We  hoped  that  the  two  pairs  of  ex- 
posures would  therefore  enable  us  to  judge  whether  our 
Indian  exposures  were  the  best  possible,  or  whether 
they  were  too  long,  or  whether,  on  the  other  hand, 
they  might  be  safely  increased.  For  the  rest  we  had 
no  wisli  to  exactly  repeat  our  Inflian  experiment,  a.s  we 
knew  that  tliis  was  being  done  by  many  competent 
photographei-s  with  a  variety  of  lenses  and  at  several 
widely  separated  stations. 

The  result  of  our  photographs  show  clearly  that  for 
this  eclipse  at  any  rate  the  exposures  whicli  we  have 
given  are  too  long;  at  least  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
the  extensions.  Totality  lasting  but  for  62  seconds. 
an  exposure  from  the  sixth  second  to  the  fifty-fourth 
meant  that  the  chromosphere  was  uncovered  both  at 
the  beginning  and  end  of  totality,  and  that  the 
brightest  layers  of  the  corona  were  practically  exerting 
their  influence  the  whole  time.  The  consequence  was 
that  the  sky  illumination  was  far  greater  than  at  mid- 
totality  in  the  Indian  eclipse,  and  probably  on  this 
account  the  extensions  cannot  be  traced  to  so  great 
a  distance.  We  can  feci  no  regret  that  this  is 
the  case.  It  was  our  deliberate  choice  to  extend 
the  exposure  as  much  as  the  circumstances  of  the  eclipse 
allowed  that  we  might  complete  our  Indian  experiences 
as  fully  as  possible.  We  trust,  however,  and  have  reason 
to  hope  that  at  some  of  the  other  stations — possibly  at 
several — those  photographers  who  were  trying  for  the 
extensions  will  prove  to  have  secured  them  to  a  much 
greater  extent  than  we  have  on  the  present  occasion. 
Nevertheless,  our  photographs  seem  sufficient  to  show 
that  those  rod-like  rays  stretch  out  from  the  synclinal 
curves  of  the  corona  of  1900  as  they  did  from  that  of 
1898. 

The  present  ai'ticle  is  already  sufficiently  long,  and  we 


(.In  trip  Roof  of  the  Hotel  (te  l:i  Ki-gcucc,  Algiei'i!.     Hiss  Leake  at 
lier  Telesrope. 

Pltr,togi-aphfd  ?<y  Mi3s  Edith  Maundeb, 

must  postpone  to  another  month  the  consideration  of 
many  important  observations.  Amongst  these  wc  would 
specially  mention  studies  at  the  telescope  of  the  details 
of  coronal  structure.  These  were  carried  out  most 
successfully  on  the  present  occa.sion  by  Mr.  Wesley, 
Mr.  Crommelin,  Miss  Leake,  and  no  doubt  many  others, 


and  form  quite  a  new  chapter  in  coronal  observation. 
The  observations  of  the  shadow  bands  were  also  of 
unusual  interest,  and  no  doubt  the  next  week  or  two 
will  bring  us  much  further  information  as  to  the  details 
of  coronal  structure  shown  on  the  numerous  short  ex- 
posure photographs. 

Wc    reproduce    a    beautiful    drawing    made    at    our 


On   tlie  Hoof  of  the   Hotel   de  Ja   Regenee,  Algiers.     Mrs.    Walter 
Maunder  and  lier  Two  Cameras. 

Phtjtofjraphcd  by  Miss  Edith  Macnuer. 

Algiers  station  by  Miss  C.  O.  Stevens.  It  will  be  seen 
that  the  form  of  the  corona  reproduced  with  astonishing 
fidelity  that  seen  in  the  eclijases  of  1878  and  1889, 
respectively  two  and  one  complete  sunspot  cycles  earlier. 


THE  GREAT  INDIAN  EARTHQUAKE  OF  1897. 

By  Charles  Davison,  sc.d.,  f.g.s. 
To  the  inhabitants  of  India,  the  year  1897  will  long 
rank  as  a  year  of  great  calamities.  A  famine  in  Bengal 
and  the  plague  in  Bombay  were  followed  on  June  12 
by  an  earthquake  in  Assam,  which,  if  it  is  not  without 
a  rival,  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  disastrous  and  widely 
felt  of  which  we  possess  any  record.  The  investigation 
of  the  earthquake  was  at  once  undertaken  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Geological  Survey  of  India.  The  four 
officers  who  were  at  the  headquarters  in  Calcutta  were 
despatched  to  collect  information  from  the  area  in 
which  the  chief  damage  was  done,  letters  and  circulars 
were  distributed  as  widely  as  possible,  a  large  number  of 
volunteer  observers  were  induced  to  co-operate  by  keep- 
ing records  of  the  after-shocks,  and,  later  on,  during  the 
cold  weather  of  1897-1898,  Mr.  R.  D.  Oldham,  one  of 
the  superintendents  of  the  Survey,  made  a  tour  through 
the  epicentral  district.  To  Mr.  Oldham  has  also  fallen 
the  much  more  severe  task  of  collating  the  observations, 
of  determining  the  value  to  be  assigned  to  each,  and  of 
discovering  the  conclusions  to  which  they  lead.  The 
latest  volume  of  the  Memoirs  of  the  Geological  Survey 
of  India,  a  book  of  more  than  400  pages,  contains  the 
fruit  of  his  work  ;  the  interest  and  importance  of  which 
will  be  seen  from  the  summary  given  in  the  following 
pages. 

DiSTUHBED   Area,   etc. 
The  area  over  which  the  earthquake  was  perceptible 


148 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[July  2,  1900. 


is  shown  in  Fig.  1.  It  will  be  seen  that  its  boundary 
(indicated  by  a  dotted  line)  can  only  be  traced  for  part 
of  its  course;  for  one-third  of  the  area,  Mr.  Oldham 
estimates,  lay  in  regions  from  which  information 
was  unobtainable,  while  another  third  is  sparsely  in- 
habited by  ignorant  and  illiterate  tribes.  But,  not- 
withstanding this,  the  shock  is  known  to  have  been  felt 
over  an  area  of  at  least  1,200,000  square  miles.  If  we 
include  the  detached  region  to  the  west,  near  Ahmeda^ 
bad,  the  portion  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal  in  which  the 
shock  would  have  been  perceptible  if  the  sea  had  been 
replaced  by  land,  and  a  large  part  of  Thibet  or  Western 
China,  from  which  no  rejjorts  have  come  but  in  which 
the  shock  was  certainly  sensible,  this  estimate,  great  as 


Of  the  other  two  curves  on  the  map  in  Fig.  1,  the  con- 
tinuous line  represents  the  epicentral  area,  and  the  broken 
line  bounds  the  district  in  which  serious  damage  was 
done  to  masonry.  The  area  of  the  latter  is  not  less  than 
145,000  square  miles,  or  160,000  square  miles,  if  we 
include  the  part  from  which  records  were  not  obtain- 
able.* Calcutta  lies  within  the  area  of  destruction, 
and  a  good  deal  of  damage  was  done  to  buildings  in 
the  city ;  but  this,  as  Mr.  Oldham  points  out,  was 
largely  due  to  their  peculiar  mode  of  construction. 

Figures,  such  as  those  quoted  above,  give  but  little 
idea  of  the  vastness  of  the  areas  concerned.  Transfer- 
ring them  to  countries  with  which  we  are  better 
acquainted,  we  may  say   that   the   disturbed   area  was 


5),a!o 


^jMiTncdafcad, , 


Calcut  tcL 


Fig.  1. — Map  of  the  Disturbed  Area  of  tlie  Indian  Eartli<iuake  of  1897. 


it  is,  must  be  raised  to  about  1,750,000  square  miles. 

It  does  not  appear  that  any  other  earthquake,  of 
which  we  possess  reliable  rccoi'ds,  has  been  felt  over  so 
wide  a  region.  Until  1897,  the  great  Lisbon  earthquake 
of  1755  had  no  competitor  in  this  respect;  but  of  its 
disturbed  area  we  have  no  exact  knowledge,  for  the 
focus  was  situated  beneath  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  There 
are  some  doubtful  records  of  the  shock  having  been 
actually  felt  at  Reading  and  in  Derbyshire,  and  also 
at  Milan  and  Turin.  If  we  exclude  these,  Mr.  Oldham 
estimates  the  total  area  over  which  the  Lisbon  earth- 
quake would  have  been  felt,  had  it  all  been  dry  land, 
as  not  more  than  a  million  square  miles. 


only  a  little  less  than  half  the  size  of  Europe;  the 
region  in  which  serious  damage  occuiTed  to  masonry 
was  more  than  twice  as  large  as  the  whole  of  Great 
Britain ;  while,  if  the  centre  of  the  epicentral  tract  had 
been  in  Birmingham,  nearly  every  brick  and  stone 
building  in  England  and  Wales  from  York  to  Exeter 
would  have  been  levelled  to  the  ground. 


*  Mr.  Oldham  does  not  refer  to  the  corresponding  area  for  the 
Lisbon  earthquake.  I  am  not  prepared  to  make  even  a  rough  estimate 
of  its  extent;  but,  if  the  reports  of  damage  in  .Spanish  towns  (witliout 
speaking  of  those  in  Morocco)  are  correct,  it  must,  I  think,  have  been 
ill  excess  of  the  higher  of  the  above  figures. 


July  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


149 


Nature    of    the    Shock. 

'•  I  was  out  for  a  walk  at  the  time,"  says  Mr.  F.  H. 
Smith,  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  India,  "  and  was 
standing  on  the  road  which  passes  the  foot  of  the  filter- 
ing tank  of  tlie  Shillong  waterworks,  near  the  school. 
At  5.15  (according  to  the  ordinai-y  Shillong  time)  a  deep 
rumbling  sound,  like  near  thunder,  commenced.  The 
rumbling  preceded  the  shock  by  about  two  seconds,  and 
the  shock  reached  its  maximum  violence  almost  at  once. 
The  ground  began  to  rock  violently,  and  in  a  few 
seconds  it  was  impossible  to  stand  upright,  and  I  had 
to  sit  down  suddenly  on  the  road.  The  shock  was  of 
considerable  dui'ation,  and  maintained  roughly  the  same 
amount  of  violence  from  the  beginning  to  the  end.  It 
produced  a  very  distinct  sensation  of  searsickness.  The 
earth-movement  was  exceedingly  sudden  and  violent. 
The  feeling  was  as  if  the  ground  was  being  violently 
jerked  backwards  and  forwards  vei-y  rapidly,  every 
third  or  fourth  jerk  being  of  greater  scope  than  the 
intermediate  ones.  The  surface  of  the  ground  vibrated 
visibly  in  eveiy  direction,  as  if  it  was  made  of  soft 
jelly;  and  long  cracks  appeai-ed  at  once  along  the  road. 
The  sloping  earth-bank  round  the  water  tank,  which 
was  some  10  feet  high,  began  to  shake  down,  and  at 
one  point  cracked  and  opened  out  bodily.  The  road 
is  bounded  here  and  there  by  low  banks  of  eai-th,  about 
2  feet  high,  and  these  were  all  shaken  down  quite  flat. 
The  school  building,  which  was  in  sight,  began  to  shake 
at  the  first  shock,  and  large  slabs  of  plaster  fell  from 
the  walls  at  once.  A  few  moments  aiterwai-ds  the  whole 
building  was  lying  flat,  the  walls  collapsed,  and  the 
corrugated  iron  roof  lying  bent  and  broken  on  the 
ground.  A  pink  cloud  of  plaster  and  dust  was  seen 
hanging  over  every  house  in  Shillong  at  the  end  of  the 
shock. "+ 

Many  other  observers  within  and  near  the  epicentral 
district  noticed  a  marked  undulation  of  the  ground. 
According  to  one  at  Shillong,  the  surface  of 
the  earth  presented  "  the  aspect  of  a  stonn-tossed  sea, 
with  this  difference  that  the  undulations  were  infinitely 
more  rapid  than  any  seen  at  sea."  Mr.  Oldham  thinks 
that,  on  an  average,  the  waves  were  about  30  feet  long 
and  one  foot  in  height,  though  some  may  have  been 
both  shorter  and  higher.  They  could  be  seen  following 
each  other  at  intervals,  and  tho  rate  at  which  they 
travelled,  as  one  witness  states,  "  though  decidedly 
faster  than  a  man  could  walk,  was  not  so  fast  as  he  could 
run." 

In  the  epicentral  area  there  was  a  considerable  vertical 
component  in  the  motion,  for  loose  stones  on  the  roads 
were  tossed  in  the  air  "  like  peas  on  a  drum."  At  the  same 
time  there  was  a  still  more  marked  horizontal  move- 
ment, the  range  of  which  must  have  been  at  least  8  or 
9  inches,  and  during  which  people  felt  as  if  they  were 
being  shaken  like  a  rat  by  a  terrier.  As  they  left 
the  epicentral  region,  the  waves  lengthened  out,  so  that, 
at  a  distance,  the  shock  no  longer  consisted  of  short 
jerks  but  became  a  gentle  rocking  motion,  occasionally 
giving  rise  to  a  sensation  of  nausea. 

Sound-Phenomena. 
According  to  an  observer  at  Shillong,  the  crash  of 
houses  falling  within  thirty  yards  was  completely 
drowned  by  the  roar  of  the  earthquake.  The  sounds 
are  generally  described  as  resembling  distant  thunder, 
the  passage  of  a  train  or  cart,  etc.  There  was  the  usual 
conflict  in  the  evidence  of  different  observers  due  to  the 

+  I  have  abridged  this  account  slightly,  without  iuclicatin<;  the 
passages  that  are  omitted. 


depth  of  the  sound. J  In  Calcutta,  which  lies  well 
within  the  sound-area,  some  persons  asserted  that  they 
heard  a  rumbling  noise;  others  were  positive  that  the 
only  noise  was  that  caused  by  falling  buildings  and 
furniture.  Some,  again,  noticecl  that  the  shock  was  pre- 
ceded by  a  loud  roar;  while  others  were  certain  that 
there  was  no  sound  of  any  kind  until  the  earthquake 
had  become  severe. 

Leaving  possibly  doubtful  records  out  of  account,  the 
sound  was  heard  for  a  distance  of  330  miles  to  the  west 
and  south-west,  and  290  miles  to  the  ea.st  of  the  epi- 
central ai-ea ;  that  is,  allowing  for  the  dimensions  of 
that  area,  it  must  have  been  perceptible  over  a  district 
measuring  not  less    than  800  miles  from  east  to  west. 

Besides  these  sounds,  several  observers  in  different 
parts  of  the  disturbed  area  heard  after  the  shock 
was  over  three  or  more  loud  and  short  explosive 
sounds,  like  the  booms  of  cannons  fired  a  few  miles  away. 
Though,  as  Mr.  Oldham  remarks,  the  sounds  were 
evidently  connected  with  the  earthquake,  they  were 
separated  from  it  by  an  interval  too  great  for  them  to 
be  due  to  the  passage  of  the  sound-wave  through  the 
air. 

Aftkr-Shocks. 

However  scanty  the  preparation  for  it  may  have 
been,  a  great  earthquake  is  always  followed  by  an 
attendant  crowd  of  after-shocks,  which,  for  months  or 
even  years,  do  not  altogether  cease.  Near  the  centre, 
they  are  so  numerous  as  to  baffle  all  inquiry.  For 
several  days,  it  may  be,  the  ground  is  hardly  ever 
still.  At  Tura,  in  the  epicentral  area  of  the  Indian 
eai'thquake,  several  hundred  shocks  were  at  first  felt 
evei-y  day,  and  for  three  or  four  days  a  hanging  lamp 
was  kept  constantly  on  the  swing ;  while,  at  another 
place  within  tho  same  area,  the  surface  of  a  glass  of 
water  standing  on  a  table  was  for  a  week  in  a  constant 
state  of  tremor.  On  June  13,  tho  day  after  the  great 
earthquake,  there  were  two  shocks  which  would  cer- 
tainly have  caused  considerable  destruction  in  the 
central  area  if  any  houses  had  been  left  standing ; 
while  a  third  shock,  later  in  the  day,  was  felt  as  far 
as  Calcutta. 

Velocity    of    the    Earth-Waves. 

Among  the  minor  problems  which  a  great  earthquake 
presents  for  solution,  one  of  the  most  important  is  to 
determine  the  velocity  with  which  the  earth-waves  were 
propagated  along  tho  surface.  The  best  determina- 
tions of  the  time  are  those  which  were  obtained 
from  a  few  self-recording  instruments,  from  the 
more  busy  telegraph-oifices,  from  the  larger  railway 
stations,  and  especially  from  those  on  the  main  lines, 
and  in  some  cases  fi'om  private  individuals.  The 
average  of  the  observations  at  Calcutta  (including  that 
from  the  tide-gauge)  gives  I6h.  27m.  49s.  (Madras 
time,  which  is  5h.  20m.  59.2s.  in  advance  of  Greenwich 
time)  for  tho  beginning  of  tho  shock.  Bombay  lies 
outside  the  disturbed  area,  but  the  initial  time  there, 
as  determined  from  the  diagrams  of  three  magneto- 
graphs  and  a  barograph,  is  16h.  35Jm.  These  two 
records  are  probably  the  most  accurate  of  the  series. 
In  calculating  the  surface-velocity  of  the  earth-waves, 
Mr.  Oldham  assumes  that  they  started  from  a  point 
in  lat.  25°  45'  N.  and  long.  90°  15'  E.  From  this 
point,  Calcutta  is  255.5  miles  distant,  and  Bombay 
1208.3  miles.  The  average  velocity  for  the  intervening 
distance  is  therefore   119   miles  a  minute  or  3  km.   a 

t  See  KsowLBDOE,  Vol.  XXIII.,  1900,  pp.  83-85. 


150 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[July  2.  1900. 


second.     With    this    estimate,    the    other    observations 
are  in  fairly  close  agreement. 

The  IJnfelt  Earthquake. 
Far  beyond  the  limits  of  the  disturbed  area,  the  earth- 
(juake  was  recorded  by  many  of  the  delicate  instmments 
constructed  for  the  registration  of  distant  shocks. § 
All  over  Italy,  from  Ischia.  and  Catania  in  the 
south  to  Pavia  in  the  north,  these  instruments 
began,  one  after  the  other,  to  write  their  records  of  the 
movement,  as  the  unfelt  earth-waves  sped  outwai-ds  from 
the  centre.  Italy  passed,  the  tale  was  taken  up  by 
magnetographs  at  Potsdam  and  Wilhelmshaven, 
Pawlovsk  (near  St.  Petersbm-g),  Copenhagen,  Utrecht, 
and  Pare  St.  Maui-  (near-  Paris);  by  horizontal  pen- 
dulums at  Strassburg  and  Shide  (in  the  Isle  of  Wight), 
and  by  a  bifilar  j^e^dulum  at  Edinburgh.  Shide  is 
4891  miles  from  the  centre  of  distui'bance,  but  the  move- 
ment could  be  traced  for  a  distance  greater  even  than 
this. 

In  the  more  complete  records,  and  especially  in  those 
given  by  the  Italian  microseismogi'aphs,  Mr.  Oldham 
distinguishes  three  phases  of  motion.  The  first  consists 
of  nearly  horizontal  rajjid  displacements  of  the  in- 
strumente  without  any  undulating  movement  of  the 
ground.  In  Italy,  it  begins  at  about  11.17  a.m. 
(G.M.T.),  that  is,  about  I2h  minutes  after  the  com- 
mencement of  the  shock  at  the  epicentre.  Without 
any  break  in  the  movement,  and  after  the  lapse  of  about 
8^  minutes,  the  second  phase  begins ;  the  vibrations  are 
similar  to  the  preceding,  but  they  are  larger  and  more 
open,  and  are  accompanied  by  an  unmistakable  tilting 
of  the  sui-face  of  the  ground.  Lastly,  after  the  lajDse  of 
nearly  20  minutes  more,  the  second  phase  gives  place, 
without  interruption,  to  the  third,  consisting  of  well- 
marked  slow  undulations,  which  have  been  aptly  com- 
pared to  the  movements  caused  by  an  ocean-swell.  As 
they  travelled  over  Europe,  the  surface  of  the  ground 
was  thrown  into  a  series  of  flat  waves,  34  miles  in 
length,  and  20  inches  in  maximum  height,  the  complete 
period  of  each  wave  being  22  seconds.  This  phase  is 
by  far  the  longest  of  the  three;  in  the  more  sensitive 
instruments,  two  or  three  hours  elapsed  before  theii' 
traces  ceased  to  show  signs  of  movement. 

As  we  know  the  distances  of  the  different  observa- 
tories from  the  epicentre,  and  the  times  taken  by  each 
phase  to  reach  them,  we  can  form  some  idea  of  the  rates 
at  which  they  travelled.  If  the  early  tremors  moved 
in  straight  lines,  their  mean  velocity  for  the  first  phase 
was  9.0  kilometres  per  second  or  about  345  miles  a 
minute,  and  for  the  second  5.3  kilometres  per  second  or 
about  200  miles  per  minute.  But  if,  as  is  probable, 
they  moved  along  curved  paths  through  the  body  of  the 
earth,  their  mean  velocities  must  have  exceeded  these 
amounts.  For  the  first  undulations  of  the  third  phase, 
the  velocity  would  be  2.9  kilometres  per  second  or  109 
miles  per  minute  if  they  travelled  along  straight  lines, 
or  3.0  kilometres  per  second  or  115  miles  per  minute  if 
they  moved  along  the  surface  of  the  earth. 

The  existence  of  the  second  phase  was  noticed  for 
the  first  time  by  Mr.  Oldham  in  the  records  of  the 
Indian  earthquake,  but  he  has  since  detected  it  in 
those  of  other  shocks. ||  He  believes,  in  common  with 
most  other  seismologists,  that  the  first  phase  corresponds 

§  For  desoviptions  of  the  more  important  see  Srif.  Assoc.  Rep 
1893,  pp.  291-308 ;  1895,  pp.  85-86 ;  1896,  )>p.  40-19  ;  ]  897.  pp.  10-11. 
Nature,  Vol.  1...  1894,  pp.  246-249.     Natural  Science,   Vol.  VIII., 
1896,  pp.  233-238 

i;   I'hU.  Trans.,  V.K*.K  A.,  pp.  135-174. 


to  waves  of  elastic  compression  travelling  through  the 
body  of  the  earth ;  and  he  attributes  the  second  to 
waves  of  elastic  distortion  travelling  in  the  same  way, 
in  which  the  pai-ticles  move  at  right  angles  to  the 
direction  in  which  the  wave  travels,  thus  causing  a 
slight  tilting  of  the  surface.  It  is  probable  that  the 
waves  of  both  phases  move  along  curved,  rather  than 
straight,  lines  through  the  earth,  that  the  curves  are 
concave  towards  the  surface,  and  that  the  velocities  of 
the  waves  increase  with  the  depth  of  their  path  below 
the  surface.  On  the  other  hand,  the  surface-velocity 
of  the  first  undulations  of  the  third  phase  is  practically 
constant  for  all  distances  from  the  epicentre,  and,  in 
the  case  of  the  Indian  earthquake,  it  agi-ees  almost 
exactly  with  that  obtained  for  the  velocity  within  the 
disturbed  area  and  as  far  as  Bombay.  It  is  therefore 
difl&cult  to  resist  the  conclusion  that  the  third  phase 
consists  of  undulations  which  travel  along  the  surface 
of  the  earth. 

If  this  be  the  case,  we  can  imagine  these  undulations 
speeding  outwards  from  the  epicentre  in  ever-widening 
circles,  until  they  have  passed  over  a  quarter-circum- 
ference of  the  earth,  when  they  should  begin  to  converge 
towards  the  antipodes.  Here  they  should  cross  each 
other,  and  again  spread  out  as  circular  waves,  once  more 
in  their  course  passing  the  same  obsei-vatories  where 
they  were  first  recorded,  but  in  the  opposite  order.  It 
has  been  resei-ved  for  the  most  violent  earthquake 
of  modern  times  to  verify  this  interesting  conclusion. 
Faint,  but  decided,  are  the  traces  of  the  second  crossing. 
At  Edinburgh  they  occur  at  2.6  p.m.,  and  at  about  the 
same  time  at  Shide,  at  Leghorn  2.10,  Catania  2.12|, 
while  at  Ischia  there  are  several  movements  between 
2  and  3  p.m.  At  Rocca  di  Papa,  near  Rome,  the  time 
is  slightly  earlier,  but  the  undulations,  like  those  at 
the  first  crossing,  have  a  complete  period  of  about 
20  seconds.  The  distances  traversed  by  the  waves  are 
more  than  20,000,  instead  of  less  than  5000,  miles ; 
but  the  mean  velocity  of  travel  is  almost  exactly  the 
same  as  at  first — namely,  2.95  kilometres  per  second,  or 
111  miles  per  minute. 

{To  he  concluded.) 


AMERICAN     INDIANS. 

By   R.   Lydekker. 

Although  now  used  in  a  totally  different  sense,  the 
title  of  Americans  undoubtedly  belongs  by  right  of  birth 
to  the  aboriginal  tribes  who  were  in  possession  of  the 
New  W^orld  previous  to  the  incursion  of  the  white  man 
and  their  modern  pure-bred  descendants.  But  to  change 
this  usage  is  now  clearly  impossible,  and  some  other 
general  title  must  consequently  be  sought.  By  a  curious 
misapplication  of  terms  the  American  aborigines  ai-e 
almost  invariably  spoken  of  as  "  Indians,"  while  the 
natives  of  Hindustan,  to  whom  that  name  by  right  be- 
longs, are  scarcely  ever  so  called,  excejJt  indeed  by  those 
well-meaning  enthusiasts  who  seek  to  claim  "  India  for 
the  Indians."  Still  it  is,  on  the  whole,  the  wisest  coiu'se 
to  bow  to  custom  and  accept  the  current  name  of 
American  Indians ;  the  alternative  designation  of 
American  Aborigines,  or  the  Aborigines  of  America, 
being  too  cumbersome  for  ordinary  use. 

There  is,  it  is  true,  the  popular  title  of  "  Redskins  " ; 
but  this,  however  expressive  it  may  be,  is  somewhat  too 
"  slangy  "  for  present  pui"poses.  Moreover,  it  has 
been  objected  to  as  inappropriate — but  of  this  more 
anon. 


JuLV  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


151 


If  we  except  tlie  Eskimo  of  Aixtic  America  and 
Greenland,  and  in  a  less  degree  the  natives  of  Tiorra 
del  Fuego.  the  most  remarkable  fact  connected  with 
American  Indians,  when  considered  from  a  zoological 
standpoint,  is  that  they  all  belong  to  the  same  general 
type  of  structure,  still  iu  niiuor  details  many  of  the 
tribes  from  widely  separated  areas  will  be  found  to 
diflfer  from  one  another  to  a  considerable  extent.  No 
more  sti'ikiiig  instance  of  this  fact  is  to  be  found  than 
the  extraordinary  similarity  existing  between  skulls 
obtained  from  regions  so  fai-  apart  from  one  another  as 
Vancouver  Island,  Peru,  and  Pat;igonia — a  similarity 
so  great  that  it  is  often  practically  impossible  to  dis- 
tinguish between  them. 

In  spite  of  this  adherence  to  one  general  physical 
type,  the  racial  unitv  of  the  American  Indians  has  been 
called  in  question  by  several  writers ;  and  it  hag  even 
been  suggested  that  many  of  the  tribes,  and  especially 
those  of  South  America,  owe  their  peculiarities  to  immi- 
gration from  Japan,  China,  Polynesia,  or  elsewhere. 
But  it  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  no  immigration 
on  a  large  scale  could  ever  have  taken  place  by  sea 
from  either  of  these  areas  to  America ;  and  if  one,  or 
even  two  or  three  junks  or  canoes  were  from  time  to 
time  drifted  to  the  shores  of  the  New  World  it  is  quite 
certain  that  any  modifications  in  the  coast  population 
of  the  latter  due  to  marriage  with  the  shipwrecked 
crews  would  be  obliterated  within  a  vei-y  short  period. 

We  may  take  it,  then,  as  a  fact  that  the  pure-bred 
American  Indians  (and  it  is  these  alone  that  concern 
us),  from  Canada  iu  the  north  to  Patagonia  and  Tierra 
del  Fuego  iu  the  south,  form  but  a  single  race.  And 
the  question  then  ai'ises  whether  the  ancestors  of  that 
race  obtained  an  entrance  into  America  from  the  Old 
World,  or  whether  they  were  American  from  the  be- 
ginning. To  that  question — provided  we  are  believers 
in  evolution — the  answer  is  veiy  short  and  simple.  On 
the  evolutionary  hypothesis  man  must  be  descended  from 
the  ancestors  of  the  manlike  Apes — whether  his  origin  be 
single  or  multiple  need  not  concern  us  here ;  and  since 
the  manlike  Apes,  both  now  and  in  the  past,  arc  quite 
unknown  in  the  New  World,  it  is  manifest  that  the 
original  American  Indian  must  have  been  an  immigrant 
from  the  Old  World.  That  such  an  immigration  must 
have  taken  place  at  a  vei-y  remote  epoch  is  proved  by 
abundant  evidence;  but  the  available  data  are  at  present 
quite  insufficient  for  forming  even  an  approximate 
estimate  of  the  length  of  time  that  has  elapsed  since 
that  distant  epoch.  With  regard  to  the  route  by  which 
man  reached  the  New  World,  the  probability  that  an 
isthmus  formerly  occupied  the  present  area  of  Bering 
Strait  suggests  that  line  of  migration.  And  this  view 
receives  a  considerable  amount  of  support  from  the 
fact  that  the  nearest  relatives  of  the  American  Indians 
are  the  Mongols  of  north-eastern  Asia.  Still  it  has  to 
be  admitted  that  climatic  conditions  present  a  certain 
amount  of  difficulty  in  our  definite  acceptation  of  that 
line  of  route  as  the  one  by  which  the  progenitors  of  the 
American  aborigines  rea<;hed  their  western  home.  More- 
over, from  the  fact  that  skulls  of  both  an  elongated  and 
a  short  typo  have  been  discovered  in  certain  superficial 
deposits  of  Argentina  and  Brazil,  some  writers  have 
been  led  to  conclude  that  a  double  emigration  took 
place  into  America — namely,  a  migration  of  round- 
headed  Mongols  from  Asia  by  way  of  Bering  Strait, 
and  another,  and  perhaps  earlier,  incursion  of  long- 
headed people  from  Europe  by  way  of  Greenland.  But 
if  we  are  right  regarding  the  native  Americans  a-s  a 
branch  of  the  Mongol  stock,   it  is  difficult  to  see  how 


they  can  at  the  same  time  be  considered  to  include  a 
large  admixture  of  primitive  Caucasian  blood;  and  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Eskimo,  who  can 
scarcely  be  regai'ded  otherwise  than  modified  Mongols, 
are  essentially  a  long-headed  people. 

By  whatever  route,  or  routes,  he  reached  the  Western 
hemisphere,  man  having  arrived  there  became  at  once 
(or,  in  the  case  of  two  migrations,  eventually)  entirely 
separated  from  his  relatives  in  the  Old  VV'orld.  Having 
been  thus  isolated  during  the  long  ages  which  elapsecl 
between  the  period  of  the  original  migration  (or 
migrations)  and  the  white  colonization  of  the  New 
World  after  its  reputed  discovery  by  Columbus,  the 
wonder  is  not  that  the  aboriginal  American  differs  so 
decidedly  from  the  Mongol,  but  rather  that  there  are 
so  many  points  of  resemblance  still  remaining  between 
the  two.  And  hero  it  is  important  to  mention  that,  iu 
all  i^robability,  it  is  not  the  American  Indian  alono 
whose  type  has  become  modified  in  the  course  of  ages, 
but  that  the  Mongol  has  also  undergone  a  certain 
amount  of  change  since  the  date  when  the  western  and 
eastern  branches  of  the  common  ancestral  stock  p;uted 
company  for  ever. 

There  ai-e  four  chief  features  in  which  the  American 
Indians  conform  to  the  Mongol  type — namely,  in  colour, 
in  the  characters  of  the  hair  of  the  scalp,  in  the  very 
slight  development  of  hair  on  the  face,  and  in  the  more 
or  less  marked  prominence  of  the  cheek-bones.  As 
regards  colour,  it  is  well  known  that  all  Mongols  have  a 


Fig.   1. — A  Typical  XurtU  Auicricau  Indian. 

yellow  skin,  and  this  yellow  tinge  is  frequently  retained 
In  their  American  cousins,  although  iu  many  instances 
it  is  replaced  by  coppery  red.  It  is  true  that  this  red 
tint  is  stated  by  some  writers*  to  be  solely  due  to  paint- 


See  Dcniker,  "  Ilie  Races  of  Man,"  page  517.      (liJOO.) 


152 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[July  2,  1900. 


ing,  and  that  the  American  Indian  is  invariably  yellow 
But  Mr.  Im  Thurn,  who  has  had  special  opiaortunities 
of  observing  them,  describes  the  skin  of  the  Indians  of 
British  Guiana  as  cinnamon  red;  and  a  bust  of  a 
Macusi  boy,  now  in  the  British  Museum,  which  was 
modelled  and  coloured  by  Mrs.  Im  Thurn,  is  of  a  bright 
claiTty-red.  As  these  Macusi  Indians  are  noted  for  their 
frequent  ablutions,  it  is  evident  that  they  exhibit  the 
natural  hue  of  the  skin;  and  it  may  accordingly  be 
taken  as  a  fact  that  a  reddish  skin  is  characteristic  of 
at  least  some  of  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  America. 

Although  there  ai'e  stated  to  be  certain  South 
Amci'ican  tribes  in  which  it  displays  a  tendency  to 
waviness,  the  scalp-hair  of  the  typical  American  Indian 
is  of  the  long,  coarse,  straight,  black  type  which  forms 
such  a  characteristic  feature  of  the  Chinaman.  Hair 
of  this  type  presents  a  perfectly  circular  cross-section, 
and  therefore  has  no  tendency  to  twist,  but  hangs  as 
straight  down  as  that  of  a  horse's  mane  or  tail.  It  is 
to  be  met  with  from  Canada  to  Patagonia,  all  North 
American  Indians  exhibiting  this  type  in,  perfection 
(Fig.  1);  while  it  is  equally  apparent  in  those  curious 
mummilicd  and  shrunken  heads  from  Ecuador  which 
command  such  high  prices  at  "  curio  "  sales.  In  the 
above  instances  the  hair  is  allowed  to  grow  long,  when 
its  characteristic  features  are  best  displayed ;  but  in 
many  tribes  of  South  America,  such  as  the  Tupis  of 
Brazil  (Fig.  2),  it  is  cut  short,  when  a  more  European 
appearance  is  given  to  the  entire  countenance.  In  both 
the  figures  just  referred  to,  the  absence  of  hair  on  the 
face,  which  forms  such  a  marked  chaa-acteristic  of  both 
Mongols  and  American  Indians,  is  very  conspicuous ; 
but  it  should  be  added  that,  like  Chinamen,  the  majority 
of  the  native  tribes  of  America  are  in  the  habit  of 
plucking  out  the  comparatively  few  hairs  that  make  their 
appearance  on  the  face.  As  regards  the  cheek-bones, 
these  are  always  decidedly  more  prominent  than  in 
Europeans,  although  less  projecting  than  in  Chinese. 
Generally  speaking,  the  degree  of  prominence  is  con- 
siderably more  marked  in  the  tribes  of  North  America 
than  in  those  further  to  the  south,  as  may  be  seen  by 
comparing  Fig.  1  with  Fig.  2 ;  and,  indeed,  this  is  just 
what  might  be  expected  to  occiu'  on  the  hypothesis  that 
the  American  aborigines  came  by  land  from  Asia,  since 
the  further  south  they  wandered  the  more  widely  they 
would  tend  to  depart  in  physical  features  from  the  Mon- 
golian prototype.  But  in  spite  of  this  and  other  differences 
to  be  noticed  immediately,  the  retention  of  the  Mongo- 
loid type  even  among  the  natives  of  South  America 
is  very  noticeable ;  Sir  William  Flower  remarking  that 
no  one  can  have  seen  a  group  of  Botocudos  from  Brazil 
or  of  natives  of  Tierra  del  Fuego  without  being  struck 
by  their  markedly  Mongolian  external  features. 

Turning  to  the  points  in  which  American  Indians 
differ  from  their  Mongolian  cousins,  the  most  important 
are  to  be  found  in  the  retreating  sloije  of  the  forehead, 
the  development  of  distinct  brow-ridges  above  the 
eyes,  the  general  absence  of  obliquity  in  the  eyes  them- 
selves, and  the  much  more  prominent  nose,  which  is 
usually  narrow,  with  a  high  bridge,  and  frequently  an 
aquiline  profile,  in  which  two  lines  meet  at  an  obtuse 
angle  at  the  bridge.  All  these  points  of  difference  tend 
to  more  or  less  completely  obliterate  the  breadth  and 
flatness  of  face  so  characteristic  of  the  oblique-eyed 
Mongol.  But  here  and  there  cases  are  recorded  where, 
instead  of  the  small,  sunken,  and  circular  coal-black 
eye,  the  eyelids  assume  the  typical  Mongolian  folding 
and  obliquity,  and  thus  communicate  a  strikingly  Chinese 
expression  to  the  entire  countenance.   In  this  connection 


it  has  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Malays,  who  are 
comparatively  near  relatives  of  the  Chinese,  have  more 
or  less  completely  lost  the  oblique  and  slit-like  "  Mongol 
eye,"  so  that  the  disapjjeai'ance  of  the  same  feature  in 
the  American  tribes  should  be  no  cause  for  wonderment. 
It  might,  of  course,  be  urged  that  the  "  Mongol  eye  " 
was  acquired  in  Asia  subsequently  to  the  splitting-off 
of  the  American  branch,  but  the  fact  that  the  feature 


i'lQ.  2. — Male  Indians  of  the  Turi-nara  Tribe  of  the  Tupi  Steele, 
from  the  Rio  Ncara,  Para,  Brazil. 

Phohtjraplud  !nj  Dr.  E.  Goeldi. 

in  question  occurs  to  a  certain  extent  among  the  Eskimo, 
an  ancient  Mongolian  offshoot  whose  relationship  to  the 
American  Indians  is  not  yet  decided,  seems  to  be  de- 
cidedly against  such  an  hypothesis. 

Another  point  in  which  the  American  Indian  differs 
from  his  Mongolian  prototype  is  his  superior  bodily 
stature ;  an  average  height  of  5  feet  8  or  9  inches  being 
common  over  the  greater  part  of  the  continent,  while 
in  Patagonia  it  rises  to  as  much  as  six  feet.  Here, 
again,  we  have  another  instance  of  the  extreme  degree 
of  divergence  from  the  Mongolian  type  occurring  in  the 
part  of  the  New  World  the  most  remote  from  Bering 
Strait.  In  the  Fuegians  it  is  true  that  the  height  falls 
so  low  as  five  ftet,  but  this  inferiority  of  stature  is  ob- 
viously due  to  the  hard  conditions  under  which  these 
degraded  people  exist.  Compared  with  the  squat  and 
flat-faced  Tatar  or  Chinaman,  the  American  Indian,  in 
the  higher  phases  of  his  development,  makes  indeed  a 
far  nearer  approximation  to  tlie  ideal  standard  of 
physical  beauty,  although  his  features  are  frequently 
by  no  means  of  a  pleasing  type,  and  the  practice  so 
common  in  the  northern  half  of  the  continent  of  wear- 
ing the  hair  long,  coupled  with  the  absence  of  beard  and 
moustache,  gives  the  men  a  somewhat  feminine  appear- 
ance. 

Beai'iug  in  mind  what  has  been  said  in  regard  to  the 
universal  prevalence  of  a  long-headed  type  among  the 
Eskimo,  the  fact  that  while  the  Mongols  are  a  short> 
headed  peojsle,  a  large  proportion  of  the  American 
aborigines  have  heads  of  medium  length,  can  scarcely  be 
regarded  as  a  distinctive  featiu'e  of  first-class  importance. 


July  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


153 


It  is,  moreovei-,  noteworthy  that  tho  Indians  of  North 
America  may  be  divided  into  an  eastern,  or  Atlantic, 
and  a  western,  or  Pacific,  section,  the  former  of  which 
is  characterised  by  its  t^iU  st-ature  and  moderately  long 
head,  while  the  latter  is  of  inferior  bodily  height  and 
shorter-headed.  In  this  instance  also  we  see  tho  section 
nearest  to  Bering  Strait  retaining  the  Mongoloid  charac- 
ters, although  it  should  be  added  that  they  are  somewhat 
more  hairy  than  tho  eastern  section.  For  tho  rest,  it 
must  suffice  to  say  that  both  long,  medium,  and  rather 
shortrheaded  tribes  ai-e  Baet  with  iu  South  America; 
the  former  showing  a  tendency  to  wavy  hair.  The 
tribes  in  which  the  head  is  longest  are  the  Botocudos  of 


Fig.    3. — Youug  Females,  Turinara  Indians. 

From  a  Photo<jyaih  i>y  Dk.  E.  Gukldi. 

Brazil,  next  to  whom  come  the  Fuegians,  while  the 
approximation  to  a  round-headed  type  is  most  marked 
among  the  Patagonians. 

Apart  from  the  Eskimo,  the  aborigines  of  the  New 
World  may  be  conveniently  divided  into  North,  Central, 
and  South  Americans,  and  Patagonians.  As  already 
mentioned,  the  North  Americans  may  be  divided  into 
a  western  and  nn  eastern  section,  the  latter  being  further 
subdivisible  into  an  Atlantic  and  an  Arctic  group.  To 
give  the  names  of  the  numerous  tribes  constituting  these 
sections  and  gioups  would  but  weary  the  reader  to  no 
purpose,  and  would  likewise  be  well  nigh  impossible 
within  the  limits  of  my  space.  Allusion  may,  however, 
be  made  to  some  of  the  chief  linguistic  families,  or 
stocks,  into  which  the  tribes  may  be  grouped — language 
being  almost  the  only  practical  means  of  classifying 
American  Indians.  Foremost  among  the  families  of 
the  Arctic  slope  are  the  Athabascans  :  some  tribes  of 
which — the  Navajos  and  the  Apaches — have,  however, 
migi-ated  south  into  Arizona  and  New  Mexico.  On  the 
Atlantic  slope  the  Algonquians  even  exceed  the  Atha^ 
bascans  in  numbers,  and  are  the  largest  living  family ; 
some  of  their  best  known  tribes  are  the  Crees,  the 
Mohicans,  and  the  Chippewas.  Among  the  other 
Atlantic  stocks  are  the  Iroquoians  (as  represented  by 
the  Iroquois  and  the  Mohawks),  the  Muskhogeans  (in- 
cluding the  Choctaws,  and  Creeks  oc  Muskhogis),   and 


tho  Siouans,  some  of  the  most  famous  tribes  of  the  latter 
being  the  Sioux  or  Dakotas,  and  the  Crows.  The 
Pawnee  and  Kiowa  tribes  seem  to  fall  into  neither  of 
tho  great  linguistic  divisions.  Turning  to  the  Indians 
of  tho  Pacific  slope,  whose  tendency  to  a  round-headed 
character  h;us  been  already  mentioned,  these  jippcar  to 
form  but  a  single  linguistic  stock.  Their  most  interest- 
ing representatives  are,  however,  the  so-called  Pueblo 
(Village)  Indians  of  the  jilatcau  of  Arizona,  New  Mexico, 
and  pai'ts  of  the  adjacent  territories,  who  have  forsaken 
tho  nomatl  habits  of  their  fellow  aborigines  to  dwell  in 
large  caves  hollowed  out  of  tho  steep  banks  of  canons,  or 
in  large  villages  (pueblos)  built  by  themselves.  These 
Mokis  and  Hopis,  as  they  term  themselves,  are  the 
tallest  and  most  round-headed  of  all  the  North  American 
tribes,  and  possess  a  number  of  very  remarkable  cults 
and  ceremonies,  among  which  the  snake-dance  is  pcr- 
ha])s  the  most  widely  celebrated. 

Mexico  is  largely  po])ulated  by  the  Sonoran  and  the 
celebrated  Aztec  group;  tho  former  being  allied  by 
blood  to  the  North  Americans  of  the  Atlantic  slope, 
while  the  latter  are  more  nearly  akin  to  the  tribes  of 
Central  America.  In  their  mode  of  life  and  customs 
both  approximate  to  the  Pueblo  Indians;  the  Pina  and 
Papajo  tribes  of  the  Sonorans,  for  instance,  dwelling  in 
large  many-storied  dwellings  commonly  known  as  cams 
fjraiides,  and  cultivating  with  perseverance  the  sterile 
soil  of  the  Gila  valley — the  home,  by  the  way,  of  that 
poisonous  lizard  which  is  hence  known  as  the  Gila 
monster  {lleloderina  siixprctuin).  The  Aztecs,  who  popu- 
lated the  Pacific  slope  at  the  same  time  that  tho 
Atlantic  sea-board  was  occupied  by  their  relatives  the 
Nahuas,  are  known  to  fame  by  reason  of  the  com- 
paratively civilized  empire  they  had  succeeded  in  es- 
tablishing a  few  centuries  previous  to  the  devastating 
advent  of  the  Spanish  eoni/iiiafadores.  Among  the  in- 
habitants of  Central  America,  which  also  extend  into 
southern  Mexico,  the  most  celebrated  are  the  ancient 
Mayas  of  the  Mayo  valley,  Yucatan,  whoso  civilization 
was  akin  to  that  of  Mexico,  while  their  writing  ("  the 
Maya  script  ")  forms  an  anologue  to  the  hieroglyphics 
of  ancient  Egypt.  Another  well-known  Mexican  tribe 
are  the  Miztccs. 

Between  Guatemala  and  Panama  dwell  a  certain 
number  of  tribes  speaking  dialects  differing  from  any 
of  the  American  stock  languages  ;  the  most  noteworthy 
among  them  being  the  Mosco,  or  Mosquito  Indians,  who 
are  nearly  as  black  as  Negroes,  but  otherwise  conforming 
to  the  general  American  type. 

Very  brief  must  be  tho  mention  of  the  South  American 
aborigines,  among  which  are  included  all  those  dwelling 
to  the  south  of  the  northern  frontier  of  Costa  Rica. 
Among  the  Andean  section  the  most  interesting 
linguistic  stock  is  that  of  the  Quechua,  on  account  of 
its  including  the  ancient  Incas  of  Peru.  In  western 
South  America,  Quechua  was,  indeed,  the  lingua  franca, 
as  it  is  to  a  considerable  extent  at  the  present  day  ; 
while  the  Quechua  words  candor,  <jiian(i.  iiaiiipa.  and 
qu'ma  have  boon  adojjted  in  Pairopcan  languages.  While 
speaking  a  different  tongue,  the  Araucans,  of  Chili  and 
part  of  Argentina,  conform  physically  to  the  Quechuas 
and  their  relatives  the  Aymaras.  In  the  Amazonian 
section  come  the  Caribeans,  ethnologically  distinguished 
by  their  use  of  the  hammock,  and  including  a  host  of 
tribes,  among  whom  are  the  true  Caribs  of  the  Antilles 
and  many  districts  of  the  mainland,  and  the  Makusis 
of  British  Guiana;  a  peculiar  feature  of  the  latter 
being  their  habit  of  going  about  with  down-ca.st  eyes. 
Another  linguistic  stock  in  this  section  is  that  of  the 


154 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[July  2,  1900. 


Arawaks.  Tiie  Indians  of  East  Brazil  and  Ceuti-al  South 
America  form  a  third  section ;  among  whom  the  Tupi- 
Guarani  linguistic  stock,  whose  language  forms  the  lingua 
franca  of  the  eastern  side  of  the  continent,  is  the  most  im- 
portant. To  this  stock  belongs  the  tribe  from  Pai-a,  of 
which  representatives  are  shown  in  Figs.  2  and  3.  Lastly, 
we  have  the  Fampean  and  Fucginn  section.  Of  the 
mainland  tribes  of  this  section  the  more  notable  arc  the 
Tehuelchcs,  or  Patagonians,  who  inhabit  the  country 
lying  between  the  Rio  Negro  and  the  Magellan  Strait, 
and  are  the  tallest  of  the  American  aborigines,  although 
somewhat  exaggerated  notions  have  been  entertained 
in  regard  to  their  height.  As  to  the  Fuegians,  who  are 
restricted  to  the  southern  and  western  coasts  of  the 
bleak  island  from  which  they  take  their  name,  space 
only  permits  of  the  statement  that  they  are,  on  the 
whole,  the  most  degraded  and  the  most  wretched  of  all 
the  American  Indians. 


SOME    EARLY    THEORIES    ON 
FERMENTATION.-I. 

By   W.   St.\nley   Smith,   ph.d. 

In  the  year  of  grace,  1636,  Thomas  Hobbes,  th3  famous 
author  of  "  Leviathan,''  wrote  a  letter  from  Paris  to 
the  Duke  of  Newcastle.  There  are  some  sentiments  in 
this  letter  so  expressive  of  the  attitudes  adopted  by  the 
leading  natural  philosophers  of  each  age,  that  we  may 
well  use  them  as  a  prelude  to  our  short  survey  of  the 
theories  that  have  successively  surrounded  the  fer- 
m.entation  of  sugars  and  other  materials.  "  In  thingcs,  ' 
says  Hobbes,  "  that  are  not  demonstrable,  of  which  kind 
is  the  greatest  part  of  naturall  philosophy,  as  depend- 
inge  upon  the  motion  of  bodies  so  subtile  as  they  are 
invisible,  such  as  are  ayre  and  spirits,  the  most  that 
can  be  atteyued  unto  is  to  have  such  opinions  as  no  cer- 
tayne  experience  can  confute,  and  from  which  can  be 
deduced,  by  lawfull  argumentation,  no  absurdity."  It 
has  been  said  that  the  essence  of  our  modern  su- 
periority to  the  earlier  jihilosopher  consists  in  our 
jiaving  accumulated  more  facts,  but  a  moment's 
thought  will  teach  us,  if,  indeed,  the  lives  and  works 
of  men  like  Huxley  and  Pas(.eur  do  not  teach  us,  that 
our  greatest  strength  lies  not  so  much  in  mere  know- 
ledge of  facts,  but  rather  in  the  acquisition  of  rightful 
methods  of  research,  and  the  clearing  of  pathways  that 
lead  to  Nature's  most  umbrageous  nooks  and  crannies. 

Records  of  fermented  juices,  both  of  cereals  and 
fruits,  extend  as  far  as  historical  research  can  pene- 
trate. Every  mention  of  the  results  of  fermentative 
changes  preceding  the  era  of  Christendom  is  distin- 
guished by  the  fact  that  supernatural  powers  are 
credited  with  the  functions  we  now  attribute  to  living 
realities  of  daily  life,  so  that  Osiris  and  Bacchus  are 
held  responsible  for  the  early  wine  and  beer,  and  we 
may  deem  their  adorers  justified  in  their  worship,  for 
lliey  had  "  no  certayne  experience  "  to  refute  the 
notions  they  held  as  to  these  deities  and  their 
functions.  The  first  name  of  any  note  is  that  of  the 
famous  naturalist,  Pliny,  in  whose  observation  of  the 
presence  of  an  acid  in  the  fermentation  of  bread  we 
discern  the  primitive  glimmerings  of  investigation  in 
these  dark  regions;  and  he  possesses  a  further  interest 
for  us,  in;ismuch  as  Pliny  was  probably  one  of  the  first 
martyrs  in  the  cause  of  knowledge.  He  died,  at  the 
age  of  fifty-six,  whilst  attempting  to  Jiscend  Vesuvius 
during  tlu'  historic  eruption  which  laid  Pompeii  and 
Hcrculaneum    in   dust   and    ashes.     Plutarch,    who    wa.s 


born  in  the  year  48,  in  his  works  pi-esents  us  with 
many  curious  and  trite  observations  on  the  learning 
and  customs  of  those  times,  and  we  mention,  as  es- 
pecially interesting  to  our  subject,  his  remarks  on  the 
benefit  of  warmth,  and  retaiding  influence  of  cold,  on 
the  progress  of  fermentation. 

It  is  to  Djafer  al  Geber  that  we  owe  the  discovery 
of  the  art  of  distillation,  besides  which  he  appears  to 
have  been  the  first  alchemist  to  perform  the  ojJcrations 
of  filtering,  evaporating,  crystallising,  and  dissolving 
metals  in  acids.  Geber  describes  his  processes  in  the 
mystic  phraseology  of  those  times,  and  does  not  fail  to 
mention  the  "  elevation  of  dry  substances  by  fire,  "  now 
known  as  the  act  of  sublimation.  Rhazes,  a  Baghdad 
physician,  who  flourished  between  the  years  860 — 940, 
was  the  first  to  give  accurate  directions  for  the  pro- 
duction of  aqua  vitse  by  distillation,  and  means  by 
which  a  still  more  concentrated  .spirit  may  be  obtained 
therefrom — namely,  by  another  distillation  over  quick- 
lime. 

The  words  fermentatio  and  digestio  appear  to  have 
been  used  by  the  early  alchemists  to  indicate  the  saino 
process,  namely,  a  frothing  or  evolution  of  gas  accom- 
panying a  chemical  reaction.  The  substance  or  reagent 
causing  this  evolution  of  "spirit"  was  designated  the 
ferment,  whilst  under  putrefactio  we  are  to  recognise 
the  gradual  decomposition  of  inorganic  substances.  It 
slvpuld  be  remembered  that  the  various  products  due 
to  vital  activity  were,  until  as  late  as  1828,  considered 
outside  the  pale  of  experimental  science.  In  that  year 
Wohler  synthesised  ui'ea,  and  thus  broke  down  the 
barrier  that  had  resisted  the  attacks  of  many  ages. 
The  hazy  ideas  anent  the  differences  between  what  we 
now,  for  the  sake  of  convenience,  call  organic  and  in- 
organic chemistry,  are  well  illustrated  in  writings  and 
sayings  attributed  to  the  leading  thinkers  of  the  dark 
ages.  Basilus  Valentinus.  lu  writing  the  results  of  his 
exjaeriments  on  fermentation,  declares  that  alcohol  is 
always  originally  present  in  the  fluid,  from  which  it  is 
subsequently  obtained,  but  that  it  is  only  by  a  process  of 
})uritication,  or  as  we  should  now  say,  fermentation,  that 
the  alcohol  is  freed  from  other  substances,  and  is  thus 
able  to  exhibit  its  characteristic  properties.  He  com- 
pared the  process  to  combustion,  and  plainly  tells  us  his 
researches  were  directed  towards  the  discovery  of  an 
universal  ferment,  in  fact  the  lapis  philosophorum  of 
which  so  much  was  expected. 

Libavius,  a  dim  and  obscure  individual,  looms  forth 
from  the  year  1580,  or  thereabouts,  with  an  idea  which 
one,  Stalil,  evidently  pondered  deeply  over.  He  re- 
marks that  somehow  or  other  the  substance  undergoing 
fermentation  must  have  an  affinity  with  the  cause  of 
its  decomposition,  or  as  this  cause  was  named,  the  fer- 
ment. Libavius  possessed  none  of  the  data  accumu- 
lated by  modern  science,  anent  enzymes  and  zynies,  but 
can  we  not  here  discern  the  germ  of  one  of  the  latest 
theories  of  fermentation,  that  proclaimed  by  Emil 
Fischer  of  Berlin,  and  known  to  science  as  the  Schloss 
und  Schlussel  (Lock  and  Key)  theory  ? 

Turning  now  to  the  pages  of  Hoefer,  Lavoisier,  or 
Kopj),  we  find  an  account  of  a  great  man.  Van  Hel- 
mont,  who,  born  at  Brussels  in  1577,  followed  the  vo- 
cation of  journeyman  physician,  and  beguiled  his  leisure 
hours  with  much  experiment  and  writing.  The  know- 
ledge possessed  by  Van  Helmout  of  various  gases  was 
probably  far  in  advance  of  that  held  by  his  contem- 
poraries, but,  like  the  earlier  alchemists,  he  was  but  a 
poor  master  of  descriptive  art.  However,  it  is  to  him 
we  owe  the  word  "  gas,"  borrowed  or  derived  from  the 


•Tri  Y  -2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


155 


German  t<>rm  "  geist,  "  signifying  "  spirit."  Van 
Hohnont  t«lls  us  of  liis  "  gas  sylvestre,  "  observod  rising 
from  beer  and  fermenting  liquids  of  various  kinds,  and 
was  the  tirst  to  clearly  distinguish  between  this  gas 
(cai-bon  dioxide)  ajid  ^hc  alcoliol  remaining  in  solution. 
To  him  we  owe  the  dictum,  fermentum  vojatiliset,  quod 
alias  in  cai'bonem  mut<itur,  and  in  his  "  Opera  omnia, 
published  in  1707.  together  with,  as  Huxley  remarked, 
a  very  needful  '"  Clavis  ad  obscuriorum  sensum  referen- 
dum, '  may  be  found  much  of  interest  concerning  the 
learning  of  his  times.  Alcohol  meant  not  only  spirits 
of  wine,  but  various  other  things  as  well,  a  fact  we  may 
convey  by  quoting  Nathan  Bailey  s  definition. 
"  Alcohol,"  says  this  early  lexicographer,  "  is  the  pure 
subs*^ance  of  anything  separated  from  the  mere  gross, 
a  very  fine  and  impalpable  powder,  or  a  very  pure,  well- 
rectified  spirit."  Van  Helniont  was  fain  to  attribute 
to  ferment  vitality  the  origin  of  all  animals,  whilst  the 
lato  Julius  von  Sachs  records  in  his  "  History  of 
Botany  "  the  belief  of  Dedxi,  who,  in  1685,  evolved 
similar  ideas  regarding  the  vegetable  world.  We  must 
not  pass  over  the  learned  distinction  of  Silvius  de  la  Boe 
who  threw  much  light  on  the  knowledge  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  by  distinguishing  between  the  nature  of 
gas  evolved  during  fermentation  and  the  evolution  dis- 
cerned when  acids  aie  added  to  alkalies.  The  first  he 
regarded  as  incidental  to  the  process  of  decomposition, 
whilst  the  latter  attended  the  formation  of  a  definite 
chemical  compound. 

Johann  Joachim  Bceher  made  the  discovery  that  only 
sweet  substances  are  fermentable,  and  that,  contrary 
to  the  theorv  of  Basilus  Valentinus,  the  alcohol  pro- 
duced was  a  new  substance,  arising  from  the  act  of  fer- 
mentation. He  makes,  also,  many  sagacious  discriminar 
tions  between  putrid  decompositions  and  alcoholic  fer- 
mentation, but  was  never  quite  able  to  shake  off  the 
influence  exerted  by  the  fascinations  of  alchemy.  Ernst 
Stahl,  however,  whose  thoughts  lie  recorded  in  a  curious 
old  German  work,  published  in  1734,  may  be  defined  as 
a  chemist,  in  contradistinction  to  a  follower  of  alchemy 
and  its  wild  alluring  dreams.  "  A  body,"  says  Stahl, 
in  the  work  alluded  to,  "  which  is  undergoing  decom- 
position is  able,  when  brought  into  contact  with  another 
body  not  yet  decomposing,  to  excite  in  this  new  body 
a  similar  process  of  breaking  up ;  or  the  vibrations 
which  arc  going  on  in  the  first  body  are  able  to  com- 
municate themselves  to  a  second  body  of  like  nature, 
which  was  previously  in  a  quiescent  condition."  In 
these  words  it  is  easy  to  discern  the  germ-thoughts 
destined  to  be  afterwards  enlai-ged  upon  by  Justus  von 
Liebig,  and  in  some  measure  by  that  acute  mathe- 
matician J.  von  Nacgcli.  And,  further,  Stahl  set 
in  motion  a  branch  of  knowledge  nowadays  much  ad- 
vanced, to  wit,  that  concerning  the  spread  of  diseases 
by  contagion  and  infection. 

The  study  of  organic  structxrrcs  and  materials  from 
a  chemical  standpoint  dates  from  the  year  1701,  when 
Hermann  Boerhaave  was  appointed  Lecturer  in  Medi- 
cine, and,  later,  Professor  of  Chemistry  and  Botany, 
at  the  University  of  Leyden.  Geber,  as  we  have  seen, 
devoted  his  life  to  researches  among  the  inorganic 
materials  around  him,  and  had,  doubtless,  distilled, 
sublimed,  and  precipitated  every  suspiciou.s-looking 
mineral  or  fluid  that  crossed  his  path,  and  now  Boer- 
haave, nearly  seven  centuries  afterwards,  proceeds  to 
distil,  sublime,  and  collect  from  organic  sources.  This 
great  master  directed  his  attention,  like  all  other  great 
men  of  science,  to  the  mysteries  of  fermentation  and 
putrefaction,   arriving  at  the   conclusion   that  only   suli- 


stances  of  vegetable  origin  undergo  fermentation,  whilst 
animal  matters  suft'er  putrid  decomposition. 

The  chemical  knowledge  surrounding  fermentation 
takes  its  starting  point  from  the  year  1774,  when 
Priestley  and  Scheele,  independently,  discovered  oxygon. 
By  consulting  Priestley's  autobiography,  we  learn  how 
his  great  discoveries  were  inspired  by  a  visit  to  a 
brewery,  which  happened  to  be  situated  in  close  proxi- 
mity to  his  residence.  J I  is  curiosity  was  aroused  by 
observing  the  bubbles  of  gas  that  ascended  tlirougii 
the  beer  during  the  process  of  fermentation.  This 
gas  was  carbonic  acid,  and  with  it  Priestley  iiKinutac-- 
tured  the  first  bottle  of  so-called  soda-water. 

Lavoisier   first  studied   fermentation   from    a   rational 

point  of  view.  This  great  chemist  observed  how,  during 

the    progress    of    fermentation,    sugar    was    decoiii))osed, 

and  ho  regarded  this  decomposition  as  the  breaking  up 

of  a  complicated   oxide,    to   wit,    sugar,   into   substances 

containing    less    oxygen.     These    substances,    formed    in 

normal    fermentations,    were    deemed    by    Lavoisier    to 

l)e   alcohol,   carbonic   acid   gas,    and    acetic   acid,    and    if 

we  turn  over  the  pages  of  his  ''  Elements  de  Cliemie, 

which    work    was   translated    by    Robert   Kerr    in    1790, 

we  shall  find  various  quantitative  analyses,  worked  out 

by  the  reformer.     They  do  not,  of  course,  bear  well  the 

search-light    of    modern    criticism,    but    in    later    years, 

Gay-Lussac  and  others  arose  to  set  such  matters  aright, 

and    to    give    us    accurate    empirical    formuhe    for    both 

elcohol  and  sugar. 

"  . ^ 

Hcttcrs. 


[The  Editors  do  not  hold  themselves  responsible  for  the  opinions 
or  statements  of  correspondents.] 

IS    THE    STELLAR   UNIVERSE    FINTTK? 

TO    THE    EDITORS    OF    KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — With  regard  to  the  correspondence  on  the 
above  subject  which  has  recently  appeared  in  your 
columns,  I  would  beg  to  point  out  that  there  appears 
to  be  some  misapprehension  in  the  minds  of  your 
correspondents  regarding  the  relation  of  Mie  "  Galaxy 
to  tlif  whole,  vkihh  alfUiir  iiiiirerxr.  The  general  opinion, 
I  believe,  is  that  the  Galaxy  (to  which  our  sun  belongs) 
is  merely  one  amongst  many  huge  star-groups,  which, 
owing  to  their  very  great  distance,  and  to  the  fact  that 
we  are  ovt^ifle  of  them,  appear  to  us  as  star-clusters,  and 
sometimes  possibly  as  nebula.  If  it  is  intended  to 
confine  the  discussion  to  the  "  Galaxy  "  alone,  then  I 
may  say  that  its  general  shape,  and  our  position  in  it — 
but  not,  so  far  as  I  am  aware  of,  its  mean  depth  or 
dimensions — are  fairly  well  understood.  If  the  \rliiilc 
of  the  visible  stellar  universe  is  to  be  included,  then  the 
question  wears  a  different  aspect  entirely,  and  becoines 
more  foniiidalile  than  I  should  care  to  deal  with. 

AUTIIUH      Ed.     MlTI'llEM.. 


A  LARGE   METEOR. 

TO    THE    EDITORS    OF    KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — I  hope  other  of  your  readers  besides  myself 
observed  a  large  meteor  which  was  visible  here  at 
8.10  p.m.  on  the  5th  inst.  When  I  had  my  attention 
called  to  it,  it  appeared  to  be  moving  rather  slowly 
cast  to  south,  about  parallel  to  the  earth's  surface,  and 
it  disappeared  with  a  pale  green  flash  of  light,  leaving 
a  dull  red  spark.  It  was  quite  day-light  as  well  as 
moon-light  at  the  time.  W.  E-Mip. 

Leicester,  May  12th,  1900. 


156 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[July  2,  1900. 


BRITISH 


Of!NlTH0L0GVc/\I?- 


NOTES. 


Conducted  by  Harry  F.  Witherby,  f.z.s.,  m.b.o.u. 

Ducks  assuming  Drake's  Plumage. — On  a  pond  at 
the  Red  House,  near  here,  there  are  two  semi-wild 
ducks  (."f.  hriscliax)  in  complete  drake's  plumage.  Colonel 
Taylor,  their  owner,  who  bred  them  himself,  tells  mo 
they  are  six  years  old,  but  only  a,ssumed  their  present 
dress  two  years  ago,  and  like  the  real  drakes,  partly 
lose  their  male  attire  in  the  autumn.  I  have  known 
hen  pheasants  assume  a  good  imitation  of  the  cock's 
plumage,  but  these  two  ducks  have  adopted  a  perfect 
drake's  dress. — Jos.  F.  Green,  Benacre  Hall,  Wrentham. 

Fowl  and  Rabbit.- — In  October,  1899,  a  keeper  here 
saw  one  of  bis  hens  attacked  by  a  rabbit.  The 
hen  in  its  fright  got  jammed  between  some  wire 
netting  and  a  tree,  so  could  not  move.  Before  the 
keeper  could  come  to  the  rescue  the  rabbit  had  plucked 
most  of  the  feathers  from  the  bird's  back.  The  idea  is 
that  it  was  a  doe  rabbit  who  wanted  t«  line  her  nest 
with  feathers. — Jos.  F.  Green,  Benacre  Hall,  Wrentham. 

Summer  Migrants. — I  did  not  see  a  swallow  this  year 
till  Easter  Sunday,  April  15th ;  this  I  consider  late, 
but  was  probably  caused  by  the  long  continuance  of 
cold  weather.  On  Easter  Monday  I  saw  quite  a. 
strong  flight  of  swallows,  some  sand  martins  being  with 
them.  On  the  19th  the  cuckoo  was  heard  here,  and 
on  the  21st  I  heard  the  wryneck  (the  cuckoo's  mate"). 
An  informant  tells  me  he  heard  the  nightingale  about 
a  week  before  this  date.  On  the  25th  I  heard  the  sedge 
warbler,  and  on  the  28th  I  saw  the  first  swift  and  the 
first  house  martin. — E.  Sillence,  Romsey,  May,  2,  1900. 

Report  on  ihe  Movements  and  Orcurrence  of  Birds  in  Scotland 
diirint)  1899.  B%  T.  G.  Laidlaw,  M.B.O.U.  (Annals  of  Scottish  Nat. 
Hist.,  April,  190o,  pp.  70-87).  This  is  a  very  useful  report  iMinpiled 
from  the  notes  of  a  numtjer  of  observers  in  various  parts  of  Scotland. 
The  autlior  regrets  a  sliglit  decrease  in  the  number  of  observers,  as 
well  as  iuthe  extent  of  tlieir  observations,  as  compared  to  the  returns 
for  1898. 

Cliiff-Chiff  in  Barra  (Annals  of  Scottish  Nat.  Jw^,  April,  1900, 
p.  12i.)  Mr.  W.  Li.  Maegillivray  records  that  two  specimens  of 
PhvUoscoptis  rufus  were  shut  on  Barra  on  November  18th  and  20th, 
1899.  Ihe  Chi'ft'-Chaff  has  hitherto  been  but  doubtfully  recorded  for 
the  Outer  Hebrides. 

Long-fared  Owl  in  Barra  (Annals  of  Scottish  Nat.  Hist.,  April, 
19(K),  p.  121).  Mr.  W.  L.  Maegillivray  reports  the  occurrence  of  a 
bird  of  this  species  on  Barra,  on  Oelobi-r  28tli,  1899.  This  bird  has 
been  recorded  but  very  rnrely  from  the  Outer  Hebrides. 

The  Cuckoo:  A  Sludu,  By  Kev.  E.  A.  Woodruffe-Peacock,  l.th., 
■F.L..S.,  F.G.s.  (The  Naturalist,  April,  19u0,  pp.  99-108.)  Tliis  is  an 
interesting  essay  on  the  habits  and  notes  of  the  Common  Cuckoo. 

Ornithological  Notes  from  Norfolk  for  1899.  By  J.  H.  Gurney, 
F  7.  s.  (Zoolojist,  March,  IfOO,  pp.  97-115.)  This  forms  a  record  of 
bird  movements  and  occurrences  in  Norfolk — an  exceedingly  useful 
annual  contribution  to  tin'  pages  of  our  contenijiorary. 

The  Hawfinch  as  a  Durham  Bird.  By  J.  W.  Faweett.  (The 
Naturalist,  April,  190(1,  pp.  113  and  lit.)  Mr.  Faweett  gives  a  brief 
history  of  the  occurreiice  of  the  Hawfinch  in  the  County  of  Durham, 
where  it  is  decidedly  increasing  in  ninnbers  as  it  is  in  other  ]>arts  of 
England. 


Water  Pipit  (Anthus  spipoletta)  in  Sussex  (Zoologist,  June,  1900, 
p.  278).  Mr.  N.  F.  Ticehurst  records  that  a  female  specimen  of  this 
rare  visitor  to  England  was  shot  by  a  boy  on  February  19th  near 
St  Leonards, 

Bird  Notes  from  North-east  Lincolnshire  during  the  Antumn 
Migration  of  1899.  By  G.  H.  Caton  Haigh.  (Zoologist,  May,  1900, 
pp.  201-212.)  The  autumn  of  1899  was  not  a  remarkable  one  either 
for  great  "rushes"  of  migi'ating  birds  or  for  any  great  rarities.  Mr. 
Haigh  gives  a  concise  account  of  the  movements  of  the  birds  in 
Lincolnshire. 

Natural  History  Notes  from  Yorkshire  for  1899.  By  Oxley 
G-rabham,  M.A.,  m.b.o.u.  (Zoologist,  May,  1900,  ])p.  229-23(1). 
These  note.-*  are  chielly  concerning  birds. 

Breeding  of  the  Shoreler  (Spatula  clgpeota)  and  of  the  Oarganey 
(Querquedula  circia)  in  Kent  (Zoologist,  June,  1900,  p.  279).  It 
is  very  satisfactory  to  learn  from  Mr.  N.  F.  Ticehurst  that  both  of 
these  ducks  have  bred  in  Romney  Marsh  this  year.  Both  the  birds 
are  rare  breeders  in  England,  the  Shoveler  especially  so.  Hut  both 
birds  are  no  doubt  increasing  as  a  breeding  species,  and  it  is  to  be 
hojied  that  witli  a  little  more  protection  from  owners  of  the  land  they 
may  be  induced  to  appear  regularly  where  they  now  only  visit 
occasionally. 

Alt  contribution.i  to  the  cohimn,  either  in  tlie  iray  of  notes 
or  p/iotof/nipli.t,  shouhl  he  foricarded  to  Harry  F.  Witherby, 
at  1,  Eliot  Place,  Blackheath,  Kent. 


^otittn  of  Boofts. 

"  Horns  of  Honour,  .and  other  Studies  in  the  Bye- ways  of 
ArchiEology."  By  Frederick  Thomas  Elworthy.  xii.  and  315  pp. 
(John  Murray.)  10s.  6d.  net.  Judged  by  the  canon  of  pedagogics, 
^ihieh  one  naturally  associates  with  the  name  of  Herbert,  that  go  id 
teaching  must  maintain  the  interest  of  the  pupil  in  the  subject 
under  consideration,  Mr.  Klworthy's  book  must  be  given  high  praise, 
for,  even  throughout  the  discussion  of  subjects  where  many  would 
consider  it  impossible  to  develop  interest,  he  always  succeeds  in 
retaining  the  reader's  attention.  The  accounts  of  the  evolution 
both  of  "  horns  of  honour  "  and  "  horns  of  the  devil,"  with  their 
plenitude  of  anecdote  and  their  liberal  accompaniment  of  illustra- 
tion, abound  with  evidence  of  the  .'luthor's  industry  in  research  and 
of  his  power  with  the  pen.  What  we  now  call  crests  were,  in  th^ 
Middle  Ages,  worn  as  ensigns  of  high  distinction,  especially  in  per- 
sonal prowess,  and  few  were  they  who  attained  unto  them  ;  but, 
says  Mr.  Elworthy,  they  have  now  sunk  to  be  mere  fantastic 
ornaments  of  the  vulgar  and  the  nouveau  riche.  Starting  probably 
with  the  idea  of  the  cock's  comb,  man  has,  at  different  times, 
invented  and  elaborated  wonderful  forms  of  head-dress,  which  are 
in  the  volume  before  us  described  in  detail.  The  crests  which  can 
be  traced  back  to  the  shape  of  the  crescent  moon  seem  to  be  legion 
but  this  is  not  the  place  to  attempt  an  enumeration  ;  the  interestel 
reader  must  be  referred  to  the  book  under  notice,  where  he  will 
find  them  described — down  to  the  widely  divergent  form  seen  in 
the  crown  of  Kaiser  Wilhelm.  The  modern  representative  of  thd 
crescent,  not  used  as  a  cranial  ornament,  but  for  occult  reasons 
of  different  kinds,  is  the  horse-shoe,  which  so  many  use  to  bring 
good  luck.  Sometimes  the  horn  of  honour  has  been  turned  to  base 
purposes,  as  Shakespeare  knew,  for  Jaques'  song  in  "As  You  Liki 
It "  runs^ 

"  What  shall  he  have  that  killed  the  deer? 

His  leather  skin,  and  horns  to  wear. 

Take  thou  no  scorn  to  wear  the  horn  ; 

It  was  a  crest  ere  thou  were  born. 
Thy  father's  father  wore  it, 
Anil  thy  father  bore  it." 
The  section  on  "  Horns  of  the  Devil,"  with  its  biography  of  this 
interesting  personage,  provides  a  number  of  quaint  tit-bits.     There 
is  evidence,  we  find,  that  popular  imagination  made  the  devil  black 
as  early  as  the  death  of  William  Rufus.   Church  bells  were  originally 
intended  to  keep  the  devil  from  church,  and  the  cock  was  placed 
on  the  highest  point  for  the  same  purpose,  whilst  the  presence  of 
gargoyles  is  to  be  similarly  explained.     The  latter  half  of  the  volume 
is  concerned  chiefly  with  the  hand,   or  as  Aristotle  called  it  the 
"  tool  of  tools,"  and  the  various  ways  in  which  the  hands  have  been 
used  symbolically  provide  plenty  of  material  for  demonstrating  the 
extent  of  Mr.   Elworthy's  work  in  collecting  and  recording   data 
in  a  somewhat  obscure  subject. 

"Modern  Italy,  1748—1898."  By  Pietro  Orsi.  xxiii.  .and 
404  pp.  (T.  Fisher  Unwin.)  5s.  "  This  latest  addition  to  the 
deservedly  popular  "  Story  of  the  Nations  "  series,  is  from  the  pen 
of  the  distinguished  Professor  of  History  in  the  R.  Liceo  Foscarini 
Venice.  The  translation  of  the  work  has  been  done  by  Mary  Alice 
Vialls  with  sympathy  and  judgment,  the  result  being  that  the 
English  reader  can  now  study  without  trouble  the  history  of  the 


July  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


157 


lives  and  irork  of  tlie  pioneers  of  modern  Italy,  and  become  familiar 
with  such  commamlini;  personalities  as  those  of  Charles  Albert  of 
Cariiinan,  Camille  Cavoiir,  and  many  others,  of  whom  the  avera>;o 
Englishman  knows  next  to  nothing.  It  is  a  little  strange  that  while 
so  many  of  our  countrjmen  .are  conversant  with  Italian  art  and 
scenery"  and  know  a  great  deal  about  the  classic  remains  which 
commiind  the  attention  of  every  scholar,  so  little  interest  has  hitherto 
been  developed  in  the  constitutional  changes  and  political  contro- 
versies that  have  taken  so  great  a  part  in  Italian  life  during  the 
last  hundred  and  fifty  years.  It  is  hoped  the  volume  before  us  vi" 
do  something  towards  remedying  this  lack  of  knowledge. 

"  Evolution  by  Atrophy."  By  Demoor,  Massart,  and  Vandcr- 
velde ;  translated  by  Mrs.  Chalmers  Mitchell.  (Kegan  Paul.) 
5s.  Much  has  already  been  written  on  the  many  aspects  of 
evolution,  and  as  science  in  aU  its  branches  throws  otf  new  slioots 
as  it  were,  new  territory  is  constantly  being  appropriated  by  the 
evolutionist  in  his  ever-widening  sclieme  of  co  ordination.  Bio- 
sociological  science  is  in  unstable  equilibrium.  The  naturalist  with 
his  limited  knowledge  of  social  questions  too  often  erects  leaning 
towers  with  the  centre  of  gravity  outside  the  base,  and  the  socio- 
logist, frequently  a  theorist  with  little  or  no  training  in  biology, 
sometimes  builds  his  pyramids  with  the  apex  down.vards.  This 
book,  by  several  authors,  aims  at  presenting  a  well  proportioned 
view  of  the  structure  raised  by  evolutionists  who  have  prosecuted 
their  investigations  into  everj-  phase  of  life  and  the  institutions 
evolved  by  civilised  communities.  It  is  a  work  full  of  interest  from 
first  to  last,  but  only  a  skeleton  on  which  new  material  may  be  laid 
and  moulded  into  shape  by  competent  hands.  Great  inequality 
obtains  in  the  several  chapters ;  for  example,  that  on  the  "  Trans- 
formation of  Organs  of  Animals  "  is  fairly  full,  while  the  section 
on  "Atrophy  of  Institutions"  is  somewliat  meagre.  Nevertheless, 
it  is  a  work  of  importance,  very  suitable  for  the  library. 

"Sexual  Dimorphism  in  the  Animal  Kingdom."  By  J.  T. 
Cunningham,  m.a.  xi.  and  317  pp.  (A.  &  C.  Black.)  12s.  net. 
The  phenomena  of  structure  in  the  animal  kingdom  may  be  in- 
claded,  says  Mr.  Cunningham,  under  three  categories  :  diversity, 
polymorphism,  and  metamorphosis.  The  present  work  is  devoted  es- 
l)ecially  to  the  consideration  of  the  commonest  case  of  the  second  of 
these  divisions,  and  the  arguments  presented  are  chiefly  concerned 
with  two  Sfjecial  peculiarities  of  secondary  sexual  characters,  viz.. 
(1)  these  characters  do  not  begin  to  appear  in  the  individual  until  it  is 
nearly  adult  and  sexually  mature  ;  (2)  they  are  inherited  only  by  the 
sex  which  possesses  them.  Mr.  Cimningham  maintains  that  heredity 
causes  the  development  of  acquired  characters  for  the  most  part 
only  in  that  period  of  life  and  in  that  class  of  individuals  in  whicti 
they  were  originally  acquired.  In  other  words,  heredity  is  a 
tendency  in  the  new  individual  to  pass  successively  through  the 
same  stages  of  growth  as  its  parent.  The  theory  of  evolution 
put  forward,  which  the  author  claims  as  new  and  original,  is  stated 
as  follows  :  "  that  the  direct  effects  of  regularly  recurrent  stimula- 
tions are  sooner  or  later  developed  by  heredity,  but  only  in  asso- 
ciation with  the  physiological  conditions  under  which  they  were 
originally  produced."  In  opposition  to  Weismann,  the  question  of 
how  the  inheritance  of  acquired  characters  can  be  produced  is 
not  discussed ;  in  the  author's  words,  "  it  is  a  fact  that  the  modi- 
fications with  which  I  have  to  deal  are  hereditary,  and  my  object 
is  to  produce  inductive  evidence  that  they  were  determined  by 
special  stimulations."  After  defining  his  position  and  setting  fort'i 
the  explanation  he  has  to  offer,  Mr.  Cimningham  reviews  the  facts 
which  have  been  observed  in  the  chief  divisions  of  the  animal 
kingdom,  the  successive  chapters  being  concerned  with  Mammals. 
Birds,  Reptiles  and  Amphibia,  Fishes,  Insects,  and  lower  sub 
kingdoms.  It  is  hardly  our  province  to  refer  in  detail  to  so  highly- 
specialised  a  piece  of  work  as  that  contained  in  this  volume.  More- 
over, there  is,  after  all,  only  a  comparatively  small  amount  of 
material  yet  available  on  which  to  build  theories,  and  it  may  we'l 
happen  that  the  accumulation  of  further  data  will  lead  to  a  necessit- 
for  a  restatement  of  the  case — a  contingency  fully  recognised  by  th"? 
author.  However  this  may  turn  out,  Mr.  Cimningham's  work  is 
one  that  claims,  and  will  doubtless  receive,  the  serious  consideration 
of  biologists. 

"  The  Structure  of  the  Brain."  By  Albert  Wilson,  m.d.  (EP-ot 
Stock.)  Illustrated.  "This  work  is  a  re-issue  of  a  more  expensivJ 
book  entitled  'The  Brain  Machine'  issued  some  time  since."  Ths 
dominant  note  in  our  author's  theme  is  that  we  are  only  machlaes, 
the  victims  of  fate,  yet  so  complex  that  there  remains  much  at 
present  unknown.  "  It  is  no  u.se  fighting  a  fractious,  self-wiUe  1 
child.  Its  brain-cells  want  cleaning  and  repairing."  "  After  meals 
we  are  sleepy,  because  the  blood  has  left  the  brain  for  the  abdom;n." 
"  Our  optic  centres  absorb  it  (experience)  as  a  photograph,  which 
we  recall  every  time  we  are  exposed  to  that  small  danger."  In  this 
manner  Dr.  'Wilson  deals  with  all  the  ordinary  phases  of  human 
life,  and  he  is  often  very  happy  in  liis  concise  mode  of  expression. 
The  book  is  exceedingly  interesting,  and  is  sustained  throughout  by 
exact  scientific  knowledge. 


"  A  Treatise  on  Crystallography."  By  W.  J.  Lewis,  m.a.  (Univ. 
Press,  Cambridge.)  Ciystallography,  at  the  best,  is  not  an  attrac- 
tive study  except  to  those  who  are  well  equipped  with  the  elements 
of  geometiy  and  trigonometry,  and  who  have,  moreover,  an  inor- 
dinate love  for  the  ungainly  nomenclature  employed  in  the  classifi- 
cation of  crj-stals.  Professor  Lewis  has  imparted  a  still  more  chillini' 
aspect  to  the  subject  by  his  rigid  mathematical  treatment  Ihroii  ;h- 
out,  and  the  book  certainly  forms  a  programme  of  serio\is  work 
Wo  observe  that  the  notation  for  the  crystal  forms,  tlio  treatment 
by  stereogripliic  projection,  and  the  anharmonic  ratio  of  four  tauto 
zonal  faces,  with  which  the  lato  I'rofe.ssor  Miller's  name  is  asso- 
ciated, have  been  adopted.  Naumann's  symbols,  so  expressive  t  ■■ 
the  geometrical  relations  of  the  various  rhombohedra  and  scal-no- 
hedra,  are  emjiloyed.  The  index  is  good,  containing  as  it  does  .so 
many  names  which  are  invaluable  .as  a  means  of  reference.  Par- 
ticular care  has  also  been  bestowed  on  the  numcrims  figures,  and  the 
student's  itower  of  solving  crystallographic  problems  may  receive 
a  great  impetus  through  the  prominence  given  to  the  methods  used 
in  making  diagrams. 

"The  Strength  of  Materials."  By  J.  A.  Kwing,  F.n.s. 
(Univ.  Press,  Cambridge.)  Illustrated.  Professor  Kwing's  book  is 
remarkable  cliieMy  for  conciseness.  He  knows  how  to  express  in  a 
nutshell,  as  it  were,  what  is  really  necessary  Id  be  said,  and  does 
not  pad  his  pages  with  theories  which,  like  old  machinery,  have 
become  loose  in  the  joints.  Consisting,  iis  one  would  expect,  very 
largely  of  so-called  grajihiciil  statics,  he  hanilles  the  representation 
of  forces  by  lines  and  their  interiiretation  by  formulas  with  ad- 
mirable skill,  .and  a  student  who  is  fortunate  enough  to  eain 
possession  of  this  volume  will  have  the  "  open  sesaine  "  to  all  those 
engineering  problems  immediately  concerned  with  the  nature  and 
effects  of  stresses  in  the  several  parts  of  girders,  bridges,  beams, 
and  other  structures.  It  is  not,  however,  a  beginner's  book.  To 
keep  pace  with  the  Professor  in  the  present  treatise — a  lecture-room 
treatment  of  the  subject  accompanied  by  laboratory  and  drawing 
ofhce  work — the  student  must  have  inured  himself  to  the  many 
difficulties  which  mathematics,  elementary  mechanics,  and  ]ihysics 
present,  before  he  can  hope  to  tilt  with  success  at  the  winilmdls 
here  erected.  Apparatus  as  used  ab  Cambridge  is  described  an,l 
figured.  Tension,  torsi(m,  crushing,  shearing,  and  the  means  of 
obtaining  their  numerical  equiv.ilents — these,  and  the  like,  are 
plastic  in  the  author's  hands,  and  he  has  put  tliem  in  attractive 
form  for  such  as  have  completed  the  essential  preliminaries. 

There  are  always  numbers  of  photographers  who  like  to  use  a 
small  apparatus  but  want  to  get  a  good  sized  picture  ;  both  these 
desires  can  be  .satisfied  in  the  "  Nydia,"  a  neat  folding  put-into-taa 
pocket  camera  which  Messrs.  Newman  &  Guardia  have  recently 
brought  out. 

►-♦-« 

BOOKS    RECEIVED. 

Prehistoric  Times.  6tli  Edition.  By  tbe  Rt.  Hon.  Lord  Avcliiiry. 
(Williams  and  Norgatc.)     Illustrated.     I89. 

Direetory  for  Science  and  Art  Schools  and  Classes,  S.  and  A.  Z> , 
1900-1901.     (Eyre  &  Spottiswood(^)     (id. 

Hygiene.     By  R.  A.  Lyster,  li.sc.     (Olive.)     2s. 

Electric  Batteries.  Edited  by  I'crcivnl  Marshall,  a.i.m.e.  (Daw- 
barn  &  Ward.)     Illustrated.     <id. 

T/ie  Proposed  National  Antarctic  Expedition.  V>y  Wm.  S.  Bruce. 
(Pamphlet;  reprinted  from  the  Scottish    G eoi/raphicil  Magazine.) 

Feilden's  Magazine.     June,  19U().     Is. 

A  Little  History  of  South  Africa.  By  Geo.  McCall  Thcal. 
(Unwin.)     Is.  (id. 

In  Birdland.     By  Oliver  O.  Pike.     (Unwin.)     Illustrated.     Cs. 

Comparative  Anatomy  of  Animals.  By  Gilbert  C.  Bourne,  m.a. 
(Bell.)     Illustrated.     4s.  (jd. 

Chemistry :  An  Exact  Mechanical  Phtlosophii.  By  Fred.  G. 
Edwards.     (Chm-cliill.)     38.  6d. 

Annates  de  V Ohseroatoire  National  D' Athens.  Tonic  11.  By 
Demetrius  Eginitis,  Directeur. 

Results  of  Meteorological  and  Magnetical  Ohservations,  Stony- 
hurst  College  Olservatory,  1899. 

Etching  on  Metals. —  U.seful  Arts  and  Crafts  Series.  (Dawbarn 
&  Ward.)     (id. 

Photography  in  Colours.     By  R.  Child  Bayley.    (lliffe.)    Is.  net. 

Leeds  Astronomical  Society — Journal  and  2Vansactions,  1899. 
(Wesley. ) 

Liverpool  Observatory,  Bidslon. — Heport  of  the  Director,  1890. 

Historical  and  Literary  Essays.  By  Lord  Macaulay.  (Ward, 
Lock.)     2s. 

I'he  Story  of  Bird  Life.     By  W.  P.  Pycriift.     (Nownes.)     Is. 

Electric  Lighting.  By  A.  A.  0.  Swinton.  (Crosby  Lockwood.) 
Is.  (id. 

Local  Particulars  of  the  Total  Eclipse  of  the  Sun,  1901,  May  17-18. 
(Nautical  Almanack  Circular,  No.  18.) 


158 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[July  2,  1900. 


ASTRONOMY   WITHOUT   A   TELESCOPE. 

By   E.   Walter   Maunder,   f.r.a.s. 
VI.— THE   MILKY   WAY. 

The  sliort  nights  of  midsummer  do  not  in  general  give 
much  opportunity  to  the  Astronomer.  But  twice  in 
the  year  the  most  wonderful  of  all  celestial  objects 
stretches  itself  across  our  English  zenith  and  sweeps 
downwards  to  either  horizon.     This  is  that 

"  Broad  and  ample  road  whose  dust  is  gold 

And  pavement  stars,  as  stars  to  thee  appear. 

Seen  in  the  Galaxy,  that  Milky  Way. 

Which  nightly  as  a  circling  zone  thou  seest 

Po^vdered  with  stars." 
Its  sweep  at  midnight  in  mid-July  is  from  the  north 
eastern  horizon  where  the  constellation  Auriga  is  just 
rising,  through  Perseu.s  and  Cassiopeia  on  to  Cygnus 
in  the  zenith  ;  descending  again  on  the  other  side 
through  Aquila.  Serpens,  Sagittarius  and  Scoi-jiio  to 
the  horizon  in  the  south-west.  The  second  time  when 
it  crosses  the  zenith  is  at  midnight  in  mid-December, 
when  it  sweeps  upwards  from  the  south-eastern  horizon 
in  Argo,  between  Orion  and  Gemini  to  the  zenith  now 
marked  by  the  constellation  Auriga;  from  whence  it 
passes  downwards  through  Perseus  and  Cassiopeia  to 
the  north-west  horizon  where  the  constellation  Cvgnus 
is  setting. 

The  Galaxy  is  no  modern  discovery.  Ptolemy  of 
Alexandria  has  handed  down  to  us  a  vei-y  full  and 
precise  description  of  it,  and  it  has  caught  the  attention 
and  stirred  the  imagination  of  races  even  as  savage 
as  the  Australian  black  fellows.  It  has  been  thought 
of  as  the  roadway  of  the  Gods  by  which  they  passed 
from  their  halls  of  eternal  light,  when  they  wished 
to  visit  this  nether  world  of  oui-s  ;  or  it  is  "  Die  -lakobs- 
strasse,  "  the  mystic  ladder  which  the  j^atriarch  saw  in 
his  dream  at  Bethel,  up  and  down  which  the  angels 
moved. 

Ptolemy  and  the  Greek  Astronomers  had  recognized 
two  leading  facts  concerning  it.  One,  that  it  marked 
out  a  zone  in  the  sky,  the  centre  of  which  was  neai'ly  a 
great  circle;  the  other,  that  it  was  not  equal  and 
regular  everywhere  but  varied  in  different  regions,  in 
breadth,  in  brightness  in  colour,  in  distinctness,  and 
especially  that  in  some  places  it  broke  up  into  two 
distinct  streams.  So  much  therefore  was  known  about 
it  long  before  the  invention  of  the  telescope,  ajid 
though  it  gives  to  our  greatest  telescopes  their  most 
gorgeous  starfields,  though  in  some  portions  it  still 
defies  the  efforts  of  our  most  powerful  instniments 
fully  to  resolve  it,  though  its  characteristic  formations 
are  only  brought  out  when  we  are  dealing  with  stars 
far  fainter  than  can  be  individually  detected  by  the  un- 
aided sight,  yet  the  Milky  Way  as  a  whole  is  essentially 
a  naked  eye  object. 

The  dwellers  in  cities  and  towns,  smoke-veiled  and 
flaring  with  arc  lamps  or  incandescent  lights,  must 
abandon  all  hope  of  a  really  intimate  knowledge  with 
the  delicate  structure  of  the  Milky  Way.  But  there  are 
many  and  many  stations  in  this  our  island, — lone  country 
houses,  little  villages, — upon  which  stars  of  the  short 
dark  summer  night  will  shine  down  like  silver  points 
set  in  ebony.  The  faint  twilight,  visible  all  night 
long  above  the  northern  horizon,  will  not  interfere 
with  tlie  darkness  of  the  zenith  and  the  south.  The 
evasive  moon  recognizes  that  the  season  belongs  of 
right  to  her  more  powerful  brother,  and  either  does  not 


show  herself  at  all,  or  timidly  skii-ts  the  south  as  if 
anxious  to  escape  notice.  So  though  the  summer  hours 
of  darkness  are  so  few,  sufficient  of  them  may  be  utilized 
for  so  delicate  a  study  as  that  of  the  Milky  Way. 

The  reason  why  it  is  so  pre-eminently  a  naked  eye 
object  is  easily  seen.  The  field  even  of  a  comet^seeker 
or  any  other  telescope  of  wide-field  and  low  magnifying 
power  deals  with  .so  inconsiderable  a  fraction  of  the 
whole  sky.  It  is  impossible  in  the  telescope  to  mark  out 
the  boundaries  of  the  Way;  to  see  where  it  radiates 
and  divides ;  where  it  reunites  and  condenses  again. 
It  can  only  be  examined  piecemeal,  a  very  small  fraction 
at  a  time — "  the  wood  cannot  be  seen  for  the  trees.  ' 
It  is  necessary,  therefore,  if  we  are  to  gain  any 
adequate  knowledge  of  the  structure  of  the  Milky  Way 
as  a  whole,  that  we  should  supplement  telescopic  and 
photographic  examination  by  the  most  careful  and 
thorough  scrutiny  with  the  unassisted  sight. 

This  is  astronomical  work  of  a  high  order  of  import- 
ance which  has  been  very  seldom  adc(|uately  attempted. 
The  names  of  Hcis,  Boeddicker,  Easton  and  of  a  very  few 
others,  occur  in  this  connection,  and  from  the  nature  of 
the  case,  the  difficulties  of  the  work  being  great,  it  is 
most  important  that  their  observations  should  be  con- 
tinually repeated. 

It  is  not  my  intention  in  these  papers,  either  to 
describe  what  other  observers  have  seen  or  to  give  any 
regular  history  or  summary  of  observations.  That  has 
been  done  most  excellently  before.     Nor  do  I  wish  to 


\'ia  Lactea.     Boroalis  1.     ^cutuin-Cepheus. 

describe  what  an  observer  might  be  expected  to  see  for 
himself,  since  I  fear  in  many  cases  the  reader  would 
content  himself  with  the  description.  My  intention  is 
simply  to  give  such  merely  general  indications  of  the 
work  which  may  be  attempted  and  the  manner  in  which 
it  may  be  set  about,  that  those  who  wish  so  to  do  may 


July  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


159 


themselves  undertake  observations  which,  so  far  as  they 
ai-e  concerned,  may  be  original. 

Given  the  absence  of  the  moon,  a  suitable  time  of  the 
year,  and  a  thoixtughly  dark  clear  night,  and  even  the 
most  c;vsual  observer  will  at  once  perceive  that  the 
Milkv  Way  is  a  most  complex  object.  In  one  placo 
we  find  it  broad,  and  diffused  ;  in  another  it  narrows 
almost  to  disappearance.  Here  the  outline  will  hj 
sharp;  there  it  is  fringed  out  into  faint  filaments.  lu 
some  places  it  coagulates  into  knot^  and  streaks  of 
light;  in  others  it  is  interrupted  by  channels  of  dark- 
ness. It  is  these  details  to  which  I  trust  that  not  a 
few  readers  of  Knowledge  will  direct  their  attention. 

At  this  present  season  I  would  specially  invite 
attention  to  that  region  of  which  Gamma  Cygni  is  the 
centre,  and  which  extends  from  the  borders  of  Ccphcus 
to  those  of  Aquila.  Here  begins  that  great  rift  in  the 
Galaxy  the  interpretation  of  which  is  so  essential  to 
a  true  understanding  of  its  meaning.  Here  too  are  seen 
numerous  crossways  and  side-rifts,  not  so  easily  caught 
as  the  main  channel,  but  which  will  be  detected  as  the 
observer  gains  experience  and  skill. 

As  to  the  actual  method  of  observation,  the  lirst 
essential  is  that  the  obsei-ver  should  be  screened  from 
all  interference  by  artificial  light.  Here  comes  in  the 
same  sort  of  difficulty  that  is  experienced  in  drawing 
the  Zodiacal  Light,  a  difficulty  to  be  overcome  in  much 
the  same  manner.  First  of  all  the  observer  must  learn 
thoroughly  the  ])riucipal  stars  of  the  district  which  he 
is  examining;  then  perhaps  the  easiest  method  is  for 
him  to  dictate  to  an  amanuensis,  close  at  hand,  but  the 
light  of  whose  lamp  is  perfectly  shielded  from  the 
obsei-ver.  The  latter  then  might  describe  the  course 
with  respect  to  the  leading  stars,  of  the  various  rifts  or 
rays,  and  at  the  same  time  should  add  estimations  of  the 
relative  brightness  or  darkness  of  each  respectively. 
Another  method  would  be  to  carefully  plot  the  stars 
down  upon  a  sheet  of  paper  beforehand,  which  paper 
might  be  illuminated  by  a  vei-j'  faint  ruby  light,  like 
that  used  in  a  photographic  dark-room  ;  and  the  out- 
lines might  be  drawn  on  the  paper  with  reference  to 
the  stars  by  its  means.  The  light  itself  must  of  course 
be  aiTanged  to  shine  only  on  the  paper  not  on  the 
observer's  face.  It  is  possible  that  a  card  covered  by 
luminous  paint  might  also  be  useful  in  this  work,  but  it 
is  not  a  device  which  I  have  myself  employed,  and  I 
think  it  would  probably  dazzle  much  more  in  proportion 
to  the  amount  of  assistance  it  gave  than  woiijd  the 
faint  ruby  light.  If  the  luminous  paint  is  used,  I 
should  be  inclined  to  recommend  either  that  it  be 
used  under  a  card  in  which  holes  have  been  punched  to 
represent  the  stars  or  under  a  sheet  of  ground  gla.ss  or 
tracing  paper  or  cloth  on  which  the  stars  have  been 
indicated  by  black  dots. 

The  beginner  should  bear  in  mind  that  though  the 
Astronomer's  nile  is  to  note,  that  is  to  record,  whatever 
shines  (quicqtiid  nitet  tiotaiidum),  nevertheless  that  he 
must  learn  to  see  before  he  can  record.  The  careful 
study  therefore  of  the  chosen  region  of  the  Milky  Way 
for  two  or  three  nights  before  any  drawing  is  made  will 
not  be  thrown  away,  and  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that 
faint  lights  are  best  seen,  not  from  the  centre  of  the 
eye  but  from  the  side,  by  "  avei'ted  vision,"  that  is  to 
say.  On  the  other  hand,  directly  the  observer  feels 
that  he  is  beginning  to  get  some  acquaintance  with  his 
subject  he  should  begin  to  record.  The  first  attempts 
will  no  doubt  cost  some  effort,  and  may  prove  dis- 
appointing, but  skill  in  delineation  as  well  as  in  detec- 
tion will  come  with  practice. 


PLANTS    AND    THEIR    F00D,-1V. 

By  II.  11.  W.  Pearson,  m.a. 

An  ordinary  fertile  soil  consists  of  75  to  95  per  cent, 
of  mineral  matter  mixed  with  5  to  10  per  cent,  of  humus. 
The  mineral  particles  arc  of  dilTcrent  shapes  (v,  figure), 
and  vary  in  size  from  a  microscopic  dust  (clay)  to  grains 
large  enough  to  form  what  wo  commonly  call  sand. 
In  addition,  there  are  usually  present  "  stones,''  larger 
fragments  of  rock  which  form  a  reserve  of  mineral 
nutriment  and  by  their  slow  decomposition  enrich  the 
soil;  they  are  also  of  no  little  importance  in  keeping 
the  soil  beneath  them  moist,  at  the  same  time  increasing 
its  warmth,  for  they  arc  quickly  heated  by  the  direct 
rays  of  the  sun. 

Soils  are  divided  into  numerous  classes  acccnxling  to 
the  relative  amounts  of  clay  and  sand  which  they  con- 
tain. A  "  sandy  "  soil,  for  instance,  contains  over  70  per 
cent,  by  weight  of  sand  in  addition  to  clay,  lime  and 
other  mineral  substances  and  humus.  A  "  clay  ''  soil 
is  composed  of  the  same  constituents  but  in  different 
proportions,  half  its  weight  at  least  consisting  of  mineral 
matter  so  finely  divided  as  to  be  included  under  the 
term  "  clay,''  According  to  some  interesting  figures 
recently  published  by  the  agricultural  authority  of  the 
United  States,  in  a  gramme-weight*  of  a  sar.dy  soil 
which  contains  only  4.77  per  cent,  of  clay,  there  are 
about  2  million  particles.  In  another  case,  a  subsoil 
containing  as  much  as  32.45  per  cent,  of  clay,  there  are 
estimated  to  be  15  million  particles  in  a  gramme  weight. 
If  the  surface-areas  of  all  the  particles  in  a  given  bulk 
of  soil  be  added  together  we  should  expect  the  total  to 
be  very  large.  We  are  therefore  not  altogether  surprised 
to  learn  that  the  average  total  surface-aiea  of  all  the 
particles  in  a  cubic  foot  of  soil  is  no  less  than  50,000 
squai-e  feet.  If  the  soil  be  sandy,  containing  only  about 
2,000,000  particles  to  the  gramme,  the  total  surface  area 
in  a  given  bulk  will  of  course  be  less  than  in  a  clay  soil 
in  which  are  a  much  lai-ger  number  of  smaller  particles. 
The  importance  of  such  calculations  as  these  is  seen  in 
dealing  with  the  relation  between  the  soil  and  the  water 
which  penetrates  it. 

If  water  in  sufficient  cjuantity  is  poured  upou  the  soil  iu 
a  flower-pot  a  part  only  escapes  by  the  perforation  in  the 
bottom  of  the  pot,  the  rest  being  retained  by  the  soil. 
The  amount  which  the  soil  is  capable  of  holding  depends 
mainly  upou  two  conditions,  of  which  the  first  is  the 
presence  of  humus,  which,  as  already  pointed  out,  is  a 
strong  absorber  of  water  and  adds  considerably  to  the 
moisture-retaining  power  of  the  soil  of  which  it  fonns  a 
part.  In  soils  which  contain  only  small  proportions 
of  humus,  the  physical  properties — in  p;uticular  the 
relative  sizes — of  their  mineral  particles  are  of  far 
greater  importance  in  determining  their  behaviour  to- 
wards water.  As  is  well  known,  when  a  solid  is  wetted 
by  a  liquid,  a  thin  film  spreads  itself  out  over  the 
surface,  and  adheres  to  it.  As  rain-water  sinks  into  the 
soil  it  penetrates  between  the  mineral  particles,  each  of 
which  becomes  surrounded  by  a  thin  film  of  moisture 
which  leaves  the  general  stream  and  becomes  for  the 
time  being  a  constituent  part  of  the  soil.  It  is  obvious 
that  the  larger  the  total  surface-area  of  the  particles,  or 
in  other  words  the  greater  the  number  of  particles 
contained  in  a  given  bulk  of  the  soil  the  more  water  is 
thus  retained.  A  clay  soil,  therefore,  being  composed 
of  a  greater  number  of  minute  particles  holds  more  water 
than  a  sandy  soil  whose  constituent  particles  are  larger 

*  1  gramme  =  15'43  grains. 


160 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[July  2,  1900. 


and  fewer,  and  therefore  liave  a  smaller  sui-face  area. 
An  excess  of  sand  therefore  renders  a  soil  dry,  and  its 
vegetation  suffers  in  a  diy  season ;  if,  on  the  other  hand, 
clay  is  too  abundant  the  soil  holds  so  much  water  that 
it  is  rendered  cold,  and  being  badly  aerated  becomes 
acidf  and  is  not  well  suited  to  the  growth  of  roots.  A 
soil  well  adaj)ted  to  support  a  thriving  vegetation  strikes 
the  happy  mean  between  these  two  extremes,  and  may 
have  such  a  comjDosition  as  the  following: — J 

Sand  ...  ...         from  50  to  70  per  cent. 

Clay  „     20  to  30       „ 

Lime  ...  ...  „       5  to  10       „ 

Humus        ...  ...  ,,       5  to  10       ,, 

The  water  thus  absorbed  by  the  soil  holds  in  solution 
various  acids  formed  during  the  decay  of  vegetable 
remains  and  Cai'bon  dioxide  produced  in  the  same  pro- 
cess and  also  given  oflF  by  growing  roots.  §  It  is  therefore 
a  slightly  acid  liquid  w-hich  dissolves  such  of  the  mineral 
constituents  of  the  soil  as  are  soluble  and  renders  them 
accessible  to  the  roots  of  plants.  How  great  is  its  solvent 
action  may  be  imagined  w'hen  we  consider  that  in  a 
cubic  foot  of  soil  it  is  in  contact  with  50,000  square  feet 
of  mineral  surface. 


A  Vertical  Section  through  Soil,  showing  the  external  cells  of  a 
root  (e)  giving  off  root-hairs  (A,  A').  The  dark  angular  masses  are 
soil-particles,  each  surrounded  by  a  film  of  water  (indicated  by 
concentric  hues).  The  light  patches  (a,  j^,  y,  etc.)  are  air-bubbles. 
(After  Sachs.  Keproduced  from  Pfeffer's  "  Physiology  of  Plants  " 
— Eng.  Trans. — by  permission  of  the  Clarendon  Press.) 

The  constituents  of  the  soil  then  are  inorganic  and 
organic  particles,  water  and  air.  The  particles  are  siu-- 
rounded  by  films  of  water  which  sejjarate  them  from 
their  neighbours.  The  wat-er  so  held  is  in  communication 
over  wide  areas,  and  as  its  dissolved  contents  are  re- 
moved at  one  point  by  roots  or  other  agents  the 
deficiency  is  made  good  from  the  suiTounding  area.  A 
plant  therefore  does  not  necessarily  obtain  the  whole  of 
its  mineral  food  supply  from  the  soil  in  contact  with  its 
roots,  but  is  able  to  draw  supplies  from  a  wide  area, 
the  transport  being  eflFected  by  the  soil-w-ater.  Air- 
bubbles  entangled  among  the  particles  and  their  films 
supply  the  Oxygen  necessary  for  the  respiration  of  the 
roots  :    it  is  to  be  noted  that  this  subterranean  air  differs 


t  The  normal  decay  of  organic  bodies  is  interrupted  on  account  of 
lack  of  oxygen ;  instead,  therefore,  of  the  simpler  ultimate  products 
of  decomposition,  there  are  produced  complex  vegetable  acids. 

X  Freani.    "  Soils  and  their  Properties. " 

§  Knowibbgb,  May,  1900,  p.  102,  footnote  §. 


considerably  in  composition  from  that  above  ground  in 
that  it  contains  a  larger  proportion  of  Carbon  dioxide 
derived  from  the  decay  of  vegetable  matter  in  the  soil. 

The  water  which  percolates  through  the  soil  is  still 
further  affected  by  the  remarkable  power  which  the 
latter  possesses  of  withdrawing  from  solution  certain 
substances  which  ai-e  dissolved  in  it.  If  some  garden 
soil  be  placed  in  a  funnel  and  a  water-solution  of  common 
salt  (sodium  chloride)  poured  over  it,  the  water  which 
runs  away  contains  less  salt  than  the  original  solution. 
Some  of  it  has  been  absorbed  (or  "  fixed  ")  by  the  soil. 
This  property  of  the  soil  has  been  constantly  used  in 
obtaining  drinking  water  from  impure  sources.  When 
the  Egyptian  forces  were  besieging  Ccesar  in  Alexandria 
(b.c.  47),  they  fouled  the  wells  of  the  city  with  sea  water. 
In  the  emergency,  C<esar  caused  pits  to  be  dug  in  the 
sandy  beach  and  the  water  which  oozed  into  them  from 
the  sea  was  "  not  altogether  unfit  for  drinking. ''||  Bacon 
relating  this  incident  says,1[  "  Caesar  mistooke  the  Cause; 
For  he  thought  that  all  Sea-Sands  had  Xaturall  Springs 
of  Fresh  Water.  But  it  is  plaine,  that  it  is  the  Sea- 
Water;  because  the  Pit  filleth  according  to  the  Measure 
of  the  Tide :  and  the  Sea-Water  passing  or  Straining 
thorow  the  Sands,  leauth  the  Saltnesse."  This  is  a 
classical  example  of  the  fixation  of  dissolved  substances 
by  the  soil,  and  is  additionally  interesting  in  that  it 
received  the  notice  of  the  great  Elizabethan  philosopher. 
Otherwise,  however,  it  is  not  so  good  an  illustration  as 
might  be  wished,  for  sand  is  less  powerful  in  absorbing 
substances  from  solution  than  almost  any  other  soil ; 
and  of  the  substances  which  are  removed  from  their 
solutions  by  soil,  common  salt  is  affected  to  a  much  less 
extent  than  are  many  other  mineral  compounds.  Humus 
and  clay  soils  possess  this  property  in  a  very  high  degree, 
and  in  comparison  with  them  the  power  of  absorption 
possessed  by  sand  is  very  small  indeed.  Potash,  Ammonia, 
and  Phosphoric  Acid,  and  compounds  containing  them, 
are  removed  from  their  solutions  by  the  soil  to  a  much 
larger  extent  than  are  any  other  substances.  Magnesia, 
Soda  and  Lime  are  also  absorbed  to  some  extent,  while 
Sulphates,  Chlorides  and  Nitrates  are  very  slightly  or 
not  at  all  affected. 

Nothing  like  a  complete  explanation  of  these  interesting 
facts  is  at  present  forthcoming.  The  absorption  of  a  salt 
from  its  solution  by  the  soil  is  due  to  more  or  less  compli 
Gated  chemical  or  physical  changes  the  nature  of  which 
is  but  little  known,  and  indeed  need  not  here  be  con- 
sidered. The  fact  which  is  of  importance  as  regards 
the  food  supply  of  a  plant  is  that  certain  substances, 
in  particular  Potash,  Ammonia  and  Phosphoric  Acid, 
important  constituents  of  the  mineral  food  of  plants, 
axe  taken  ujj  by  the  soil  from  their  solutions.  In  what 
form  they  are  stored  in  the  soil  is  not  known  but  it  is 
certain  that  in  their  "  fixed  "  state  they  form  a  reserve 
supply.  The  soil-water,  as  we  have  seen,  is  a  weak 
solution  of  the  mineral  food  substances ;  as  a  small 
quantity  of  any  of  these  is  removed  by  the  roots  the 
deficiency  is  made  good  by  a  corresponding  amount  of 
the  "  fixed  '  substance  becoming  again  freely  soluble 
and  in  a  condition  to  be  taken  up  by  the  plant. 

Over  other  substances,  notably  Nitrates,  the  soil  has 
little  or  no  control,  and  these  are  carried  away  by  the 
drainage  water  out  of  the  sphere  of  influence  of  the  roots 
of  land-plants.  The  existence  of  Nitrates  in  any  quan- 
tity in  any  but  an  exceedingly  dry  soil  is  therefore  an 
impossibility,  a  fact  which  leads  to  the  consideration  of 

II  Merivale.  "  History  of  the  Romans  under  the  Empire,"  II. 
(1873),  319.  IT  "'Sylva  Sylvanmi "  (1628),  1. 


July  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


161 


the    sources    whence    the    vegetable    world    obtains    its 
Nitrogen. 

It  has  already  been  noticed  that  protoplasm,  the 
■■  living  substance  "  of  all  organic  beings,  is  composed  of 
the  complex  Niti'ogen-coutainiug  bodies  which  we 
call  "  proteids."  Nitrogen,  then,  is  a  constituent 
of  the  protoplasm  itself,  to  say  notliiug  of  other  sub- 
stances found  in  plants  which  also  contain  it;  hence  we 
must  regard  it  as  a  food  element  of  primary  importance. 
In  considering  the  assimilation  of  Carbon  by  plants, 
we  saw  that  an  inijjortant  r6le  played  by  vegetable  life 
in  the  world's  economy  is  the  formation  of  complex 
Carbon  compounds  from  Carbon  dioxide,  in  other  words 
the  raising  of  Carbon  from  an  inorganic  to  an  organic 
state  in  which  alone  the  animal  is  aljlc  to  assimilate 
it.  With  regard  to  Nitrogen  we  find  that  plants  play 
an  equally  important  part.  The  animal  c;<n  only  assimi 
lat€  Nitrogen  when  it  is  in  the  form  of  complex  organic 
substances  such  as  proteids.  Plants  make  use  of  simpler 
organic  compounds,  inorganic  substances  such  iis  Nitrates 
or  even  (the  lower  forms  of  vegetable  life)  of  free  Nitro- 
gen itself.  By  the  plant,  the  element  or  simple  com 
pounds  containing  it  are  built  up  into  organic  forms  such 
as  can  convey  Nitrogen  into  the  animal  system.  The 
waste  products  of  the  animal  body — living  or  dead — 
upon  their  decomposition,  yield  up  the  Nitrogen  iu 
simpler  forms  which  are  again  ready  to  be  assimilated 
by  the  plant. 

A  few  plants — such,  for  example,  as  our  British  insect- 
eating  Sundews  and  Butt«rworts — obtain  part  of  then 
Nitrogen  from  the  complex  proteids  and  peptones  of  the 
bodies  of  their  prey.  In  this  respect,  these  and  other 
insectivorous  plants  live  after  the  manner  of  the  animal, 
that  is,  they  do  not  build  up  complex  nitrogenous 
substances  from  simpler  compounds,  but  make  use  of 
those  which  have  been  produced  by  other  plants.  They, 
however,  form  a  very  small  proportion  of  the  vege- 
table kingdom.  Most  higher  plants,  by  which  we  mean 
those  bearing  green  leaves  and  conspicuous  flowers, 
obtain  their  Nitrogen  from  nitrates  and  compounds  of 
Ammonia  present  in  the  soil,  and  of  these  the  majority 
grow  best  when  they  are  supplied  with  nitrates.  It 
has  been  pointed  out  above  that  nitrates  are  very  readily 
washed  out  of  the  soil  by  percolating  water.  In  some 
experiments  at  Rothamsted  it  was  found  that  in  each 
of  the  four  yeai's  between  1877  and  1881  an  average  of 
41.81  lbs.  of  Nitrogen**  per  acre  in  the  form  of  nitrates 
was  washed  out  of  the  soil  and  escaped  with  the 
drainage  water.  If  we  consider  that  this  amount  of 
nitrogen  (42  lbs.  per  acre  per  annum)  would  be  sufficient 
to  supply  an  ordinary  crop  of  wheat  or  barley  we  shall 
realise  how  serious  is  the  loss  of  nitrate  from  the  soil 
which  occurs  with  every  fall  of  rain.  It  is  clear,  on 
the  other  hand,  that  water-plants  growing  partially  or 
entirely  immersed  in  natural  waters — the  accumulations 
of  water  which  has  drained  over  or  through  the  land 
— must  be  well  supplied  with  nitrates. 

Since  the  loss  of  nitrate  from  the  soil  in  any  but  a 
very  dry  climate  is  continuous,  we  must  enquire  by 
what  means  Nature  meets  the  difficulty  of  supplying 
Nitrogen  to  that  large  portion  of  the  vegetable  kingdom 
which  seeks  it  in  this  particular  form.  It  ha,s  long  been 
known  that  the  passage  of  a  lightning  flash  through  the 
atmosphere  is  accompanied  by  a  combination  of  Nitiogen 
and  Oxygen  of  the  air  and  a  consequent  production 
of  small  quantities — very  small  quantities — of  nitrates. 
These  are  washed  down  into  the  soil  and,   until   they 

•*  Equal  to  254  lbs.  of  nitrate  uf  eoila  (KaNOJ 


are  washed  out  again,  are  available  to  plants.  The 
amount  thus  produced  is,  however,  infinitesimal  com- 
pared witli  the  requirements  of  the  world's  green  vege- 
tation. Atmospheric  electricity  is,  however,  responsible 
for  a  much  hu'ger  production  of  oxidised  Nitrogen 
(nitrate)  than  results  from  the  spasmodic  discharges  of 
thunderstorms.  Wherever  earth  and  air  are  in  contact 
I  he  air  is  at  a  slightly  diflerent  electrical  potential  from 
the  earth,  and  in  consequence  there  is  a  continuous  silent 
electric  discharge  between  them.  This  discharge  is 
accompanied  by  the  chemical  union  of  Nitrogen  and 
Oxygen  and  the  production  of  Nitrates.  The  amount 
formed  in  this  way  at  any  one  place  is  of  course  ex- 
ceedingly small,  but  the  process  occurs  continuously  over 
wide  areas,  and  it  is  therefore  not  difiicult  to  belie  ire 
with  M.  Berthelot  that  an  important  contribution  is 
thus  made  to  the  nitrate-demands  of  the  vegetable  world. 

Probably,  however,  the  most  important  of  the  natural 
agents  iu  the  formation  of  Nitrates  are  the  numerous  but 
little  known  microbes  which  inhabit  the  upper  9  to  IS 
inches  of  clay  soils  in  prodigious  numbers.  It  is  pro- 
bable that  the  power  of  oxidising  atmospheric  Nitrogen 
is  not  rare  among  these  lowly  organisms,  but  at 
present  we  know  of  only  one  which  has  actually 
been  proved  to  possess  it.ft  The  organism,  which 
resides  in  the  roots  of  Leguminous  and  some  other 
plants,  and  enables  them  to  make  use  of  the  free  Nitrogen 
of  the  atmosphere,  will  be  noticed  when  we  ai"e  con- 
sidering the  functions  of  roots.  Others  of  these  soil 
bacteria  are  concerned  in  the  production  of  Nitrates, 
not  from  the  free  element,  but  from  those  vast  stores  of 
combined  Nitrogen  which  exist  in  the  roil  in  the  form 
of  humus.  It  has  been  believed  that  the  higher  plants 
arc  unable  to  absorb  and  assimilate  the  complex  organic 
Carbon — and  Nitrogen — containing  substances  which  are 
present  in  humus.  As  to  this  vexed  question  we  ar? 
unable  to  speak  definitely.  Certain  it  is,  however,  that 
a  vast  ai'my  of  minute  workers  are  constantly  employed 
in  transfering  cei'tain  of  the  products  of  the  decom- 
position of  humus  into  Nitrates.  These  bacterial 
labourers  are  divided  into  at  least  two  classes.  There 
are  in  the  first  place  those  which  seize  upon  the  com- 
pounds of  Ammonia  which  result  from  the  decay  of 
humus,  and  oxidise  them,  producing  in  this  way  salts 
called  Nitrites  which,  as  their  name  implies,  are  related 
to  Nitrates,  differing  from  them  in  containing  less  Oxy- 
gen. These  receive  attention  from  another  section  of 
the  bacterial  inhabitants  of  the  soil,  which  oxidise  them 
further,  the  final  product  being  Nitrates  which  contain 
Nitrogen  in  the  condition  required  by  the  majority  of 
the  higher  classes  of  the  vegetable  world. 

We  have  noticed  the  principal  known  methods  by 
which  Nature  jsrovides  for  the  Nitrate  wants  of  th-^ 
vegetable  kingdom.  Under  natural  conditions  thesj 
agencies — and  perhaps  others  also,  as  yet  undiscovered- 
are  sufiicient  to  replenish  the  soil  with  oxidised  Nitrogeu 
— a  replenishment  which  must  be  continuous  to  be 
efi'ective  owing  to  the  rapidity  with  which  Nitrates  are 
removed  from  the  soil  by  rain-water.  But  under  the 
artificial  conditions  of  cultivation  the  equilibrium  of 
these  relations  is  upset.  In  removing  from  the  land 
his  annual  crop,  the  farmer  carries  off  the  greater  part 
of  the  year's  supply  of  potential  humus  whence  th^ 
soil  looks  to  be  provided  with  Nitrates — by  the  action 
of  the  soil-bacteria — for  the  coming  season.  Hence 
arises  the  necessity  for  the  application  of  manures  con- 
taining Nitrates.     The  supply  of  these  manures  becomes 

1t  "vVinograd6k,r.     Compies  Reyidus.  Ib'Jl,  T.  CWill.,  p.  353. 


162 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[July  2,  1900. 


smaller,  aud  the  need  for  them  larger,  every  yeai-,  a  fact 
which  has  given  rise  to  disquieting  prophecies  of  coming 
Nitrogeu-stai-vation  and  the  consequent  failure  of  the 
world's  sujjply  of  wheat.|t 


THE    KARKINOKOSM,    OR    WORLD    OF 
CRUSTACEA. 

By  the  Rev.  Thomas  R.  R.  Stebbing,  m.a.,  f.r.s.,  f.l.s., 
F.Z.S.,  Author  of  "A  History  of  Crustacea,"  "  T/ie 
Naturalist  of  Cumbrae,"  "  Beport  on  the  Amphipodu 
collected  by  H.M.S.  '  Challemjer,'  "  etc. 

FISH-BEARS  AND  THEIR  KINDRED. 
Emerson  was  extremely  worried  by  Carlyle's  reiterated 
use  of  the  fantastic  expression  "  gigmanity."  Chry- 
sostom's  congregation  grew  tired  of  his  orations  against 
swearing,  even  while  they  continued  to  swear.  The  per- 
severing student  may  weary  of  being  told  that  a  wood- 
louse  is  a  crustacean,  before  he  has  become  conscientiously 
convinced  that  it  is  one.  The  old  writers  were  far  from 
accepting  the  fact.  They  pertinaciously  kept  the 
members  of  the  group  apart,  under  names  which  to  this 
day  have  not  been  discarded,  though  employed  now  in  a 
very  restricted  application,  these  names  being  the  Greek 
Oniscus,  a  little  donkey,  and  the  Latin  Asellus,  which 
likewise  means  a  little  ass.  This  asinine  herd,  however, 
included  and  excluded  many  creatures  which  should  have 
been  respectively  outside  it  and  within.  The  woodlouse 
may  be  taken  as  a  sort  of  exemplar  or  figure-head,  to 
introduce  and  typify  the  enormous,  diversified,  world- 
wandering  order  of  the  Isopoda.  The  name,  meaning 
equal-footed  or  like-footed,  was  coined  by  Latreille,  with 
a  view  not  to  the  whole  of  the  order  as  it  is  now  known, 
but  to  a  limited  number  of  familiar  species,  which  really 
have  the  character  implied  in  the  designation.  In  truth, 
there  are  to  be  found  in  this,  as  in  many  other  orders 
of  Crustacea,  combinations  of  feet  which  exhibit  no 
monotony  of  shape,  and  are  almost  grotesque  in  in- 
equality of  size. 

The  retention  of  the  name,  in  spite  of  its  being  not 
completely  applicable,  is  a  matter  of  convenience,  just 
as  human  families  retain  names  such  as  Webster  and 
Talboys,  when  their  members  in  general  have  ceased 
from  weaving  the  waqD  and  the  woof,  or  from  shaping 
the  timber  of  the  forest.  Peers  and  popes  and  places 
on  a  map  ai-e  allowed  to  confuse  their  identity  by  an 
unregulated  change  of  name,  but  science  is  opposed  to 
such  a  proceeding.  A  name  is  not  a  definition,  and 
when  lawfully  given  it  is  not  to  be  lightly  altered  even 
on  pretence  of  improvement.  The  application  may  be 
expanded  or  contracted,  just  as  Rome  and  Romney  may 
pass  through  alternations  of  little  and  large  without 
ceasing  to  be  Rome  and  Romney.  The  Isopoda  began 
with  a  few  genera  and  species,  which  during  this  century 
have  been  multiplied  into  a  great  horde.  Of  this  number 
it  must  be  acknowledged  that  some  are  separated  from 
the  rest  by  rather  trenchant  differences.  There  is  a 
group  in  which  the  heart  and  breathing  apparatus  are 
near  the  head  instead  of  in  the  caudal  region.  To  these 
perhaps  we  ought  to  apply  a  name  invented  by  Dana, 
Anisopoda,  which  simply  means  Notlsopoda.  There 
is  an  objection  to  negative  names  on  the  ground  of  their 
indefiniteness.  In  this  case,  for  instance,  it  may  be 
alleged  that,  apart  from  the  Isopoda,  everything  in 
heaven  and  earth  is  "  Notran-Isopod."  That  is  true, 
yet  such  a  word  as  Anisopoda  serves,  better  than  the 

XX  Su'  Will.  Crookes.  Presidential  Address  to  the  British  Asso- 
ciatiou.     Brijlul,  1898.     "  The  Wheat  Problem."     Loudon,  1899. 


more  recently  proposed  Tanaidacea,  to  remind  us  that 
the  objects  so  named  were  once  upon  a  time  regarded 
as  Isopoda,  and  that  they  have  at  least  some  superficial 
characters  in  common  with  that  order. 


Leptoehelia  forresii,  Stebbing.     Feet  of  right  side  omitted. 

Elaboi'ate  details  of  the  structure  cannot  be  given  here, 
but  a  representation  is  offered  of  a  species  from  the 
family  Tanaidse,  without  prejudice  to  the  question 
whether  this  family,  and  its  companion,  the  Apseudidae, 
should  be  counted  as  belonging  to  the  order  Tanaidacea, 
the  section  Anisojsoda,  or  the  tribe  of  the  Isopoda  cheli- 
fera.  The  species  figured,  Leptoehelia  Forresti,  is  found  in 
the  West  Indies.  The  enormous  claws  signalise  its 
masculine  sex.  They  need  not  inspire  alarm,  as  they  are 
attached  to  a  body  only  a  quarter  of  an  inch  long,  with 
jaws  as  gentle  as  those  of  any  "  sucking-dove." 

Passing  on,  then,  to  the  section  of  the  Euisopoda,  that 
is,  the  good,  the  orthodox,  the  genuine  Isopoda,  which 
are  accepted  always,  everywhere,  and  by  everybody,  we 
find  a  further  sub-division  into  tribes,  which  may  have 
unforeseen  consequences  in  the  future.  The  natural  man 
is  distinguished  from  the  naturalist  in  this  way.  The 
natural  man,  having  with  pains  and  reluctance  got  into 
his  head  a  scheme  of  classification  for  some  group  of 
objects,  wishes  to  have  that  scheme  permanent  and  un- 
alterable. The  naturalist,  on  the  other  hand,  is  aware  that 
fixity  of  classification  means  stagnation  of  enquiry.  The 
more  objects  he  knows  about  and  the  more  he  knows  about 
the  objects,  the  less  possible  does  it  continually  become  for 
him  to  fit  the  new  facts  into  the  old  framework.  Hence 
come  re-arrangement,  the  disruption  of  old  ties,  the 
formation  of  fresh  alliances,  and  science  which,  as  above 
explained,  is  so  jealous  to  preserve  the  established  names 
of  things,  must  still  be  fertile  in  new  terms  to  express 
their  newly  discovered  relationships. 

Of  the  land  isopods,  embraced  at  present  in  the  tribe 
Ouiscoida,  mention  has  been  made  in  earlier  essays 
(Knowledge,  Vol.  XXL,  p.  106,  Vol.  XXIL,  p.  285).  The 
insularity  of  our  island  is  emphasized  by  the  fact  that 
as  yet  only  nineteen  species  of  this  group  are  known  in 
England,  Wales,  and  Scotland.  Ireland  has  a  still 
smaller  number,  but  includes  therein  the  active 
Trichonisus  vividus  (Koch),  not  recorded  from  any 
British  locality  on  this  side  of  the  Irish  Channel.  In 
other  j'aits  of  the  world  the  species  are  very  numerous, 


JvLY  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


]<;;i 


and  though  some  are  local  withiu  uaiTow  limits,  others 
vie  with  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  itself  in  range  of  travel. 
Their  own  little  legs,  though  fourteen  in  number,  and 
occasionally  displaying  great  agility,  could  scarcely  tarry 
them  verv  far  within  the  lifetime  of  an  individual.  Some 
sj>ecies,  which  seem  not  only  to  attend  but  to  precede  the 
footsteps  of  man  in  remote  regions,  have  probably  covered 
the  larger  distances  as  an  uninvoiced  portion  of  the 
meixhant's  exports  or  the  traveller's  baggage,  and  then 
by  making  short  excur-sions  from  the  point  of  arrival 
have  been  enabled  to  assume  the  attitude  of  old  in- 
habitants. 

Nearest  in  general  appearance  to  the  terrestrial  isopods 
are  the  Sphjeromidre.  which  belong  to  a  different  tribe, 
the  Flabellifera,  a  highly  important  and  interesting  but 
rather  a  miscellaneous  group.  In  it  the  lu-opods  or  tail- 
feet  are  lateral,  forming  with  the  telson  a  flabellum  or 
fan,  whereas  in  other  isopods  (except  the  Valvifera) 
they  are  terminal.  The  Sphieromidse  till  recently  were 
only  known  as  marine.  Now  they  have  been  obtained 
from  the  fresh  water  of  waiin  springs  and  inland  caverns, 
the  passage  from  salt  water  to  fresh  being,  as  one  may 
suppose,  the  intermediate  step  to  a  truly  wonderful 
change,  from  aquatic  to  subaerial  existence.  Human 
beings  who  try  making  this  change  in  the  reverse  order 
usually  find  five  minutes  over  long  for  the  experiment. 
But  some  of  the  laud  isopods  are  far  less  sensitive,  for  I 
have  found  a  Porcellio  immei-sed  on  the  side  of  a  lock 
and  making  no  attempt  to  leave  the  water,  yet  quite 
lively  when  removed  from  it,  and  a  recent  experiment 
has  shown  that  a  Porcellio  scaher  can  remain  under  water 
for  four  or  five  hours  without  material  inconvenience. 


Cirolana  borealis,  LUljeborg.     From  U.  J.  Hansen. 

In  the  same  tribe  with  the  Sphseromids  are  the 
Cymothoids,  of  which,  if  one  were  a  literary  fish,  one 
would  write  with  a  kind  of  hoiTor,  on  account  of  the 
appalling  diligence  which  these  so-called  fish-bears  devote 
to  ichthyology.  Not  contented  with  persecuting  ling 
and  haddock,  cod  and  halibut,  they  assail  with  equal 
feeirlessness  dog-fish  and  shark  and  tunny.  An  extra- 
ordinary feature  in  the  life  of  some  of  the  Cymothoids 
is  the  virtual  change  of  sex  which  is  said  to  occur, 
enabling  the  father  of  one  family  to  become  in  turn  the 
mother  of  another,  as  though  the  ordinary  marital 
arrangements  were  not  sufficient  to  perpetuate  their 
malicious  brood.  Those,  like  the  JEgidte,  which  lead  a 
parasitic  life,  are  furnished  with  shai-p  hooked  claws  for 
clinging,   and  with  mouth-organs  modified  for  piercing 


and  tearing  tlie  skin  of  their  hosts.  In  the  ueai'ly  allied 
Cirolanidre  the  claws  ai'e  not  powerfully  uncinate,  be- 
cause these  species  ai'c  more  vagrant.  Their  jaws  ai'e 
adapted  for  biting  rather  than  piercing.  They  are  not 
less  enamoured  of  a  fish  diet  than  the  ^gidre,  and  they 
make  their  meals  impartially  of  the  living  and  the  dead. 
The  celebrated  Kroyer  once  found  a  large  codfish  riddled 
by  a  swarm  of  Virohina  boreal  is.  Ho  hastily  secured 
some  in  his  closed  hand,  b>it  with  equal  ha.ste  let  them 
go  again,  for  they  bit  him  barbarously  and  gnawed  at 
his  naked  flesh  without  remorse.  Nothing  could  more 
painfully  show  the  unscnipulous  character  of  these 
creatures  than  that  they  should  dare  "  to  bite  so  good  a 
man,"  who  was  grabbing  them  purely  in  the  interests  of 
science. 


Serolis  hrumleyana,  v.  WiUenioes  Suliui.    Tlie  feet  omittcil. 
from  the  "Challenger"  Isoiioda. 

A  passing  notice  must  suffice  for  the  flattened  sand- 
burrowing  Serolidse,  a  family,  so  far  as  known,  almost 
confined  to  the  southern  hemisphere,  but  ranging  from 
shallow  water  down  to  a  depth  of  two  thousand  fathoms. 
A  comparison  of  tiie  species  Serolis  hromleyuna, 
v.  Willemoes  Suhm,  with  the  species  Anthelura  elonyata, 
Norman,  from  the  family  Anthuridae,  will  show  what 
strange  contrasts  of  shape  are  possible  within  a  single 
tribe  of  the  Isopoda.  In  the  Anthuridaj  the  great  com- 
paa-ative  length  and  almost  linear  form  of  the  trunk 
may  first  appeal  to  the  attention,  but  there  is  more  to 
engage  it  in  the  head  and  the  tail,  small  as  they  both 
are.  The  peculiar  folding  of  one  branch  of  each  uropod 
over  the  telson  produces  a  certain  resemblance  to  the 
calyx  of  a  flower.  This  suggested  for  the  first  formed 
genus  the  poetical  name  Anthura,  meaning  flower-tail. 
At  the  other  extremity  the  head  foi-ms  a  rather  difficult 
subject  for  study.  At  the  first  glance  it  might  be  sup- 
posed to  vary  little  in  the  different  genera.  But  this 
is  not  the  case.  The  small  closely  compacted  mouth- 
organs  show  important  distinctions.  In  some  of  the 
genera  they  are  evidently  for  perforation  and  suction, 
but  in  others  their  mode  of  operation  is  not  so  clear,  nor 


164 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[July  2,  1900. 


in  cither  instance  is  it  known  upon  what  objects  they 
operate.  To  serve  their  private  ends  they  very  likely 
use  the  moral  or  intellectual  quality  nowadays  described 
as  slimness,  in  suitable  accordance  with  their  slenderness 
of  form.  Of  the  equally  curious  family  Gnathiidse,  com- 
pleting the  tribe  Flabellifera,  discussion  must  be  held 
in  reserve. 

Of  the  Valvifera  a  specimen  has  been  already  figured 
(Knowledge,  Vol.  XXI.,  p. 3).  The  name  of  this  tribe  has 
reference  to  the  uropods,  which  fold  like  valves,  or  rather 
meet  like  a  pair  of  folding-doors,  so  as  to  enclose  and 
shelter  when  necessary  the  natatory  respiratory  pleopods. 
In  regard  to  Anthura  it  was  mentioned  that  the  uropods 
folded  over  the  telson.  Here  they  fold  under  it,  and  by 
a  curious  modification  this  which  is  the  last  pair  of 
appendages  looks  as  if  it  might  be  the  first,  because  it 
covers  the  five  pairs  of  pleopods  which  in  order  of  attach- 
ment all  precede  it.  In  the  family  Idoteidfe  the  legs 
show  tolerable  unifoi-mity,  but  in  the  co-tribal  family 
AstacillidtC  there  is  often  strong  diversity  between  the 
set  consisting  of  the  first  four  pairs  and  that  consisting 
of  the  last  three.  The  hinder  group  are  of  normal 
pattern,  adapted  for  clinging  to  seaweed  or  other  suitable 
marine  objects.  The  anterior  set  are  slender  and  feeble 
and  fringed  with  setse.  These  four  pairs  ai'e  close 
together  and  close  to  the  mouth,  and  are  no  doubt  much 
concerned  with  the  food-supply.     But  the  first  seizure  of 


young  ones  have  repeatedly  been  found  clinging,  like 
wind-waving  articles  on  a  laundress's  clothes-line.  One 
observer  has  recorded  that  "  the  parent  neither  testified 
impatience  of  their  presence  nor  seemed  to   suffer  any 


Jnf/ii'liira   floiipafa^   Xonii;iii. 

prey  is  said  to  be  accomplished  by  the  powerful  lower 
autenuse.  In  this  case,  however,  the  prey  will  not  con- 
sist of  sharks  and  dog-fishes,  but  of  minute  organisms, 
such  as  can  be  passed  on  from  the  antennje  to  the  setose 
legs  find  held  within  their  network  of  hairs  or  sctte  at 
the  disposal  of  the  selective  jaws.  The  long  antennse  in 
this  family  have  another  function  beside  that  of  grasping 
prey.       They   form   a  soi-t  of   perch   to   which    rows   of 


Asiavilla  damnoniensis^  Stebbing. 

inconvenience  under  the  burden."  The  same  observer, 
however,  believed  that  with  rapidly  advancing  growth 
the  young  "  certainly  proved  an  annoyance  which  was 
ultimately  fatal."  That  the  mother  either  invites  or 
has  no  wish  to  hinder  the  presence  of  her  little  ones  in 
so  peculiai'  a  situation  is  evident,  for  otherwise  her  long 
antennje  would  be  at  once  and  instinctively  passed  be- 
tween the  fringing  hairs  of  the  front  limbs,  to  be  cleai'ed, 
as  in  this  way  they  habitually  are,  of  encumbering 
objects.  But  the  habits  of  Crustacea  quite  forbid  the 
supposition  that  the  mother  would  permit  the  rising 
generation  after  birth  to  cause  her  serious  inconvenience, 
when  a  fimple  bending  of  her  antennse  would  enable  her 
to  brush  them  off  or  eat  them  up. 

Omitting  from  this  sketch  the  strange  parasitic  tribe 
of  Epicarida  or  Bopyrida,  to  which  some  allusion  has 
been  previously  made  (Knowledge,  Vol.  XXII..  p.  138), 
we  must  give  a  concluding  paragraph  to  the  Asellota.  In 
these  the  uropods  are  terminal  instead  of  lateral,  and 
in  the  female  the  first  pleopods  are  usually  consolidated 
into  an  opercular  plate,  thus  fulfilling  an  office  per- 
formed by  the  uropods  in  the  Valvifera.  Also  in  the 
female  of  the  Asellota  the  second  pair  of  pleopods  is 
always  wanting.  This  tribe  includes  the  extremely 
common  fresh-water  species,  Aselliis  aquatlcus  (Linn.), 
in  which  the  feet  are  of  a  fairly  uniform  pattern.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  also  includes  some  of  the  rarest  and 
strangest  species  of  the  whole  order  Isopoda,  and  some 
to  which  that  name  by  its  meaning  is  the  least  ap- 
plicable,  inasmuch   as  the  feet  show  very   exaggerated 


Jni.v  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


1G5 


diflferencea  of  size  and  shape.  An  example  convenient 
for  illustration  is  afforded  by  Eunjcope  nov(Z-:eIandi<f, 
Beddard.  in  which  it  will  be  seen  that  the  fourth  pair  of 


Eurycope  norce-zelandite,  Beddard.     From  "  Challenger  "  Eeport. 

limbs  are  about  thrice  as  long  as  the  seventh  pair.  The 
generic  name,  signifying  broad-oars,  refers  to  the  flatten- 
ing of  the  penultimate  and  ante-penultimate  joints  in 
the  hinder  set  of  limbs;  and  this  widening  of  the  blades 
is  carried  in  some  species  to  a  far  greater  extent  than  in 
the  one  here  figured. 

It  may  seem  disproportionate  to  have  given  a  whole 
chapter  to  the  Isopoda,  which  to  some  readei-s  must  still 
seem  an  obscure,  insignificant  and  unimportant  order. 
A  whole  chapter  has  only  sufficed  to  indicate  the  barest 
outlines  of  classification,  the  most  obtrusive  differences 
here  and  there  in  habits  and  outward  form.  The 
internal  structure  and  the  minutiae  of  the  ever  varying 
mouth-organs  have  been  left  on  one  side,  with  much 
else.  The  fact  is  that  the  explaining  of  all  that  is  known 
on  the  subject  of  this  chapter  would  expand  into  a 
volume,  the  exploring  of  all  that  is  unknown  might 
occupy,  amuse,  and  dignify  a  lifetime. 


i^tcroscopi). 

By  John  II.  Cooke,  f.l.s.,  f.o.s. 

At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Manchester  Microscopical  Society 
Mr.  M.  L.  Sykes  contributed  a  note  on  the  methods  that  Mr.  C.  F. 
Rousselet  employs  when  preserving  and  mounting  organisms  so 
that  they  shall  retain  their  natural  forms  with  their  colours, 
muscles,  etc.  Mr.  Rousselet  exhibited  a  number  of  micro- 
scopical preparations  of  Rotatoria  at  the  International  Zoj 
logical  Congress  at  Cambridge,  which  claimed  special  notice  for 
their  beauty  and  the  success  of  the  methods  he  had  adopteJ. 
Rotifera  cannot  be  killed  suddenly,  by  any  known  process 
without  contracting  violently,  and  losing  all  of  their  natural 
appearance.  To  kill  and  preserve  them  with  their  cilia  fully  ex- 
panded and  in  their  natural  condition  Mr.  Rous.selet  first  narcotizes 
them  with  a  solution  consisting  of  3  parts  of  a  2  per  cent,  solution 
of  hydrochlorate  of  cocaine,  1  part  of  methylated  spirits,  and  6 
parts  of  water.  The  Rotifers  should  first  be  Isolated  in  a  watch 
glass  and  clean  water,  and  a  drop  or  two  drops  of  the  solution 
added  at  first,  after  five  or  ten  minutes  another  drop  should  be 
added,  and  afterwards  drop  by  drop  and  very  slowly  until  the 
animals  are  completely  narcotized.  They  may  then  be  killed  and 
fixed  by  adding  one  drop  of  an  eighth  per  cent,  to  a  quarter  per 
cent,  solution  of  osmic  acid.  To  clear  from  the  solution  they  must 
be  washed  several  times,  and  then  transferred  to  a  2^  per  cent. 


solution  of  formaldehyde,  and  should  be  mounted  in  this  fluid 
in  hollow  ground  glass  slips.  The  objects  have  all  the  appearance 
of  living  animiils,  the  colours,  internal  structure,  and  outward 
fonn  being  beautifully  preserved  in  situ. 

The  current  issue  ("Zoology")  of  the  "Journal  of  the  Linnean 
Society  "  contains,  among  other  articles  nf  interest  to  the  micro 
scopist,  a  contribution  by  Mr.  H.  Wager  on  "The  Eye  Spot  anl 
Flagellum  of  Knglena  viridis,'   and  a  paper  by  Mr.  li.  M.  IJernard 
on  "  The  Structure  of  Pontes." 

In  a  record  of  observations  on  the  microscopic  life  of  Arctic 
regions,  Ur.  Levin  states  that  air  from  numerous  localities  showed 
only  a  few  moulds.  In  water  from  the  sea-surface  bacteria  were 
always  found,  but  in  very  small  numbers — perhaps  one  thousand 
to  a  quart ;  while  water  from  glaciers,  snow  streams,  ice  and 
melted  snow,  also  gave  evidences  of  bacteria  in  small  numbeis.  In 
water  from  the  deep  sea  these  organisms  were  more  abundant 
than  on  the  surface.  With  the  exception  of  a  single  species  of 
bacterium  found  in  one  bear  and  two  seals,  the  intestinal  contents 
of  the  white  bear,  seal,  shark,  eider  duck,  and  other  Arctic 
vertebrates  were  absolutely  sterile,  but  bacteria  were  almost  in- 
variably present  in  the  lower  marine  animals.  These  observations 
on  germ-free  intestines  are  of  special  importance  and  interest,  as 
they  confirm  the  idea  of  Pasteur  and  a  few  others  that  bacteria 
are  not  essential  to  digestion. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  among  the  impurities  that  have  been 
detected  in  calcium  carbide  are  microscopic  diamonds.  These 
gems  are  so  exceedingly  small  as  to  be  of  no  commercial  value, 
but  they  accentuate  the  fact  that  carbon  in  the  crystalline  con- 
dition can  be  produced  artificially,  and  give  reason  to  the  assump- 
tion that  some  day  it  will  be  possible  to  produce  diamonds  of  a 
size  sufficient  to  be  marketable. 

In  his  Presidential  address  to  the  Quekett  Society  Dr.  Tatham 
alluded  to  the  difficulties  attending  the  use  of  realgar  as  a  mount- 
ing medium.  Its  high  refractive  index  makes  it  most  useful,  but 
its  disadvantages  are  many  and  serious.  The  fusion  of  the 
material  which  is  necessary  for  the  mounting  process  requires 
the  application  of  great  heat.  This  liberates  intensely  poisonous 
fumes,  and  frequently  so  distorts  the  valves  of  the  diatoms  that  they 
are  seldom  found  to  lie  Hat  on  the  cooling  of  the  slide.  The  colour 
of  the  finished  mount  is  a  deep  yellow,  and  this  seriously  detracts 
from  the  value  of  the  mount  for  critical  examination.  This  last 
defect  may  be  partially  rectified  by  the  use  of  suitably  coloured 
screens,  of  which  a  polished  plate  of  bright  blue  glass  has  beaa 
found  to  be  best  adapted  in  aiding  in  the  resolution  of  difficult 
tests. 

The  Cambridge  Scientific  Instrument  Company  are  introducing 
an  improved  model  of  their  well  known  rocking  microtome. 
Among  the  advantages  that  they  claim  f<jr  the  new  form  is  the 
possibility  of  cutting  sections  to  any  required  degree  of  thinness 
without  the  risk  of  the  sections  either  varying  in  thickness  or  of 
being  torn  on  the  upward  movement  of  the  object. 

In  the  epidermis  of  man  and  mammals  Professor  L.  Ranvier 
has  recognised  seven  distinct  layers,  which  are  described  to  the 
Royal  Microscopical  Society  as  stratum  germinativum,  fila  inento- 
sum,  granulosum,  intermedium,  lucidum,  corneum,  and  disjunctum, 
in  the  order  of  their  development.  The  limits  are  well  defined, 
each  layer  having  distinct  physical  characters  and  chemical  re- 
actions. These  layers  are  not  formed  by  special  elements,  however, 
and  a  cell  originating  in  stratum  germinativum  becomes  changed 
and  passes  into  stratimi  fUamentosum  and  so  on  through  the 
series. 

Mr.  J.  E.  Stead  has  recently  jjublishcd  the  results  of  the  work 
that  he  has  done  on  the  microscopic  structure  of  metals.  E.xperience 
has  made  it  ea.sy  to  cut,  grind,  polish,  and  etch  ordinary  metals  and 
alloys,  and  specimens  can  now  be  prepared  for  the  microscope  in  a 
few  minutes.  Mr.  Stead's  work  has  yielded  some  unexpected  results. 
In  a  recent  demonstration  pig-iron  was  shown  to  have  its  con- 
stituents gathered  into  separate  centres,  the  carbides  being  in 
isolated  silvery  cry.stals,  while  the  phosphorus  and  sulphur  com- 
pounds were  each  distinctly  separated.  A  brilliantly  polished  piece 
of  white  pig-iron,  containing  carbon,  sulphur  and  phosphorus,  w-as 
then  heated  until  it  became  purple.  Under  the  microscope  the 
constituents  were  found  to  have  diverse  colours,  the  iron  being  of  a 
fine  sky  blue,  the  carbides  an  orange  colour,  the  phosphides  a  pale 
brown  yellow,  and  the  sulphides  a  slaty  blue.  This  method  of 
identifying  phosphides  is  a  new  discovery  which  will  be  of  great 
value  to  iron  manufacturers  as  a  simple  means  of  telling  whether 
iron  contains  phosphorus.  The  microscoije  .shows  that  alloys, 
instead  of  being  homogeneous,  as  have  been  thought,  are  built  uj)  of 
various  ciystals,  and  is  likely  to  prove  of  practical  service  to  metal 
workers  in  many  ways. 

The  acetylene  flame  may  be  rendered  monochromatic  by  the 
interposition  of  a  screen  of  cobalt  blue  glass  between  the  light  and 
the  substage  condenser. 

The  principal  uses  of  a  light  filter  m  photomicrography  are  for 
the  correction  of  the  objective,  the  increase  of  contrast  in  the  image, 


lOfi 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[July  2,  1900. 


and  the  increase  of  resolving  power.  Dr.  S.  Czapski  has  shown 
that  the  greatest  resolving  power  is  obtained  by  using  light  of  short 
wave  length,  even  the  ultra-violet.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  blue  end  of  the  .spectrum  has  the  shortest  wave  length,  and  the 
limit  of  resolving  power  is  one-half  of  the  wave-length  "of  the  light 
used. 

In  the  course  of  his  presidential  address  to  the  Quekett  Society, 
Dr.  J.  F.  W.  Tatham  drew  attention  to  a  mounting  medium  con- 
sisting of  piperine  and  bromide  of  antimony,  witli  which  he  has 
obtained  very  satisfactory  results  when  examining  lined  tests.  The 
mixture  is  prepared  by  combining  three  parts  by  weight  of  piperine 
and  two  of  antim<  ny  bromide,  by  gently  fusing  the  mixture  over 
a  spirit  lamp,  care  being  taken  not  to  raise  the  temperature  more 
than  is  necessary  or  it  will  chnr  and  discolour.  After  the  diatoms 
have  been  spread  on  the  cover  glass  in  the  usual  way,  a  small 
portion  of  the  mixture  is  placed  between  the  cover  glass  and  the 
.slide,  and  gently  fused  until  a  thin  film  of  it  unites  the  two  surfaces. 
When  the  medium  is  set  it  mu.st  at  once  be  protected  from  the  air, 
otherwise  the  salts  will  decompose.  To  effect  this  solid  paraffin 
should  be  allowed  to  run  between  the  cover  glass  and  the  slide, 
and  the  whole  finished  off  with  a  circle  of  Hollis's  liquid  glue. 

[All  commuiiiodlions  in  reference  to  thin  Column  should  be 
addressed  to  .1/r.   J.    II.    Cooke  <it  the  Offiee  of  IvMiwi.EnGE.] 


NOTES   ON   COMETS   AND   METEORS. 

By  W.  F.  Denning,  f.r.a.s. 

GiACOBtNi's  Comet.— This  object  will  be  f.avourably  visible  :n 
July,  passing  rather  quickly  through  the  con.stellations  of  Andro 
meda,  Lacerta  and  Cygnus.  It  will  be  nearest  to  the  earth  at 
the  end  of  the  third  week  in  .July  when  it  will  be  about  twice  as 
bright  as  it  apjieared  on  the  night  (January  31)  of  its  discovery. 
The  following  is  an  ephenieris  by  Berberich  (Ast.  Nach.  3636, 
for  Berlin,  mean  midnight:—  Distance  of  Comet 

E.  A.  Dec.  in  Millions  o( 

Date,  b.   m.    s.  *  Miles. 

Julv     2  23  .S6  32  -f  42  31  ..         125 

„■      6  23  12  47   -H  44  21  ...         119 

„     10  ...  22  44  43   -I-  45  52  ...  115 

„     14  ...  22  12  29  -I-  4G  51         ...         Ill 

„     18  .  .  21  37     4-1-47     7         ...         109 

„     22  ...  21     0  16  -1    46  31         ...         108 

„     26  ...  20  24  19  -H  45     o         ...         109 

„     30  .  19  51   16  +  42  42  ...  110 

Aug.  3  ...  19  22  21  +  39  51  113 

At  noon  on  July  25  the  comet  p.isses  44'  N.  of  Alpha  Cygni, 
and  with  a  very  low  power  may  be  seen  in  the  same  field  of 
view  of  a  telescope  on  the  nights  of  July  24  and  25.  The  position 
of  the  star  (January  1,  1900)  is  R.A.  20h.  38ni.  Is.,  Dec.  -f  44°  55', 
while  the  places  of  the  comet  are — 

July  24,  R.A.  20h.  42m.  2s.,  Dec.  +  45"  52' 
„      2.5,      „      20h.  33m.  Cs.,       „     -I-  4h°  27' 
It  will   be  interesting  to  view  the  comet  and  star  if  possible, 
but  the  former  will  be  somewhat  faint,  .and  may  be  obliternteil 


^c^' 


4*^ 


+ 


s-s 


M 


^i' 


yy^S 


4- 


^if^.^' 


+)t 


Path  of  Cria'Mhiai's  Coiuot     amongst  the  Stars  of   C'vgnus  and  Lyra, 
July  18— August  7,  1900. 

in  the  glare  from  the  star.  The  comet  should  be  looked  for  with 
the  star  out  of  the  field,  and  then  the  experiment  can  be  afterwards 
tried  as  to  whether  both  objects  are  visible  together. 

Comet  1892  II.  (Denning). — M.  Fayet,  in  "Bulletin  Astrono 
mique,"  for  March,  gives  the  result  of  his  researches  as  to  the 
original   orbit   of   this   comet.     M.    Steiner   has    discussed    (Ast. 


Nach.  3472)  the  present  form  of  orbit,  and  concluded  that  it  was 
hyperbolic.  The  comet  was  observed  during  the  10  months  from 
March  18,  1892,  to  January  20,  1893.  M.  Fayet's  investigations 
show  that  it  was  origin.ally  revolving  in  an  elliptical  orbit  with 
excentricity  equal  0.998406. 

FiRED.\LT,  OF  March  28.— Prof.  A.  S.  Herschel  has  compared 
the  various  observations  of  this  brilliant  object  and  finds  that  the 
most  probable  radiant  was  at  182"  +  41",  and  the  height  of  tlic 
meteor  about  60  to  38  miles  above  Kent.  But  the  descriptions  of 
the  path  by  the  various  observers  are  inconsistent  and  lead  to 
different  results  according  to  the  interpretation  put  upon  them. 

Fireball  of  May  5,  8h.  20m. — A  very  brilliant  meteor  was 
noticed  by  many  persons  in  the  strong  twilight  of  May  5,  but,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  fireball  of  March  28th,  the  accounts  are  some- 
what discordant  and  incomjjlete  as  regards  necessary  details.  The 
following  are  extracts  from  a  few  of  the  reports  already  pub- 
lished :  — 

NoRTHANTS — Magnificent  meteor,  considerably  larger  th.m 
Venus.  Appeared  in  8.F.  sky,  and  sailed  along  the  S.  sky,  cross 
ing  the  meridian  at  about  the  altitude  of  the  celestial  equator,  ami 
finally  bursting  30  degrees  S.E.  of  the  moon.  .  Duration  5  or  6 
seconds.     "It  looked  like  a  runaway  moon  charged  with  colour." 

St.  Ai.ban's,  Herts. — Meteor  4  or  5  times  more  brilliant  than 
Venus.  It  was  first  seen  about  10  degrees  S.  of  Arcturus  and 
disappeared  about  4  degrees  N.  of  the  moon.  Dur.ition  2  or  3 
seconds.     Sky  partially  cloudy. 

Bishop's  vStortford. — Meteor  of  most  startling  and  brilliant 
nature  spread  itself  over  the  zenith.  It  had  a  tail  6  degrees  in 
length. 

Handsworth,  Birmingham. — Unusually  bright  meteor  in  the 
E.  part  of  the  heavens,  travelled  slowly  from  N.  to  S.,  appearing 
to  take  an  upward  course  of  about  45°  with  the  horizon. 

Syston. — "  A  great  luminous  ball  of  fire  "  seen  leaving  a  trail 
of  light  behind  it,  and  moving  from  E.  to  W.  in  an  almost 
horizontal  line. 

Brighton. — "  Extraordinarily  brilliant  meteor  visible  towards 
the  N.E.  It  swept  along  for  some  seconds,  now  hidden  behind 
clouds,  now  shining  out  in  the  intervals  towards  N.W.  where  it 
disappeared." 

Ebbw  Vale. — Fine  greeni.sh  meteor  moved  across  the  S.E 
heavens  very  slowly  from  S.  to  N.,  its  path  being  horizontal. 

LiDLiNGTON,  Beds. — The  body  of  the  meteor  was  of  large 
size  and  very  brilliant ;  the  tail  was  of  great  length.  Its  cour.se 
across  the  sky  from  N.E.  to  W.  occupied  3  or  4  seconds. 

Potter's  B.^r. — First  seen  in  the  direction  of  Arcturus  and 
passed  from  S.E.  to  N.W.  by  W.  Sailed  a.cross  the  zenith,  anJ 
gave  the  impression  of  descending  rapidly  earthwards,  the  head 
exploding  quite  low  down. 

OxTON,  Cheshire. — Fine  meteor  due  S.  when  first  seen,  and 
moving  slowly  towards  S.W.  ;  not  more  than  25  degrees  above 
horizon. 

Birmingh.\m. — Brilliant  meteor,  twice  as  large  as  Venus, 
"  appeared  rather  low  down  in  E.  and  was  going  almost  due  S." 
Another  observer  says  it  travelled  in  a  horizontal  line  from  E.  to 
W.  for  about  30  degrees. 

W.^LSALL. — Very  brilliant  object  gliding  gently  across  Ihn 
heavens  and  putting  Venus  completely  in  the  shade. 

There  are  some  other  accounts.  The  observers  generally  de- 
scribe the  object  as  extraordinarily  luminous,  and  moving  rather 
slow'y  in  a  horizontal  path  from  E.  to  AV.  acmss  the  S.  sky.  The 
real  path  of  the  fireball  was  from  about  64  miles  over  Canterbury, 
Kent,  to  43  miles  over  Hungerford,  Berks.  Its  length  of  cours.! 
was  at  least  112  miles,  and  velocity  about  20  miles  per  second. 
The  radiant  point  was  a  few  degrees  above  the  E.  horizon  at 
245°  -(-  5",  but  these  deductions  arc  mere  approximations. 

The  Coming  of  the  Perseids. — The  last  12  nights  of  July  will 
be  almost  free  from  moonlight,  and  an  excellent  ojiportunity  will 
be  aft'orded  for  observing  early  Perseids.  They  certainly  begin 
to  arrive  in  the  third  week  of  July,  and  it  is  important  that  the 
radiant  point  of  the  shower  should  be  determined  on  eveiT  night 
from  about  the  middle  of  July  to  the  middle  of  August.  Plentv 
of  observations  have  accumulated  for  the  first  half  of  August 
and  what  we  now  require  is  a  large  number  of  materials  for  the 
last  half  of  July.  For  this  puipose  the  sky  should  be  watched 
during  the  whole  night,  and  the  path-directions  of  the  swift 
streak-leaving  meteors  from  the  regions  of  Cassiopeia  and  Perseus 
recorded  witli  great  accuracy.  The  positions  of  the  radiant  as 
deduced  from  the  writer's  observations  in  and  since  1869  are  as 
f  oUows :  — 


Jidv  16      . 

16-6  -t   49  8 

July   31        . 

.       33-2  -f  54-4 

„      19       . 

19  7  -f  50  9 

Aug.     3       . 

367  -(-  55-2 

,,      22       . 

22-9  -t-  51  9 

„        6       . 

40  2   -h  560 

„      25       . 

26-2   -1-  52'8 

9 

43  8  -1-  56-8 

„      28       . 

.       29-6  +  53-6 

„      12        , 

.       47-5  -h  57-5 

July  2,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


1C^1 


Height  of  a  Meteok. — Real  paths  have  been  computed  at 
various  times  for  meteors  belonginc;  to  nearly  all  the  chief  showers 
of  the  year.  But  the  rich  shower  of  Aiiuarids  discovered  by 
Lieut.  Col.  Tupman  while  cruisinir  in  the  Mediterranean  in  1870, 
and  supposed  to  present  an  orbital  resemblance  to  Halley's  comet, 
had  never  supplied  a  doubly  observed  meteor  the  real  patli  of  which 
had  been  computed.  At  last,  however,  a  pair  of  good  observations 
are  forthcominc.  Prof.  A.  S.  Herschel  while  watching  the  sky 
at  Slough  on  Mav  3  at  15h.  57m.  saw  a  very  long -pathed  shooting 
star  travelling  from  291"  +  iS"  to  176°  +  "15°  in  fij  or  7  seconds, 
and  varying  in  magnitude  from  5  to  2^.  Mr.  J.  H.  Bridger,  of 
Farnborough,  was  watching  the  sky  at  the  same  time  and  ;e- 
corded  a  meteor  of  2nd  inaj.  shooting  from  31 0°  +  36"  to  179"  +  31" 
in  4  seconds.  The  end  was  not  well  seen  .is  a  tree  partially  inter- 
rupted the  view.  Prof.  Herschel's  observed  path  e.vtends  over  10,5 
degrees,  while  Mr.  Bridger"s  covers  90  degrees^  Prof.  Herschel 
carefully  noted  the  object  as  it  sailed  from  Beta  ("ygni  to  Beti 
Leonis.'and  describes  it  as  leaving  a  streiik  visible  for  one  second. 
On  comparing  the  observations  it  is  found  that,  slightly  altering 
the  Farnborough  end  point  (the  view  of  which  was  veiy  imperfect), 
they  are  in  satisfactory  agreement  and  enable  the  real  path  to  be 
derived  as  follows  :  — 


Height  at  beginning  ... 
Height  at  ending 

Length  of  path 

Telocity  per  second  (adopting 

5Js.  for  duration)   ... 
Kadiant  )K>int  ... 


."it  miles,  near  Sevenoaks,  Kent. 
49  miles,   9   miles    soutliwest 

Cardiff,  Bristol  Channel. 
\oo  miles. 

28  miles. 
337"  ±  0°. 


of 


The  meteor  therefore  pursued  a  very  long  and  almost  perfectly 
horizontal  path  from  e;ist  to  west,  the  radiant  having  but  just 
risen  in  the  east.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  the  "British 
Association  "  report  for  1875.  p.  232,  Prof.  Herschel  gave  the  dale  of 
nearest  approach  of  the  orbit  of  Halley's  comet  to  the  earth  as  May  4, 
the  radiant  point  as  337"  ±  0^,  and  tlie  meteoric  speed  as  41  miles  per 
second.  The  latter  element  differs  widely  from  the  28  miles  per 
second  found  for  the  recent  meteor,  but  its  original  velocity  in 
space  must  have  been  greatly  retarded  by  the  resistance  of  the 
earth's  atmosphere  during  it.s  very  extended  flight. 


THE  FACE   OF   THE  SKY  FOR  JULY. 

By  A.  Fowler,  f.r.a.s. 

The  Sux. — On  the  1st  the  sun  rises  at  3.49  and  sets 
at  8.19;  on  the  31st  he  rises  at  4.23  and  sets  at  7.49. 
The  earth  is  at  its  greatest  distance  from  the  sun  on  the 
2nd  at  1  p.m.,  the  sun's  apparent  diameter  then  being 
31'  30'.6. 

The  Moon. — The  moon  will  enter  first  quarter  at 
0.14  A.M.  on  the  5th;  will  be  full  at  1.22  p.m.  on  the 
12th;  will  enter  last  quarter  at  5.31  a.m.  on  the  19th; 
and  will  be  new  at  1.43  p.m.  on  the  26th. 

The  following  are  among  the  more  interesting  occulta- 
tions  during  the  month  :  — • 


a 


July  8  '  Delta  Scorpii  2  5 

,,     9    it  Ophiuchi  .V6 

,,    11    .'BSa^ttarii  60 

,,    12    Xi(2)Si4fittarii  35 

,.    14   c^  Capricomi  5  2 

„    16   16  Pisciura  5-6 


The  Planets. — Mercury  is  an  evening  star,  at  greatest 
eastern  elongation  of  26°  on  the  4th,  and  near  inferior 
conjunction  at  the  end  of  the  month. 

Venus  is  in  inferior  conjunction  on  the  8th,  after 
which  she  will  be  a  morning  star,  arriving  at  a 
stationary  point  in  Gemini  on  the  30tli. 

Mars  is  a  morning  star,  in  Taurus,  rising  about 
1.30  A.M.  on  the  1st,  and  shortly  before  1  a.m.  on  the 
31  St. 


Jupiter  may  be  observed  up  to  midnight.  He  is  near 
Beta  Scorpii  during  the  early  part  of  the  month,  and  is 
in  conjunction  with  the  moon,  1°  35'  to  the  north,  at 
1  A.M.  on  the  9th.  On  the  15th  the  apparent  diameter 
of  the  planet  is  39". 4.  The  satoUitu  phenomena  are 
most  interesting— On  the  1st  (11.39),  3rd  (8.55—11.2), 
4th  (9.2—11.16),  6lh  (11.23),  10th  (8.48—12.49),  11th 
(10—12.13),  12th  (10.25),  17th  (8.37—11.10),  19th 
(9.5—12.20),  20th  (8.30—9.35),  24th  (8.7—10.8),  and 
27th  (8.7—11.30). 

Saturn  mav  be  observed  throughout  tlie  greater  part 
of  the  night,  in  the  western  part  of  Siigitt.jtrius.  lie  will 
be  on  the  mcridi,-\n  ;it  11.27  on  the  1st,  at  10.28  on  the 
15th,  and  at  9.21  on  the  31st.  On  the  9th  the  polar 
diameter  of  the  ball  will  be  17",  ,and  the  outer  major 
and  minor  axes  of  the  ring  respectively  42". 5  and  18". 9. 
The  northern  surface  of  the  ring  is  visible. 

Uranus  is  above  the  horizon  from  the  beginning  of 
the  evening  up  to  midnight  throughout  the  month.  He 
remains  a  litlle  to  the  south-east  of  Omega  Ophiuchi. 

Neptune  is  not  observable. 

The  Stars. — About  10  p.m.,  at  the  middle  of  the 
month,  Perseus,  Andromeda,  and  Cassiopeia;  will  be  in 
the  north-east;  Cygnus  and  Pegasus  in  the  east, 
Aquila  in  the  south-east;  Lyra  nearly  overhead; 
Corona,  Libra  and  Virgo  in  the  south-west;  and  Ursa 
Major  in  the  north-west. 


C^rss  Column. 

By     C.     D.     LOCOCK,     B.A. 


Communications  for  this  column  should  be  addressed 
to  C.  D.  LococK,  Netherfield,  Camberley,  and  be  posted 
by  the  10th  of  each  month. 

Solutions   of    June    Problems. 

No.    1. 

(B.  G.  Laws.) 

[We  much  regret  that,  last  month,  this  problem  was 
incorrectly  diagrammed.  The  White  Knight  at  QRsq 
should  be  a  White  King. 

The  problem  is  reprinted  below;  solvers  who  guessed 
the  mistake  need  not  trouble  to  repeat  their  solutions, 
which  will  be  acknowledged,  with  any  others,  nest 
month.] 

No.    2. 

(W.  H.  Gundry.) 

1.  Kt  to  Kt3,  and  mates  next  move. 

Correct  Solutions  of  No.  2  received  from  W.  H. 
Brandreth,  W.  de  P.  Crousaz,  G.  A.  Forde  (Capt.), 
Alpha,  K.  W.,  H.  Le  Jeune,  J.  Baddeley. 

K.  W. — Too  late  to  acknowledge  last  month. 

W.  H.  Gundry. — Have  sent  copy  of  your  two-mover. 
Your  solutions  arrived  too  late  to  acknowledge.  Three- 
mover  appears  below. 

Otto  Schachel. — If  1.  Q  x  Q,  the  Black  Knight  moves 
and  will  cover  the  threatened  mate  at  KKt8. 

W.  Parkinson.— If  1.  Q  to  K5,  Q  to  KKtsq,  ch ! 

X.  Y.  Z.  —  The  problem  which  you  send  is  un- 
fortunately too  full  of  dual  mates  for  publication.  For 
instance  the  Knight  can  always  mate  at  Q7  wherever 
the  King  goes,  and  even  the  threat  is  a  double  one. 
In  fact  Q  X  B  and  Q  to  Q7  are  apparently  the  only 
defences  free  from  resulting  duals. 


168 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[July  2,  1900. 


PROBLEMS. 

No.    1. 

By  B.  G.  Laws. 

Black  (S). 


M"''W,     ^     Mi     fM 


White  (10). 

White   mates   in  three   moves. 

No.   2. 
By  W.  H.  Gundry  (Exeter). 


White  (0) 

White  mates  in  three  moves. 

Mr.  J.  K.  Macmeikan,  of  Repton  School,  honours  me 
by  the  dedication  of  the  following  subtle  stratagem  :  — 
While— K  at  QBsq,  R  at  KR6,  B  at  K5  and  KB7,  Kt 
at  Q3  and  QB6.  P  at  KR3  and  QB2.  Black— Y^  at 
QB6,  R  at  Q5,  P  at  KR4  and  QR3.  White  compels 
Black  to  mate  in  seven  moves. 


CHESS  INTELLIGENCE. 


Mr.  H,  N.  Pillsbury  has  beaten  all  records  for  blind- 
fold play  by  engaging  in  20  games  simultaneously  at 
the  Franklin  Chess  Club,  Philadelphia,  on  April  28th 
last.  His  score  was — won  14,  drawn  5,  lost  L  Con- 
sidering that  his  opponents  included  such  well  known 
players  as  S.  W.  Bampton,  C.  J.  Newman,  and  W.  P. 
Shipley,  Mr.  Pillsbury 's  performance  must  be  regarded 
as  brilliant  in  the  extreme.  Dr.  Zukcrtort  once  played 
16  games  blindfold,  but  no  other  player,  we  believe, 
has  played  so  many — certainly  not  more — till  Mr.  Pills- 
bury finally  eclipsed  all  previous  performances. 

A  correspondence  match  of  two  games  is  in  progress 
between  the  "Vienna  Chess  Club  and  the  French  Chess 
Association.  The  openings  are  the  Four  Knights 
Game  and  the  French  Defence.  Mr.  Steinitz  has  been 
playing   his   own   gambit   by   correspondence   with    the 


Liverpool  Chess  Club,  with  the  view  of  testing  a  new 
departure  for  White  at  move  9.  Mr.  Steinitz  was 
mated  on  the  34th  move. 

The  Paris  international  tournament  has  been  making 
rather  slow  progress  owing  to  the  frequent  holidays. 
The  full  score  will  be  given  next  month.  Messrs.  Lasker 
and  Pillsbury  have  been  in  fine  fomi,  but  the  latter  lost 
to  Mr.  F.  J.  Marshall,  the  winner  of  the  minor  tourna- 
ment in  London.  Mr.  Marshall's  play  has  so  far  been 
the  feature  of  the  meeting.  The  other  players  are 
Maroczy,  Burn,  Schlechter,  Janowski,  Tchigorin,  Mason, 
Mieses,  Marco,  Mortimer,  Brody,  Showalter,  Sterling, 
Didicr,  and  Rosen.  Mr.  Blackburne  was  unfortunately 
prevented  from  entering  owing  to  serious  trouble  with 
his  eyes.  Hcrr  Marco  is  scoring  uncommonly  well,  but 
Herr  Schlechter  is  losing  far  more  games  than  is  usual 
with  him.  Janowski  has  had  a  bad  time  lately,  but 
Mieses  is  still  doing  well.  Herr  Lasker  holds  the  lead 
and  is  certain  of  the  first  prize. 

The  score  of  the  following  game  is  from  Th(  Field :  — 


White. 

Black. 

Schleclitcr. 

Sliowalter. 

1.  P  to  K4 

1.  PtoK4 

2.  Kt  to  KB3 

2.  Kt  to  QB3 

3.  B  to  KtS 

3.  Kt  to  B3 

4.  Castles 

4.  Kt  takes  P 

5.  P  to  Q4 

5.  Kt  to  Q3 

6.  B  takes  Kt 

6.  QP  takes  B 

7.  P  takes  P 

7.  Kt  to  B4 

8.  Q  takes  Qch 

8.  K  takes  Q 

9.  Kt  to  B3 

9.  P  to  KE3 

10.  R  to  Qch. 

10.  K  to  Ksq 

11.  PtoQKtS 

11.  B  to  K3 

12.  B  to  Kt2 

12.  R  fo  Qsq 

13.  Kt  to  K2 

13.  P  to  KKt4 

14.  P  to  KKt4 

14.  Kt  to  Kt2 

15.  P  to  KR3 

15.  B  to  K2 

16.  KKt  to  Q4 

16.  P  to  KR4 

17.  P  to  KB3 

17.  P  to  QR3 

18.  Kt  to  Kt3 

18.  P  takes  P 

19.  RP  takes  P 

19.  R  to  R6 

20.  K  to  Kt2 

20.  B  to  QBsq 

21.  KtQ4to  B5 

21.  B  takes  Kt 

22.  Kt  takes  B 

22.  Kt  takes  Kt 

23.  P  takes  Kt 

23.  B  to  B4 

24.  R  takes  Rcli 

24.  K  takes  R 

25.  R  to  Ksq 

25.  R  to  KB5 

26.  P  to  B6 

26.  K  to  Q2 

27.  B  to  Bsq 

27.  R  to  B4 

28.  K  to  Kt3 

28.  KtoK3 

29.  B  to  Kt2 

29.  P  to  QKt4 

30.  R  to  Qsq 

30.  B  to  K6 

31.  R  to  Q8 

31.  B  to  BSch 

82.  K  to  Kt4 

32.  Resigns 

For  Contents  of  the  Two  last  Numbers  of  "  Knowledge,"  see 

Advertisement 

pages. 

The  yearly  boimd  volcunea  of  Knowledge,  cloth  gilt,  8s.  6d,,  post  free. 
Binding  Cases,  Is.  6d.  each  ;  post  free.  Is.  9d. 

Subscribers'  numbers  bound  (including  case  and  Index),  2s.  6d.  each  volome. 
Index  of  Articles  and  Illuijtrationa  for  1891,  1892,  1894,  1895,  1896,  1897,  and 
1898  can  be  supplied  for  3d.  each. 
All  remittances  should  be  made  payable  to  the  Publisher  of  "  KHOWLEnoE." 


**  Knowledge "    Annual    Subscription,   throaghout   the    world, 
7s.  6d.,  post  free. 

Commnuications  for  the  Editors  and  Hooka  for  Review  should  be  addressed 
Editors,  "  Knowudge,"  326,  Hi4fh  Ilulbom,  Loudon,  W.C. 


August  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


109 


ILLUSTRATED  MAGAZINE 

^iCiENCEJlTERATlliytART. 

Founded  by  RICHARD    A.    PROCTOR. 
LONDON:    AUGUST  1,   1900. 


CONTENTS. 

■ — »  ) 

The   Great   Indian   Earthquake  of  1897.    By  Chahles 

Davison.  sr.D.,  f.o.s.     (Ilhs/rafeil) 
The  Evolution  of  Simple  Societies.  — IV.  The  Beginning 

of   Agriculture.       ll_v  I'lvf.  Alfbkh  C.  Haddon,  m.a., 

SlMl..  F.K.S. 

Astronomy  without  a  Telescope. — VII.  Meteors: — 
The  Perseids.     B_v  K.   Walter  AIaundke    f.r.a.s.    ... 

The  Total  Solar  Eclipse  of  1900,  May  28.  By  E. 
Walter  MArxDER,  F.R.A.S.      {Illustrated) 

The  Corona  of  1900.  May  28  (S.W.  Quadrant).  (Plate) 
Some    Early   Theories   on   Fermentation. — II.     By   W. 

Stanley  Smith.  rn.D. 
British   Ornithological    Notes.      Conducted  by  Habbt  F. 

WiTHBBBT,    P.Z.S.,    M.B.O.U.    ...  

Notices  of  Books  

Books  Kbceited        

Letters : 

Mental  Pebspectitb.  By  W.  -Vlfeed  Paer  (Illus- 
trated)        

Lichen  Growing  on  Quartz.  By  J.  Alexandre  Cook 
Wireless  Telegraphy. — III.  Mechanical  Representations 

of  Electric  Actions.     Bv  G.  W.  de  Tcnzelmann,  b..sc. 

(Illustrated)       " 

The  Land  of  the  Bastides.  By  GEENriLLE  A.  J.  Cole, 
M  B.I.A.,  P.G.S 

Microscopy.     By  John  n.  Cooke,  f.l.s.,  f.g.s. 

Notes  on  Comets  and    Meteors.      By  W.  F.  DENNiNa, 

P.B-A.S 

The  Face  of  the  Sky  for  August.     By  A.  Fowlbe,  f.b.a.s. 
Chess  Column.    By  C.  D.  Locock,  b.a.  


Ki!) 

171 
17t 
17.5 

179 

ISO 

181 

182 


183 
183 


184 

187 
189 

190 
191 
191 


THE  GREAT  INDIAN  EARTHQUAKE  OF  1897. 

By  Charles   Davison,   sc.d.,  f.g.s. 

{Concluded  from  page  1.50.) 

Effects    of   the    Earthquake. 

Fissures. — Prominent  among  the  earthquake  effects 
are  the  fissures  formed  in  alluvial  plains.  Mr.  Oldham 
estimates  that,  where  the  necessai-y  conditions  prevail, 
fissures  were  fairly  frequent  over  a  region  which  measures 
about  400  miles  from  east  to  west,  and  about  350  miles 
from  north  to  south,  and  present  in  smaller  numbers  over 
one  nearly  600  miles  in  length  from  east  to  west.  They 
were  naturally  more  numerous  near  river-channels  and 
reservoirs,  on  account  of  the  absence  of  lateral  support, 
and  as  a  rule  were  parallel  to  the  edge  of  the  bank, 
a  few  hundred  yards  in  length,  and  varying  in  width 
from  a  few  inches  to  four  or  five  feet. 

Fissures  in  such  positions  are  usually  formed  during 
every  severe  earthquake.  But  an  interesting  poiuu 
established  by  the  Indian  earthquake  is  that  they  wei'e 
also  found  in  places  far  removed  from  any  water-channel 
or  excavation;   sometimes  running  parallel  to,  and  along 


cither  side  of,  a  road  or  embankment;  at  other  times 
skirting  the  foot  of  hills ;  but  in  every  case  clearly  due 
to  the  compression  of  the  alluvium  during  the  passage 
of  the  earth-waves. 

JFany  other  evidences  of  the  same  compression  were 
observed.  Telegraph  posts  were  displaced  sometimes  as 
much  as  ten  or  fifteen  feet.  In  one  part  of  the  Assam- 
Bengal  railway,  the  whole  embankment,  including 
borrow-pits  and  trees  on  cither  side,  was  shifted  laterally 
through  a  distance  of  6  ft.  9  ins.  Rice-fields  in  Northern 
Bengal,  Lower  Assam,  etc.,  which  had  been  carefully 
levciled  so  that  they  might  be  uniformly  flooded,  were 
thrown  into  gentle  undulations,  the  crests  of  which  were 
occasionally  two  or  three  feet  above  the  hollows.  The 
piers  of  bridges  were  moved  alongside,  as  well  as 
towards,  the  stream.  Rails  were  bent  over  an  un- 
usu.allv  large  area,  the  compression  caused  by  the  crump- 
ling being  always  compensated  by  expansion  elsewhere. 

Sand-Vents,  etc. — "  Innumerable,  jets  of  water,  like 
fountains  playing,  spouted  up  to  heights  vaiying  from 
18  inches  to  quite  Z\  or  4  feet.  Wherever  this  had 
occurred,  the  land  was  afterwards  seen  to  occupy  a 
sandy  circle  with  a  depression  in  its  centre.  These 
circles  ranged  from  2  to  6  and  8  feet  in  diameter,  and 
were  to  be  seen  all  over  the  country."  This  was  at 
Dhubri,  within  the  epicentral  area.  At  Maimansingh, 
close  to  the  south  of  the  same  area,  these  miniature 
craters  seem  to  have  been  almost  equally  numerous, 
fifty-two  being  counted  within  an  area  100  yards  long 
and  about  20  feet  wide.  In  many  districts,  trunks  of 
trees  or  lumps  of  coal  and  fossil  resin  were  ejected  with 
the  water,  and  even,  in  one  or  two  cases,  pebbles  of 
hard  i-ock  weighing  as  much  as  half-a-pound. 

Over  a  large  area,  river-channels,  tanks,  wells,  etc., 
were  filled  up,  partly  by  the  out^pouring  of  the  sand, 
but  chiefly  by  the  forcing  up  of  the  bottoms.  That 
the  latter  was  the  more  effective  cause  is  proved  by 
the  elevation  of  the  central  piers  of  many  bridges  cross- 
ing canals  or  streams.  In  this  way,  channels  of  from 
1,5  to  20  feet  in  depth  were  obliterated,  the  bottoms 
being  left  level  with  the  banks  on  either  side. 

Immediately  after  the  earthquake,  the  surface  of 
many  rivers  rose  from  two  to  ten  feet,  falling  again  to 
the  nonnal  level  in  the  course  of  a  few  days. 

Landslips. — Wherever  the  conditions  were  favourable, 
over  an  area  not  less  than  300  miles  in  length,  numerous 
landslips  occurred.  At  Cherrapunji,  which  is  within 
the  epicentral  area,  there  appeared  to  be  more  landslip 
than  untouched  hillside.  Near  the  same  district  is  a 
small  valley,  which,  according  to  Mr.  Oldham,  was  "  an 
indescribable  scene  of  desolation.  Evervwhere  the  hill- 
sides facing  the  valley  have  been  stripped  bare  from  crest 
to  base.  ...  At  the  bottom  of  the  valley  was  a  piled 
up  heap  of  dehris  and  broken  trees,  while  the  old  stream 
course  had  been  obliterated,  and  the  stream  could  be 
seen  flowing  over  a  sandy  bed,  which  must  have  been 
raised  many  feet  above  the  level  of  the  old  watercourse." 
Fofafion  of  Pillars,  etc. — At  Chatak,  which  is  close 
to  the  epicentral  area,  is  an  obelisk,  built  of  broad 
flat  bricks  or  tiles  on  a  base  12  feet  square  and  originally 
more  than  60  feet  high.  This  was  split  by  the  earthquake 
into  four  portions.  The  two  upper  pieces,  about  6  and 
9  feet  long,  were  thrown  down ;  while  the  third,  22 
feet  long,  remains  standing,  but  has  been  twisted  through 
an  angle  of  30°  with  respect  to  the  lowest  part,  which 
is  unmoved. 

Since  the  great  Calabrian  earthquake  of  1783,  this 
effect  of  a  strong  shock  has  been  well  known,  and  very 


170 


KNOWLEDGE 


[August  1,  1900. 


many  examples  have  been  recorded.  Its  interest  lies 
chiefly  in  the  difficulty  of  finding  a  satisfactory  explana- 
tion, or  rather  in  deciding  which  of  three  or  four 
possible  explanations  is  the  true  one  in  any  particular 
case.  The  numerous  observations  which  Mr.  Oldham 
has  collected  show  that,  during  the  Indian  earthquake, 
neighbouring  objects  similarly  placed  were  generally, 
but  not  always, 'twisted  in  the  same  direction;  and  he 
adopts  the  view,  at  which,  however,  he  arrived  inde- 
pendently, that  rotation  is  chiefly  due  to  changes  in  the 
direction  of  the  shock.  The  detached  part  of  the 
pillar,  he  believes,  is  tilted  on  one  edge,  and  then, 
before  it  has  ceased  to  rock,  is  twisted  about  that  edge 
by  later  movements  taking  place  in  different  directions. 

Structure  of  the  Epicentral  District. 
A  large  part  of  the  epicentral  district  is  situated  in 
a  group  of  hills  lying  to  the  south  of  the  Brahmaputra 
valley,  to  which  the  name  of  the  Assam  Range  has  been 
given.  "  It  is  an  elevated  tract  composed  of  crystalline 
gneissic  and  granitic  rocks,  with  some  metamorphic 
schists  and  quartzite,  which  carries  a  varying  thickness 
of  cretaceovis  and  tertiary  rocks  along  its  southern 
edge."  Mr.  Oldham  distinguishes  three  stages  in  the 
history  of  the  range.  There  was  first  an  old  land- 
surface  which,  in  course  of  time,  was  worn  down  by 
rain  and  rivers  till  they  almost  ceased  to  affect  its 
form.  Traces  of  this  surface  are  still  visible  in  the 
plateau  character  of  the  mass.  It  was  then  elevated, 
not  uniformly,  but  along  a  series  of  faults,  so  that  it 
consists  now  of  a  succession  of  ranges,  the  face  of  each 
range  being  a  fault-scarp,  and  its  crest  the  edge  of  an 
adjoining  plateau  sloping  away  from  the  summit.  With 
this  elevation  began  the  third  and  last  stage.  The 
streams  were  able  to  work  again,  and  deep  gorges  were 
carved  out  of  the  range,  so  far  that  in  parts  its  original 
character  is  nearly  effaced.  But  the  retention  of  that 
character  in  other  districts  is  of  course  evidence  of  the 
comparatively  recent  period  of  the  final  elevation. 

Permanent    Changes    in    the    Epicentral    Area. 

Faults  and  fractures  in  the  earth's  crust  are  among 
the  most  remarkable  of  these  disturbances.  They  are 
quite  distinct  from  the  fissures  which  occur  m 
alluvial  ground.  The  former  are  of  deep-seated,  the 
latter  of  superficial,  origin  ;  the  one  are  connected  with 
the  causes  of  the  earthquake,  the  other  are  merely  its 
effects.  The  longest  of  these  faults  was  traced  by  Mr. 
Oldham  in  the  Chedrang  valley  (about  35  miles  north- 
east of  Tura)  for  a  distance  of  twelve  miles  or  more. 
Running  in  a  nearly  straight  path  from  S.S.E.  to 
N.N.W.,  the  fault  is  crossed  about  a  dozen  times  by 
the  river,  which  at  these  points  is  either  broken  into 
waterfalls  or  ponded  back  by  the  vertical  face  of  the 
fault.  Pools  of  some  extent  are  also  formed  by  the 
blocking  of  the  drainage  in  the  western  tributarv 
valleys;  for,  wherever  a  change  of  level  is  perceptible, 
it  is  always  the  rock  on  the  east  side  of  the  fault  that 
has  been  elevated  with  respect  to  the  other.  The  throw, 
or  amount  of  elevation,  varies  considerably;  the  highest 
measured  being  35  feet.  In  two  places,  it  falls  as  low 
as  zero;  and  here  are  formed  broad  sheets  of  water 
chiefly  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  fault,  and  blocked, 
not  by  the  fault-scarp  itself,  but  by  the  undulation  in 
the  surface  of  the  ground  due  to  the  increase  of  throw 
further  down  the  valley. 

Another  fault-scarp,  described  by  Mr.  Oldham,  is  'Ih 
miles  in  length,  with  a  maximum  throw  of  10  feet.  There 
are  also  fractures  along  which  the  throw  is  either  very 
small  or  imperceptible.  The  largest  of  these  is  the  BorJ- 


war  fracture,  about  fifty  miles  east  of  the  Chedrang  fault. 
Near  Bordwar,  it  crosses  a  low  hill  of  gneiss,  which  it 
has  rent  in  two.  In  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of 
the  fracture,  the  violence  of  the  shock  was  extreme. 
Trees  were  overthrown  or  killed  as  they  stood,  and  huge 
masses  of  rock  were  rolled  down  the  slope.  When  the 
hill  is  left,  the  course  of  the  fracture  can  be  followed 
for  a  total  length  of  about  seven  miles,  being  marked 
by  landslips  or  by  bands  along  which  trees  have  been 
snapped  across  or  overthrown. 

While  the  crust  was  thus  fractured  without  per- 
ceptible change  of  level,  it  was,  in  other  places,  thrown 
into  long  low  folds  which  are  apparently  independent 
of  faults.  These  are  most  easily  detected  when  they 
cross  the  beds  of  rivers  and  are  sufficient  to  reverse  the 
direction  of  the  drainage.  There  are  then  formed 
small  lakes  or  pools,  like  the  two  which  occur  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Chedrang  fault.  About  15  or  20  miles 
to  the  south  of  this  fault,  there  is  a  group  of  such  pools, 
a  mile  or  more  in  length.  The  depth  of  the  water  in- 
creases gradually  from  both  ends,  until  it  reaches  from 
10  to  18  feet,  and  here  may  be  seen  trees  and  clumps 
of  bamboos  standing  in  the  water  and  killed  by  the 
immersion  of  their  roots. 

There  are,  again,  other  facts  which  point  to  changes 
of  level  having  taken  place  over  a  wide  area.  From 
Mao-phlang,  near  Shillong,  a  road  leads  to  the 
neighbouring  station  of  Mairang.  Before  the  earth- 
quake, only  a  short  stretch  of  this  road  could  be  seen, 
where  it  rounde3  a  spur  at  about  three  miles'  distance. 
Now,  a  much  longer  stretch  is  visible,  and  it  can  also  be 
seen  passing  round  the  next  spur.  From  a  road  about 
five  miles  from  the  southern  end  of  the  Chedrang  fault, 
it  used  to  be  only  just  possible  to  see  the  Brahmaputra 
over  an  intei-vening  hill ;  now,  the  whole  width  of  the 
river  has  come  into  view.  At  Tura,  which  is  95  miles 
west  of  Mao-phlang,  a  battalion  of  military  police  were 
accustomed  to  signal  by  heliograph  with  another  station, 
Rowmari,  15  miles  further  to  the  west.  This,  formerly, 
could  just  be  done  by  means  of  a  ray  which  grazed  a 
hill  between  the  two  places ;  it  can  now  be  done  quite 
easily,  and,  in  addition,  a  broad  stretch  of  the  plains 
east  of  the  Brahmaputra  is  visible  from  the  same  spot. 
Thus,  we  see  that  the  permanent  changes  have  taken 
place  over  the  northern  part  of  the  Assam  Hills  for 
a  distance  of  about  a  hundred  miles  from  east  to  west. 

During  the  cold  weather  of  1897-1898,  a  revision  of 
certain  triangles  was  carried  out  by  the  Survey,  but 
they  were  limited  to  the  eastern  part  of  the  epicentral 
area,  as  the  focus  was  at  that  time  supposed  to  lie 
under  the  Khasi  Hills.  Of  the  16  sides,  only  one  was 
apparently  unaltered  in  length,  two  were  shortened  by 
an  inch  or  two,  while  the  others  were  all  lengthened 
by  amounts  varying  from  one  to  eight  or  nine  feet. 
The  heights  of  most  of  the  stations  were  also  found  to 
be  increased,  one,  close  to  a  conspicuous  fault-scarp,  by 
as  much  as  24  fact.  Unfortunately,  all  of  these  figures 
are  rendered  uncertain  by  the  choice  of  the  statiojs 
which  form  the  extremities  of  the  new  base-line.  One  of 
them  lies  inside  the  epicentral  area,  and  the  other  out- 
side, the  line  joining  them  limning  nearly  north  and 
south.  But,  as  compression  in  this  direction  is  to  be 
expected,  it  is  probable  that  this  line  has  been  shortened, 
and  the  assumption  that  its  length  was  unchanged  would 
therefore  lead  to  an  ajiparent  expansion  of  all  the  other 
.sides.  The  only  result  of  the  re-survey  is  thus  to  place 
beyond  doubt  the  fact  that  very  important  changes  of 
some  kind  have  taken  place  since  the  survey  was  first 
made  in  1860. 


August  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


171 


Origin  of  the  Earthquake. 

The  above  facts  all  point  to  a  complex  origin  of  tho 
eaa-thqiiake.  There  may  have  been  a  number  of  com- 
pletelv  separated  foci,  giving  rise  to  a  group  of  nearly 
concuiTcnt  shocks.  Or,  and  this  is  a  far  more  probable 
supposition,  there  may  have  been  one  great  deep-seated 
focus,  from  which  off-shoots  ran  up  towards  the  surface. 

As  Mr.  Oldham  points  out,  we  have  recently  become 
acquainted  with  a  structure  exactly  corresponding  to 
that  which  is  here  inferred.  The  great  thrust-planes, 
so  typically  developed  in  the  Scottish  Highlands,  arc 
onlv  reversed  faults  which  arc  nearly  horizontal  in- 
stead of  being  highly  inclined ;  but  they  are  accom- 
panied by  a  number  of  ordinary  reversed  faults  running 
upwards  to  the  surface.     In  Fig.  2,  the  main  features 


T  T  T  T 

Fio.  2. — Diagram  of  Thrust-pUnes  and  llinor  Thrusts. 

of  a  section  drawn  by  the  Geological  Survey  of  Scotland 
are  reproduced ;  TT  representing  thrust-planes,  and  tt 
minor  thrusts  or  faults.  A  great  movement  along  one 
of  the  main  thrustrplanes  could  not  occur  without  corre- 
sponding slips  along  many  of  the  secondary  planes.  No 
direct  effect  of  the  former  might  be  visible  at  the 
surface  except  in  the  horizontal  displacements  that 
would  be  rendered  manifest  by  a  trigonometrical  survey  ; 
whereas  the  latter  might  or  might  not  reach  the  surface, 
giving  rise  in  the  one  case  to  fissures  and  faults,  and 
in  the  other  to  local  changes  of  level. 

This,  it  should  be  remarked,  is  only  a  probable  ex- 
planation. Others  might  be  offered  that  would  account 
equally  well  for  some  of  the  phenomena,  but  none,  Mr. 
Oldham  thinks,  so  completely  for  all  the  facts  observed. 

If  the  main  part  of  the  focus  were  continuous,  as  this 
theory  would  imply,  its  enormous  dimensions  will  be 
evident  from  the  facts  that  have  been  described.  Mr. 
Oldham  has  traced  the  probable  form  of  the  epicentre. 
It  may  not  be  quite  so  simple  or  symmetrical  as  is 
represented  by  the  continuous  line  in  Fig.  1,  but  there 
are  good  reasons  for  thinking  that  it  does  not  differ 
sensibly  either  in  size  or  form  from  that  laid  down. 
The  part  of  the  thrust-plane  over  which  movement  took 
place  must  therefore  have  been  about  200  miles  long, 
not  less  than  50  miles  wide,  and  between  6000  and 
7000  square  miles  in  area.  With  regard  to  its  depth, 
we  have  no  decisive  knowledge.  It  may  have  been 
about  five  miles  or  less ;  it  can  hardly  have  been  much 
greater. 

It  is  a  strain  on  the  imagination  to  try  to  picture  the 
displacement  of  so  huge  a  mass.  We  may  think,  if 
we  please,  of  a  layer  of  rock,  three  or  four  miles  in 
thickness  and  large  enough  to  reach  from  Dover  to 
Exeter  in  one  direction,  and  from  London  to  Brighton 
in  the  other,  not  slipping  intermittently  in  different 
places,  but  giving  way  almost  instantaneously  through- 
out its  whole  extent;  crushing  all  before  it,  both  solid 
rock  and  earthy  ground  indifferently;  and,  whether 
by  the  sudden  spring  of  the  entire  mass  or  by  the  jar 
of  its  hurtling  fragments,  shattering  the  strongest  work 
oi  human  hands  as  easily  as  the  frailest.  Such  a  blow 
might  well  be  sensible  over  half  a  continent,  and  give 
rise  to  undulations,  which,  unseen  and  unfelt,  might 
wend  their  way  round  the  globe. 


THE     EVOLUTION     OF     SIMPLE    SOCIETIES. 

By  Professor  Alfred  C.  IlAnnoN,  m.a.,  sc.d.,  f.r.s. 

IV.— THE   BEGINNING   OF   AGRICULTURE. 

The  origin  of  agriculture  is  lost  in  the  mists  of  antiquity. 
We  know  that  in  Neolithic  times  in  Europe,  eight  kinds 
of  cereals  were  cultivated,  besides  flax,  peas,  poppies, 
apples,  pcai-s,  bull  ace-plums,  etc. ;  at  the  same  time 
various  animals  were  domesticated.  Among  these  were 
hoi-ses,  short-hornod  oxen,  horned  sheep,  goats,  two 
breeds  of  pigs,  and  dogs.  Professor  W.  Boyd  Dawkins 
says  that  evidence  goes  to  show  that  these  animals  were 
not  domesticated  in  Europe,  but  probably  in  the  central 
plateau  of  Asia.  He  also  thinks  that  agriculture  arose 
in  the  south  and  east  of  Europe  and  spread  gradually 
to  the  centre,  north,  and  west.  However  this  may  have 
been,  the  growth  of  agriculture  was  in  all  likelihood 
slow,  and  some  peoples  do  not  take  at  all  kindly  to  it. 

Wo  have  already  seen  that  a  hunting  population  is 
often  very  averse  to  even  the  slight  amount  of  work 
that  agriculture  requires  in  a  tropical  country.  The 
same  holds  good,  as  a  rule,  for  pastoral  communities. 
In  all  cases  a  powerful  constraint  is  necessary  to  force 
these  peoples  into  uncongenial  employment.  Fate  is 
stronger  than  will,  and  at  various  periods,  in  different 
climes,  hunters  and  herders  have  been  forced  to  till 
the  soil. 

In  the  New  World  there  were  no  domestic  animals 
in  pre-Columbian  times.  Owing  to  the  absence  of  the 
horse,  the  bison  that  roamed  in  countless  numbers  over 
the  prairies  could  not  be  herded.  On  foot  the  intrepid 
Redskins  tracked  and  slew  with  bow  and  arrow  the  big 
cattle  they  could  not  tame.  When  the  horse  arrived, 
the  Redskins,  or  Amerinds  (as  our  American  colleagues 
now  term  them  and  all  other  autocthonous  tribes),  were 
too  inveterate  hunters  to  change  their  mode  of  life. 

Over  a  considerable  portion  of  America  maize  was 
cultivated  from  unknown  antiquity,  and  other  food 
plants  and  cotton  were  grown  in  suitable  localities.  It 
is  doubtful  whether  the  ancient  civilizatipns  of  Mexico 
and  Peru  could  have  arisen  had  it  not  been  for  the 
cultivation  of  maize.  Certainly  they  would  have  been 
impossible  but  for  agriculture. 

In  the  West  Pacific,  again,  there  are  no  domestic 
animals  to  speak  of,  no  horses,  cattle,  sheep  nor  goats ; 
the  natives  are  fishers  and  hunters  who  have  taken  to 
a  simple  kind  of  agriculture,  or  it  might  more  correctly, 
perhaps,  be  termed,  horticulture,  as  no  cereals  are  grown, 
not  even  rice,  but  only  root  crops  such  as  yams,  sweet 
potatoes,  and  taro ;  the  banana  is  the  only  fruit  tree 
that  is  cultivated  in  the  true  sense  of  the  term,  though 
the  cocoanut,  areca  palm,  bread-fruit,  and  a  few  other 
trees  are  grown.  To  take  one  example,  the  naked 
savages  of  Kiwai  Island,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Fly  River 
in  British  New  Guinea,  cultivate  thirty-six  varieties  of 
bananas,  twenty  kinds  of  yams,  and  ten  sorts  of  sweet 
potatoes,  all  of  which  have  distinct  names.  Their  only 
domestic  animals  are  the  pig  and  the  dingo. 

We  have  seen  in  the  previous  article  how  the  deserts 
of  Arabia  and  Sahara  predispose  the  populations  to 
commerce  through  the  insufficiency  of  pasturage,  and 
the  organisationof  the  tribe  educates  the  chiefs  in  the 
exercise  of  government. 

The  passage  of  these  populations  to  a  sedentary  life 
is  effected  in  the  oases.  These  islands  of  vegetation  in 
the  desert  are  artificial.  Created  by  man  they  disappear 
if  not  maintained  by  constant  care.  The  creation  of  an 
oasis    is    a   particularly    difficult    enterprise.        In    this 


172 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[Adgust  1,  1900. 


burning  climate,  where  rain  is  scarce,  it  is  necessary 
to  iind  a  place  containing  a  subterranean  supply  of 
water  before  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  is  possible. 
Thanks  to  the  impermeability  of  the  sub-soil,  there  are, 
below  the  arid  wastes,  distinct  tracts  along  which  water 
is  always  procurable.  It  is  first  necessary  to  bring  the 
water  to  the  surface  and  to  direct  it  to  the  spots  to  be 
watered. 

Sahara  is  not  simply  a  great  sea  of  sand,  unsuitable 
for  cultivation.  In  reality,  over  large  areas  the  soil 
is  composed  of  arable  land  of  excellent  quality,  which 
solely  requires  moisture  to  make  it  very  fruitful.  Not 
only  must  the  water  be  raised,  but  the  watercourses 
must  be  protected  against  the  invasion  of  the  sand, 
which  is  a  constant  menace  to  agriculture.  To  under- 
take such  difficult  and  complicated  work,  especially  by 
herders  who  are  but  little  inclined  naturally  to  tedious 
and  protracted  labour,  these  people  must  have  gi-eat 
interest  in  creating  oases. 

This  interest  is  not  far  to  seek.  The  deserts  of 
Arabia  and  Sahara  are  not  habitable  without  resting 
places  for  re-victualling.  They  are  the  countries  of 
hunger  and  thirst,  but  in  spite  of  all  this  man  has  had 
a  prime  interest  in  travelling  through  *-hese  deserts,  for 
it  is  beyond  them  that  the  richest  countries  of  the 
world  lie — the  tropical  countries  that  produce  perfumes, 
ivory,  ebony,  gold,  precious  stones,  gum,  and,  above  all, 
spices.  It  was  to  reach  these  fortunate  regions  that  so 
many  maritime  expeditions  were  undertaken  in  the 
fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries — voyages  made  famous 
by  Vasco  de  Gama,  Christopher  Columbus,  and  all  their 
glorious  lineage  of  navigators.  It  was  in  seeking  the 
country  of  spices  by  an  eastern  route  that  Vasco  de 
Gama  doubled  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  discovered 
the  direct  route  to  Arabia  and  the  Indies.  It  was  in 
seeking  the  same  country  by  a  western  route  that 
Christopher  Columbus  discovered  America.  Tliese 
different  tropical  products  were  of  a  character  eminently 
suited  for  transport,  as  they  were  of  great  value  and  of 
small  bulk,  and  the  value  was  formerly  many  times 
greater  than  it  is  to-day. 

The  desert,  notwithstanding  all  difficulties  of  com- 
munication, offered  more  facilities  than  the  sea  to  early 
man ;  it  had,  in  fact,  three  manifest  advantages  over  the 
Mediterranean. 

1.  The  desert  penetrates  further  into  the  interior  of 
the  countries.  It  is  several  -times  larger  than  the 
Mediterranean,  and  therefore  can  tap  more  countries ; 
it  reaches  to  precisely  those  richest  countries  that  the 
Mediterranean  does  not  touch. 

2.  The  desert  does  not  oblige  the  pastor  to  seriously 
modify  his  mode  of  life.  In  order  to  traverse  the  desert 
it  is  certainly  necessaiy  to  arrange  the  journey  in  stages, 
but  these  stages  once  created,  the  pastor  can  live  his 
old  life. 

3.  A  numerous  troop  can  cross  the  desert.  They 
travel  in  caravans  for  greater  safety  and  defence  against 
possible  attacks.  Contrast  this  numerous  troop  with 
the  smaller  number  who  manned  the  ships  of  the 
Phoenicians  and  other  primitive  navigators  of  the 
Mediterranean,  who  in  those  early  days  had  each 
evening  to  find  a  spot  sufficiently  sheltered  to  disem- 
bark; then  they  drew  their  ships  ashore,  often  to  find 
themselves  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  natives.  Such  are 
the  reasons  which  caused  early  man  to  travel  over  the 
desert  before  voyaging  over  and  utilising  the  sea.  But 
this  crossing  of  the  desert  was  not  possible,  and  is  not 
possible  to-day,  without  the  establishment  of  resting 
places.        Who   could   undertake    the    establishment   of 


oases  in  a  society  of  herders  divided  up  into  autono- 
mous and  often  inimical  tribes? 

One  can  reply  without  hesitation.  It  was  a  group  of 
men  who,  in  the  present  and  as  far  back  in  the  past  as 
records  go,  appeai-ed  always  as  the  unique,  uncontested, 
and  omnipotent  dominator  and  civilizer  of  the  desert. 
This  group  does  not  belong  \o  one  tribe  in  particular, 
but  it  counts  fanatical  adherents  among  all  tribes  from 
one  end  of  the  desert  to  the  other.  It  is  the  group 
that  all  conquerors  who  have  tried  to  penetrate  into 
the  desert  have  found  before  them ;  the  English  as  well 
as  the  French.  These  rulers  of  the  desert  are  the 
religious  fraternities  or  zanias ;  the  members  are  called 
khuans,  "  brothers  "  ;  their  chiefs  khalifs,  sheiks,  etc. 
Sometimes,  at  certain  epochs  of  inspiration  or  greater 
religious  fervour,  they  are  called  Mahdi,  "  the  well- 
guided."  At  these  times  woe  betide  those  who  attempt 
to  penetrate  into  the  desert.  As  the  only  point  of 
contact  between  the  difi'erent  tribes  was  the  community 
of  the  religious  sentiment  which  is  so  highly  developed 
among  pastoral  peoples,  it  was  naturally  the  religious 
sentiment  which  became  the  shield  and  protection  of 
the  traders  in  the  midst  of  hostile  tribes.  As  the 
profits  of  commerce  brought  considerable  benefits,  these 
brotherly  protectors  of  trade  developed  extremely 
rapidly  and  accumulated  enormous  riches.  None  can 
safely  traverse  the  desert  without  placing  themselves 
under  their  protection. 

One  can  better  understand  this  influence  if  one  re- 
members that  in  the  Middle  Ages  commerce  found  a 
safeguard,  support,  and  an  auxiliary  in  the  military 
religious  orders,  a  fact  due  to  the  influence  of  analogous 
causes.  Then,  as  in  the  desci-t,  there  was  no  central 
government,  only  a  multiplicity  of  petty  nilers  with 
limited  authority,  who  could  not  give  general  protection 
to  commerce.  The  military  religious  orders  naturally 
hastened  to  take  up  the  role  of  protectors  of  commerce. 
One  knows  that  the  Templars,  for  example,  practised 
it  themselves,  that  they  wore  the  great  bankers  of  that 
time,  and  that  they  thus  acquired  immense  riches.  And 
they  declined  precisely  when  the  great  political  govern- 
ments developed  in  the  west  and  became  able  t-o  protect 
commerce  from  afar.  But  the  desert  being  by  its  nature 
unchangeable,  the  religious  brotherhoods  continue  to 
this  day. 

The  oases  serve  the  double  object  of  jilaces  for  re- 
victualling  and  depots  for  merchandise.  To  re-victual 
caravans  and  also  to  feed  its  inhabitants  it  is  necessary 
to  draw  from  the  soil  the  greatest  amount  of  food 
within  the  restricted  areas.  The  only  vegetable  that 
accommodates  itself  completely  to  the  special  conditions 
of  soil  and  climate  is  the  date  palm.  Its  fruit  is  truly 
the  bread  of  the  desert;  with  camel's  milk  it  forms  the 
staple  food.  Dates  present  great  advantages  to  desert 
travellers.  They  are  easy  to  preserve  by  desiccation  and 
easy  to  carry,  as  pressed  into  bags  they  contain  a  large 
amount  of  nourishment  in  a  small  bulk.  Each  tree 
furnishes  about  26  lbs.  of  dates  in  a  year. 

But  the  palms  yield  other  products;  the  crushed 
date  stones  supply  food  for  goats  and  even  camels ; 
the  fibre,  leaves,  and  trunk,  are  all  utilized  for  various 
purposes.  Thanks  to  the  grateful  shade  they  spread, 
the  effects  of  the  tropical  heat  and  burning  sun  are 
lessened.  There  is  cultivated  under  their  shade  a 
number  of  plants  which  very  usefully  supplement  the 
direct  gifts  of  the  palm.  Thus  the  oases  produce  beans, 
cabbages,  carrots,  melons,  tomatoes,  egg-plants,  apricots, 
peaches,  apples,  quinces,  etc.     Plants  that  require  heat 


August  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


173 


and  light  with  us  demand  the  coolness  and  shade  that 
the  palm  tree  affords. 

The  oases  are  the  depots  of  merchandise,  and  are  the 
chief  mai'ket  centi'cs  of  the  desert,  whose  riches  naturally 
excite  envy  and  must  be  protected :  thus  the  oases 
are  fortified. 

The  oasis  modifies  the  social  organization  in  three 
essential  matters:  — 

1.  Work  becomes  sedentary,  but  trade  and  commerce 
predominate  over  agriculture.  The  complication  due  to 
a  fixed  home  is  reduced  to  a  minimum,  for  the  men  of 
the  oases  continue  to  live  a  nomadic  life  for  at  least 
part  of  the  year.  It  is  these  men  who  effect  transport 
and  who  trade  either  for  themselves  or  others.  Besides, 
the  actual  cultivation  of  the  oases  is  relatively  ea-sy,  it  is 
almost  spontaneous,  as  the  chief  pi'oducts  arc  from  palm 
and  fruit  trees ;  it  is  arboriculture,  which  is  the  easiest 
of  all.  The  growing  of  vegetables  does  not  need  any 
great  foresight,  for  the  period  of  growth  is  so  short; 
the  work  they  need  is  soon  repaid  by  the  product. 
Further,  the  men  mainly  avoid  doing  this  work.  It  is  rele- 
gated to  women  and  to  negro  slaves,  who  also  forai  an  im- 
portant article  of  commerce.  Thus  this  cultivation  has 
not  the  result  of  reducing  the  men  to  work  hai'd  at 
husbandry.  Count  Goblet  d'Alviella  writes: — "Every 
year  a  certain  number  of  Suafos  emigrate  into  the  towns 
of  Tunis  and  Tell,  where  they  live  in  the  Moors'  quarters 
as  blacksmiths,  masons,  clerks,  etc.;  but,  like  the  Swiss 
and  Savoyards,  they  have  a  great  attachment  to  their 
native  land,  and  nearly  always  return  thither  when  their 
fortunes  are  made.  They  then  marry  several  wives, 
whom  they  employ  to  weave.  They  buy  negroes,  and 
thus  realise,  in  pious  idleness,  the  Musulman's  ideal 
life." 

2.  The  condition  of  women  is  raised.  She  has  the 
sole  charge  of  the  workshop  during  the  long  absence 
of  her  husband ;  she  watches  over  the  gardens  and 
flocks,  which  feed  around  the  oasis,  and  she  makes  various 
domestic  fabrics.  She  thus  acquires  a  position  of 
mistress  of  the  house,  and  is  as  much,  and  often  more 
than  the  husband,  the  source  of  income  to  the  house- 
hold. 

3.  Government  is  constituted  outside  the  community 
of  the  family.  How  could  government  be  constituted 
outside  the  family  in  the  societies  which  we  have  seen 
are  so  strictly  limited  to  the  family  and  the  tribe  which 
is,  after  all,  only  an  enlarged  family  ? 

Who  could  organise  government  except  the  religious 
brotherhoods  who  have  created  the  oases?  The  ad- 
ministration of  the  oases  is  in  the  hands  of  the  khuans 
and  zanias,  who  reign  as  masters.  In  the  larger  oases 
all  the  religious  orders  are  represented,  their  wealth  is 
enormous,  but  their  organisation  is  very  simple.  The 
members  of  the  order  are  composed  of  khuans 
("  brothers  ")  and  mokaddems  and  sheiks.  The  khuans 
are  the  mass  of  the  initiates.  By  mokaddem  is  meant 
the  direct  representative  of  the  sheik,  who  receives  alms, 
presides  over  religious  ceremonies,  and  directs  the  con- 
sciences of  the  khuans.  The  sheik  is  the  superieur 
general  or  grand  master  of  the  order.  He  resides  in  or 
near  the  tomb  of  the  holy  founder  of  their  order,  and 
gives  the  baraka  or  benediction.  Often  below  the 
initiated  khuans  there  are  khoddams,  servants  or  clients, 
who  do  not  receive  the  special  prayer  of  the  order. 
They  are  generally  entire  tribes  who  adopt  the  policy 
of  the  order  and  act  as  defenders.  The  fraternities  hold 
in  their  hands  the  administration  of  the  oasis.  This 
is  summed  up  in  the  djemaa  assembly  of  notables,  chosen 


by  each  of  the  quarters  of  the  oasis  from  the  ranlvs  of 
the  khuans. 

Dependent  upon  the  djcuifia  are  six  functionaries 
chosen  from  the  dominant  religious  party.  One  is  a 
sort  of  police  agent;  he  guards  the  gati^s,  sigu;Js  the 
approach  of  an  enemy  by  beating  a  drum,  is  the  chief 
of  scouts,  and  receives  travellers  and  appoints  them  to 
various  houses.  The  second  unites  the  functions  of  the 
public  crier  and  the  clerk  of  the  works.  The  third  is 
the  distributor  of  water — a  very  important  trust.  These 
three  are  paid  in  kind.  The  three  following  officials 
hold  purely  religious  posts.  The  steward  of  the  mosque 
is  an  honorary  appointment.  The  mai-about,  who  has 
charge  of  the  services,  recites  the  daily  prayers,  presides 
at  all  cei-emoiiies  and  funerals,  and  teaches  in  the  school, 
is  lodged  and  paid.  Finally,  the  muddin,  five  times  a 
day  mounts  the  minaret  of  the  mosque  to  cry  the  prayer 
of  Islam. 

Naturally  these  brotherhoods  quarrel  for  sujjremacy, 
often  long  and  cruel  wars  result.  At  the  present  time 
one  of  these  orders  is  pre-eminent,  it  is  the  famous  order 
of  Snussia.  The  Snussias  cleverly  tried  to  constitute 
a  vast  federation  of  all  the  religious  orders,  to  create 
a  theocratic  panislamism,  exclusive  of  all  secular 
authority.  To  render  this  federation  more  acceptable 
they  have  reduced  to  a  minimum  their  religious  formulas 
and  the  duties  imposed  on  the  khuans.  This  order  is 
recent,  being  founded  about  1835,  by  Si-Mohaniined- 
ben-Ali-ben-Snussi.  After  many  vicissitudes  he  founded 
a  zania  at  Djerboub,  in  Tripoli,  and  since  then  more 
than  250  in  Sahara  and  Arabia;  all  are  directed  from 
Djerboub,  the  headquarters  of  the  order. 

On  the  northern  borders  of  the  Sahara  are  more  or  less 
cultivated  lands,  which  are  termed  by  Demolins  "  half 
oases,"  who  states  they  are  largely  peopled  by  fugitives 
from  the  desert — that  is,  by  people  who,  in  every  epoch, 
have  been  evicted  from  it;  speaking  generally,  they 
have  not  gone  of  their  own  accord,  for  these  men,  little 
accustomed  to  work,  prefer  the  adventurous  life  of  the 
desert  to  the  narrow  life  of  its  confines.  They  bring 
with  them,  however,  their  aptitude  for  business  and 
their  skill  in  organising  government,  which  become  still 
more  accentuated  under  the  new  conditions.  These 
border  countries  are  often  not  favourable  to  agriculture. 
Many  are  mountainous  and  have  poor  soil;  but  they 
are  favourable  for  barter,  lying  as  they  do  between 
two  great  commercial  highways,  the  sea  and  the  desert. 
The  inhabitants  therefore  take  to  commerce.  In  these 
border  states  agriculture  is  undertaken  by  the  least 
capable  and  entorjirising ;  the  others  give  up  agriculture 
on  the  first  opportunity  and  take  to  small  manufactures 
or  to  commerce. 

The  various  Kabyle  tribes  have  each  their  speciality, 
and  as  they  hold  markets  in  each  village  on  successive 
days  the  inhabitants  can  procure  all  they  require.  Many 
women  make  beautiful  pots.  Weaving  occupies  some 
tribes,  wood-carving  others,  some  are  clever  blacksmiths. 
One  has  learned  from  a  French  deserter  how  to  make 
guns.  Jewellery  and  smelting  constitute  the  industry 
of  one  group.  Their  markets  are  busy,  and  are  used 
also  as  general  assemblies  for  the  discussion  of  public 
business.  The  emigrants  from  the  villages  carry  on 
different  trades.  Some  become  bakers,  others  bankers 
to  their  fellow  countrymen  in  the  different  villages,  most 
become  pedlars.  They  are  in  no  great  hurry  to 
accomplish  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  and  when  they  do 
go,  they  travel  more  as  merchants  than  as  pilgrims. 

Here   on   the   border  countries   the   influence   of   tho 


174 


KNOWLEDGE 


[August  1,  1900. 


religious  brotherhoods  persists,  but  the  organisation  of 
government  is  freer  and  more  spontaneous.  There  is 
less  need  to  submit  so  completely  to  the  interfei-euce  of 
the  brotherhoods.  The  chiefs  of  the  families  aie  apt 
to  set  going  the  machinery  of  political  life  by  them- 
selves, ajid  they  emancipate  themselves  from  the  tutor- 
ship of  the  religious  orders.  Thus  the  authority  of 
purely  religious  powers  tends  to  diminish  while  that  of 
the  family  chiefs  increases.  Reclus  states: — "They 
respect  the  maiabouts;  at  the  same  time  they  are 
suspicious  of  them,  and  take  care  not  to  let  them 
infringe  on  the  rights  of  the  community.  They  assign 
to  them  special  villages  situated  apart  from  the  tribal 
villages,  and  therefore  liberty  is  not  likely  to  be  en- 
dangered." What  a  change  for  these  men  who  opened 
up  and  organised  the  desert  and  who  still  govern  it ! 

Each  village  forms  "  a  small  republic  governing 
itself."  All  the  citizens  form  part  of  it;  as  soon  as  they 
carry  ai-ms  they  have  the  right  of  voting.  The  Djemaa 
meets  once  a  week  and  decides  all  questions.  One  can 
therefore  say  that  in  the  desert  borders  power  passes 
from  the  religious  to  the  lay  form  of  government;  but 
in  its  new  form  this  power  continues  to  follow  the  same 
tendency  that  invariably  inspires  the  commuuitary 
formation,  which  encroaches  upon  and  in  its  very  nature 
tends  to  restrain  the  initiative  of  the  individual  'n 
private  life.  But  here  the  state  increases,  since,  owing 
to  the  sedentaiy  mode  of  life,  the  community  of  the 
family  is  both  restricted  and  enfeebled  and  opposes  a 
decreasing  resistance  to  the  action  of  an  external  govern- 
ment. 

In  my  next  article  I  propose  to  deal  with  other 
communities  having  a  similar  origin  from  pastoral 
peoples  who  have  also  been  constrained  to  till  the  soil. 


ASTRONOMY   WITHOUT  A   TELESCOPE. 

By   E.  Walter  Maunder,   f.r.a.s. 

VII.— METEORS;— THE    PERSEIDS. 

Of  all  the  subjects  for  study  open  to  the  astronomer 
who  has  no  optical  assistance  at  his  command,  none  can 
be  so  easily  or  so  frequently  observed,  none  afford  him 
such  an  opportunity  for  really  useful  work,  as  do  meteors. 
And  though  meteors  may  be  observed  practically  the 
whole  year  round,  except  when  cloud  or  moonlight  inter- 
feres, yet  one  month  ranks  pre-eminently  as  the  meteor 
month — the  mouth  of  August. 

This  is  due  to  the  occurrence  then  of  the  well-known 
periodic  shower  of  the  Perseids ;  the  "  Tears  of  St. 
Lawrence." 

It  is  very  striking  in  looking  back  into  astronomical 
records  to  note  how  very  recent  is  most  of  our  informa- 
tion concerning  meteors.  For  thousands  of  years  men 
have  been  aware  that  there  were  "  wandering  stars  to 
whom  was  reserved  the  blackness  of  darkness  for  ever." 
At  times,  too,  they  would  come,  "  not  single  spies  but  in 
battalions,"  in  such  numbers  and  with  such  brightness 
as  to  compel  attention  and  create  the  deepest  astonish- 
ment and  fear.  But  for  all  those  ages  it  does  not  seem 
to  have  occurred  to  anyone  to  try  and  observe  them ; 
that  is  to  say,  to  record  such  facts  about  them  as  it 
was  possible  to  ascertain  during  the  brief  moments  that 
they  shone. 

There  is  an  immense  gulf  between  the  mere  admiration 
of  the  phenomena  of  nature  and  their  observation.  The 
first  is  utterly  xunfmitful ;  long  generations  of  men  pass, 
each  having  seen  the  same  kind  of  event,  and  yet  the 


accumulated  experience  of  ages  leads  to  nothing.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  let  one  man,  or,  better,  let  three  or 
four  give  a  few  years  to  the  careful,  steady  record  of 
everything  that  they  can  ascertain  about  some  pheno- 
menon, however  unpromising,  and  what  mai^vellous  facta 
leap  into  light ! 

How  utterly  ignorant  even  recognized  authorities  were 
but  sixty  years  ago  may  be  seen  from  the  following 
quotation  from  a  standard  text>book  bearing  the  date 
1840. 

"  The  Falling  Stars,  and  other  fiery  meteors,  wliieh  are  fre- 
quently seen  at  a  considerable  lieight  in  the  atmosphere,  and  which 
have  received  different  names  according  to  the  variety  of  their 
figure  and  size,  arise  from  the  fermentation  of  the  eflluvia  of  acid 
and  alkaline  bodies,  which  lloat  in  the  atmosphere.  When  the 
more  subtde  parts  of  the  elliuvia  are  burnt  away,  the  viscous  and 
earthy  parts  became  too  heavy  for  the  air  to  support,  and  by  their 
gravity  fall  tn  the  earth. 

"  On  the  13th  of  November,  in  the  year  1833,  a  shower  of  meteors 
fell  between  Ion.  61°  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  Ion.  100°  in  Central 
Mexico,  and  from  the  North  American  Lakes  to  the  southern  side 
of  Jamaica.  These  fireballs  were  of  enormous  size ;  one  appeared 
larger  than  the  full  moon  at  rising.  They  all  seemed  to  emanate 
from  the  same  point,  and  were  not  accompanied  by  any  particular 
sound  It  was  not  found  that  any  substance  readied  the  ground 
so  as  to  leave  a  residuum  from  the  meleors." 

It  did  not  seem  to  occur  to  the  writer  of  the  above 
description  that  the  circumstance  which  he  mentions— 
namely,  that  the  meteors  "  all  seemed  to  emanate  from 
the  same  point,"  itself  proved  that  the  meteors  were 
entering  the  atmosphere  from  outside  and  were  moving 
along  parallel  lines  at  the  time  of  their  entry. 

The  great  display  referred  to  above,  however,  was 
the  foundation  of  modern  meteoric  astronomy.  So 
magnificent  a  spectacle  as  was  then  witnessed  not  on'y 
attracted  thousands  of  gazers,  it  caught  the  attention 
of  men  who  were  resolved  to  use  every  possible  ojapor 
tunity  for  learning. 

The  enormous  numbers  of  meteors  seen  in  the 
November  shower  of  1833  rendered  it  manifest  that  on 
that  occasion,  at  any  rate,  the  falling  stars  seemed  to 
have  their  origin  in  a  single  point  of  the  heavens,  and 
therefore  it  became  an  important  point  whenever  a 
meteor  was  seen  to  note  exactly  the  direction  of  its 
flight.  Humboldt,  who  had  himself  seen  the  great 
November  shower  of  1799,  writing  in  1844,  recognized 
four  points  in  the  heavens  from  which  meteors  seemed 
to  fall,  and  drew  attention,  though  with  some  hesitation, 
to  the  reasons  for  thinking  that  the  November  shower 
was  only  occasionally  to  be  seen  in  great  force.  Sir 
John  Herschel,  about  the  same  time,  recognised  only 
two  showers,  those  of  August  (the  Perseids)  and  those 
of  November  (the  Leonids).  Now  by  the  labours  of  a 
very  few  observers,  one  of  whom,  Mr.  Denning,  may  be 
said  to  have  outweighed  all  others  put  together  in  the 
value  and  number  of  his  results,  we  know  of  many 
hundreds  of  radiant  points,  whilst  the  researches  of 
Adams  and  Schiaparelli  have  enabled  us  in  some  cases 
to  trace  the  meteor  streams  in  their  path,  not  only  far 
beyond  the  spread  of  our  own  atmosphere  but  to  the 
very  limits  of  the  solar  system,  and  they  have  been 
shown  to  be  not  mere  distempers  of  the  air,  but  bodies 
of  a  truly  planetai'y  nature,  travelling  round  the  sun 
in  orbits  as  defined  as  that  of  the  earth  itself. 

How  has  this  great  advance  been  made?  Simply  by 
careful,  patient,  intelligent,  observation.  First  of  all 
by  carefully  noting  the  points  in  the  sky  where  the 
meteor  was  first  seen  ^nd  where  it  disappeared.  This 
requires  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  constellations,  as 
indeed  all  naked  eye  astronomy  does,  and  great  quick- 
ness of  observation.     The  meteor  worker  must  be  able 


August  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


176 


to  give  the  two  extremities  of  the  path  at  a  glance  aud 
to  remember  them  faithfully  until  he  can  in  some  way 
or  other  not*  them  down. 

For  this  he  will  require  a  certain  amount  of  what 
we  may  term  apparatus,  either  a  celestial  globe  or  a  set 
of  star  charts.  The  choice  of  the  latter  is  of  importance, 
as  no  possible  chart  can  show  the  entire  sky  without 
grave  distortion  some  way  or  other,  and  more  important 
for  the  present  purpose  there  is  only  one  projection 
which  will  give  a  straight  line  on  the  chart  for  all  great 
circles  or  parts  of  them ;  that  is  to  say,  for  all  lines 
which  impress  us  as  straight  lines  as  we  see  them  on 
the  sky. 

The  observer's  first  duty,  therefore,  is  to  acquaint 
himself  with  the  constellations ;  his  next,  by  repeated 
and  persistent  efifort,  to  leai'n  quickness  and  correctness 
in  fixing  the  extreme  points  of  the  meteor  paths.  This 
done,  he  will  recognise  that  there  are  several  other 
features  in  which  meteors  appear  to  differ,  the  one  from 
the  other.  His  observations  of  the  paths  will  soon  show 
him  that  the  length  of  a  meteor  path  varies  greatly; 
he  cannot  fail  further  to  notice  that  the  apparent  speed 
with  which  it  travels  varies  also.  To  the  record  of  the 
path,  therefore,  should  be  added  the  determination  of 
its  length,  which  of  course  can  be  read  off  from  the  globe 
after  the  track  has  been  marked  down  upon  it,  and  the 
time  which  the  meteor  took  to  traverse  it.  And  as  for 
comparison  with  the  records  of  other  observers  it  is 
essential  to  know  when  the  meteor  was  seen,  this 
should  also  be  noted  as  well  as  the  duration.  Indeed, 
as  a  matter  of  order,  the  date  and  time  of  the  occurrence 
should  come  first ;  then  the  position  of  the  beginning 
of  the  path;  third,  the  position  of  the  end;  fourth  and 
fifth,  the  length  of  the  path  and  the  time  which  the 
meteor  took  to  traverse  it. 

The  actual  meteors  themselves  also  have  their  in- 
dividual characteristics.  Some  leave  phosphorescent 
streaks  behind  them,  others  trains  of  sparks.  More 
striking  than  anything  else  is  the  enormous  difference 
in  brightness,  from  one  like  the  meteor  alluded  to  above 
"  larger  than  the  full  moon  at  rising,"  down  to  others 
only  just  visible  to  the  naked  eye.  These  particulars 
as  to  character  and  brightness  will  be  the  sixth  and 
seventh  items  to  note,  and  when  a  number  have  been 
observed  sufficient  to  give  an  indication  of  the  radiant, 
this  should  be  added  as  an  eighth. 

Steady  persistent  practice  in  noting  these  particulars 
will  soon  give  the  obsei-ver  increased  skill.  One  item 
requires  especial  attention — the  duration  of  the  meteor. 
Mr.  Denning  tells  us  that  he  has  trained  himself  by 
obsei-%'ing  the  flight  of  arrows.  He  has  employed  a 
friend  to  shoot  these  to  distances  from  fifty  to  two 
hundred  yards  at  right  angles  to  the  line  of  sight,  the 
elevation  being  varied  as  much  as  possible,  and  that  by 
repeating  these  experiments  he  has  learned  to  judge 
intervals  of  from  one  to  five  seconds  with  an  average 
error  of  less  than  one-fifth  second. 

All  the  above  particulars  and  not  merely  the  direction 
of  the  paths  alone  are  of  value  in  the  determination 
of  the  radiant  point.  The  meteors  of  one  radiant  have 
similar  characters  as  to  colour,  streaks,  etc.,  and  also 
as  to  speed  of  course.  The  apparent  length  of  path  is 
affected  by  the  height  of  the  radiant  point,  Mr.  Denning 
noting  of  the  Perseids  of  August  10  that,  whilst  between 
9  and  10  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  brighter  meteors 
average  a  course  of  about  30°,  in  the  morning  hours 
when  the  radiant  is  near  the  meridian  their  paths  are 
only  one-third  the  length. 

As  in  all  good  -work,  skill  is  not  acquired  at  once, 


and  the  would-be  meteor  observer  will  find  that  he 
makes  many  failures  to  begin  with.  His  first  successes 
will  probably  be  with  some  bright  slow-moving  meteor, 
aud  as  these  arc  relatively  few,  he  will  probably  have 
to  wait  a  very  considerable  time  before  he  can  accom- 
plish much.  This  need  of  patience  and  practice  is  one 
great  reason  no  doubt  why  so  few  take  up  a  pursuit 
which  requires  no  equipment  and  which  soon  becomes 
full  of  fascination.  Another  is  to  be  found  in  the 
uiifortuiiatc  fact  that  from  midnight  to  dawn  is  a  much 
more  fruitful  time  than  from  sunset  to  midnight,  since 
the  meteors  which  come  to  meet  the  earth  are  necessarily 
much  more  numerous  than  those  that  overtake  it,  and 
the  earth  has  its  sunrise  point  in  front  as  it  moves 
forward  in  its  orbit,  its  sunset  point  behind. 

Yet  there  are  always  prizes  to  be  secured.  There  is 
a  great  pleasure  when  some  brilliant  wanderer  flashes 
by  in  knowing  that  one  has  secured  as  full  and  accurate 
a  record  as  possible  of  its  appearance.  It  was  seen  but 
for  a  moment, 

"  Like  a  snowllake  on  the  river. 
One  moment  white,  then  gone  for  ever." 

Yet  it  has  left  something  behind,  something  permanent, 
something  which  years  after  may  bo  eloquent  of  un- 
suspected truth. 

The  great  Perseid  shower,  chief  of  all  those  which 
are  of  regular  annual  recurrence,  has  been  rich  in  such 
indication.  It  has  shown  itself  to  bo  in  intimate  con- 
nection with  the  Third  Comet  of  1862  discovered  by 
Swift.  It  has  been  traced  night  after  night  for  a  very 
cousiderable  time  before  the  date  of  its  maximum, 
August  10,  the  radiant  point  travelling  steadily  back- 
ward in  the  sky  from  the  borders  of  Cassiopeia  and 
Andromeda  in  the  middle  of  July  to  those  of  Camelo- 
pardus  in  the  middle  of  August;  the  steady  shift  of  the 
radiant,  night  after  night,  having  been  abundantly 
demonstrated  by  observations  as  well  as  being  in  strict 
accordance  with  theory. 

In  sharp  contrast  with  the  shifting  of  the  Perseid 
radiant  has  been  another  fact  which  long  years  of  patient 
woi-k  has  enabled  Mr.  Denning  to  demonstrate — namely, 
the  existence  of  radiants  which  do  not  shift,  radiants 
which  endure  for  many  months  together.  Here  was  a 
circumstance  which  could  not  have  been  anticipated, 
which  was  indeed  in  flagrant  contradiction  to  the  theory 
of  meteoric  motion,  and  which  even  yet  remains  without 
any  adequate  explanation.  Yet  one  single  observer, 
by  sheer  patience  and  perseverance,  has  driven  home 
the  unexpected,  unexplained,  seemingly  impossible  fact, 
and  after  having  been  long  rejected  even  by  cxpei-ts, 
the  fact  of  stationary  radiants  has  at  length  received 
general  recognition. 

Such  a  fact,  unexampled  in  the  history  of  astronomy, 
ought  to  make  many  a  meteor  hunter.  For  six  thousand 
years  men  stared  at  meteors  and  learnt  nothing,  for 
sixty  yeai-s  they  have  studied  them  and  learnt  much, 
and  half  of  what  we  know  has  been  taught  us  in  half 
that  time  by  the  efforts  of  a  single  observer. 

[The  illustration  on  page  158  (.Tulj)  should  have  been  lettered 
''  The  Milky  Way  in  CygnuB ;  from  M.  C.  Easton's  ' La  Voie  Lac-tee.'"] 


THE  TOTAL  SOLAR  ECLIPSE  OF  1900,  MAY  28 

(Second  Pcqjer.) 
By   E.  Walter  Maunder,   f.r.a.s. 

The  Eclipse  of  1900  has  been  so  very  prolific  of  result 
that,  even  at  this  early  date,  to  adequately  notice  every- 
thing that  has  come  to  hand  would  require  a  long  series 


176 


KNOWLEDGE 


[August  1,  1900. 


of  articles.  I  propose,  therefore,  on  the  present  occasion 
simply  to  catalogue  the  results  which  seem  to  me  to  be 
of  most  importance. 

1.  Large  Scale  Photographs.^ — By  large  scale  photo- 
graphs I  mean  photographs  giving  a  diameter  of  four 
inches  or  more  to  the  moon's  disc.  These  are  becoming 
more  and  more  a  regulai'  feature  of  eclipse  work,  and 
on  the  present  occasion  both  the  Astronomer-Koyal  and 
the  Astronomer-Royal  for  Scotland  from  this  country 
undertook  this  department  with  great  success.  The 
instruments  were  of  very  different  types.  The  Astronomer- 
Roy  als  camera  possessed  an  object  glass  of  9  inches 
apertirre  and  only  8i  feet  focal  length,  a  four  inch  image 
being  obtained  by  a  negative  combination  within  the 
primary  focus ;  the  camera  was  fixed  and  fed  by  a 
ccelostat.  Dr.  Copeland's  insti-ument  was  the  40  foot 
focus  lens  which  he  took  to  Norway  and  to  India.  This 
was  not  pointed  direct  to  the  sun,  as  at  Vadsb  in  1896, 
but  the  light  was  reflected  into  it  by  a  fixed  mirror,  and 
the  plat-e  was  made  to  travel  instead  of  the  telescope. 
This  ample  scale  has  been  exceeded  by  the  American 
astronomers,  who  have  used  object  glasses  of  61i  and 
133  feet  focus,  securing  photographs  on  scales  of  seven 
and  fifteen  inches  to  the  lunar  disc. 

Without  dwelling  at  length  upon  the  beautiful  detail 
both  of  corona  and  prominences  shown  on  the  Astro- 
nomer-Royal's photographs,  a  comparison  of  his  Indian 
and  Portuguese  negatives  teaches  a  very  significant 
lesson.  Valuable  as  each  series  is  in  itself,  it  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  each  has  a  double  value  in  its  compari- 
son with  the  other.  It  is  most  earnestly  to  be  hoped  that 
no  slight  difiiculty  will  be  allowed  to  prevent  a  series  so 
magnificently  begun  being  continued,  eclipse  after 
eclipse,  with  the  same  instrument  and  on  the  same 
scale.  The  closing  in  towards  the  equator  of  the  great 
extensions,  the  diminution  of  structiu'e  in  the  lower 
corona,  the  greater  separation  of  the  polar  plumes,  and 
the  greater  amount  of  general  diffused,  amorphous 
coronal  light,  as  seen  in  the  Eclipse  of  1900  when  com- 
pared with  that  of  1898,  is  most  evident.     This  vear's 


Fig.  1. — The  Meteorological  Instruments  and  Shadow-Band  Sheet, 
Hot«l  de  la  Kegence,  Algiers. 

Fioni  a  Photo  by  Miss  Edith  MLvundek, 

eclipse  was  emphatically  an  eclipse  of  the  sun-spot 
minimum;  it  reproduced  the  general  form,  —  it  is 
scarcely  an  exaggeration  to  say,  even  the  detail, — of  the 
Eclipses  of  1878  and  1889,  at  the  two  preceding  minima 
with  astonishing  fidelity. 

2.  Medium  Scale  Photographs;   that  is  to  say,  of  a 


seals  of  half-an-inch  to  two  inches.  These  were  too 
numerous  to  catalogue,  but  here  we  must  express  a 
regret.  For  a  long  series  of  years  the  British  ofiicial 
expeditions  have  taken  photographs  with  identical  lenses 
of  about  5  feet  focus.  It  is  a  pity  that  the  series  has 
this  year  been  brought  to  a  close  or  at  least  interrupted. 

3.  Small  Scale  Photographs;  that  is  to  say,  less 
than  half-an-inch  in  diameter.  A  large  number  of  these 
were  no  doubt  taken  with  fixed  cameras  in  consequence 
of  our  having  pointed  out  that  for  most  purposes  there 
was  no  need  to  use  a  driving  clock  with  short  focus 
lenses.  But  several  were  taken  directly  in  consequence 
of  the  success  in  their  delineation  of  the  coronal  ex- 
tensions of  our  long  exposure  photographs  in  India. 
The  result  of  these  so  far  as  we  have  yet  heard  has  been 
to  show  distinctly  that  it  was  not  possible  in  this  eclipse 
to  photograph  the  streamers  to  the  same  extent  as  in 
1898.  but,  on  the  other  hand,  quite  a  short  exposure 
proved  practically  as  effective  as  the  most  lengthy  given, 
in  bringing  them  up.  Still  the  character  of  the  ex- 
tensions was  the  same;  the  typical  coronal  curves 
running  as  in  1898  into  rod-like  rays. 

Before  leaving  the  photographs  of  the  corona,  it  may 
be  worth  while  to  mention  a  mistake  into  which 
apparently  more  than  one  photographer  has  fallen,  that 
of  driving  on  the  moon  instead  of  on  the  sun.  A 
stationary  camera  will  give  a  blurring  of  15"  of  arc  for 
an  exposure  of  one  second  of  time ;  one  made  to  follow 
the  moon  gives  a  blurring  of  h"  in  arc  for  an  exposure  of 
the  same  time,  and  vice  i-ersa  if  it  follows  the  sun,  the 
blurring  of  ths  moon's  limb  in  the  direction  of  motion 
will  be  of  the  same  amount  in  the  maximum.  An 
exposure  therefore  of  |  of  a  minute  would  mean  a 
blurring  of  considerably  more  than  a  third  of  a  minute 
of  arc.  This  would  mean  1/100  inch  for  an  inch  sun,  or 
a  millimetre  for  one  of  4  inches.  These  are  very  con- 
siderable amounts,  hence  a  long  exposure  photograph 
cannot  be  given  so  as  to  ensure  sharpness  both  of  moon 
and  of  corona.  A  sharp  moon  under  such  circumstances 
means  a  blurred  corona. 

4.  Integrating  Photographs. — Several  Members  of 
the  British  Astronomical  Association,  myself  amongst 
the  number,  devised  a  method  for  exposing  photographic 
plates  to  the  general  light  of  the  corona  in  1896.  The 
unfortunate  weather  on  that  occasion  prevented  the 
scheme  being  carried  out.  but  Mr.  Gare  and  Mr.  A.  H. 
Johnston  arranged  a  careful  scheme  in  1898,  the  execu- 
tion of  which  was  successfully  carried  out  by  Mr.  E.  'W. 
Johnson.  The  same  observers  repeated  their  experi- 
ments at  Manzanares  and  Elche  in  Spain  this  year,  and 
they  have  had  a  follower  in  Professor  H.  H.  Turner, 
who  carried  out  a  similar  work  at  Algiers.  Professor 
Turner's  result  shows  this  eclipse  to  have  been  very 
considerably  brighter  than  the  Indian ;  Mr.  Gare  finding 
the  corona  seven  times  as  bright  as  the  moon  in  1898, 
Professor  Turner  putting  it  at  ten  times  the  moon 
in  1900. 

5.  Standardized  Photographs. — Most,  if  not  all  of 
the  photographs  of  the  corona  obtained  by  the  British 
official  observers  have  been  "  standardized  "  by  the  im- 
printing upon  the  plates  of  a  series  of  squares  represent- 
ing known  light  values.  This  practice  gives  to  the 
photographs  an  entirely  new  importance  over  and  above 
the  value  they  possess  as  pictures,  and  it  is  much  to  be 
wished  that  the  practice  were  more  general  with  inde- 
pendent observers.  The  work  of  measuring  and  reducing 
the  photogi-aphs  of  the  late  eclipse  can  scarcely  have 
proceeded  very  far  as  yet.  and  no  results  in  this  line 
have  yet  appeared  from  them;   but  similar  results  from 


Au.ii-sT  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


177 


the  1S9S  Eclipse,  now  two  years  and  a  baJf  old,  should 
by  this  time  be  in  a  very  complete  state  of  discussion. 
It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  a  little  more  speed  was 
not  made  so  that  they  might  have  been  in  the  hands 
of  astronomers  before  their  stalling  for  the  late  eclipse. 

6.  PoL.\Riscopic  Photogr.vphs. — To  Professor  Turner 
in  1S9S  we  owe  the  revival,  as  an  it<?ni  of  eclipse  pro- 
grammes, of  the  taking  of  polariscopio  photographs  of 
the  coi-ona,  most  successfully  carried  out  by,  and  under 
the  direction  of.  Professor  A.  W.  Wright  in  1878. 
This  work  Professor  Turner,  in  conjunction  with  Mr. 
Xewall,  renewed  in  the  late  eclipse,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  the  success  they  attained  will  prevent  it  being 
again  dropped,  for  it  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  at 
present  we  have  only  polariscopic  photographs  froin 
minimum  coronae,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  great  importance 
to  ascertain  whether  the  intensity  and  distribution  of 
the  polarization  vary  at  different  parts  of  the  sun-spot 
cycle. 

7.  Spectroscopic  Observ.vtions. — Photographs  of  the 
spectrum  formed  a  most  important  feature  of  tlie  pro- 
gramme of  all  the  official  parties.  Mr.  Dyson  at  Ovar 
had  two  large  slit  spectroscopes ;  Sir  Norman  Lockyer 
at  Santa  Pola  had  a  prismatic  camera  of  20  feet  focus  ; 
Dr.  Copeland  used  a  prism  in  fi'ont  of  his  lens  of  40 
feet  focus  during  part  of  the  eclipse;  Mr.  Newall  at 
Bou  Zarea  photographed  the  "  flash  "  with  a  slit  spec- 
troscope ;  Mr.  Evershed  at  Mazafram,  as  recently  men- 
tioned, had  two  prismatic  cameras,  one  of  them  being  a 
reflector.  All  appear  to  have  been  most  successful  in 
their  work,  but  many  months  will  necessarily  elapse 
before  the  photographs  obtained  will  be  measured,  re- 
duced, and  published.  It  may  be  mentioned,  however, 
that  Mr.  Evershed's  reflector  photographs  give  the  lines 
with  unexampled  sharpness  of  definition  from  end  to 
end,  and  that  Dr.  Copeland  claims  to  have  secured  the 
spectrum  in  the  ultra-violet  so  far  as  wave-length  3000. 

Amongst  the  independent  observers  it  should  bo  men- 
tioned that  Dr.  Downing,  observing  with  an  opera-glass 
fitted  by  Mr.  Thorp  with  a  prismatic  grating  before  the 
object  glass,  found  the  combination  work  most  admirably. 
The  special  subject  of  his  scrutiny  was  the  diffusion  of 
"  coronium  "  as  evidenced  by  the  shape  of  the  green 
coronal  ring.  This  averaged  about  100,000  miles  in 
height,  but  in  one  particular  region  it  rose  to  a  height 
of  180,000. 

8.  Shadow-B.*.nd  Observations. — These  api^ear  to  have 
been  made  with  special  fulness  and  care  at  several 
different  stations.  The  results  of  these  observations 
have  not  yet  been  collected,  but  it  may  be  mentioned 
that  Mrs.  Arthur  Brook,  whose  apparatus  is  shown  in 
the  photograph,  observing  at  Algiers  noted  the  "  bands  " 
rather  as  separate  patches  closely  following  each  other 
in  longr  wavering  ranks.  Mrs.  Brook  made  obsei-vations 
of  a  unique  character  on  the  "  shadows  "  near  the  time 
of  third  contact  when  Baily's  Beads  began  to  appear, 
and  she  asserts  that  the  "  shadow  patches  "  were  then 
of  a  materially  different  character  from  what  they  were 
a  few  seconds  later  still,  when  the  sun  itself  emerged 
and  the  light  v.'as  stronger.  As  in  India  there  is  a 
marked  divergence  of  opinion  at  different  stations  as  to 
their  directions  of  motion  before  and  after  totality.  At 
Algiers  Mr.  Brook  says  decidedly  that  the  direction 
before  second  contact  was  approximately  the  same  as 
after  third  contact.  At  Elche  the  observers  say  that 
the  second  direction  of  motion  was  reversed. 

9.  Naked  Eye  Drawings  of  the  Corona. — Of  these 
the  late  eclipse  has  yielded  an  unprecedentedly  large 
supplv,   of  the   average   quality  of  which    it   is   scarcely 


possible  to  speak  too  highly.  It  is  a  curious  and  un- 
expected detail  of  evolution  that  not  only  is  there  a 
progress  in  artistic  ability  and  truth  in  the  individual 
through  the  means  of  his  personal  practice,  but  there  is 
also  in  the  race.  The  same  sort  of  thing  has  been 
noticed  before  now  in  drawings  of  the  surfaces  of  the 
moon  and  planets.  Men  see  more  easily  and  depict 
more  faithfully,  faint,  dillicult  or  minute  markings,  than 
was  done  fifty  or  a  hundred  years  ago.  Indeed  the  trend 
towards  uniformity  has  been  so  strong  as  occasionally 
to  draw  forth  sharp  criticism,  and  hints  of  the  effect 
of  bias.  That  could  not  bo  the  case  here;  drawings 
made  by  observers  separated  from  each  other  by  scores 
or  hundreds  of  miles  and  having  not  the  slightest  means 
of  communicating  with  each  other  have  by  their  resem- 
blance  borne  tlie  most  striking  testimony  to  the   skill 


Fio.  2.— The  llarb..! 


Algiers,  live  niiimfces  before  Totality. 
Front  n  Pliolo  Inj  Miss  Ehith  Mauniikr. 


and  fidelity  of  the  artists.  There  has  been  a  complete 
absence  of  the  grotesque  and  extravagant  designs  that 
were  common  enough  a  generation  ago.  Some  of  the 
drawings  too  were  made  with  the  most  astonishing 
rapidity,  Miss  Stevens',  for  example,  already  reproduced, 
was  the  result  of  less  than  forty  seconds  devoted  to  the 
scrutiny  of  the  corona,  and  yet, — though  not  intended 
to  exhibit  in  particularity  the  details  of  the  corona, — 
it  could  be  scarcely  surpassed  as  a  representation  of  the 
general  effect.  This  improvement  is  a  matter  for  the 
greater  congratulation  since  it  is  manifestly  due  to 
greater  skill  in  the  observer,  and  the  observer  must 
always  be  more  important  than  the  instniment.  The 
improvement  in  the  delineation  of  planetary  surfaces 
might  well  have  been  ascribed  to  the  improvement  of 
telescopes,  but  that  cause  cannot  enter  in  the  case  of 
drawings  of  the  corona  made  with  the  naked  eye. 

10.  Drawings  with  the  Telescope. — This  work  has 
been  to  a  very  great  extent  the  special  feature  of  the 
late  eclipse.  In  particular  it  is  a  subject  for  congratula- 
tion that  Mr.  Wesley,  whose  skill  as  an  artist  is  so  well 
known,  and  whose  acquaintanceship  with  coronal  forms  as 
shown  on  photographs  is  unapproached,  was  by  the  most 
generous  courtesy  of  M.  Trepied  put  in  possession  of  the 
equatorial  coude  of  the  Algiers  Observatory  on  the 
occasion  of  the  eclipse.  "  I  think,"  said  Mr.  Wesley, 
"  I  have  had  the  most  magnificent — though  restricted- 
view  of  the  corona  that  ever  mortal  man  had — something 
to  have  lived  for."  Mr.  Wesley  made  a  study  of  and 
sketched  the  entire  corona  within  his  field  of  view,  which 


178 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[AuGtsT  1,  1900. 


did  not  of  course  include  the  outer  streamers.  His  first 
impression  was  that  of  the  entire  familiaa'ity  of  the 
object  he  beheld;  the  photographs  of  1878  and  1889 
had  so  exactly  presented  the  same  leading  features.  The 
great  difference  was  that  in  looking  at  the  reality  and 
not  at  the  photographic  picture  a  sense  of  perspective 
and  of  relief  was  jierceived,  whereas  the  photographs 
seemed  essentially  plane  sections.  In  one  sense  the 
sight  was  disappointing;  there  was  no  structure  seen 
more  detailed  than  the  microscopic  scrutiny  of  photo- 
graphs had  already  made  Mr.  Wesley  familiar  with. 
Probably  no  one  else  knows  how  much  the  photographs 
really  have  to  show.  However  both  the  photographs 
and  direct  examination  concur  that  the  corona  at  this 
eclipse  showed  much  less  stnicture  than  in  1898  and 
other  years  nearer  the  solar  maximum. 

One  form  in  particular  Mr.  Wesley  looked  for.  Round 
the  more  brilliant  prominences  of  1893,  the  corona  was 
perceptibly  fainter  for  some  little  distance ;  a  brighter 
margin  including  the  prominence  region  some  way 
further  out.  The  prominences  therefore  seemed  to  be 
arched  over  by  bright  coronal  matter,  giving  somewhat 
the  effect  as  if  they  were  under  glass  cases.  Mr.  Wesley 
could  not,  however,  recognize  this  "  glass  case  "  appear- 
ance, nor  do  the  photographs  clearly  show  it. 

This  last  conclusion  is  more  than  confirmed  by  the 
detailed  examination  made  by  Miss  Lilian  Martin-Leake 
with  a  three  inch  telescope  mounted  on  the  roof  of  the 
Hotel  de  la  Regence,  Algiers.  Miss  Martin-Leake  used 
a  higher  power  than  Mr.  Wesley,  and  hence  had  a 
smaller  field  of  view,  only  commanding  a  part  of  the 
corona  but  giving  this  with  more  detail.  The  portion 
of  the  limb  examined  by  Miss  Martin-Leake,  whose 
drawing  is  reproduced  in  the  plate,  had  for  its  centre 
the  gi-eat  prominence  in  the  south-west  quadrant.  It 
will  be  seen  from  the  drawing  that  the  chief  coronal 
streamer  in  the  region  iinder  examination  had  its  polar 
edge  very  sharply  defined; — nothing  fui'ther  to  the 
south,  of  a  coronal  character,  could  be  perceived  within 
the  field  of  view ;  a  circumstance  to  which  we  shall 
have  to  allude  again  a  little  later. 

Round  the  great  prominence  itself  there  was  an 
approximation,  indeed,  to  the  "  glass  case  "  effect,  but 
with  a  difference.  Instead  of  inclosing  the  prominence, 
two  of  the  "  glass  cases  "  appeared  to  start  from  between 
the  two  wings  of  the  prominence.  The  taller  of  these 
wings  was  a  conical  flame,  red  in  colour,  proceeding 
straight  upwards  from  the  limb,  tapering  to  a  fine  point 
at  its  apex  and  showing  strongly  defined  spiral  markings 
throughout  the  whole  of  its  upward  course.  The  other 
part  of  the  prominence  consisted  of  a  thick  radial  stem 
also  with  strongly  defined  spiral  markings,  but  about 
three  quarters  of  the  height  of  the  taller  prominence 
from  the  limb,  the  second  one  bent  sharply,  almost  at 
right  angles,  towards  it. 

The  same  region  was  also  examined  in  the  telescope, 
but  only  for  a  few  seconds,  by  Mr.  Crommelin,  who 
drew  three  conical  projections  corresponding  most  closely 
to  those  brighter  portions  of  the  corona  inclosed  within 
the  outlines  which  Miss  Martin-Leake  has  shown. 

11.  Dark  Rays  in  the  Corona. — I  may  be  forgiven 
for  again  reverting  here  to  the  fact  that  my  wife  and  I 
had  but  a  very  small  instrumental  equipment  both  in 
the  eclipse  of  1898  and  in  that  of  1900.  We  felt  there- 
fore that  it  would  be  quite  absurd  for  us  to  attempt  to 
do  on  a  microscopic  scale  what  was  being  done  by 
others  in  an  infinitely  more  satisfactory  manner,  namely, 
to  get  a  photographic  picture  of  the  corona.  If  our 
work  was  to  have  any  value  at  all  it  must  be  somethinsr 


different  from  that  which  others  were  doing  far  more 
efficiently  than  we  could  hope  to  do.  In  India,  there- 
fore, we  set  ourselves  a  two-fold  task ;  the  first  to  give 
a  series  of  exijosures  to  the  corona  varying  over  a  far 
wider  range  than  any  that  had  been  attempted  before ; 
the  next  to  get,  if  possible,  a  photograph  of  the  faint 
outer  streamers  of  the  corona.  Both  attempts  were 
successful,  but  inasmuch  as  our  longest  Indian  exposures 
were  the  most  successful  in  bringing  up  the  rays,  it  left 
it  an  open  question  whether  a  still  further  prolongation 
of  the  exposure  might  not  record  those  rays  to  a  still 
greater  distance  from  the  sun.  In  the  eclipse  just  past, 
therefore,  we  prolonged  our  exposures  to  the  utmost 
extent  which  the  circumstances  of  the  eclipse  permitted, 
with  the  result  of  finding  that  for  this  eclipse,  at  any 
rate,  increase  of  exposure  did  not  mean  increase  of 
extension. 

But  these  little  long-exposure  photographs  of  ours  do 
show  features  which  ai-e  not  shown,  or,  at  any  rate,  not 
shown  so  distinctly  on  our  photographs  of  shorter  ex- 
posure. Of  deliberate  purpose  we  pushed  exposure  and 
development  to  the  furthest  limit  that  the  circumstances 
of  the  case  allowed.  Our  object  was  not  to  get  a  photo- 
graphic picture  of  the  corona;  we  knew  that  was  being 
far  better  done  elsewhere.  Had  we  been  trying  for 
such,  then  both  our  exposure  and  development  would 
have  to  be  censured  as  extravagant.  As  it  was,  we 
obtained  a  most  unexpected  result  that  could  probably 
have  not  been  obtained  in  any  other  way. 

It  will  have  struck  anyone  who  has  examined  eclipse 
negatives  that  upon  these  the  moon  very  frequently 
comes  out  much  darker  than  the  sky  even  at  a  great 
distance  from  the  sun.  This  is  a  very  remarkable  cir- 
cumstance, for  we  must  remember  that  in  an  eclipse  the 
moon  is  more  fully  illuminated  by  "  eai-th-shine  "  than 
on  other  occasions.  The  moon  therefore  is  not  black 
or  anything  like  it  in  a  total  eclipse,  and  if  it  appears 
much  darker  than  the  sky,  it  can  only  be  because  there 
is  a  very  appreciable  amount  of  diffused  light  round  the 
sun  itself  perfectly  distinct  from  any  scattering  in  our 
own  atmosjjhere. 

This  consideration  gives  its  significance  to  a  very 
curious  feature  of  our  little  photographs,  namely,  some 
hlack  rays  ;  rays,  that  is  to  say,  distinctly  darker  than 
the  general  sky  background,  or  rather  what  I  may  call 
the  general  coronal  glare.  The  largest  and  darkest  of 
these  rays,  it  may  be  added,  is  that  shown  on  the  edge 
of  Miss  Martin-Leake's  drawing  as  a  region  free  from 
coronal  light. 

These  dark  rays  are  not  a  mere  contrast  effect,  for 
though  undoubtedly  the  northern  edge  of  the  principal 
one  corresponds  to  the  southern  edge  of  the  great  south- 
western streamer,  yet  it  is  traced  as  a  distinct  black  line 
further  than  the  bright  coronal  ray  on  the  border  of 
which  it  lies,  nor  is  there  any  very  manifest  bright  ray 
to  define  the  other,  that  is  to  say,  the  southern  side  of 
the  dark  ray.  These  dark  rays  therefore  can  only  be 
seen  as  such  where  the  exposure  and  development  have 
been  sufficient  to  bring  up  the  general  coronal  glare. 

The  matter  is  one  of  great  importance  as  it  regards 
our  conception  of  coronal  structure.  The  explanation 
of  the  great  rifts  which  have  often  caught  attention 
both  in  the  corona  itself  when  obsei-ved  directly  and  in 
photographs  of  it,  has  been  extremely  difficult,  on  the 
assumption  that  they  are  the  mere  intei'spaces  between 
the  bright  streamers,  since  it  is  inconceivable  that  the 
corona  is  really  what  it  appears  to  be,  an  object  in  two 
dimensions  only.  I  think  our  photographs,  though  on 
so  small  a  scale,  afford  evidence  that  in  .some  cases  at 


Knoirlfdi/i-. 


THE   CORONA   OF    1900,    MAY   28    (S.W.    QUADRANT). 

From    a    Drawing    by    Miss    Lilian     Martin-Lcake.    with    a    3-inch     Refractor, 
at    the    Hotel    cic    la    Regence,    Algiers. 


AcGUST  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


3  79 


least  the  coronal  rifts  ai-e  neither  contrast  effects  nor 
mere  intoi^spaces  between  bright  rays,  but  are  caused 
bv  the  interposition  of  actual  dark  absorbing  matter 
between  ourselves  and  the  general  dilTused  coronal  glow. 
The  form  of  the  corona,  iis  it  .appears  to  us,  is  therefore 
not  wholly  an  emission,  but  partly  an  absorption  cfTect. 


SOME    EARLY    THEORIES    ON 
FERMENTATION. -II. 

By   W.   Stanley  Smith,   ph.d. 
(Concluded from  page  155.) 

Van  Leeiwenhock,  1632—1723,  was  the  first  to  behold 
the  beautiful  cells  of  the  yeast  plant,  jSacr/iaruiiii^ccs, 
and  he  it  is  who  first  records  their  morphology.  It  is, 
however,  all  too  certain  that  Van  Leeuwenliock  passed 
away  unconscious  that  his  cells  were  endowed  with  life  ; 
they  were  to  him  "  globulis  nempe  ox  quibus  farina, 
mere  globules  of  starchy  nature  derived  from  the  cereals, 
wherewith  the  early  brewer  prepared  his  wort.  More 
than  a  century  and  a  half  must  perforce  roll  by  ere 
Caignard  de  la  Tour,  in  France,  and  Schwann,  in 
Germany,  could  proclaim  the  vital  nature  of  our  yeast. 
The  former  man  of  science,  observing  that  it  lacked 
the  power  of  motion,  dubbed  yeast  a  plant,  and  pro- 
claimed this  plant  to  be  the  first  cause  of  alcoholic 
fermentation.  Schwann,  on  the  other  hand,  arrived  at 
the  same  conclusions,  only  by  a  very  different  method 
of  reasoning.  He  believed  that  only  mineral  poisons 
were  fatal  to  plant^life,  whereas  animals  succumbed 
to  both  mineral  and  vegetable  toxicants.  He  found 
his  yeast-plant  unharmed  by  strychnine,  whilst  it 
succumbed  to  the  presence  of  arsenic.  In  order  to 
illustrate  the  veritable  depth  of  learning  achieved  by 
Schwann,  we  must  quote  some  few  of  his  words.  "  It 
is  impossible,"  says  he,  "  to  mistake  the  connection 
between  fermentation  and  the  gi'owth  of  the  sugar-mould, 
and  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  growth  of  this  mould 
is  the  cause  of  the  phenomenon  attending  fermentation. 
As,  however,  it  is  necessary,  in  order  to  produce  a 
fermentation,  to  have  a  nitrogenous  substance  present, 
as  well  as  sugar,  it  seems  that  the  jjresencc  of  nitrogen 
is  a  condition  which  must  be  complied  with  for  the 
purpose  of  furthering  the  development  of  this  plant,  and 
hence,  that  the  plant  itself  contains  nitrogen."  These 
last  words  may  be  read  in  connection  with  those  of  an 
Italian  chemist,  Fabrioni,  who  in  1787  discovered  the 
yeast  ferment  to  be  what  he  termed  a  "  vegeto-animal 
substance — that  is.  a  body  which  gives  off  ammonia 
when  burned,  and  is  similar  to  the  albumen  and  casein 
of  animals,  or  the  gluten  of  plants. 

Turn  to  the  dryest  of  dry-as-dust  journals,  the 
Aniialen  der  I'harmacie,  and  selecting  Volume  XXIX., 
read  from  page  100,  onwards,  "  When  yeast  is  shaken 
up  with  water  it  appears,  if  examined  under  the  micro- 
scope, to  consist  of  infinitely  small  globules,  and  of  fine 
threads,  unquestionably  composed  of  some  kind  of 
albumen.  If  you  place  these  globules  in  sugar-water, 
it  becomes  evident  that  they  are  the  eggs  of  an  animal ; 
they  swell,  burst,  and  therefrom  issues  a  minute  organism 
which  reproduces  itself  with  astounding  rapidity,  and 
by  a  hitherto  unknown  method.  The  appearance  of 
this  animal  differs  widely  from  any  of  the  six  hundred 
species  at  present  described ;  it  is  like  a  Beindorf 
distilling  flask,  without  the  condensing  tubes.  The  neck 
of  the  flask,  which  acts  as  a  sucking  trunk,  is  lined  with 
fine  hairs,  but  both  eyes  and  teeth  are  missing. 
Stomach,  intestines,  anus  (a  small  rose-coloured  point), 


and  urinaiy  organs  ai'e  till  developed.  At  the  moment 
of  release  from  the  egg,  one  can  sec  the  animals  imbibe 
the  sugai'-water  with  great  relish,  and  also  witness  the 
passage  of  the  sugar  into  their  stomachs.  Digestion 
follows  at  once,  and  alcohol  passes  from  the  intestines 
whilst  carbonic  acid  escapes  from  the  urinary 
organs.  ...  If  the  liquid  be  boiled,  fermentation 
ceases,  because  the  animals  arc  unable  to  live  at  such 
high  temperatures.  Excess  of  alcohol,  sulphurous  acid, 
or  any  minerid  acids,  are  likewise  fatal  to  these 
creatures."  Thus  writes  the  ribald  scoffer,  and  with 
diabolical  ingenuity  explains  that,  all  the  sugar  being 
decomposed,  these  marvellous  creatures  of  his  fancy  cat 
one  another,  "  digesting^  everything  but  the  eggs,  which 
pass  out  once  more  and  furnish  material  for  further 
fermentation." 

Despite  this  obvious  satire  (one  wonders  how  it  ever 
got  into  the  Annalen),  the  vital  theory  of  fermentation 
would,  in  all  probability,  have  been  accepted,  had  it  not 
happened  that  another  giant  intellect  visited  our  orb, 
in  the  person  of  Justus  von  Liebig.  It  must  be  related 
of  Liebig  that  he  opposed  the  vital  theory  of  fermenta- 
tion, but  when  he  came  across  the  memorable  words  of 
Ernst  Stahl,  he  undoubtedly  brought  the  full  force  of  a 
chemical  mind  to  bear  upon  them,  and  so  we  find  the 
molecular  theory  of  Justus  von  Liebig  is  an  amplifica- 
tion of  that  espoused  by  Ernst  Stahl,  extended  and 
fulfilled  by  some  few  facts  his  experiments  had  taught 
him.  We  can  thus  present  the  Liebig  theories: — The 
component  particles  of  a  decomposing  body  ai'c  in  con- 
stant motion,  and  this  motion  is,  of  a  necessity,  conveyed 
from  one  body  (the  cause  of  fermentation)  to  the  sub- 
stance with  which  it  is  in  intimate  contact  {e.g.,  the 
dissolved  ingredients  of  the  brewers'  worts).  Liebig 
exerted  his  knowledge  to  the  utmost  in  order  to  gainsay 
his  opponents,  and  we  can  find  numerous  echoes  of  his 
opinions  on  these  matters,  interspersed  between  the  lines 
of  sundry  volumes,  translated,  in  his  early  years,  by  the 
late  Lord  Playfair,  as  well  as  in  the  translations  of 
Liebig's  works  furnished  by  Gregory  and  Blyth.  It 
seems  passing  strange  to  us  that  a  mere  mechanical 
theory  should  have  taken  root,  when  Caignard  de  la 
Tour,  Schwann  and  Turpin,  had  spoken ;  but  such  it 
was,  and  until  Pasteur  had  dashed  their  idols  to  the 
ground,  a  process  further  effected  by  Tyndall  and  Huxley 
in  later  years,  men  scoffed  for  the  most  part  at  Turpin's 
remarkable  words.  They  run  thus,  and  we  will  accept 
them  as  truth  until  convinced  to  the  contrary  :  "  Vege- 
tation as  cause,  and  fermentation  as  effect,  are  two 
things  inseparable  in  an  act  of  sugar  decomposition." 

Berzelius,  who,  said  Prof.  A.  W.  Williamson,  "  had 
been  for  a  lengthened  period  the  one  great  man  in  the 
domains  of  inorganic  chemistry,"  and  who  himself  de- 
clared he  had  made  his  greatest  discovery  in  unearthing 
apothecary  Scheele,  laid  siege  to  both  the  theories  of 
Schwann  (vital  forces)  and  Liebig  (mechanical  forces), 
and  steered  his  way  through  the  mudbanks  of  con- 
troversy by  declaring  the  characteristics  of  yeast  to  be 
but  the  natural  attributes  of  an  amoi-phous  precipitate. 
Also  one  Ehrenbcrg  declares  that  many  amorphous 
deposits  may  be  observed  in  wreath-like  forms,  a  bare 
initial  fact  revealed  by  hasty  microscopic  peeping.  The 
Swede,  Berzelius,  did,  of  a  surety,  endow  his  amorphous 
precipitate  with  certain  catalytic  forces,  and  we  find,  in 
the  pages  of  Puggemlorfs  Annalen,  a  well-known  man, 
called  Mitscherlich,  came  to  somewhat  like  conclusions. 
He,  Mitscherlich,  describes  his  force  as  that  of  contact, 
and  quotes,  with  due  erudition,  the  mysterious  action 
of  platinium  sponge  on  hydrogen  per-oxide.     And  yet 


180 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[August  1,  1900. 


more  theories  echo  from  these  times,  mostly  buried  now 
in  the  tombs  of  Meissner,  who  verily  believes  the  action 
of  yeast  is  purely  chemical,  of  Colin  and  Kiimtz,  and 
other  men  of  science,  who  deem  the  whole  matter  con- 
nected with  electrical  phenomena. 

Let  us  just  put  together  the  three  or  four  main 
schemes  of  fermentation,  as  set  forth  by  as  many  eminent 
philosophers.  In  the  first  place,  we  will  put  the  vital 
theory,  so  well  defined  in  Turj^in's  words  already  quoted. 
It  finds  support,  at  one  time  and  another,  from  Caignard 
de  la  Tour,  Schwann,  Kiitzing,  Van  der  Brock,  Bichat, 
and  lastly  the  illustrious  Pasteur.  As  against  this  vital 
theory,  we  must  place  that  of  mechanical  forces, 
originated  by  Stabl  and  Willis,  and  championed  by 
Justus  von  Liebig,  aided  and  abetted  by  Gerhardt. 
Then,  again,  the  theory  of  catalytic  forces,  or  contact- 
action,  as  set  forth  by  Berzelius  and  Mitscherlich,  has 
to  be  reckoned  with,  so  that  when,  in  the  fulness  of 
time,  Pasteur  uttered  his  mandate,  it  brought  immense 
relief  to  the  minds  of  all  concerned  therewith.  "  My 
firm  opinion,"  said  Pasteur,  "  is  that  the  chemical  act 
of  fermentation  is  a  correlative  phenomenon  of  a  vital 
act,  both  beginning  and  ending  with  such  an  act.  I 
cannot  conceive  the  possibility  of  alcoholic  fermentation, 
without  there  being,  at  the  same  time,  organisation, 
development,  growth  of  new  globules  or  the  continuation 
of  consecutive  life  of  globules  already  formed." 

The  question  now  naturally  arises,  whence  came  these 
globules  ?  The  records  of  earliest  times  teach  us  of  races 
of  human  beings  who  are  deeply  convinced  of  the  truth 
of  spontaneous  generation,  allied,  in  some  cases,  to  an 
erudite  philosophical  conception  which  declares  life  itself 
is  but  an,  almost,  chance  attribute  of  certain  molecules, 
which  themselves  form  the  basis  of  all  things  living. 

But  perhaps  it  is  chiefly  due  to  a  deep-thinking 
Catholic  priest,  Needham,  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society, 
that  the  true  cause  and  nature  of  fermentations  was  first 
suggested.  How  he  sprang  upon  the  idea  of  boiling 
solutions  in  bottles,  and  then  closing  them  up,  we  can 
scarce  relate,  but  it  is  to  his  eternal  credit  that  he  actually 
did  first  boil  and  then  seal,  and  thereby  Needham  ob- 
tained the  master-key  which  unfolded  the  portals 
guarding  all  the  glories  of  modern  bacteriology.  We 
are  reluctant  to  record  that  Needham's  boiled  solutions 
did  not  keep  for  any  length  of  time,  but  another  learned 
cleric,  one  Spallanzini,  soon  defined  the  reason  thereof, 
and,  having  subjected  the  liquids  to  prolonged  ebullition, 
he  straightway  hermetically  closes  his  flasks.  In  such- 
like manner  was  the  time-honoured  theory  generatio 
aequivoca,  of  spontaneous  generation,  first  laid  in  dust 
and  ashes.  Men  began  to  realise  what  mai'vels  and 
mysteries  were  borne  on  each  passing  breeze ;  they 
divined  the  ursprung  of  the  fermentations  that  attacked 
sugar  solutions  and  meat  broth ;  and,  moreover,  the 
teachings  of  science  were  applied  in  most  practical 
manner,  as  in  the  classic  arrangements  of  Appert. 
Scheele  was  the  first  to  initiate  the  process  we  now  call 
"  pasteurizing,"  or  the  sterilization  of  changeable 
materials  by  heat. 

From  many  experiments,  Gay-Lussac  (1778-1850)  was 
enabled  to  utter  forth  strange  revelations  as  to  the 
robbery  of  oxygen  from  the  air  imprisoned  in  hermeti- 
cally closed  flasks  containing  putrescible  materials, 
whereby  men  had  but  little  difficulty  in  connecting 
this  gas  with  the  urgent  demands  of  all  life.  And 
from  these  points  onwards  we  have  witnesed  the  teach- 
ings of  Pasteur  and  Hansen,  the  former  of  whom  has 
already  been  cited,  whilst  the  latter,  as  the  great  bio- 
logical  and  botanical  exjjert  of  yeasts,  does  not  come 


directly  under  the  categoi-y  of  subjects  we  are  at  present 
discussing. 

The  present-day  theorists  are  divided  into  two  distinct 
schools,  namely  :  those  concerned  with  the  vital  theory, 
and  the  others  who,  to  some  extent,  espouse  a  reversion 
to  older  chemical  hypotheses  known  as  Professor 
Buchner's  zymase  theory.  The  learned  Tiibingen  pro- 
fessor succeeded  in  extracting  from  living  yeast  cells 
an  enzyme,  or  soluble  ferment,  which  he  calls  zymase, 
and  which  has  been  proved  capable  of  inducing  the 
same  alcoholic  fermentation  as  that  hitherto  accredited 
only  to  the  living  and  multiplying  yeast  cells.  Numerous 
other  men  of  science  have  confirmed  these  startling 
experiments,  amongst  others,  our  English  botanist, 
Reynolds  Green,  who  detailed  his  work  on  the  subject 
at  the  Bristol  meeting  of  the  British  Association  for 
the  Advancement  of  Science.  The  idea  is  in  reality 
a  revival  of  similar  theories  advanced  half-a-century  ago 
by  Traube  and  Hojjpe-Seyler,  but  Buchner  has  been 
able  to  support  his  hypothesis  by  actual  experiment,  an 
indispensable  adjunct  lacking  in  many  earlier  commen- 
taries on  fermentation.  The  battle  is  still  being  waged, 
and  it  is  not  possible  for  us,  at  present,  to  adjudicate 
victory  to  either  side. 

In  conclusion,  we  must  offer  most  humble  apologies 
to  a  vast  host  of  learned  shades,  the  ofi^spring  of  whose 
imaginative  brains  we  have  had  neither  leisure  nor  desire 
to  exhume.  Their  strange  theories,  and  stranger  person- 
alities, belong  to  a  long-vanished  past,  and  we  have  not 
deemed  it  wise  to  drag  them  from  out  the  "  dark  back- 
ward and  abysm  of  Time."  Our  barque  has  been  borne, 
with  exceeding  rapidity,  clown  the  stream  of  many  ages ; 
it  only  remains  for  us  to  ask,  Where  will  she  find  a 
haven  in  the  centuries  to  come  ? 


93ntisi|  ©trntljologtcal  Notes. 

Conducted  by  Habr?  P.  Withebbt,  f.z.s.,  m.b.o.u. 

Bird  Protection.  —  At  the  annual  dinner  of  the 
British  Ornithologists'  Union  the  following  excellent 
resolution  was  proposed  by  Mr,  E.  G.  B.  Meade-Waldo, 
seconded  by  Mr.  H.  M.  TJpcher,  and  carried  unani- 
mously : — "  That  any  member  of  the  Union,  directly  or 
indirectly  responsible  for  the  destruction  of  nest,  eggs, 
young  or  parent^birds  of  any  of  the  species  mentioned 
below — Osprey,  Kite,  White-tailed  Eagle,  Honey  Buzzard, 
Common  Buzzard,  Hoopoe,  Golden  Oriole,  Ruil,  Bittern 
and  Chough — should  be  visited  with  the  severest  censure 
of  the  Union."  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  resolution 
will  deter  those  members  who  arc  in  the  habit  of  pur- 
chasing British  taken  eggs  from  buying  the  eggs  of 
these  birds,  and  thus  becoming  indirectly  responsible 
for  their  destruction.  All  the  birds  mentioned  will 
require  the  strictest  protection  in  Great  Bi'itain  for 
many  years  before  they  can  again  become  at  all 
numerous.  All  the  laws — and  now  there  are  many  for 
bird  protection — are  practically  useless  as  long  as  buyers 
of  eggs  and  skins  insist  on  having  British  taken  speci- 
mens. And,  after  all,  it  is  only  a  matter  of  sentiment 
that  the  eggs  or  birds  should  be  British  taken.  There 
are  many  places  abroad  v/here  the  species  named  above 
are  common,  and  the  birds  and  eggs  taken  there  are 
precisely  similar  to  those  taken  in  England  or  Scotland. 
And  yet  ornithologists,  who  know  perfectly  well  that 
these  birds  are  fast  dying  out  in  Great  Britain,  create 
a  demand  for  their  eggs  and  skins.  We  know  of  a 
dealer — would  that  we  knew  his  name — who  has  lately 
taken  many  clutches  of  the  eggs  of  the  Kite  in  Wales, 
where  these  birds  arc  said  to  still  "  hold  their  own  !" 


August  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


181 


The  Great  Shenncater  in  Scottish  Waters.  By  Alfred  Ncwtun, 
M.A.,  F.B.s.  (A HHiih  of  Scottish  y,tt  Hist.,  July,  1900,  jip.  1 1:.'147  ) 
Tliis  is  a  very  intorosting  oontribiition  from  tlie  pon  ol'  Prof.  Xewrou, 
who.  in  couipauy  with  Mr.  UciirT  Kvaiis,  on  two  sppiirato  occasions 
saw  an  extraordinary  number  of  these  birds  off  the  west  coast  of 
Scotland.  On  the  L'Tth  of  June.  1891,  between  thirty  and  fifty  pairs 
werv  seen  between  Lewis  and  North  Hona,  while  on  June  L'lth,  1895, 
a  still  greater  number  were  seen  near  St.  Kddn.  I'rior  to  ths  the 
known  instances  of  the  occurrence  of  the  Great  Shearwater  in  Scottish 
waters  did  not  amount  to  many  more  than  six.  A  point  of  great 
general  interest  was  brought  out  by  this  "  visitation "  of  Great 
Shearwaters.  Several  specimens  were  obtained  by  the  fishermen  of 
St.  KUda.  From  the  examination  of  these  birds,  other  skins  and 
figures.  Prof.  Xewton  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  members  of  the 
group  Tuhinares,  which  contains  some  of  the  birds  best  endowed  with 
the  power  of  Uight,  so  moult  their  wings  as  to  become  almost,  if 
not  quite,  incapable  of  it. 

Scnps  Old  in  Shetland.  [Annals  of  Scottish  Xat.  Bist..  July. 
19«k),  p.  184  )  Mr.  Eagle  Clarke  has  received  a  wing  and  leg  from 
the  island  of  Foula,  which  he  identifies  as  those  of  Scops  rjiu.  The 
birtl  was  first  seen  in  April  of  this  year,  and  was  eventually  captured 
and  kept  in  conlnement.  The  recorded  instances  of  this  Owl  in 
Scotland  are  very  few  m  number,  and  it  has  never  before  been  known 
to  visit  the  Shetland  Islands. 

All  contributions  to  the  column,  either  in  the  way  of  notes 
or  photofir,i}>h.t,  shotdd  he  forwardtd  to  Haery  F.  NVitherby, 
at  1,  Eliot  Pltice,  Blachiieath,  Kent. 

♦— 

The  Annual  Awards  of  the  Royal  Geographical 
Society. — The  annual  awards  of  the  Society  have  been 
made  as  follows  for  the  present  year :  The  Founder's 
Medal  to  Captain  H.  H.  P.  Deasy,  for  the  exploring 
and  survey  work  which  he  has  accomplished  in  Central 
Asia;  the  Patron's  Medal  to  Mr.  James  McCarthy,  for 
his  great  services  to  geographical  science  in  exploring 
and  mapping  all  parts  of  the  Kingdom  of  Siam ;  the 
Murchison  Award  to  M.  H.  Arctowski,  for  the  valuable 
oceanographical  and  meteoi'ological  work  which  he  per- 
formed on  the  Belgian  Antarctic  Expedition ;  the  Gill 
Memorial  to  Mr.  Vaughan  Cornish,  for  his  researches 
on  sea-beaches,  sand-dunes,  and  on  wave-forms  in  water ; 
the  Back  Grant  to  Mr.  Robert  Codrington,  for  his  jour- 
neys in  the  region  between  Lakes  Nyasa  and  Tang- 
anyika; the  Cuthbert  Peek  Grant  to  Mr.  T.  J. 
AJldridge,  for  his  journeys  during  the  past  ten  years  in 
the  interior  of  Sierra  Leone. 


iJoti'ccs^ofJ3oofts. 

"  Pre-Hi.storic  Times."  6th  Edition.  Br  the  Rt.  Hon.  Lord 
Arebury.  xxiii.  and  314  pp.  Illu.strated.  (Williams  and  Norgate.) 
18s.  The  distinguished  author  ibetter  known  as  Sir  John  Lubbock) 
of  this  ever-popular  work  is  to  bs  heartily  congratulated  on  the 
issue  of  its  sixth  edition.  Since  the  publication  of  the  second 
edition  in  1869  no  special  preface  has  appeared,  and  it  is  therefore 
necessary  to  compare  the  present  volume  with  the  fifth  edition 
(1890)  in  order  to  see  how  much  it  has  been  improved.  The 
number  of  pages  is  somewhat  less  than  in  its  predecessor,  but  the 
plates  have  been  greatly  increased  in  the  present  issue,  partly 
owing  to  many  of  the  figures  which  formerly  appeared  in  the  text 
having  been  incorporated  in  the  plates.  Specially  noticeable  is 
the  replacement  of  the  coloured  frontispiece  of  the  fifth  edition 
by  an  ex((uisite  photogravure  of  the  well-known  tumuli  at  I'jisala ; 
and  there  can  be  no  question  in  its  present  guise,  so  far  as 
illustrations  are  concerned,  that  the  sixth  edition  is  immea.surablv 
superior  to  the  fifth. 

Xumerons  a'lditions  have  likewise  been  made  in  the  text  in  order 
to  aid  in  bringing  the  book  abreast  of  modern  advances  in  science, 
the  work  of  the  Messrs.  Sarasin  on  the  V'eddas  of  C'evlon  being 
alluded  to  (perhaps  too  briefly)  on  p.  415,  while  Prof"  Hughes  s 
memoir  on  prehistoric  and  other  cattle  receives  mention  on  p. 
195.  Strangely  enough,  however,  the  author  seems  to  be  unaware 
of  the  existence  of  a  work  entitled  "Wild  Oxen,  Sheep,  and  Goats 
of  All  Lands,"  published  by  Mr.  Rowland  Ward  in  1898,  in  wliich 
nvmy  of  the  views  advanced  in  the  present  volume  are  controverted. 
-■Vn  1  in  regard  to  both  wild  and  tame  members  of  the  genus  Bos 
the  author  -would  have  done  well  to  have  consulted  a  specialist, 
or  at  least  to  have  walked  carefully  through  the  galleries  o!  the 
Katural  History  Museum.  We  shouldnot  then  have  been  told  that  the 


European  bison  is  now  confined  to  Lithuaiu  i  y  \'h],  or  that  it  is 
identical  with  the  aurochs.  Neither  would  the  reader  have  been 
imzzled  by  the  confusion  in  reganl  to  the  proper  scientilic  name  of 
the  extinct  wil  I  ox  of  Europe  (the  true  aurochs),  as  will  be  nparenb 
by  comparing  the  tables  on  pji.  188  and  22,'^.  Again  we  find  the 
eik,  roebuck  Ij).  1881,  and  reindeer  ip.  268),  wliich  respectively 
represent  three  totally  dill'erent  genera,  all  inclu<led  In  tlie  genus 
Cervus,  whereas  the  so-called  Irish  elk,  which  is  a  Catvus,  figures 
as  a  genus  apart  (p.  268).  As  another  example  we  may  notice  that 
the  marten  appears  as  Muslcla  martes  on  ji.  188,  and  as  Martes  sp. 
on  p.  225 :  and  many  other  similar  instances  might  be  cited. 
Xor  are  misprints  by  any  means  wanting,  as,  for  instance.  Sua 
pulustris  on  the  head  line  of  p.  192,  instead  of  I'aluslris,  Cervus 
elephas,  p.  223,  for  Elaphus,  and  Lagomys  fusillus,  p.  279,  for 
pusiUus. 

These  critical  remarks  are  made  in  no  hostile  spirit,  but  rather 
to  emphasize  the  necessity  for  calling  in  the  aid  of  a  specialist 
when  an  author  has  to  deal  with  a  subject  in  which  he  is  noG 
thoroughly  at  home. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  the  portion  relating  to  mammals  which 
forms  the  one  weak  part  in  the  book,  upon  which  in  other  respects 
we  have  nothing  but  praise  to  bestow.  Were  it  a  new  work,  we 
should  call  the  reader's  attention  to  the  extremely  interesting 
chapters  relating  to  stone  and  bone  weapons  of  all  kinds,  and  also 
to  the  fascinating  sectitm  devoted  to  the  manners  and  customs  of 
modern  savages,  but  in  the  case  of  a  work  which  has  already 
obtained  such  a  world-wide  reputatiim  this  would  obviously  be 
superfluous,  not  to  say  impertinent.  We  may  therefore  conclude 
by  the  exjiressitm  of  the  hope  that  the  patronage  accorded  to  the 
sixth  edition  of  this  famous  work  may  be  fully  as  extensive  as 
that  with  which  its  forerunners  were  received. 

"  The  Distribution  of  the  Negritos  in  the  Philippine  Islands  and 
elsewhere."  I'.y  A.  B.  Meyer,  m.d.  pp.  96.  (Dresden  : 
Stenzel  &  Co.)  1899.  The  chief  object  of  this  excellent  little  work 
seems  to  be  to  disprove  the  widely  spread  idea  that  the  short, 
round-headed,  frizzly-haired,  black  people  commonly  known  as 
Negritos  form  a  substratum  of  the  p<)pulati(m  over  a  large  extent 
of  the  Malayan  countries,  and  that  they  also  occur  in  Formosa,  as 
well  as  in  certain  districts  of  China,  Japan,  India,  etc.  For  this 
theory,  wliich  was  ado|ited  by  the  late  Sir  William  Flower,  the 
French  anthropologist  Professor  Hamy  is  mainly  responsible.  As 
the  result  of  his  investigations,  the  learned  Director  of  the  Dresden 
Museum  (who  has  personally  visited  the  I'hilippines,  New  (iuinea, 
and  many  of  the  Austro-Malayan  islands)  comes  to  the  cunclusi(m 
that  the  typical  Negritos  are  restricted  to  certain  islands  of  the 
Philippine  group,  the  Andamans,  and  some  districts  in  the  Malay 
Peninsula.  In  the  Philippines  these  people  are  more  numerous 
than  elsewhere,  although  even  there  they  form  only  a  comparatively 
small  projiortion  of  the  population. 

A  very  important  section  of  the  work  is  devoted  to  the  consider  i- 
tion  of  the  relation.ship  of  the  true  Negritos  to  the  Melanesia!! 
inhabitants  of  Papua,  who  are  typically  of  taller  stature,  with  a 
long  and  narrow  type  of  skull.  Short-headed  people  are,  however, 
to  be  met  with  in  Papua,  who  have  been  considered  to  represciit 
a  distinct  Negrito  race.  But,  following  the  lead  of  Mr.  Muclay, 
Dr.  Meyer  is  of  opinion  that  Negritos  and  Papuans  are  essentially 
one  and  the  same  race.  "A  Negritic  race,"  he  writes,  ".side  by 
side  with  the  Papuan  race  nobody  has  been  able  to  discover  jusl 
because  it  does  not  exist,  and  it  does  not  exist  because  the  Papuan 
race,  in  spite  of  its  variability,  is  on  the  one  hand  a  uniform  race, 
and  on  the  other  as  good  as  identical  with  the  Negritos." 

Finally,  Dr.  Meyer  is  very  emphatic  on  the  futility  of  the 
craniometry  as  now  practised,  remarking  that  "  the  jiractice  of 
describing  a  skull  in  detail  will  never  lead  to  profitable  results,  and 
only  burdens  the  literature  of  the  subject  beyond  measure." 

"Micro-Organisms  and  Fermentation."  By  Alfred  Jorgensen. 
Translated  by  A.  K.  Miller,  pu.d..  and  A.  K.  Lennliidm.  Thi  ■(! 
Edition,  xiii.  and  318  pp.  (Macmillan.)  10s.  net.  So  rapid  is  the 
growth  of  the  branch  of  science  with  which  this  book  deals  that 
though  the  first  edition  appeared  only  seven  years  ago  the  author  has 
found  it  necessary,  in  order  to  incorporate  the  new  work  accomplished 
in  the  intei-val,  to  entirely  rewrite  a  large  jiortion  of  the  book  and  to 
enlarge  it  very  considerably.  The  new  edition  differs  from  its  pre- 
decessors in  containing  a  biological  treatment  of  several  English 
high-fermentation  yeasts,  isolated  from  yeast  used  in  breweries  and 
distilleries  in  various  jiails  of  Great  Britain  ;  an  account  of  the 
changes  recently  discovered  occtu'ring  in  yeast  during  its  use  in 
factories  ;  and  a  description  of  lactic  acid  bacteria,  and  the  use  of 
pure  cultures  of  them  in  dairies.  We  find  with  regret  that  the 
volume  is  not  provided  with  an  index.  This  is  a  somewhat  serious 
omission  in  a  technical  book  of  this  nature,  which  will  be  so  largely 
employed  as  a  work  of  reference.  Fortunately  this  defect  can  be 
easily  renieilied,  and  we  trust  tlie  translators  will  see  that  a  com 
plete  index  is  provided  in  the  next  issue.     The  text  is  accompanied 


182 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[August  1,  1900. 


by  some  eighty-three  clear  and  instructive  illustrations,  while  the 
bibliography  at  the  end  of  the  volume,  occupying  as  it  does  over 
forty  pages,  will  prove  of  real  service  to  students  of  bacteriology 
and  to  the  scientific  brewer. 

"The  Principles  of  Mechanics."  By  Heinrich  Hertz,  translated 
by  D.  E.  Jones,  E.so.  (Macmillan.) "  10s.  net.  "Presented  in  a 
new  form  "  is  the  claim  jjut  forward  in  this  treatise  on  the  principles 
of  mechanics.  In  it  the  axithor  has  endeavoured  to  give  a  consistent 
representation  of  a  complete  and  connected  system  of  mechanics, 
and  to  deduce  all  the  separate  special  laws  of  this  science  from  a  single 
fundamental  law  which,  logically  considered,  can,  of  course,  only 
be  regarded  as  a  plausible  hypothesis.  He  has  chosen  as  his  starting- 
point  that  of  the  oldest  theories,  namely,  the  conception  that  all 
mechanical  processes  go  on  as  if  the  connections  between  the  various 
parts  whch  act  upon  each  other  M'ere  fixed,  a  method  of  procedure 
in  which  much  scientific  insight  and  imaginative  power  are  re- 
quired, and,  with  all  its  im|ierfections,  the  logical  .system  of 
dynamics  thus  evolved  with  the  greatest  ingenuity  and  perfect 
mathematical  form  will  be  appreciated  as  a  guide  to  the  general 
characteristics  of  natural  forces.  It  is  a  work  unsuited  for  the 
systematic  teaching  of  mechanics,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  affords 
a  comjjlete  survey  of  all  the  more  important  general  propositions  in 
mechanics.  All  the  2>rinciples  are  there,  it  is  true,  just  as  the 
chemical  composition  of  water  is  the  .same  at  the  Poles  and  the 
Kquator,  but  to  bathe  in  the  Arctic  Ocean  one  needs  hardening  a 
little,  and  to  read  this  book  with  profit  it  is  necessary  to  approach 
it  through  a  milder  medium. 

"Practical  Physiology."  7th  Edition.  By  M.  Foster  and  J.  N. 
Langley.  (Macmillan.)  Illustrated.  7s.  6d.  Sir  Michael  Foster's 
book,  first  printed  in  1876.  and  now  having  reached  the  7th  edition 
under  the  care  of  Drs.  Langley  and  Shore,  needs  but  a,  few  words  of 
e.\planation  as  to  the  modifications  introduced  in  order  to  meet  the 
present  day  requirements.  While  the  original  general  arrangement 
remains  practically  the  same,  the  sections  dealing  with  chemical 
physiology  and  the  physiology  of  muscle  and  nerve  have  been  ex- 
tensively revised,  and  we  note  with  some  regret  that  the  portion  on 
the  dissection  of  the  rabbit  and  dog  has  been  omitted,  because,  as 
the  authors  say,  "  the  specialization  of  study  which  has  taken  p  ace 
in  the  last  twenty-five  years  seemed  to  make  this  omission  in- 
evitable." Still,  in  our  opinion,  the  book  in  its  amended  form  will 
maintain  a  foremost  place  among  laboratory  manuals  of  its  kind. 

"Man  and  His  Ancestor."  By  Charles  Morris,  vii.  and  238  pp. 
(New  York  :  The  Macmillan  Company.)  5s.  Towards  the  end  of 
his  book  Mr.  Morris  describes  its  purpose  as  being  "  to  trace  the 
evolutionary  origin  of  man,  in  his  ascent  from  the  lower  animal 
world  to  his  full  stature  as  the  physical  and  intellectual  monarch  of 
the  kingdom  of  life"  (p.  225).  We  had  come  to  the  conclusion, 
before  reaching  his  concluding  chapter,  that  Mr.  Morris  had  suc- 
ceeded in  giving,  in  a  very  attractive  manner,  a  fair  exposition  of 
the  present  state  of  evolutionary  ideas  on  the  ancestry  of  man,  so 
that  we  are  able  to  congratulate  him  upon  having  satisfactorily' 
completed  the  task  he  set  himself.  Starting  with  a  rapid  review 
of  the  vestigial  structures  found  in  the  human  body.  Mr.  Morris 
proceeds  to  detail  the  various  relics  of  ancient  men  which  have  tieen 
discovered  in  different  localities.  The  questions  of  the  transition 
from  quadruped  to  biped  and  the  steps  which  led  to  a  completa 
freedom  of  the  arms  are  then  dealt  with,  after  which  less  teclmical 
subjects  are  considered,  such  as,  the  development  of  intelligence, 
the  origin  of  language,  the  evolution  of  morality,  and  man's  relation 
with  things  sjiiritual.  We  surmise  that  tlie  majority  of  people 
who  study  books  of  this  class  are  more  directly  interested  in  the 
theory  of  evolution  so  far  as  it  takes  notice  of  the  moral  side  of 
man's  personality,  and  they  will  be  most  anxious  to  know  how  this 
subject  is  handled.  One  or  two  sentences  will  .serve  sufficiently  to 
indicate  the  author's  view.  "  What  we  call  sinfulness  is  largelv  a 
matter  of  custom  and  convention.  Men  cannot  properly  be  said  to 
sin  when  their  actions  are  checked  by  no  conscientious  scruples,  and 
what  one  people  woidd  consider  atrocious  instances  of  wrong-doin", 
might  be  looked  upon  as  innocent  and  even  estimable  by  a  people 
with  a  different  moral  standard  "  (p.  221).  Sometimes  Mr.  Morri.5 
shows  an  unfortunate  disposition  to  forget  his  scientific  resolutions 
and  indulges  in  fanciful  language,  which  is  out  of  place  in  a  serious 
treatise,  e.g.,  "  Tlie  love  principle  is  the  innate  moral  element  of  the 
universe.  Its  rudimentary  form  is  the  attractiim  between  atoms, 
which  expands  into  the  attraction  between  spheres.  We  see  a 
development  of  it  in  the  magnetic  and  electric  attractions,  and  a 
higuer  one  in  the  sexual  attraction  that  exists  in  the  lowest  or- 
ganisms. Its  expansion  continues  until  it  reaches  the  high  level 
of  human  love  and  social  sympathy"  (p.  217). 

There  is  now  in  the  press,  and  will  shortly  be  published  by 
Messrs.  Young  in  Liverpool,  and  Messrs.  Porter  in  London,  the 
Beport  on  the  conjoint  expedition  to  Sokotra  and  Abd-el-Kuri, 
conducted  in  1898-9  by  the  British  Museum  (represented  by  Mr. 
Ogilvie-rTrant.   of  the   Zoological   Dcjiartment)   and   the   Liveriwol 


Museums  (represented  by  the  Birector  of  Museums  to  the  Cor- 
poration, H.  O.  Forbes,  ll.d.).  The  expense  of  its  publication 
is  borne  by  the  Museums  Committee  of  the  Liverpool  City 
Council,  and  it  is  edited  by  Dr.  Forbes.  It  will  be  illustrated  by 
between  twenty-five  and  thirty  plates,  chiefly  coloured,  depicting 
the  zoological  and  botanical  discoveries  of  the  expedition,  the 
ethnography  of  the  islands,  etc.  The  introductory  chapters  by 
the  Editor  give  an  interesting  account,  fully  illustrated  in  the  text, 
of  the  journey,  of  the  islands,  and  of  their  inhabitants.  The  scien- 
tific chapters  are  contributed  by  Lord  Walsingham,  f.r.s.,  Prof. 
Balfour,  r.K.s..  Mr.  Boulgcr.  r.B.s.,  Br.  Forbes,  Mr.  Ogilvie 
Grant,  Mr.  A.  E.  Smith,  Col.  Godwin-Austin,  f.r.s.,  Mr.  De 
Winton,  Sir  G.  Hamjison,  Bart.,  Mr.  K.  I.  Pocock,  and  other 
well-known  naturalists. 

BOOKS    RECEIVED. 

A  Ouide  to  Chamounix  and  the  Range  of  Mont  Blanc.  By  Ed 
Whymper.     (Murray.)     3s.  net. 

A  Guide  to  Zermatt  and  the  Matterhortt.  By  Ed.  Whymper. 
(Murray.)     3s.  net. 

The  Year  Booh  of  Photographi/  and  Amatews'  Ouide,  1000. 
(Fhotographic  Neir.i  Office.)     Is.  net. 

A  Elifory  of  Decoratii'e  Art.  By  W.  "N.  Brown.  (Scott,  Green- 
wood &  Co.)      L's.  (id.  net. 

The  Fifth  and  Si.vth  Books  of  Euclid.  By  M.  J.  M.  Hill. 
(Camb.  L^niv.  Press.)     (is.  net. 

Ad  Astra.  By  Charles  Whitworth  Wynne.  (Grant  Richards.) 
7s.  6d.  net. 

The  Philosophy  of  Many  Things.     By  Mary  Leicester.     (Lloyd.) 

Text-Book  of  Zoology.  Fart  I. — Mammals.  By  Br.  Otto  Schenieil. 
Edited  by  J.  T.  Cunningham,  M.A.     (Black.)     Illustrated.     3s.  tid. 

First  Stage  Botany.     By  Alfred  J.  Ewart,  D.sc      (Olive  )     2s. 

Larengro :  The  Scholar,  the  Gipsy,  the  Priest.  By  George 
Borrow.     Minerva  Library,      (^\'ard.  Lock.)      2s. 

Flesh  Foods.     By  C.  Ainsworth  .Mitchell.     (Griilin.)     lOs.  6d. 

Foundations  of  Analytical  Chemistry.  By  Wilhelm  Ostwald. 
Traii-lated  by  George  M'Gowau.     (Macmillan)     68.  net. 

Functions  of  Squares.     By  M.  A.  McGinnis.    (Sonnenscheiu  )    5s. 

Eesults  of  Bain,  Siver,  and  Evaporation  Observations  made  in 
N.S.  Wales,  ISHS.     By  H.  C.  Kussell,  c.m.g.,  f.r.s. 

Domestic  Science.     By  Thomas  Cartwright,  b.a.     (Nelson.)     2s. 

Official  Year-Book  of  the  ScientiHc  and  Learned  Societies,  1900. 
(Griflin.)     7s.  6d.  net. 

Introduction  to  Zoology.  By  Chas.  B.  Bavenport  and  Gertrude 
Crotty  Davenport.     (Macmillan.)     Gs. 

Eadiographic  List ._    (Isenthal  k,  Co.) 


Hcttcrs. 

[The  Editors  do  not  hold  themselves  responsible  for  the  opinions 
or  statements  of  correspondents.] 

MENTAL^PEESPECTIVE. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — The  discussion  which  has  been  occupying  the 
attention  of  the  members  of  the  British  Astronomical 
Association  of  late  concerning  the  well-known,  but  none 
the  less  curious,  apparent  enlargement  of  heavenly  bodies 
when  seen  near  the  horizon*  has  called  forth  several 
ingenious  theories  to  account  for  the  phenomenon.  That 
this  enlargement  of  the  sun  or  moon  when  seen  on  the 
horizon  is  purely  illusory  is  acknowledged  by  all,  so 
tliat  it  is  evident  some  kind  of  mental  deception  is  here 
at  work  which  tends  to  falsify  our  estimates  of  distance 
and  consequently  of  magnitude.  It  has  been  suggested, 
for  instance,  that,  when  looking  at  the  moon  near  the 
horizon,  we  arc  unconsciously  aided  in  our  estimate  of 
its  distance  by  reference  to  intervening  laud-marks,  such 
as  trees,  hills,  or  houses,  the  distance  of  which  we 
already  know,  whereas,  when  looking  upward  at  the 
moon  in  the  zenith,  there  is  nothing  whatever  to  guide 
us.  Now  it  has  been  observed  that  the  distance  of 
objects  is  almost  invariably  under-estimated  when  we 
are  deprived  of  our  usual  land-marks,  as,  for  instance, 
at  sea,  and  it  is  suggested  that  by  analogy  the  distance 
of  objects  in  the  zenith,  or  at  high  altitudes,  is  similarly 
under-estimated.     Thus,    the   moon,    sub-tending,    as    it 

*  Journal  uf  tlie  Brit.  Astio.  Assoc,  Vol.  X.,  Nos.  1,  3,  4  and  5. 


AroisT  1 ,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


183 


does,  the  same  angle  to  us,  whether  on  the  horizon  or 
in  the  zenith,  appears  to  us  larger  in  the  former  and 
smaller  in  the  latter  position,  for,  as  pointed  out  by 
Mr.  John  Turner,!  "  of  two  bodies  of  equal  angular 
magnitude,  that  which  appeal's  to  us  to  be  neai-er  wc 
think  the  smaller." 

The  truth  of  this  statement  is,  I  think,  exemplified 
in  a  very  striking  manner  by  the  accompanying  photo- 
graph (Fig.  1),  which  shows  the  foreshortened  side  of  a 
villa  seen  "  under  conditions  different  from  those  in  whi'jh 
our  experience  is  usually  gained."  It  is,  in  fact,  a 
photograph  taken  through  a  3-inch  telescope,  magnifying 
some  40  diameters,  of  the  villa,  distant  about  a  mile 
and  a  half,  and  mai-ked  by  an  arrow  in  Fig.  2,  which 
represents  the  naked-eye  view  of  the  same. 

Now  as  this  building  is  at  a  considerable  distance  from 
the  observer  it.s  near  and  far  ends  are  seen  under  prac- 
tically the  same  visual  angle,  or,  as  a  draughtsman 
would  express  it,  the  vanishing  point  of  its  lines  is 
infinitely  remote.  Instead  of  the  lines  of  the  roof  and 
first  story  appearing  to  converge  as  they  recede,  as 
would  be  the  case  if  the  house  were  really  as  near  the 
spectator  as  the  telescope  apparently  brings  it,  they  are 
here  practically  parallel,  and  our  usual  ideas  of  per- 
spective are  consequently  upset.  So  much,  indeed,  are 
we  in  the  habit  of  mentally  enlarging  the  reduced  image 
of  the  far  end  of  the  house  (knowing  it  to  be  as  large 
as  the  near  end)  that  in  the  present  case,  where  the  two 
ends  are  of  practically  equal  angular  magnitude,  we 
still  mentally  enlarge  the  di.stant  end  so  that  the  lines 
of  the  roof  and  the  first  floor  appear  actually  to  diverge 


Fig.  1. 

as  they  recede  from  us.  That  this  curious  effect,  how- 
ever, is  purely  due  to  a  mental  deception  on  our  part 
is  plainly  shown  by  holding  the  picture  in  such  a 
position  that  the  eye  can  glance  obliquely  down  the 
seemingly  divergent  lines,  when  it  will  at  once  become 
apparent  that  they  are  practically  parallel ;  the  slight 
existing  convergence  towards  the  distant  end  being  in- 
appreciable. 

This    instance   of   our   mentally   enlarging   the    more 

+  Journal  B.  A.  A.,  Vol.  X.,  p.  220. 


distant  of  two  objects  subtending  equal  angles  seems  to 
me  to  have  a  distinct  bearing  on  the  problem  of  the 
apparent  enlargement  of  celestial  bodies  when  seen  near 


^  ^i!5 


tp^f 


1  ,(-,.  2 

the  horizon  ;  while  the  tele-photograph  itself  illustrates 
in  a  remarkable  manner  the  truth,  so  often  overlooked, 
that  the  telescopic  aspect  of  an  object  (which  is  but  the 
naked-eye  view  enlarged)  is  not  identical  with  that 
which  the  object  would  present  to  the  naked  eye  at  the 
same  apparent  distance.  W.  Alfred  P.\rr. 

34,  Viale  Principe  Amedeo, 
Florence. 


LICHEX   GROWING    ON   QUARTZ. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — The  other  day  I  was  shown  an  entire  piece 
of  quartz  upon  which  was  gi-owing  a  lichen — ParuaJia 
Pryaodes.  After  carefully  removing  a  small  portion  of 
the  lichen,  I  examined  the  uncovered  part  for  earth 
deposits  but  failed  to  detect  any. 

It  is  clear  that  the  plant  is  rooted  to  the  quartz,  and 
what  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know  is  from  which  source  other 
than  the  atmosphere  does  this  plant  derive  its  nutri- 
ment ? 

I  have  observed  lichens  acting  upon  hard  rocks,  but 
never  quartz ;  moreover,  as  you  assert  in  your  article 
on  "  Plants  and  their  Food,"  Knowledge,  May,  1900, 
that  quartz  is  an  insoluble  network  enclosing  the 
mineral  constituents  of  plant  food,  the  phenomenon  be- 
comes all  the  more  egregious,  and  its  explanation  would 
bestow  a  great  favour  upon         J.  Ale.x.vndre  Cook. 

10,  Grafton  Square.  Glasgow, 
14th  June,   1900. 

[Mr.  J.  A.  Cook  has  rejjroduced  in  too  con- 
densed a  form  the  remarks  of  Mr.  Pearson  in  Know- 
ledge, Vol.  XXIII.,  p.  102,  where  quartz  is  stated  to 
surround  the  other  minerals  in  granite,  which  otherwise 
would  yield  up  the  constituents  needed  by  plants.  This, 
however,  does  not  affect  the  point  he  raises.  I  have 
consulted  Prof.  J.  B.  Farmer,  f.e.s.,  who  allows  me  to 


184 


KNOWLEDGE 


[August  1,  1900. 


state  that  lichens  gi'owiug  on  a  surface  of  pure  cjuartz 
may  derive  the  very  small  amount  of  mineral  nutriment 
required  by  them  from  blown  dust,  which  easily  accumu- 
lates about  them,  though  in  far  too  slight  a  quantity 
to  form  a  soil.  It  may  be  remembered  also  that,  while 
quai-tz-veins  are  fairly  pure,  quartzites  contain  a  number 
of  other  scattered  minerals  besides  quartz ;  hence  some 
massive  rocks,  practically  composed  of  quartz,  may  yet 
sei-ve  as  a  ground  for  the  growth  of  lichens. 

Grenville  a.  J.  Cole.] 


WIRELESS    TELEGRAPHY.-III. 

By    G.    W.    DE     TUNZELMANN,     B.SC. 

MECHANICAL   REPRESENTATIONS   OF 
ELECTRIC   ACTIONS. 

In  my  last  article*  some  account  was  given  of  the 
medium  through  which  electric  actions  are  transmittecl. 
All  that  I  can  do  towards  exjDlaining  the  mechanism 
of  transmission  is  to  lay  before  my  readers  mechanical 
arrangements  cajiable  of  producing  the  observed  results, 
and  which  may  not  impossibly  bo  something  like  the 
real  ones,  which  a,s  yet  remain  hidden  from  our  view. 

Clerk  Maxwell  was  the  first  to  give  helpful  suggestions 
in  the  way  of  mechanical  models  illustrating  electric 
actions.  His  model  was  modified  and  imjoroved  by 
Professor  Fitzgerald,  and  later  Professor  Oliver  J.  Lodge 
treated  this  question  in  a  most  exhaustive  manner  in  a 
series  of  papers  extending  over  the  last  twenty  years. 
It  is  upon  the  store  the  latter  has  provided  that  I  shall 
mainly  draw  at  present. 

We  may  consider  ourselves  as  living  in  a  sort  of  ocean 
of  electricity,  and  as  water  is  so  much  more  familiar 
to  us  than  electricity,  it  may  help  our  conceptions  to 
imagine  for  a  moment  that  we  are  living  under  the  sea, 
and  consider  the  water  as  taking  the  place  of  the  ocean 
of  electricity  really  surrounding  us,  but  the  analogy  then 
will  not  be  quite  complete.  Water  can  be  displaced 
by  solid  and  other  bodies,  whereas  in  the  electric  ocean 
the  amount  of  electricity  contained  within  a  given  space 
is  just  the  same,  whether  part  of  that  space  is  occujjied 
by  matter  of  any  kind,  or  whether  it  is  what  we  call 
empty. 

There  is  no  possibility  of  putting  electricity  into  any 
body  in  the  way  that  we  fill  a  bucket  with  water. 
When  living  under  the  water  our  buckets  must  always 
be  full  of  water.  We  may  change  the  water,  but  only 
by  displacing  it  by  an  equal  quantity  from  some  other 
portion  of  the  all-pervacling  ocean.  As  water  cannot 
pass  through  the  sides  and  bottom  of  the  bucket,  so  in 
the  same  way  insulators  will  not  allow  electricity  to 
pass  through  them.  The  space  occupied  by  the  material 
of  the  bucket  is  not  full  of  water,  while  the  space 
occupied  by  an  insulating  material  contains  exactly 
the  same  amount  of  electricity  as  if  the  material  were 
not  there;  but  this  will  not  seriously  affect  the  use  of  the 
analogy.  There  is  another  and  far  more  important 
difference  between  the  two  oceans ;  of  water,  and  of 
electricity.  While  the  water  can  move  freely  from  one 
part  of  the  ocean  to  another  it  is  not  so  with  electricity 
in  so  called  empty  space,  this  being  an  insulator.  We 
find  that  electric  waves  can  be  sent  through  space,  and 
therefore  some  small  backward  and  forward  motion  must 
be  possible  but  no  continuous  flow.  The  electric  ocean 
must  therefore  be  considered  as  entangled  in  a  sort 
of  jelly,  which  will  allow  of  slight  vibratory  displace- 

*  Knowlkuqe,  May,  1900. 


ments,  but  in  order  to  get  a  continuous  flow  some  means 
of  making  tubes  or  channels  in  the  jelly  must  be  found, 
and  these  are  called  conductors. 

In  order  to  get  a  flow  through  a  tube  we  must  have 
some  means  of  driving  the  electricity  along,  such  as 
would  be  provided  by  a  pump  in  the  case  of  water,  and 
for  the  flow  to  be  continuous  the  tube  must  form  a 
closed  circuit.  An  analogy  for  a  circuit  composed 
partly  of  conductors  and  partly  of  insulators  may  be 
found  in  an  endless  tube  containing  diaphragms  of  some 
elastic  substance,  such  as  indiarubber,  stretched  across 
it  at  intervals. 

A  section  of  such  a  tube  is  shown  in  Fig.  1.  The 
pump.  A,  has  valves  so  adjusted  as  to  send  a  current  of 
water  down  the  tube  in  the  direction  shown  by  the 
arrows.  At  B  is  an  elastic  diaphragm  stretching  across 
the  tube.  Before  the  pump  is  worked  the  diaphragm 
will  be  subject  to  equal  pressure  on  opposite  sides,  and 
will  therefore  remain  flat,  as  shown  in  section  by  the 
straight  line,  a,  b,  c.  By  working  the  pump  the  pressure 
on  the  right-hand  side  of  the  diaphragm  will  be  increased 
and  that  on  the  left  diminished,  and  the  diaphragm  will 
be  bent  into  some  such  form  as  is  represented  by  the 
curved  line.  If  diaphragms  are  placed  across  the  tube 
at  each  side  of  the  pump.  A,  and  the  jDump  is  then 
removed,  and  the  tube  divided  through  the  diaphragm 
so  as  to  leave  each  end  enclosed,  two  tubes  with  their 
diaphragms  will  appear,  as  shown  in  Fig.  2,  and  the 
right-hand  half  of  the  tube  will  contain  more  and  the 
left-hand  half  less  than  half  of  the  water  originally  in 
the  tube.  These  two  tubes  represent  two  equally  and 
oppositely  charged  conductors,  and  it  will  be  seen  that 
according  to  this  representation  it  is  impossible  to  charge 
a  conductor  positively  without  at  the  same  time  giving 
an  equal  negative,  or  opposite  charge,  to  some  other 
conductor. 

The  greatest  visible  effects  are  produced  when  the 
whole  of  one  conductor  is  brought  as  near  as  possible 
to  the  whole  of  the  other  while  maintaining  insulation 
between  them.  This  is  veiy  conveniently  done  by 
pasting  sheets  of  tinfoil  on  the  inside  and  outside  of  a 
glass  jar  or  on  the  opposite  faces  of  a  sheet  of  glass, 
forming  the  well-known  Leyden  Jar,  and  it  will  be  seen 
that  this  consists  simply  of  a  pair  of  conductors  insulated 
from  each  other,  and  that  the  case  of  charging  or  dis- 
charging any  conductor  is  a  case  of  the  charge  or 
discharge  of  a  Leyden  Jar. 

Professor  Lodge  has  designed  an  elaborate  model  of 
a  Leyden  Jar ;  Fig.  3  being  a  skeleton  diagram,  and 
Fig.  4  an  illustration  of  the  actual  model. 

A  thin  indiarubber  bag  is  tied  over  the  mouth  of  a 
tube  provided  with  a  stopcock,  A,  and  the  tube  is  inserted 
by  means  of  a  cork  into  a  three-necked  globular  glass 
vessel.  One  of  the  other  openings  must  have  a  stop- 
cock, B,  while  the  third  opening  is  closed  with  a  cork, 
or  preferably  another  stopcock,  as  soon  as  the  whole 
vessel,  both  inside  and  outside  the  bag,  is  filled  with 
water  fi'ee  from  bubbles  of  air.  A  third  tube,  usually 
closed  by  a  stopcock,  C,  represents  a  discharger;  and 
open  gauge  tubes,  a  and  b,  represent  electroscopes 
attached  to  the  two  coatings  of  the  jar  respectively, 
while  a  water  pump  screwed  on  to  A  corresponds  to 
a  source  of  electricity,  such  as  a  battery,  or  a  frictional 
or  influence  machine.  If  the  two  terminals  of  the 
source  ai-o  attached  to  the  two  coatings  of  the  jar,  then 
A  must  be  connected  to  B  by  means  of  a  tube,  while  if 
one  terminal  of  the  source  and  one  coating  of  the  jar  are 
connected  with  the  earth,  the  more  usual  arrangement, 
then  A  and  B  must  both  be  connected  with  a  tank  of 


August  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


185 


water  representing  the  earth.  In  this  model  tlie  gradual 
distension  of  tlie  indiarubber  bag  represents  the  charging 
of  the  jar.  In  Fig.  4,  two  extra  stopoocks.  A'  and  W. 
leading  direct  to  the  tank,  have  been  added,  to  save  the 
trouble  of  disconnecting  the  pump  in  order  to  connect 
A  directlv  with  the  tank,  when  illustrating  the  charging 
of  a  jai-  by  alternate  contact. 

If  the  two  tubes  shown  in  Fig.  2  are  placed  together 
so  as  to  form  a  single  ring  with  two  diaphragms  across 
it,   both  in   a  state  of  strain,   then   if  one  of  these  is 


1.  2. 

Fig.  1. — llviiraulio  Model  of  a  Circuit  coosistiny  partlj  of  Con- 
ductors aud  partly  of  lusulators. 

Fig.  2. — HvdrauHc  Model  of  a  pair  of  eq^ually  and  oppositely 
charged  Conductors. 

broken  the  pressures  on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  re- 
maining one  will  become  equalised,  and  therefore  the 
diaphragm  will  return  to  its  normal  condition  of  flatness. 
Owing,  however,  to  the  elasticity  of  the  material  of  the 
diaphragm,  there  will  be  a  slight  oscillation  on  either 
side  before  it  permanently  assumes  its  position  of  equili- 
brium. As  far  back  as  1853,  Lord  Kelvin  showed 
mathematically  that  in  general  the  discharge  of  a 
Leyden  Jar  was  oscillatory,  and  in  1859  and  subsequent 
years  Feddersen  confirmed  this  experimentally. 

A  current  of  water  cannot  be  started  or  stopped 
suddenly,  and  similarly  it  is  found  that  when  an 
electric  current  is  started  it  takes  an  appreciable  time, 
though  a  very  small  one,  to  attain  its  full  strength. 
Again,  when  an  electric  current  is  arrested  by  breaking 
the  circuit,  a  very  much  larger  spark  is  obtained  than 
the  one  observed  on  closing  the  circuit,  and  the  more 
sudden  the  break  the  larger  the  resulting  spark.  If, 
however,  an  electric  current  really  possesses  inertia,  as 
a  stream  of  water  does,  it  should  give  rise  to  mechanical 
as  well  as  to  electrical  effects.  These  have  been  looked 
for  in  vain  by  Clerk  Maxwell,  Professor  Lodge,  and 
others.  It  maj'  be  that  an  electric  current  consists  of 
two  equal  streams  in  opposite  directions ;  or,  rgain, 
perhaps  the  hydraulic  analogy  is  only  of  use  in  explain- 
ing a  few  of  tJie  more  obvious  phenomena;  and  it 
certainly  does  not  account  for  the  existence  of  the 
magnetic  fields  in  the  neighbourhood  of  conductors 
carrying  electric  currents  or  any  of  the  phenomena 
depending  on  them. 

The  existence  of  these  magnetic  fields  leads,  moreover, 
to  the  question  whether  we  can  regard  the  electricity 
as  forced  along  the  conductor  by  a  simple  pressure, 
analogous  to  that  which  drives  water  along  a  pipe,  or 
whether  the  energy  required  to  maintain  the  flow  is 
transmitted  through  the  insulating  medium  to  every 
portion  of  the  boundary  between  it  and  the  conductor. 
Professor  Poynting  has  shown  that  the  latter  is  really 
the  case.  The  energy  which  drives  an  electromotor,  for 
instance,  or  maintains  a  series  of  electric  lamps,  is  not 


convevcd  through  the  conducting  wires.  The  dynamo 
gives  its  energy  to  the  surrounding  medium,  thereby 
inducing  certain  strains  in  it  which  spread  in  all 
directions.  If  there  were  no  conducting  wires  a  per- 
manent condition  of  strain  would  bo  set  up  in  the 
medium,  and  when  the  energy  reaches  the  conductors 
some  of  it  is  dissipated,  and  the  continuous  How  of  a 
cuiTent  of  electricity  thus  becomes  possible.  When  an 
attempt  is  made  to  transmit  too  much  energy  by  means 
of  an  electric  cable  it  is  the  insulation  and  not  the 
copper  wire  which  gives  way. 

An  electric  current  docs  not  start  simultaneously  at 
every  point  in  the  section  of  a  conductor,  but  tho 
starting  or  stopping  begins  at  the  outside,  and  penetrates 
inwards  the  more  rapidly  the  worse  the  conductivity 
of  the  material.  If  this  were  inrmitc  the  cunent  would 
never  penetrate  beyond  the  outer  skin  of  the  conductor. 

Professor  Lodge  illustrates  this  by  the  experiment  of 
spinning  a  tumbler  of  liquid,  with  some  small  particles 
in  suspension,  to  make  the  motions  of  the  different 
portions  visible.  The  outer  layers  begin  to  move  first, 
and  the  motion  gradually  penetrates  inwards,  and  when 
the  spinning  of  the  tumbler  is  stopped  the  outside 
portions  of  the  liquid  stop  first.  If  the  liquid  is  very 
viscous,  like  treacle,  the  motions  spread  rapidly, 
corresponding  to  a  bad  conductor  of  electricity,  but  if 
extremely  mobile  then  the  inward  propagation  is  much 
slower,  corresponding  to  a  good  conductor.  The  analogue 
of  a  perfect  conductor  would  be  found  in  an  absolutely 
non-viscous  liquid,  and  in  such  the  motion  would  never 
penetrate  beyond  the  outermost  skin. 

Suppose  now  we  wind  a  conductor  into  a  coil  and  pass 
an  electric  current  through  it.  We  find  that  it  behaves 
in  every  way  as  a  magnet,  in  fact  it  is  a  magnet  as 
long  as  the  current  continues  to  flow ;  hence  Ampere's 
theory  that  magnetic  substances  owe  their  properties 
simply  to  electric  whirls  in  their  molecules.  These 
whirls  are  not  confined  to  the  iron  or  steel  of  a  magnet 
but  spread  into  the  surrounding  space,  forming  what  is 


Fio.  3. — Skeleton  Diagram  of  Lodge's  Hydraulic  Model  of 
Leyden  Jar. 

From  Lodge's  "  Modern  Views  of  Electricity." 

known  as  the  magnetic  field,  and  this  may  be  mapped 
out  by  means  of  iron  filings  which  cling,  end  to  end, 
along  lines  coinciding  at  every  point  with  the  direction 
of  the  magnetic  force,  and  are  known  a^  "  lines  of 
force."  These  lines  of  iorco  must  constitute  the  axes 
of  molecular  whirls,  and  every  such  line  forms  a  closed 
curve,  part  of  which  is  in  the  iron,  and  the  remainder 
in  the  air  or  other  surrounding  media.  The  effect  of 
such  whirls,  if  they  consisted  of  a  material  fluid,  may  bo 
illustrated  by  means  of  a  model  suggested  by  Professor 
Lodge. 


1S6 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[August  1,  1900. 


Two  circular  boards  connected  by  elastic  walls  form 
a  diiun  which  can  be  filled  with  liquid.  The  upper 
board  is  then  hung  from  a  horizontal  whirling  table, 
while  a  weight  is  suspended  from  the  lower  one.  When 
the  drum  is  spun  round,  the  sides  bulge  out,  and  the 
ends  approach  each  other,  raising  the  weight.  A 
magnetic  field  will  be  represented  by  means  of  a  number 
of  chains,  each  made  by  attaching  drums  end  to  end, 
and  following  the  contour  of  a  line  of  force  in  the  field. 
It  will  be  seen  then  that  when  rotation  is  set  up  the 
end  bouudaries  will  be  drawn  together,  representing 
magnetic  attraction,  while  the  lines  of  force  drive  each 
other  apart  sideways,  representing  magnetic  repulsion. 

Professor  Lodge  indicates  the  whirls  in  an  insulating 
medium  by  means  of  cogwheels  geai-ing  into  one  another 
and  also  into  those  of  the  conductor,  and  in  order  to 
get  over  the  difiiculty  that  two  contiguous  wheels  must 
be  rotating  in  opposite  directions,  he  assumes  them  to 
be  equivalent  to  positive  and  negative  electricity 
alternately.  One  of  these  models,  representing  a  section 
of  a  magnetic  field,  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  5,  the  wheels 
representing  positive  electricity  being  marked  +,  and 
those  representing  negative  electricity  being  marked  — . 

If  these  rotate  alternately  in  opposite  directions 
the  electrical  rotation  or  circulation  in  the  field  will 
be  all  in  one  direction.  In  a  medium  of  this  kind,  wi% 
all  the  wheel  work  revolving  properly,  there  will  be 
nothing  of  the  nature  of  an  electric  current,  for  at  every 
point  of  contact  of  two  wheels  positive  and  negative 
electricity  respectively  are  travelling  at  the  same  rate 
in  the  same  direction,  but  a  current  may  evidently  be 
represented  by  making  the  wheels  gear  imperfectly  and 
work  with  slip,  and  a  line  of  slip  among  the  wheels  will 
represent  a  linear  current. 

Professor  Lodge  points  out  that  such  a  line  of  slip 
must  always  form  a  closed  curve,  as  is  required  by  the 
fact  that  electricity  must  flow  in  a  closed  circuit.  For 
if  only  one  wheel  slip,  the  current  coincides  with  its 
circumference;  if  a  row  slip,  the  direct  and  return 
circuits  are  on  opposite  sides  of  the  row;  and  if  an 
area  of  any  shape  with  no  slip  inside  it  is  enclosed  by  a 
line  of  slip  the  circuit  may  be  of  any  shape  but  always 
closed. 

In  an  insulator  or  dielectric  there  is  no  slip  in  the 
gearing,  so  a  conduction  current  is  impossible,  but  a 
metallic  conductor  must  be  considered  as  a  case  of 
friction  gearing  with  more  or  less  lubrication  and  slip; 
thus,  turning  one  wheel  will  only  start  the  next  one 
gradually,  so  that,  until  all  the  wheels  ai-e  in  full  spin, 
there  is  a  momentary  current.  In  a  perfect  conductor 
there  must  be  no  gearing,  and  such  faultless  lubrication 
that  no  spin  can  be  transmitted  from  one  wheel  to 
another. 

In  a  magnetic  medium,  which  is  not  magnetised,  the 
whirls  are  to  be  considered  as  taking  place  about  axes 
pointing  indiscriminately  in  all  directions,  or,  more 
accurately,  according  to  the  researches  of  Professor 
Hughes,  the  various  chains  of  whirls  must  form  closea 
curves  within  the  magnetic  substance. 

When  the  medium  is  magnetised  these  are  broken  up, 
and  a  preponderating  orientation  in  a  certain  direction 
takes  place,  and  this  may  be  most  simply  treated  by 
assuming  that  a  certain  proportion  of  the  whirls  are 
accurately  faced  in  this  direction,  the  others  facing 
equally  in  all  directions. 

When  a  magnetic  disturbance  is  propagated  through 
an  insulator  in  which  all  the  wheels  gear  perfectly  into 
each  other,  propagation  of  spin  through  the  mass  will 
take  place  with  extreme  rapidity,  as  there  can  be  no 


slip,  but  only  a  slight  distortion  and  recovery.  In  a 
conductor,  on  the  other  hand,  so  long  as  the  spin  is 
either  increasing  or  decreasing,  slip  will  be  going  on 
throughout,  and  a  certain  time  will  elapse  before  a 
steady  state  is  attained.  In  highly  magnetic  sub- 
stances, such  as  iron,  and  in  a  lesser  degree  nickel  and 
cobalt,  we  know  that  this  time  is  greatly  increased, 
and  may  be  represented  in  our  model  by  increasing  the 
mass  of  the  moving  wheelwork,  either  by  giving  greater 
mass  to  each  of  the  wheels  or  by  taking  more  of  them, 
or  bv  a  combination  of  the  two  methods. 


Fig.  4. — Lodge's  Hvclraulic   \i     11  -I    Lejden  Jar. 

From  Ludge's  "  Modern  Views  of  Electricity.'' 

Take  the  case  of  a  current  in  a  copper  wire  gradually 
increasing  and  producing  magnetic  spin  in  the  surround- 
ing medium.  A  section  of  the  field  through  the  wire 
may  be  represented  by  a  rack  gearing  into  a  train  of 
wheelwork,  as  shown  in  Fig.  6.  As  soon  as  the  rack 
begins  to  move  the  wheels  will  begin  to  rotate  until 
the  whole  of  the  surrounding  medium  is  in  a  whirling 
condition.  Previous  to  a  steady  state  of  spin  being 
attained  the  motion  of  the  rack  will  be  opposed  by  the 
inertia  of  the  wheelwork,  representing  the  opposing 
E.M.F.  of  self-induction,  or  electro-magnetic  inertia,  and, 
when  the  medium  is  in  a  state  of  spin,  the  stopping  of 
the  rack  will  be  opposed  in  a  similar  manner.  If  the 
diagram  is  rotated  round  the  rack  the  wheels  become 
circular  vortex  rings.  As  the  distance  from  the  rack 
increases  their  cores  increase  in  diameter,  and  therefore 
the  rate  of  spin  diminishes,  until  at  great  enough  dis- 
tances the  medium  will  hardly  be  disturbed.  Slip 
takes  place  entirely  along  the  wire,  while  the  axes  of 
spin  are  at  right  angles  to  it.  If  slip  could  take 
place  without  friction,  and  the  consequent  dissipation 
of  energy  in  the  form  of  heat,  we  should  have  the 
analogue  of  a  perfect  conductor,  if  such  a  substance 
existed.  As  a  matter  of  fact  no  such  substance  is 
known,  and,  therefore,  in  order  to  maintain  a  current  in 
a  conductor,  the  energy  continually  being  dissipated  in 
the  form  of  heat  must  be  continually  supplied  from  some 
source  of  power,  such  as  a  dynamo  or  battery. 


August  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


187 


I  want  now  to  apply  the  foregoing  representations 
to  the  explanation  of  the  aetion  of  a  telegraph  wire  a.s 
employed  in  ordinary  telegraphy.  What  happens  here 
is  that  a  magnetic  field  at  the  sending  station  is  made 
to  excite  a  magnetic  field  at  the  receiving  station  with 
comparatively  small  loss.  The  wire  makes  it  pos.sible 
to  produce  this  secondary  field  in  any  place  desired. 
To  understand  how  this  is  to  be  explained  we  will  return 
to  the  consideration  of  the  rack  and  train  of  wheels, 
but  in  the  first  place  assume  for  greater  simplicity  that 
the  wire  is  a  perfect  conductor.     The  rack  must  there- 


0^ 


1#,^ 


0m 

mm 


#0 


Via.  5. — Lodge's  Model  illustrating  a  Section  of  a  Magnetie  Field. 

Fig.  6. — Lodge's  M>riel  illusti-ating  a  Section,  taken  throiin'i  t'n- 
wire,  of  a  Wire  earr^'ing  an  Electric  Current  with  its  Magnetic 
Field. 

Fia.  7. — Illustrating  a  Magnetic  Vortex  Whirl  encircling  a  Wire 
earrring  an  Electric  current. 

From  Lodge's  "  Modern  Views  of  Electricity." 

fore  be  removed  and  replaced  by  a  smooth  rod,  so  that 
the  magnetic  spin  may  cease  at  its  surface  and  transmit 
no  energy  into  the  wire.  Assume  at  the  same  time  that 
the  rotation  of  the  wheels  is  in  some  manner  maintained 
just  as  if  the  rack  were  being  pushed  along.  Then  in 
the  bounding  surface  of  the  rod  representing  the  con- 
ducting wire  there  exists  the  state  of  slip,  which  has 
been  shown  to  correspond  with  an  electric  current,  and 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  function  of  the  rod  or  conductor 
is  simply  to  provide  a  space  free  from  the  magnetic 
wheelwork,  so  as  to  allow  of  the  free  rotation  in  opposite 
directions  of  the  wheels  on  the  opposite  side  of  any 
longitudinal  section  through  the  rod.  If  the  space  were 
not  thus  kept  free  the  wheels  would  interlock,  and  the 
only  magnetic  field  would  be  the  ordinary  state  of  spin 
about  the  lines  of  force,  rapidly  diminishing  in  intensity 
as  the  distance  from  the  battery  or  other  source  jf 
energy  is  increased.  With  this  space,  however,  kept 
free  by  means  of  the  perfectly  conducting  wire  or  smooch 
rod  in  the  model,  there  will  be  an  intense  magnetic  field 
everywhere  immediately  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
wire  and  diminishing  in  intensity  as  the  distance  from 
the  wire  increases. 

All  along  the  wire  there  will  be,  in  fact,  vortex  whirls, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  7,  where  B  is  a  conductor  carrying 
a  current  the  direction  of  which  is  indicated  by  the 
arrow.  The  direction  of  spin  of  the  positive  whirls  is 
shown  by  the  curved  arrows.  All  that  is  required  in 
order  to  enable  the  wire  to  act  in  this  manner  is  to 
have  some  arrangement  capable  of  exciting  vortex  whirls 
about  some  portion  of  the  wire,  which  must  form  a 
closed  circuit,  and  these  vortex  whirls  will  then  travel 
along  the  wire  and  produce  their  effect  at  the  distant 
stations.  These  whirls  are  not  found  in  the  wire  itself, 
but  in  the  insulating  sheath,  so  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
wire  transmits  nothing,  but  only  directs  the  energy  on 


its  way  by  holding  apart  the  mutually  opposing  wheel- 
work  of  the  insulator. 

In  practice  the  wire  is  not,  of  course,  a  perfect  con- 
ductor, but  the  effect  of  this  is  merely  that  the  slip  on 
its  surface  is  imperfect.  Some  of  its  own  wheelwork 
is  therefore  set  in  motion,  except  along  the  axis  of  the 
wire.  Two  distinct  results  follow  from  this.  In  the 
first  place,  the  frictional  slip  in  the  imperfec-t  conductor 
causes  a  dissipation,  into  heat,  of  some  of  the  energy 
supplied,  and  therefore  only  a  portion  of  the  initial 
energy  at  the  sending  station  is  transmitted  to  the 
receiving  end.  In  the  second  place,  every  time  the  wheel- 
work  is  started,  there  will  be  a  certain  delay,  increasing 
with  the  diameter  of  the  wire,  and  which  will  also  be 
comparatively  large  if  the  wheelwork  of  the  conductor 
is  very   massive,   as  would   be   the  case   if  an  iron  wire 

were  employed. 

* 

THE   LAND   OF  THE   BASTIDES. 

By  Grenville  A.  J.  Cole,  m.r.i.a.,  f.g.s.,  Professor  of 
GroJoc/;/  in  the  Royal  College  of  Science  for  Ireland. 

At  a  time  when  the  authority  of  a  central  power  was 
beginning  to  be  felt,  and  when  the  free  cities  were  being 
replaced  by  villes  royales,  dependent  on  the  King  of 
France,  a  number  of  fortified  posts  sprang  up  in  the 
wilder  country  of  the  south,  occupied  by  "  king's  men," 
and  essentially  military  in  design.  From  1250  to 
1350  A.D.,  these  boroughs  continued  to  accumulate,  and 
to  this  day  there  are  twenty-seven  towns  in  central  and 
southern  France  that  are  called  simply  La  Bastide. 

The  original  "  bastida  "  of  Provence  may  have  had 
a  high  antiquity.  It  was  a  fortified  farm,  like  some  of 
those  that  are  still  inhabited  on  the  flanks  of  the  Juras, 
or  in  the  English  Pale  round  Dublin.  The  positions 
occupied  by  several  of  these  strongholds  can  hardly  have 
been  neglected  in  Gallo-Roman  days ;  but  the  bastide, 
a.s  it  now  appears,  dates  mainly  from  the  fourteenth 
century.  Far-  away,  you  may  see  the  yellow  wall,  with 
red-tiled  roofs  above  it,  and  here  and  there  a  round 
tower  at  a  comer,  crowning  a  spur  of  the  valley-side. 
Five  miles  on,  you  may  spy  another,  and  one  more, 
perhaps,  across  the  river,  set  against  the  pale  hot  purplo 
of  the  sky.  The  roads  occasionally  desert  the  alluvium, 
and  climb  from  one  bastide  to  the  next,  passing  in  at  a 
gate  decked  with  some  Palladian  ornament,  round  the 
town  between  the  ramparts  and  the  houses,  and  out 
again  into  the  blaze  of  sunlight,  the  permeating  sun- 
light of  Provence. 

The  landscape  is  a  mixture  of  yellow  and  grey- 
green;  the  hillsides  crumble  in  summer  into  brown 
and  yellow  earth ;  the  quarries  of  soft  stone  arc 
yellow ;  a  yellow  distemper  has  even  seized  upon 
the  houses.  The  vines,  on  their  posts  and  Roman 
trellises,  are  heavy  with  grapes,  and  dull  with 
wind-bome  dust  ;  the  trees  along  the  road,  planted 
by  a  benevolent  government,  have  struggled  through 
a  joyless  youth  into  a  middle  age  of  inutility. 
The  hot  air  blows  from  Narbonne  and  the  Mediter- 
ranean, and  the  pink  haze  hides  both  the  Montague 
Noire  and  the  Pyrenees. 

In  this  broad  valley,  where  the  head  waters  of  tho 
Gascon  rivers  almost  touch  those  of  the  shorter  eastf.rn 
system,  we  see  Fanjeaux,  a  fortress  on  the  scarp,  xnd 
Montreal,  with  its  tall  Italian  campanile,  and  finally, 
grey  and  unbelievable,  spreading  in  the  distance  like 
a  dark  wood  along  its  plateau,  the  Cite  of  Carcassonne, 
roofed  and  towered  as  Froissart  left  it,  par  excellence 
the  great  bastide. 


188 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[August  1,  1900. 


For  a  picture  of  mediseval  France,  with  its  Roman 
foundations  and  feudal  superstructure,  there  is  nothing 
finer  than  Carcassonne,  the  old  town  still"  cramped 
within  the  ramparts,  and  the  ville  basse,  or  commercial 
quarter,  lying  spread  out  in  the  plain  below.  The 
narrow  streets  of  the  latter,  by-the-by,  were  laid  out  in 
the  thirteenth  century. 

Those  who  in  this  country  could  not  gain  the  hciglits 
walled  themselves  securely  from  attack  in  the  alluvial 
level.  ]\Iirepoix,  for  instance,  is  boxed  in  like  a 
town  of  the  Bavarian  plateaux,*  and  the  road  now  runs 
round  it,  rather  than  enter  the  tiny  gate,  and  pass,  by 
wooden  arcades,  beneath  the  burghers'  houses.  The  fact 
that,  even  at  Carcassonne,  horses  are  still  fed  in  the 
grassy  intei-val  between  the  outer  and  the  inner  wall, 
shows  how  the  country  folk  might  find  shelter  in  the 
villes  royahs,  and  serves  to  emphasise  the  parallel  with 
Bavaria. 

But  here  the  essential  feature  is  the  enormous  width 
of  the  valley-floors,  not  the  uniformity  of  the  plateaux. 
The  lowland  of  the  Garonne  and  its  tributaries  is  150 
kilometres  wide  from  the  foothills  of  the  Pyrenees  to 
Marmande;  and  it  is  110  kilometres  (more  than  68 
miles)  from  Pamiers,  through  Toulouse,  to  whore  the 
Aveyron  leaves  the  Jurassic  plateau  in  the  north.  This 
country,  so  defined  by  nature,  corresponds  almost  pre- 
cisely to  the  Duchy  of  Gascony  in  the  time  of  Charle- 
magne, a  well  marked  region,  with  the  Pyrenees  for  its 
southern  march,  and  meeting  Aquitaine  along  the  line 
of  the  Ariege  and  the  Garonne.  Whoever  held  the 
passes  of  the  Pyrenees  almost  held  the  heart  of  France. 
In  the  eighth  centui7,  the  Mohammedan  wave,  which 
had  submerged  Carcassonne,  isolated  Toulouse,  and 
reached  the  Atlantic,  following  the  courses  of  f.he 
streams,  surged  even  into  the  limestone  plateaux,  and 
was  checked  only  at  Poitiers.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
how  the  central  knot  of  granite,  the  countiy  of 
Clermont-Ferrand  and  the  Cevennes,  broke  the  strength 
of  the  invasion,  which  ran  up  thence  on  either  side, 
and  devastated  Autun  on  the  east.  Almost  in  our  own 
time,  the  British  forces,  when  once  the  Pyrenees  nad 
been  rounded,  pressed  on  from  one  stream  to  another  to 
the  foot  of  the  plateau  at  Montauban. 

This  great  plain  of  the  Garonne,  with  the  rivers 
streaming  from  the  Pyrenees,  is  one  of  the  most  striking 
features  of  France,  when  viewed  upon  an  ordinary  maj?. 
The  radial  arrangement  of  the  watercourses  from  the 
foothills  near  Bagneres  de  Bigorre  makes  the  greater 
part  of  the  country  look  like  one  huge  delta.  Some 
twenty  of  these  streams  are  caught  by  the  Adour,  and 
enter  the  Atlantic  at  Bayonne;  another  twenty  escape 
to  the  Garonne,  and  so  are  carried  to  the  north.  The 
lower  portions  of  the  two  groups  thus  enclose  between 
them  the  strange  and  wind-swept  level  of  the  Landes. 

The  tributaries  reaching  the  north  bank  of  the 
Garonne  are  far  less  neatly  grouped,  although  some  have 
made  adventurous  journeys  from  the  east.  The  broad 
Gascon  lowland  has,  indeed,  received  the  waters  from 
the  central  plateau,  from  the  great  volcanic  knot  of 
Aurillac,  and  from  the  bare  limestone  country  of  the 
Causses,  as  well  as  the  rapid  drainage  of  the  Pyrenees.  In 
Pliocene  times,  the  elephants  already  found  fccdiiig-room 
in  the  Landes,  and  their  remains  became  entombed  in  the 
alluvial  clays.  The  sands  of  the  district  have  accumu- 
lated since  then,  largely  drifted  from  the  Atlantic 
dunes;  and  the  changes  in  land-tenure  in  the  present 
century  have  led  to  a  destraction  of  the  forests,  which 

*  See  "  Contrasts  in  Bavaria,"  Enowlbdge,  June,  19U0. 


alone  held  the  soil  together.  The  State  has  now  been 
compelled  to  step  in,  and  to  defend  the  peasantry 
against  themselves  by  a  system  of  scientific  planting. 
The  contrast  between  this  shifting  country  and  the 
granite  frontier  of  the  Pyrenees  is  abrupt  enough  when 
one  looks  southward;  it  is  a  picture  in  little  of  the 
Himalayas  and  the  alluvial  plains  of  India. 

Even  the  yellow  rocks  which  underlie  the  surface- 
deposits,  and  which  increase  in  antiquity  as  we  trace 
them  to  the  east,  are  not  older  than  those  of  our 
London  Basin.  But  the  earliest  among  them  have 
witnessed  the  uplifting  of  the  Pyrenees.  The  marine 
fossils  of  the  lower  Eocene  are  included  in  the  folds  oi 
the  foothills  at  both  ends  of  the  chain ;  the  wai-m  sea 
of  southern  Europe  once  stretched  across  the  site  oi 
the  great  ridges.  Then  the  "  Alpine  "  series  of  eartb- 
movements  set  in  beneath  the  whole  of  the  European 
area,  and  a  long  east^and-west  fold  heralded  the  birth 
of  the  Pyrenees.  The  central  mass  beyond  Bagneres  de 
Bigorre,  to  this  day  the  "  Hautes  Pyrenees,"  formed  an 
island  in  Middle  Eocene  times,!  ^^'id  tlie  southern  tribu- 
taries of  the  Garonne  thus  began  to  flow  before  the  main 
river  was  in  existence.  The  relation  is  the  same  as  that 
between  the  Alpine  tributaries  of  the  Danube  and  the 
Danube  itself,  which,  when  it  came  into  being,  caught 
in  the  smaller  streams  and  systematised  them. 

The  pebbles  from  the  uprising  Pyrenees  now  began  to 
be  carried  down,  and  to  form  beaches  and  deltas,  in 
which  organic  remains  are  rare.  The  whole  floor  of  the 
nummulitic  sea  became  a  lacustrine  region,  and  the 
marine  beds  cease  with  the  close  of  Eocene  times.  Mire- 
poix  itself,  between  the  limestone  foothills  and  the 
antique  Montague  Noire,  stands  upon  freshwater  strata 
of  the  same  age  as  those  of  Headon  Hill  in  the  Isle  of 
Wight.  Our  southern  coast  of  England,  with  its  marine 
Eocene  and  fluviatile  Oligocene  strata,  forms,  indeed, 
an  interesting  parallel  v^^ith  the  laud  of  the  Bastides. 
The  vertical  and  folded  chalk  of  Freshwater  Bay  re- 
presents the  compacter  Cretaceous  limestones  that  lie 
along  the  flanks  of  the  Pyrenees;  the  period  of  its 
uplift  has  been  the  same,  and  on  its  back  we  see  the 
gravels  worn  from  it,  covering  the  lacustrine  strata  to 
the  north,  and  reproducing  the  huge  stream-deposits 
which  have  spread  into  the  plain  of  Gascony. 

The  watershed  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Mediter- 
ranean, west  of  Castelnaudary,  is  only  some  200  metres 
above  the  sea.  The  easternmost  tributaries  of  the 
Garonne,  reaching  to  Labastide-d'Anjou,  have  almost 
touched  the  head-waters  of  the  steeper  Mediterranean 
streams.  This  innocent  and  unnoticed  pass  has  now 
been  traversed  by  a  canal  which  is  fed  by  the  water 
of  both  systems.  The  real  features  of  the  landscape 
ai-e  the  valley-walls  of  the  Fresquel,  running  eastward, 
on  a  spur  of  which  the  bastide  of  Fanjeaux  stands. 
The  parting-ground,  however,  seems  to  have  been  deter- 
mined as  far  back  as  Oligocene  times ;  for  the  deposits 
of  that  period,  both  cast  and  west  of  it,  are  of  a  fresh- 
water and  marshy  nature.  The  submergence  that 
occurred  in  the  Middle  Miocene  epoch  admitted  the  sea 
into  the  plain  of  Orleans,  and  far  up  the  long  depression 
that  now  forms  the  valley  of  the  Rhone ;  but  the  bulge 
at  Castelnaudary  held  its  own,  and  the  Pyrenean  earth- 
movements  were  still  making  themselves  felt  beneath 
it.  By  Pliocene  times,  the  whole  lowland  from  Nar- 
bonne  to  Bayonne  had  been  brought  above  the  sea ; 
the  desolate  Landes  had  made  their  appearance,  a  de- 
bating-ground    for    rivers    and    the    Atlantic;    and    the 

+  See  Be  Lapparent,  "  Traite  de  Geologie,"  4me  ed.  (1900),  p.  1433. 


August  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


189 


Garonne  itself  had  begun  to  flow,  its  coui-se  being  deter- 
mined by  the  eastern  and  northern  margins  of  the  great 
detrital  fan  from  the  Pyrenees. 

The  rivei^s  on  the  west  of  the  watershed,  in  cutting 
their  way  down  against  the  rising  floor,  have  cxj>ose-l 
nothing  older  than  the  marine  aud  lacustrine  Miocene 
deposits,  which  they  are  slowly  washing  away  and  dis- 
tributing to  form  an  even  plain.  The  shorter  streams 
on  the  east,  however,  notably  the  Audo,  have  carved 
out  considerable  valleys,  and  have  even  cleared  their  way 
down  to  the  Cretaceous  rocks  before  they  enter  the 
Medit-erranean. 

The  Pyrenees,  then,  as  a  whole,  are  somewhat  older 
than  the  Alps,  and  have  undergone  gi-eater  denudation 
and  decay ;  but  their  highest  elevation  was  reached  in 
Middle  Oligoccne  times,  and  marine  Eocene  strata  have 
been  raised  500  metres  on  their  flanks,  ^^^len  we  ride, 
as  Froissart  did  of  old,  from  the  plain  at  Pamiers  into 
Foix,  the  bold  heights  that  soon  close  in  around  us  are 
formed  of  Cretaceous  and  Jurassic  limestones,  squeezed 
against  the  knot-like  older  masses  in  the  chain.  The 
bare  crag  above  Foix  itself  shows  us  how  these  strata 
have  been  bent  and  set  on  end ;  and  here  again,  as  in 
the  Alps,  the  work  was  done,  and  the  mountains  were 
reared,  within  the  limits  of  the  Tertiai-y  era. 

In  the  cold  epoch  at  the  opening  of  Pleistocene  times, 
the  Pyrenees  were  still  sufiicicntly  high  to  feed  a  local 
glacier  system.  The  tongues  of  ice  streamed  out  into 
the  plain,  like  those  from  the  Alps  into  Bavaria.  The 
limestone  foothills  are  often  found  to  be  scoured  and 
striated,  and  roches  moutonntes  may  be  seen,  for  an 
example,  among  the  avenues  of  plane  trees  below  Ax- 
les-thermes. 

The  bamer  formed  by  the  Pyrenees  has  naturally 
been  sufiicient  to  affect  the  human  epoch.  Just  as  the 
land  of  the  bastides  was  long  "  Gallo-Roman  "  in  its 
spirit,  looking  with  suspicion  on  the  Frankish  barbarians 
who  held  it  in  their  power  from  the  north,  so  the 
recesses  of  the  Pyrenees  have  never  become  wholly 
French,  and  their  inhabitants  in  places  speak  Catalan, 
and  come  down,  almost  as  foreigners,  to  the  markets  of 
Ax  or  Carcassonne.  The  passes,  being  little  hindered 
by  snow  or  avalanches,  provide  free  access  into  Spain. 
The  women,  equallj^  with  the  men,  ride  horses,  mules, 
or  donkeys,  seated  sideways  upon  sacks,  after  the  manner 
of  the  mountain-folk;  and  the  farmers  come  over, 
serious  and  straight-mouthed,  driving  highland  cows, 
and  thick-necked  bulls,  and  herds  of  shaggy  goats.  The 
carts  are  drawn  by  three  or  four  mules  in  line,  the 
high  collars  decorated  with  scarlet  tassels,  and  green 
cloths  drooping  on  the  animals'  backs  like  veils.  Every 
track  is  enlivened  with  the  mule-bells  and  the  cracking 
of  whips  in  the  keen  air.  The  atmosphere  of  Spain 
itself  clings  to  the  mountains,  despite  the  canals  and 
the  railways  and  the  northern  commerce  that  have 
invaded  the  old  Gascon  plain. 

As  a  contrast  to  the  geological  youth  of  the  Pyrenees, 
there  rises  north  of  the  Fresquel  and  the  Audo  the  old 
mass  of  the  Montague  Noire. |  This  is  one  of  the  relics 
of  an  earlier  France ;  it  was  elevated  by  successive 
Palaeozoic  movements,  and  formed  one  of  the 
"  Hercynian  "  ridges,  even  above  the  Permian  sea.  For 
a  comparatively  short  period  it  became  submerged  in 
Mesozoic  times ;  but  the  Upper  Jurassic  epoch  saw  it 
established   again   as   a   long-backed   mountain,   looking 

t  See  especially  "  Guide  eeologique  en  France,"  7me  Con/frig  ijeol. 
internat.  (1900),  "  Massif  de  la  Montagne-Xoire,"  by  M.  .1.  Berf»pron. 
Also  De  Lapparent,  op.  eit.,  p.  1791,  &c. 


clear  into  the  Spanish  area,  across  water  as  yet  unbroken 
by  the  Pyrenees. 

The  first  folds  of  the  Pyrenees  found  this  obstacle 
waiting  for  them.  The  lacustrine  and  estuarine  Eocene 
strata,  and  the  Cretaceous  limestones  below  them,  were 
bent  up  on  its  southern  flank,  and  now  form  the  curious 
and  bleak  plateau,  almost  a  "  causse,"  that  we  meet 
as  we  rise  north  from  Carcassonne.  The  unchecked 
wind  from  the  Atlantic,  or  from  the  young  and  giant 
peaks  to  southward,  sweeps  the  long  slope,  and  beats  on 
the  forests  of  the  crest.  The  labourers  protect  them- 
selves, in  this  open  landscape,  by  building  little  boxes 
of  stone  out  in  the  fields.  Wild  thyme  spreads  freely, 
in  default  of  any  richer  vegetation,  and  serves  to  remind 
one  of  the  heather  on  the  central  plateau.  As  wc  ascend, 
the  ravines  cut  by  the  streamlets  expose  ancient 
Palaiozoic  strata,  Devonian,  Silurian,  Cambrian,  or  even 
the  central  gneissic  core.  Above  us  are  gloomy  wood- 
lands, among  which  grey  hamlets  nestle,  poor  and 
isolated,  Villardonnel,  Cuxac-Cabardes,  Labastide- 
Esparbairenque,  names  that  suggest  romance  and 
brigandage  in  themselves.  The  summit  reaches  only 
1000  metres  above  the  sea,  but  the  cold  of  the  Gram- 
pians may  be  felt  here  on  the  latitude  of  Florence. 
The  descent  from  Les  Martys  to  Mazamet  is  a  wild 
mountain  episode,  on  a  road  swinging  this  way  and  that 
along  the  side  of  a  fine  V-shaped  gorge.  At  one  point 
a  ruined  fortress,  rising  from  the  torrent,  only  increases 
the  sense  of  savagery.  As  we  drop  towards  the  open 
country  in  the  north,  we  see  as  a  background  the  blue 
highlands  of  Auvcrgne,  and,  far  below,  the  red  roofs  of 
industrial  Mazamet,  a  miniature  Innsbruck,  set  on  the 
alluvium  of  the  There. 

The  Montague  Noire  forms  an  unexpected  island  in 
the  yellow  land  of  the  bastides.  It  is  one  of  those 
surprises  with  which  France  so  frequently  awaits  the 
traveller.  The  railway  from  Calais  to  Bale  conveys  a 
very  false  impression  of  the  country ;  even  the  moor- 
laniis  of  Brittany,  and  the  rolling  fields  of  Normandy, 
are  a  mere  foretaste  of  the  greater  France  to  southward. 


By  John  H.  Cooke,  f.l.s.,  f.g.s. 

In  his  .studies  of  .slow  motions  Professor  C.  S.  Slichter,  by  means 
of  kinetoscope  pictures,  has  so  magnified  the  motions  that  III? 
growth  of  seedlintr  peas  and  Ijeans  during  three  weelis  is  shown  in 
a  few  seconds.  The  plants  were  pilot ographed  on  the  kinetoscope 
film  by  artificial  light  at  intervals  of  a  few  minutes  to  a  few  hours 
during  the  three  weeks.  On  projecting  the  pictures  upon  the  screen 
,at  the  usual  rate,  the  motion  of  growth  was  magnified  al)Out  500,000 
times,  and  the  difi'erent  rates  of  develoj^ment  of  the  various  j^arts 
were  brought  out  very  clearly.  Among  the  striking  results  was  the 
curious  behaviour  of  a  pea  struggling  to  enter  impenetrable  soil, 
the  root  curving  and  writhing  much  like  an  angle  worm,  while  the 
pea  was  rolled  about  very  grotesquely. 

Mr.  C.  Reichert,  of  Vienna,  makes  a  new  form  of  apparatus  which 
may  be  used  either  for  photomicrography,  drawing,  or  projection. 
It  consists  of  a  stand,  fitted  with  a  stage  capable  of  moving  up  and 
down,  to  which  may  be  adapted  either  a  photographic  camera  or  a 
projection  apparatus.  It  is  intendt'd  principally  for  low  power 
work,  five  to  thirty  diameters,  and  can  be  used  either  with 
petroleum,  spirit,  or  gas. 

A  suitable  ray  fi'm  for  photograjihing  bacteria  and  other  objects 
which  have  been  stained  with  fuclisine,  methyl  blue,  or  gentian 
violet  is  prepared  by  dissolving  160  grammes  of  pure  nitrate  of 
copper  and  14  grammes  pure  chromic  acid  in  250  c.c.  of  water. 
This  solution  permits  liglit  rays  of  wave  length  of  from  570  to  550 
to  pa.ss,  and  causes  the  objects  stained  with  the  above  mentioned 
solutions  to  appear  black  on  a  green  ground. 

Kxperiments  by  K.  Klein  indicate  that,  contrary  to  common 
belief,  such  germs  as  those  of  cholera,  typus.  and  diphtheria  do  not 
survive  more  than  three  or  four  weeks  after  burial  in  the  ground. 

Messrs.  R.  &  J.  Beck,  of  Coruhill,  London,  have  recently  put 
upon  the  market  several  new  pieces  of  apparatus  the  most  important 


190 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[August  1,  1900. 


of  which  are  a  Wide  Angle  Immersion  Condenser  with  an  aperture 
of  1.4  N.A.,  an  aplanatic  cone  of  1.3  N.A.,  and  a  workinj;  distance 
of  .06  of  an  inch.  They  have  also  introduced  a  new,  cheap  one- 
tenth  immersion  objective,   with  an  aperture  of  1.   N.A. 

The  copper  amalgam,  kncjwn  as  Viennese  metal  cement,  is 
well  adapted  for  modelling  the  most  delicate  objects,  and  it  is 
therefore  of  special  value  to  the  histological  microscopist.  The 
method  of  preparation  is  as  follows  :  Copper  is  precipitated  as  a 
verj'  fine  powder  from  a  solution  of  blue  vitriol  by  means  of  strip* 
of  zinc,  and  after  being  washed  and  treated  with  a  solution  of 
mercurous  nitrate,  hot  water  is  poured  over  the  copper  in  a  mortar, 
and  the  mercury,  in  the  proportion  of  seven  parts  to  three  of  copper, 
is  added.  The  resulting  amalgam  becomes  so  soft  under  water  that 
it  can  be  used  for  modelling  the  most  delicate  objects  from  plaster 
casts.  It  hardens  into  a  malleable  mass  that  can  be  polished  like 
gold  and  is  not  reailily  tarnished  except  by  hydrogen  sulphide,  and 
it  is  a  strong  cement  for  metals.  When  impressions  have  been  made 
on  thin  sheets  the  amalgam  may  be  reinforced  by  pouring  on  molten 
type  metal. 

The  Bausch  and  Lomb  Optical  Company  has  just  issued  a  revised 
edition  of  a  useful  little  manual  entitled  "  Manipulation  of  the 
Microscope." 

Corks  that  have  been  steeped  in  vaseline  are  an  excellent  sub- 
stitute for  glass  stoppers  without  their  disadvantages.  They  are 
not  affected  by  acids  or  chemical  fumes,  and  they  do  not  become 
fixed  by  a  blow  or  by  long  disuse. 

The  "following  process  for  preparing  delicate  specimens  of  hymen- 
optera  for  mounting  is  strongly  recommended.  The  in.sects  are 
placed  in  a  wide-mouthed  bottle  containing  an  acid  mixture  made 
up  of  one  ounce  of  pure,  dry  crystals  of  carbolic  acid  dissolved  in 
four  ounces  of  oil  of  turpentine,  and  are  left  to  soak  in  this  for  a 
couple  of  days.  A  specimen  is  then  taken  out  and  arranged  on  a 
glass  slip.  A  cover  glass  is  placed  over  it,  and  sufficient  pressure 
applied  to  flatten  out  the  thorax.  It  is  then  placed  between  clips 
and  allowed  to  stand  in  the  acid  solution  for  a  day  or  two  longer, 
after  which  it  is  carefully  washed  in  filtered  oil  of  turpentine,  again 
placed  between  the  clips  and  soaked  in  the  turpentine  for  two  or 
three  days.  This  hardens  the  insect  so  that  it  can  be  easily  handled 
without" breaking.  It  is  now  ready  to  be  mounted  in  moderately 
thin  balsam. 

The  classification  of  fresh-water  sponges  is  based  upon  the  form 
and  character  of  the  spicules.  As  these  are  invisible  to  the  naked 
eye,  and  are  difficult  to  obtain  without  special  preparation,  the 
following  method  of  development  will  be  of  interest  to  the  student 
and  to  the  collector  alike.  The  spicules  are  embedded  in  the 
sarcode  or  flesh  of  the  sponge,  and  the  object  of  the  processes  of 
preparation  is  to  effectually  remove  this  organic  matter.  To  do 
this  place  a  fragment  of  the  sponge  skeleton  and  a  few  gemmules 
in  a  watch  glass  and  apply  a  drop  of  nitric  acid.  Boil,  and  repeat 
the  process  until  the  sarcode  and  gemmule  contents  have  dis- 
appeared. Thoroughly  wash  with  distilled  water,  and  stand  on  one 
side  to  allow  of  the  spicules  separating  out. 

Mons.  B.  Renault  holds  bacteria  to  have  been  a  most  powerful 
factor  in  the  world's  geological  development.  He  believes  thao 
they  transformed  wood  into  coal,  and  that  several  species  of  the 
fossilized  bacteria  have  been  discovered  in  coal  by  himself  and 
Professor  C.  E.  Bertrand. 

Formaldehyde  is  well  known  to  the  microscopist  as  an  inexpensive 
and  effective  fixing  agent.  As  a  rule  it  is  seldom  used  in  solution 
stronger  than  ten  per  cent,  and  then  generally  in  conjunction  with 
mercuric  chloride.  The  following  formula  has  yielded  very  satis- 
factory results  for  normal  tissues,  the  material  being  killed  and 
fixed  in  the  solution  in  from  six  to  twelve  hours.  Formaldehyde  40 
per  cent,  solution,  50  c.c.  ;  distilled  water,  50  c.c.  ;  glacial  acetic 
acid,  5  c.c.  After  fixing  the  tissues  are  transferred  to  three  grades  of 
alcohol,  viz.,  50  per  cent.,  75  per  cent.,  and  95  per  cent,  respectively, 
and  mounted  in  paraffine.  Care  should  be  taken  to  perform  the  opera- 
tion of  dehydration  thoroughly,  otherwise  the  sections  will  drop 
out  of  the  embedding  matrix  when  being  cut.  The  tissue  may  be 
run  back  through  xylol  into  absolute  alcohol,  and  left  until  every 
trace  of  water  is  removed.  If  the  specimen  appears  milky  or 
opaque  in  the  clearing  fluid  it  is  not  ready  for  embedding,  but 
needs  to  be  left  in  alcohol  for  a  longer  time  until  dehydration  is 
complete. 

Beginners  in  microscopy  frequently  overlook  the  fact  that  it  i? 
possible  to  have  the  field  of  view  too  brilliantly  illuminated.  With 
ordinary  powers  it  is  necessary,  in  order  to  secure  good  definition 
of  the  finer  details  of  the  object,  to  moderate  the  brilliancy  of  the 
light  either  by  the  use  of  the  diaphragm  attached  to  the  sub-stage 
or  by  moving  the  source  of  illumination  further  away.  The  result 
of  atoo  brilliantly  illuminated  field  of  view  is  to  "  drown  out  "  the 
details  and  render  the  image  flat,  and  therefore  a  clear,  small  light 
is  often  a  positive  advantage. 

MoUuscan  nerve  tissues  require  careful  treatment  in  the  pre- 
liminary stages  of  preparation  to  ensure  satisfactory  mounts.     An 


effective  macerating  fluid  for  this  purpose  is  prepared  as  follows  :  — 
Acetic  acid,  5  parts ;  glycerine,  5  parts  ;  distilled  water,  20  parts. 
After  sojiking  the  specimen.s  in  this  for  from  four  to  twenty-four 
hours  they  are  teased  in  fifty  per  cent,  glycerine,  or  washed  and 
stained  in  picro-carmine  or  ammonia-cannine. 

[All  commu>i/catio7is   in    reference   to    this   Column   should    be 
addressed  to  Mr.  J.  11.  Cooke  at  the  Office  of  Knowledge.] 


NOTES   ON    COMETS   AND    METEORS. 

By  "W.  F.  Denning,  f.r.a.s. 

Gi-'iCOBiNi's  Comet. — This  object  is  now  rapidly  becoming  fainter, 
with  increasing  distance  from  the  earth.  It  will  not  be  observable 
during  the  second  week  of  August  owing  to  moonlight,  but  a 
powerful  telescope  will  reveal  the  object  in  the  position  assigned 
by  Berberich  in  the  following  ephemeris  (Ast.  Nach.  3636)  :  — 

Di.'^tance 
Date.  R.A.  Declination.  in  Millions 

H.       M.S.  o        /  of  Miles. 

August    3     ...     19     22     21       ...       39     51  N.         ...         113 
7     ...     18     57     55       ...       36     39  N.         ...         117 
15     ...     18     21     18      ...       30       7  N.         ...         130 
19     ...     18       8       0      ...       27       1  N.         ...         137 
„       23     ...     17     57     19       ...       24      9  N.         ...         146 
27     ...     17     48     46      ...       21     30  N.         ...         156 
„       31     ...     17     41     57       ...        19       5  N.         ...         164 

Thus   the  comet's   motion   carries   it   rapidly  through  Lyra   and 

Hercules.     After  August  it  will  be  an  exceedingly  faint  object,  and 
only  visible  in  very  large  instruments. 

Recent  Cometart  Discgvuries. — Very  few  new  comets  appeir 
to  have  visited  our  parts  of  space  during  the  last  15  months,  judging 
from  the  number  of  discoveries,  for  only  two  have  been  found,  anrl 
in  both  cases  the  first  observer  was  M.  Giacobini,  of  Nice.  It  is 
true  that  several  periodical  comets  have  returned  during  the  period 
named,  but  on  the  whole  comet  seekers  have  met  with  very  little 
success.  It  is,  however,  highly  probable  that  we  shall  shortly  hear 
of  a  discovery  in  this  field,  for  the  months  of  July  and  August  have 
been  the  most  prolific  hitherto  in  furnishing  us  with  new  comets. 

FiREB.iLL  OF  SuND.w,  JuNE  10. — A  large  fireball  was  seen  in  the 
twilight  by  several  observers  at  widely  distant  stations.  Lieut. -Col. 
Boileau,  M.D. ,  A. M.S.,  of  Trowbridge,  gave  the  time  as  about 
9h.  10m.,  and  described  the  meteor  as  passing  about  15  degrees 
above  Venus  from  N.E.  to  W.  at  an  angle  of  about  30  degrees. 
Twilight  was  so  strong  that  there  was  nothing  visible  in  the 
heavens  except  the  moon,  Venus,  and  Jupiter.  At  Spilsby,  Lincoln, 
the  meteor  was  seen  by  Mr.  J.  Richardson,  who  says  he  first 
noticed  it  about  60  degrees  above  the  horizon  like  a  shooting  star 
to  the  W.S.W.  "After  falling  a  few  degrees  at  an  angle  of  75 
degrees  towards  the  S.W.  it  became  very  bright,  and  continued  so 
for  about  30  degrees  more,  when  it  seemed  to  break  into  several 
fragments  and  lose  its  light,  finally  diappearing  rather  suddenly 
about  10  degrees  above  the  horizon.  It  was  2  seconds  in  falling, 
and  appeared  considerably  more  than  double  the  diameter  of 
Jupiter."  The  Rev.  F.  B.  Allison,  of  Peasmarsh,  gives  the  time 
as  9h.  12m.,  and  says  the  first  appearance  was  at  some  10  degrees 
altitude.  The  meteor  then  appeared  to  traverse  a  meridian  (8h.  30m 
about)  and  occupied  1^  seconds  in  passing  over  10  degrees  to  a  lo>v 
cloud  on  the  horizon  behind  which  it  dis,appeared.  The  brightness 
of  the  head  was  1^  times  that  of  Venus.  The  meteor  left  a  short 
flaming  tail  of  intense  green  colour,  after  which  came  a  trail  of 
sparks  of  several  degrees  in  length  ;  the  meteor  was  slow.  At 
Colwyn  Bay  Mr.  W.  B.  Russell  noticed  it  falling  in  the  southern 
sky  at  9h.  15m.  p.m.  The  meteor  was  more  than  double  the 
diameter  of  Jupiter,  and  it  fell  perpendicularly  downwards,  leaving 
a  most  brilliant  copper  green  trail.  Its  course  was  very  short.  .\ 
friend  who  was  with  Mr.  Russell  thought  the  colour  at  first  blue 
and  green,  and  the  nucleus  of  the  meteor  seemed  to  break  into 
two  fragments.  Mr.  A.  Mee,  of  Cardiff,  saw  the  meteor  in  the  west 
about  one-third  of  the  way  from  the  horizon  to  the  zenith,  but  no 
further  particulars  are  given  as  to  the  direction  of  flight  or  velocity. 

Comparing  the  various  accounts  it  appears  highly  probable  that 
the  meteor  was  a  Cepheid,  and  from  a  radiant  eitlier  at  336  +  73 
or  310  +  77.  The  heights  were  from  about  65  miles  over  Lampeter 
to  28  miles  over  a  point  near  Worm  Head.  Gower,  S.  Wales,  but 
these  results  are  approximate,  and  more  observations  are  required 
before  the  meteor's  exact  path  in  the  air  can  be  determined. 

Large  Meteors. — Mr.  A.  King,  of  Leicester,  reports  that  on 
June  24,  at  lOh.  blifoa..,  he  saw  a  fine  meteor  of  a  beautiful  yelloif 
hue  and  brighter  than  Venus  at  maximum.  The  first  part  of  the 
flight  was  not  weD  seen,  as  the  observer  was  not  facing  the  object, 
but  the  latter  part  of  the  course  was  from  213"  +  444°  to  203°  +  22°, 


August  1, 1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


191 


which  it  CMiii>leted  in  2i  seconds.  The  direction  seemed  slightly 
curved  to  X.W.  The  nucleus  was  stellar,  and  it  left  a,  short  train 
On  Sunday,  July  lath,  lOh.  ISm.,  a  very  lirdliant  meteor  was  seen  at 
Bristol,  Leeds,  and  Melthan,  near  Uuddei-sfield.  It  exceeded  Venus 
in  histre  and  was  directed  from  a  rndiaut  at  297'' — 11".  It  fell  from 
a  heiglit  of  ol  to  21  miles  from  over  Warrington  to  Ravenglass,  on  the 
coa^t  of  Cumberland.  Length  of  observed  path  "8  miles,  and  velocity 
IG  miles  per  second. 

AvGrsT  Perskids. — The  moon  being  full  on  August  10  the 
splendour  of  this  yeivr's  display  will  no  doubt  be  greatly  moderated. 
Notwithstanding  moonlight,  however,  the  shower  may  be  expected 
to  be  sutJiciently  strong  to  enable  its  radiant  to  be  determined  on 
every  fine  night  during  the  first  13  nights  of  the  month.  During 
the  opening  week  of  August  the  moon  will  not  oli'er  .a  serious 
impediment,  and  the  shower  may  be  watched  to  advantage  in  the 
morning  hours.  The  exact  place  of  the  radiant  on  each  of  the  first 
few  nights  of  the  month  would  be  valuable,  as  very  few  determina- 
tions have  ever  been  made  at  this  early  period  of  the  shower's 
manifestation. 

ArGUST  Draconids. — Between  August  21  and  25  a  well  defined 
and  rich  shower  of  Draconids,  observed  at  Bristol  in  1879,  should 
be  looked  for.  It  is  probablj-  of  periodical  character,  and  does  not 
appe^ir  to  have  been  re-observed  since  the  year  referred  to.  The 
radiant  is  at  I'SH"  +  GO',  ueur  the  small  star  0  I'raconis,  and  the 
meteors  are  bright  and  move  slowly.  In  addition  to  these 
Draconids  there  are  a  large  number  of  interesting  showers  visible 
during  the  last  ten  nights  of  August. 


THE    FACE   OF  THE   SKY   FOR  AUGUST. 

By  A.  Fowler,  f.r.a.s. 

The  Sun. — On  the  1st  the  sun  rises  at  4.24  and  sets 
at  7.48;  on  the  31st  he  rises  at  5.12  and  sets  at  6.48. 
Conspicuous  sun  spots  are  not  to  be  expected,  but  small 
ones  may  occasionally  be  seen. 

The  Moon.— The  moon  will  enter  first  quarter  on  ihe 
3rd  at  4.46  p.m.;  will  be  full  on  the  10th  at  9.30  p.m  ; 
will  enter  last  quarter  on  the  17th  at  11.46  a.m.;  and 
will  be  new  on  the  25th  at  3.53  a.m.  The  brightest  star 
occulted  during  the  month  is  Iota  Tauri,  mag.  4.7 ;  the 
disappearance  takes  place  at  0.42  on  the  morning  of  the 
19th,  at  an  angle  of  41°  from  the  north  point  (81°  from 
the  vertex),  and  the  reajjpearance  at  1.24  a.m.,  at  an 
angle  of  304°  from  the  north  point  (346°  from  the 
vertex). 

The  Planets. — Mercury  is  a  morning  star  in  Cancer, 
well  placed  for  observation  for  a  few  days  before  and 
after  the  20th,  when  he  reaches  greatest  western  elonga^ 
tion  of  18°  32  .  On  the  15th  he  rises  an  hour  and  a 
half  before  the  sun,  on  the  20th  an  hour  and  three- 
quarters  before  the  sun,  and  on  the  25th  an  hour  and 
forty  minutes  before  the  sun. 

Venus  is  a  morning  star,  at  greatest  brilliancy  on  the 
14th,  nearly  three-tenths  of  the  disc  being  then  illu- 
minated. The  path  of  the  planet  is  easterly,  from  near 
Gamma  Geminorum  on  the  1st  to  near  68  Geminorum 
on  the  31st.  The  apparent  diameter  of  the  planet 
diminishes  from  45". 6  to  29 '.2  during  the  month.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  month  the  planet  rises  shortly 
after  2  a.m.,  and  at  the  end  a  little  before  1.30  a.m. 

Mars  rises  between  midnight  and  1  a.m.  during  the 
month.  He  is  in  the  constellation  Taurus  (near  Zeta 
on  the  1st)  until  the  8th,  when  he  passes  into  Gemini. 
The  distance  of  the  planet  is  so  great,  however,  that  the 
disc  only  subtends  an  angle  of  4". 6  to  5".0.  At  the 
middle  of  the  month  a  little  more  than  nine-tenths  of 
the  disc  is  illuminated. 

Jupiter  may  still  be  observed  for  a  short  time  in 
the  evening;  setting  about  11.30  p.m.  on  the  1st  and 
about  9.40  p.m.  on  the  31st.  He  is  in  the  constellation 
Scorpio,  his  path  being  a  short  easterly  one  a  little  south 
of  Beta  Scorpii.  On  the  25th  the  planet  is  in  quad- 
rature with  the  sun.     The  satellite  phenomena  are  most 


interesting— on  the  3rd  (9.59),  4th  (8.48),  11th  (9.6), 
12th  (8.34),  19th  (8.14),  20th  (8.56),  and  29th  (8.33). 

Saturn  may  be  observed  up  to  about  midnight  througli 
the  first  half  of  the  month.  The  path  of  the  planet 
is  a  very  short  westerly  one  in  the  western  part  of 
Sagittarius.  On  the  18th  the  apparent  polar  diameter 
of  the  planet  is  IG  ".2,  and  the  outer  major  and  iniiior 
axes  of  the  outer  ring  40'. 7  and  IS". 4  respectively,  the 
northern  surface  being  visible. 

Uranus  remains  in  Ophiuchus,  near  to  the  star  Omcgv 
in  that  constellation,  a  few  degrees  to  the  cast  of 
Jupiter;  and  may  be  observed  only  during  tlic  early 
evening.     The  planet  is  stationary  on  the  17th. 

Neptune  docs  not  rise  until  after  midnight  during 
the  greater  part  of  the  month.  He  is  in  the  mo.st 
easterly  part  of  Taurus,  one  and  a  half  degrees  souUi 
of  Mars  on  the  7th. 

The  Stars. — About  10  p.m.  at  the  beginning  of  the 
month,  Perseus  and  Cassiopeia  will  be  in  the  north- 
east; Pegasus,  Andromeda,  Aries  and  Pisces  towards 
the  east;  Aquarius  and  Capricornus  in  the  south-easr ; 
Cygnus  and  Lyra  nearly  overhead  ;  Aquila  due  south  ; 
Hercules  and  Ophiuchus  towards  the  south-west; 
Corona  and  Bootis  in  the  west;  and  Ursa  Major  in  the 
north-west. 

Minima  of  Algol  will  occur  on  the  4th  at  11.55,  on 
the  7th  at  8.43,  and  on  the  27th  at  10.26. 


Cl^rss  Column. 

By    C.    D.    LococK,    b.a. 


Communications  for  this  column  should  be  addressed 
to  G.  D.  LococK,  Netherfield,  Camberley,  and  be  posted 
by  (he  10th  of  each  month. 


Solutions  of  July  Problems. 

No.    1. 

(B.  G.  Laws.) 

Key-move— 1.  Kt  to  B6. 


If  1  . 

.  RxP, 

2 

.  .  BxRP, 

2 

.  R  to  Kt3, 

•2 

.  .  Kt  to  B2, 

•2 

.  K  moves  etc. 

2 

B  to  K4ch,  etc. 
Q  to  K4eh,  etc. 
Q  X  Pch,  etc. 
P  to  Kt4ch,  etc. 
B  to  E5  etc. 


No.    2. 


If  1 
1 
1 
1 


(W.  H.  Gundry.) 

Key-move — 1.  Kt  to  Q4. 

.  K"x  Kt,  2.  Q  to  Q6,  etc. 

.  P  to  R5,  2.  Q  to  H2ch,  etc. 

.  K  to  Kt5,  2.  Q  to  QGch,  etc. 

.  Kt  moves,  2.  Q  to  QBOch,  etc. 

Correct  Solutions  of  both  the  above  received  from 
H.  Le  Jeune,  H.  S.  Brandreth,  G.  A.  Forde  (Capt.), 
G.  W.  M.,  W.  de  P.  Crousaz,  J.  Baddeley. 

Of  No.  1  only  from  K.  W. 
Of  No.  2  only  from  Alpha. 

Mr.  Macmeikan's  sui-mate  is  solved  as  follows:  — 

1.  B  to  QR2,  P  moves. 

2.  R  to  K6,  P  moves. 

3.  B  to  B6,  P  moves. 

4.  R  to  K3,  P  moves. 

5.  Kt  (Q3)  to  K5ch,  R  to  Q6. 

6.  B  X  P,  R  X  R. 

7.  B  to  Ksqch,  R  X  B  mate. 


192 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[August  1,  1900. 


Alpha. — You  will  see  that  your  inspiration  as  to  the 
key  of  No.  1  was  correct,  though  not  completely  followed 
out  in  the  main  variation. 

A.  B.  Watson. — I  have  not  the  problem  by  me,  but 
think  you  will  find  it  all  right. 

W.  'Pakkinson.— After  1.  PxB  (Q)  eh,  RxQ;  2. 
Q  to  K7,  K  to  Kt3 ;    3.  Kt  to  K5ch  is  not  mate. 

G.  W.  M. — I  regi'et  that  I  cannot  decipher  your 
signature,  so  have  given  initials  only.  You  will  see 
that  your  first  move  only  in  the  sui-mate  is  correct. 

PROBLEMS. 

No.    1. 

From  the  Manchester  WeeMy  Times. 

Black  (7). 


m    m^m 


AV'hite  (7) 

White   mates   in   two   moves. 

No.    2. 
By   A.   F.   Mackenzie    (Jamaica). 

Bi.ACK    (7). 


■  4 »     fm     m 


•  »  S  w^^ 


Whitk   (9). 

White  mates  in  three  moves. 

"A  Memorial  of  the  City  of  London  Chess  Tournament  " 
(Longmans,  Green  &  Co.).  It  is  not  often  that  a  book 
on  chess,  or  any  other  game,  is  so  artistically  got  up 
as  this  record  of  the  recent  invitation  tournament  for 
masters  and  amateurs,  which  was  hold  at  the  City  of 
London  Chess  Club  in  April  and  May,  1900.  The 
volume  contains  the  whole  of  the  78  games  played  in 
the  tournament,  together  with  the  original  proo-ramme 
of  play,  the  score-sheet  and  an  index  of  the  openings. 
Another  instructive  table  gives  the  relative  successes 
of  the  different  openings  played  :  the  success  attending 
the  Sicilian  defence  is  especially  noteworthv,  as  is  the 
failure  of  the  French  defence.  There  is  evidently 
nothing    much    in    the   Ruy    Lopez,    but    the    Queen's 


Gambit  declined  comes  out  badly  for  the  defence.  The 
book  is  published  at  2s.,  and  may  be  obtained  from 
Mr.  J.  W.  Russell,  Hon.  Sec,  City  of  London  Chess 
Club,  7,  Grocers'  Hall  Court,  B.C., 'for  Is.  6d.  (Is.  8d. 
post  free),  or  seven  copies  will  be  sent  post  free  for  10s. 

CHESS  INTELLIGENCE. 


Brighton  Society  announces  its  twelfth  Problem 
Tournament  for  direct  mates  and  sui-mates  in  two  moves. 
Three  problems  may  be  sent  in  for  each  section,  and 
there  will  be  three  prizes  in  both  classes.  Competing  pro- 
blems must  reach  the  Chess  Editor,  93,  Richmond  Road, 
Dalston,  N.E.,  bv  December  1 ;  or  from  abroad  by 
January  1,  190L 

The  following  is  the  result  of  the  Paris  International 
Tourney : — 

E.  Lasker,  14Jt,  1st  prize  £200  and  Sevres  Vase. 

H.  W.  Pillsbui-v.  12i,  2nd  prize  £100  and  Sevres  Vase. 

F.  Marshall,  12,  3rd  and  4th  prizes  £80  and  £60 
divided  and  Sevres  Vase. 

G.  Maroczy  12,  3rd  and  4th  prizes  £80  and  £G0 
divided  and  Sevres  Vase. 

A.  Burn,  11,  5th  prize  £60. 

M.  J.  Tchigorin.  lOJ,  6th  prize  £40. 

G.  Marco,  10,  7th  and  8th  prizes  £16  and  £8  divided. 

J.  Mieses,  10,  7th  and  8th  prizes  £16  and  £8  divided. 

C.  Schlechter,  10;  D.  Janowski,  9;  J.  W.  Showalter, 
9 ;  J.  Mason,  41 ;  N.  Brody,  4  ;  Rosen,  3  ;  J.  Mortimer, 
2;    M.  Sterling,'!  ;    and  Didier,  1. 

The  prizes  of  £20  and  £12,  presented  by  Baron 
Albert  de  Rothschild,  of  Vienna,  for  the  best  games 
played  during  the  tournament,  have  been  awarded  to 
Mieses  for  his  game  against  Janowski,  and  to  Tchigorin 
for  his  game  against  Mortimer. 

Mr.  Lasker 's  score  of  14i  out  of  a  possible  16  is  one 
of  the  best  on  record,  and  will,  if  possible,  enhance  his 
reputation.  He  lost  only  to  Mr.  Marshall,  and  drew 
with  M.  Tchigorin  only  when  already  certain  of  the 
first  prize.  Of  the  rest,  Messrs.  Pillsbury,  Maroczy, 
Burn,  Tchigorin,  Marco,  and  Mieses  came  out  in  or 
neai-  the  places  which  might  have  been  predicted  for 
them,  but  Herr  Schlechter  and  M.  Janowski  are  accus- 
tomed to  higher  flights.  The  latter's  performance  is 
especially  disappointing  as  he  made  an  excellent  start. 
The  immense  gap  between  Mr.  Showalter  and  the  last 
six  players  is  most  noticeable.  It  is  most  disappointing 
to  find  Mr.  Mason  in  this  latter  category ;  better  things 
were  also  expected  of  Herr  Brody. 

Many  of  the  competitors  will  take  part  in  the  Munich 
Chess  Congress  which  begins  on  the  21st  of  July.  This 
will  be  limited  to  eighteen  competitors  without  regard 
to  nationalitv,  and  may  be  nearly  equal  in  quality  to 
the  Paris  tournament. 

Fop  Contents  of  the  Two  last  Numbers  of  "  Knowledge,"  see 

Advertisement  pages. 


The  yearly  bound  volnmes  of  KNOWLiDaE.  cloth  gilt,  8s.  6d.,  post  free. 
Binding  Cases,  Is.  6d.  each  ;  post  free.  Is.  9d. 

Subscribers'  numbers  bound  (including  case  and  Index),  2s.  6d.  each  Tolame. 
Indei  of  Articles  and  Illustrations  for  1891,  1892,  1894,  1895.  1896,  1897,  and 
1898  can  be  supplied  for  3d,  each. 
All  remittances  should  be  made  payable  to  the  Publiaher  of  "  KKOWLKroE." 


"  Knowledge "    innnal    Subscription,   tiiroaghoat    the    world, 
7s.  6d.,  post  free. 

Commonicationa  for  the  Editors  and  Books  for  R«Tiew  should  b«  ftddr*a*ed 
Editors,  "  KnowLKDex,"  326,  High  Holboni,  Loadon,  W.C. 


SKPTEMllF.n    1.  1000  1 


KNOWLEDGE 


193 


Founded  by  RICHARD    A.    PROCTOR. 


LONDON:    SEPTEMBti:    I.    I'.'nn. 


E.  Gore,  i'.h.a.s. 
Alex.  B.  MaoDouall. 


(Illustrated) 

Note   liv    K.    Walter 


CONTENTS. 

High-speed  Telegraphy.    Bv  Cuas.  U.  Gakiand.    {lllus- 

trattii) " 

The   Pygmies  of  Asia.     B\  R.  Ltdkkkei!.     {Illustrated)  .. 
Astronomy  without  a  Telescope. — VIII.    Four  Variable 

Stars.     By  K.  Walter  MArsDBE.  f.r.a.s. 
Jupiter  and  his  Markings.     By  W.  F.  Dknnino.  f.k.a.s. 
*  Jupiter  and   liis  Marl<ings.     {Plate) 
The  Hundred  Brightest  Stars.     By  J. 
Letters  : 

Hot  avd   Dry  summers.     Bv 

{Illiislrated) 
Cbescentshaped    Images   of    the    SrN   during   the 

EctirsE.     By  E.   Pierce. 
ASTEOIOQY.      By    B.    Chati-ev. 

Macndbr 

MiBA  Ceti.     By  0AVID  Flanebt 

TuE  HrroTHETirAL  PLA^•BT.    By  G.  McKenzib  Knigiit 
British   Ornithological    Notes.      Conducted  by  Habby  F. 

WlIHBBBT,   P.Z.S.,    M.B  O.tr.    ...  

Production  of  Colour  Effects      (Illustrated)        

Eros  and  the  Astrographic  Conference 

Notices  of  Books  

Books  Hbceited        

The      Karkinokosm,     or      World       of       Crustacea,— 

The    Many-Twinkling   Feet.       By  the  Rev.  Thomas 

R.  R.  Stbbbino,  M..V.,  F.B.S.,  F.L.S.,  T.Z.8.     (Illustrated) 

Sir  John  Murray  and  the  Black  Sea       

Microscopy.     By  John  H.  Cooke,  f.l.s.,  p.g.s. 

Notes  on  Comets  and  Meteors.  By  W.  F.  Denning,  f.b.a.8. 

The  Face  of  the  Sky  for  September.     By  A.  Fowleb, 

P.B.A.8 

Chess  Column.    By  C.  B.  Locock,  b.a.       


1 '.).■? 
lil!) 

JIKI 


2Ht 
204 

206 
206 

20C 
207 
207 
208 
211 


211 
21 :) 
211 
2U 

215 
215 


HIGH-SPEED   TELEGRAPHY. 

By  Chas.  H.  Garland. 

Last  year  the  lovely  little  town  of  Como  held  a  great 
fete  to  celebrate  the  Volta  centenary.  Truly  it  has  cause 
for  pride.  The  town  made  famous  by  the  two  Plinys 
was  the  birthplace  of  the  man  who  discovered  a  force 
which  bids  fair  to  revolutionise  the  industry  of  the 
world.  In  discovering  the  pile,  the  forerunner  of  all 
the  electrical  batteries  we  know  to-day,  Volta  made 
possible  the  production  of  the  first  constant  current  of 
electricity,  and  thus  laid  the  foundation  of  all  later 
developments. 

A  part  of  the  celebrations  consisted  in  a  Congress  of 
telegraph  experts  from  all  comers  of  the  civilized  globe. 
The  world  was  ringing  with  the  name  and  fame  of 
Marconi,  a  native  of  Bologna,  and  the  attention  given 
to  his  wireless  telegraphy  absorbed  the  public  interest, 
so  it  escaped  notice  that  at  one  of  the  sittings  of  the 
Congress,  Hofrath  Josef  Kareis,  of  Vienna,  gave  a  brief 
description  of  one  of  the  most  striking  inventions  of 
modern  times — the  work  of  Anton  Pollak,  a  Hungarian 
electrician,  and  Josef  Virag,  a  Hungarian  mechanician. 
It  was  claimed  for  this  marvel  that  it  could  transmit 
telegraphic  messages  over  long  distances  at  the  astound- 
ing rate  of  sixteen  hundred  words  per  minute. 


In  order  to  understand  the  full  significance  of  these 
llgurcs,  we  must  take  a  brief  glance  at  modern  telc- 
ijraphy  and  the  speeds  hitherto  attained.  Nearly  the 
whole  of  the  English  telegraph  work  is  carried  out  by 
some  adaptation  of  the  Morse  system,  involving  the  use 
of  certain  signals  produced  either  by  some  printing 
api)ar:itus  for  sight  reading,  by  some  sounding  apparatus 
for  reading  by  the  car,  or  by  any  other  method  which 
will  appeal  to  the  senses.  It  is  employed  in  flag  signal- 
ling, lamp  and  heliograph  signalling,  and  in  some  half- 
dozen  systems  of  telegraphy.  The  short  and  long 
signals,  however  produced,  are  known  as  "  dots  '  and 
"  dashes."  Thus,  a  dob  followed  by  a  dash  is  A.  A 
dash  followed  by  three  dots  is  B.  Dash,  dot,  dash,  dot, 
is  C.  and  so  on. 

The  fastest  method  of  telegraphy,  unassisted  by  auto- 
matic appliances,  is  known  as  the  "  sounder."  This  i,s 
essentially  a  small  hammer  which,  in  response  to 
currents  sent  from  the  sending  oflico,  strikes  upon  a 
brass  upright  and  produces  a  short  or  longer  tajj,  which 
the  listening  telegraphist  translates  into  writing.  By 
this  system  a  good  telegraphist  can  send  and  receive, 
for  a  short  period,  as  many  as  45  words  per  minute. 
The  speed  at  which  a  clerk  can  receive  is  limited,  for  all 
practical  pui-jooscs,  by  the  speed  at  which  he  can  write. 
So  for  an  apparatus  which  is  read  by  sound,  and  leaves 
no  printed  record  of  the  signals  which  can  be  afterwards 
transcribed,  a  higher  speed  is  useless. 

There  are  on  the  average  three  signals  to  each  letter 
of  the  Morse  alphabet,  and  the  length  of  the  telegraphic 
word  is,  as  a  rule,  five  and  a  half  letters.  In  order,  then, 
to  receive  45  words  in  a  minute,  a  telegraphist  must 
discriminate  the  various  characters  of  720  signals  or  taps. 
As  the  space  between  the  taps  is  of  almost  equal  im- 
portance with  the  taps  themselves,  he  has  to  measure 
the  length  of  an  equally  large  number  of  silent  intervals. 
A  clearer  idea  of  what  this  sjJeed  means  can  be  obtained 
if  we  remember  that  a  watch  ticks  about  160  times  per 
minute. 

In  the  Wheatstone  system  the  sending  is  done  by  means 
of  an  automatic  transmitter.  The  perforating  of  the 
ribbons  is  performed  very  rapidly,  and  I  have  seen  tele- 
graphists work  at  the  rate  of  over  50  words  per  minute. 
A  large  number  of  telegraphists  can  be  employed  in 
preparing  ribbons  which  may  be  continually  passed 
through  the  transmitter  at  the  rate  of  400  words  per 
minute.  This  means  that  6,600  signals  are  sent  over 
the  wire  in  one  minute,  a  speed  seldom  exceeded  in 
actual  working. 

At  the  receiving  ofiice  the  signals  are  printed  on  a 
narrow  green  ribbon,  and  consist  of  shorter  or  longer 
black  lines,  which  represent  the  conventional  dots  and 
dashes.  When  the  green  ribbon  has  been  received  it  is 
cut  up  into  sections  and  distributed  among  a  number 
of  writing  clerks,  who  transcribe  it.  In  this  manner 
it  is  possible  to  keep  a  large  number  of  clerks  fully 
employed  at  either  end  of  the  wire,  and  so  avoid  what 
is  the  chief  expense  in  telegraphy — the  building  of  new 
trunk  lines  and  maintaining  them  in  repair. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  invention  of  the  Pollak-Virag 
system,  the  Wheatstone  automatic  telegraph  was  the 
most  rapid  of  the  high-speed  telegraph  systems.  It  is 
true  that  an  American  system,  invented  by  Crehore 
and  Squire,  attained  a  tremendous  speed  in  the  experi- 
menting room,  but  the  details  were  so  complex,  and  the 
electrical  difficulties  so  great,  that  it  was  never  put 
to  practical  use. 

The  Pollak-Virag  telegraph  will  send   100,000  words 


19i 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[September  1,  1900. 


over  a  long  wire  in  one  hour.  This  is  over  1600  words 
per  minute.  A  column  of  the  Times  newspaper  contains 
a  little  over  2000  words.  A  page  of  this  magazine, 
without  pictures,  is  about  1000  words.  So  this  wonderful 
telegraph  apparatus  could  send  nearly  two  pages  of 
this  magazine  in  one  minute,  and  at  the  same  time, 
print  it  on  another  receiving  apparatus  three  or  four 
hundred  miles  distant. 

Some  two  years  ago,  Anton  Pollak,  a  native  of 
Szentes,  in  Central  Hungary,  brought  to  the  United 
Electrical  Company,  of  Buda  Pesth,  this  untried  system 
of  telegraphing  at  a  high  speed.  The  finn,  after  some 
deliberation,  set  up  a  special  laboratory  for  the  purpose 
of  carrying  out  experiments,  and  seciu'ed  the  co-operation 
of  the  well-known  physicist  and  mechanician,  Josef  Virag. 
The  results  of  the  experiments  on  an  artificial  wire  were 
so  satisfactory  that  it  was  decided  to  test  the  apparatus  on 
a  real  working  wire.  By  an  arrangement  with  the  State 
telegraph  officials,  four  wires  were  connected  with  the 
laboratory  of  the  Electrical  Comjsany  from  the  Central 
Telegraph  Office  at  Buda  Pesth.  These  wires  were  in 
turn  connected  from  the  Central  Telegraph  Office  to 
Temesvar,  a  town  about  200  miles  away.  The  ends  of 
the  wires  at  Temesvar  were  joined  together,  and  so, 
although  both  the  sending  and  receiving  apparatus  were 
in  the  laboratory  at  Buda  Pesth,  the  messages  actually 
passed  over  a  wire  of  over  400  miles  in  length.  In 
order  to  test  every  condition  the  experiments  were  tried 
first  in  fine  dry  weather  and  then  in  wet  weather. 
Copper  wires  were  at  one  time  used,  at  others  iron  wires. 
The  best  results  came  from  the  use  of  copper  wires, 
but  the  results  were  always  good.  Over  this  wire  of 
400  miles  in  length,  passing  through  open  country, 
messages  were  transmitted  at  the  speed  of  100,000  words 
per  hour.  Even  then  the  speed  of  the  apparatus  was 
not  at  maximum. 

The  fame  of  the  apparatus  having  reached  America, 
Messrs.  Pollak  and  Virag  were  invited  to  carry  out  some 
experiments  for  the  Western  Union  Company,  and  these 
trials  were  attended  with  the  most  satisfactory  and  even 
surprising  results.  In  all  cases  the  ordinary  working 
lines  were  used,  and  not  only  was  the  high  speed  of  the 
Hungarian  experiments  equalled,  but  in  one  notable 
instance,  over  a  wire  from  Chicago  to  Milwaukee,  the 
phenomenal  speed  of  155,000  words  per  hour  was 
attained.  In  very  stormy  and  wet  weather  a  trial  was 
made  over  the  one  thousand  miles  sepai-ating  New  York 
from    Chicago.  Despite   the   unpi'opitious   conditions 

prevailing  a  speed  of  G5,000  words  per  hour  was  attained 
and  maintained.  The  inventors  express  themselves 
more  than  satisfied  with  this  demonstration  of  the 
practical  commercial  value  of  their  invention. 

What  is  the  mai-v'ellous  apparatus  which  produces 
this  result?  It  is  an  ingenious  combination  of  the 
telegraph,  the  telephone,  and  photography.  In  order 
to  understand  this  extraordinary  combination,  which, 
like  all  great  inventions,  is  fundamentally  simple,  we 
must  know  something  of  two  electrical  principles. 

First  and  most  important  comes  the  battery.  The 
battery  is  the  generator  and  source  of  the  electric 
current.  A  battery  is  merely  two  plates  of  dissimilar 
metal  immersed  in  a  bath  of  some  chemical  mixture — 
the  most  common  metals  used  being  zinc  and  copper. 
In  order  that  a  current  may  flow  there  must  be  a  com- 
plete path  for  it  from  the  copper  back  to  the  zinc. 
It  is  possible  \a  bury  the  wire  which  goes  from  one  end, 
or  p(jle,  of  the  battery  in  tlie  eai'th,  and  if  the  end  of 
the  other  wire,  which  may  be  hundreds  of  miles  away, 


be  also  buried  in  the  earth  the  current  will  find  its  way 
back.  Now  if  we  had  a  battery  with  the  zinc  end 
wire  buried  in  the  earth,  and  the  copper  end  wire  joined 
to  another  wire,  which,  some  miles  away,  was  buried 
in  the  earth,  a  current  would  flow  along  the  wire  from 
the  battery,  into  the  earth  and  back  again,  via  the 
other  buried  wire.  If  we  turned  the  battery  round 
and  joined  the  copper  end  to  the  buried  wire,  and  the 
zinc  end  to  the  wire  which  went  to  the  distant  station 
before  it  was  buried,  we  should  have  a  current  flowing 
in  the  reverse  direction,  viz.,  into  the  earth,  away  to  the 
distant  bui'ied  end  of  the  ti-unk  wire,  and  back  to  the 
battery  by  way  of  the  trunk  wire.  This  is  the  first 
principle  we  must  understand :  that  the  dii-ection  of  the 
flow  of  a  cuiTent  in  a  wire  can  be  reversed  by 
reversing  the  connections  of  the  battery. 

We  must  also  be  familiar  with  the  action  of  the 
current  on  a  magnet.  If  we  wind  a  piece  of  wire  round 
an  iron  nail  and  send  a  current  of  electricity  through 
the  wire  the  nail  becomes  a  magnet,  with  all  the  powers  * 
of  a  magnet  to  attract  and  repel.  When  the  current 
is  stopped  the  nail  ceases  to  be  a  magnet.  When  the 
current  is  reversed  the  poles  of  the  magnet  ai-e  also 
reversed.  If,  however,  we  use  an  ordinai-y  permanent 
magnet  instead  of  a  piece  of  iron,  we  shall  get  the  follow- 
ing effect.  Suppose  we  have  a  wire  wound  round  the 
north  pole  of  a  magnet,  and  pass  through  the  wire 
an  electric  current  in  the  direction  which  would  make 
it  a  north  pole  magnet  if  it  were  a  plain  piece  of  iron. 
The  result  is  that  the  strength  and  attractive  power  is 
increased.  Now  supjiose  we  reverse  the  direction  of  the 
electric  current,  sending  it  in  the  direction  which  would 
make  a  south  pole  magnet  if  we  were  dealing  with  a 
plain  piece  of  iron.  The  effect  is  to  lessen  or  entirely 
counteract  the  attractive  jjower  of  the  permanent  mag- 
net. This  is  the  other  principle  we  must  understand — ■ 
a  current  of  electricity  passed  through  a  wire  wound 
round  a  permanent  magnet  will  increase  or  decrease  its 
attractive  power  according  to  the  direction  of  the 
current. 

The  apparatus  by  which  the  messages  are  sent  is 
really  a  device  for  changing  the  direction  of  the  flow 
of  the  electric  current  in  the  wire.  The  messages  are 
first  prepared  on  a  perforated  pajier  ribbon,  which  has 
two  rows  of  perforations.        (Fig-    1-)       The  upper  row 

9        ««  •«•     •    e 

••      «      AS      O  9      ft**®      9*      O  d 

I,     E,         F,  G,  H,  I,  J,  K. 

Fig.  1. — Photognipli  of  the  perforations  in  the  sending  sWy  of 
the  Pollak-Virag  Tek'graph.  The  eentral  line  ol^  perforations 
are  fi>r  gniding  purposes. 

corresponds  to  the  "  dashes  "  of  the  Morse  alphabet, 
the  lower  row  to  the  "  clots."  This  ribbon  is  then 
passed  over  a  metal  cylinder  (Fig.  2)  connected  with  the 
wire  which  goes  to  the  distant  station.  On  the  top  of 
the  ribbon  two  little  metal  brushes  press,  one  of  which 
is  connected  with  the  copper  pole  of  the  battery,  and 
the  other  with  the  zinc  pole.  When  a  perforation  in 
the  paper  ribbon  passes  under  one  of  the  brushes,  the 
brush  touches  the  metal  cylinder  beneath,  and  a  current 
is  sent.  If  one  of  the  top  row  of  holes  passes,  the 
brush  which  is  joined  to  the  copper  end  of  the  battery 
touches  the  cylinder,  and  a  current  flows  along  the  wire 
to  the  distant  station,  and  back,  through  the  earth,  to 
the  zinc  end  of  the  battery.  If  one  of  the  lower  row 
of  holes  passes,  the  bi-ush  which  is  connected  with  the 
zinc    end   of   the    battery    touches   the    cylinder,    and    a 


SKPTBMr.ER    1,  1900.] 


KNOW  LEDGE. 


lor 


current  flows  in  the  opposite  direction,  viz.,  through  the 
earth  to  the  distant  station,  and  back,  through  the 
trunk  wire,  to  the  battery.  Tiie  holes  in  the  paper  are 
so  arranged  that  onlj*  one  brusli  can  touch  the  cylinder 
at  one  time.     So.  according  to  the  arrangement  of  the 


E     F 


G 

r — > 


-B 

H 

FiO.  2.  — Diagram  of  the  seuding  apparatiisof  the  Polhik-A'iraj; 
Telosrraph.  A.  Trunk  or  line  wire  ;  B.  Earth  or  return  wire ; 
C.  Metal  evliuder ;  I).  Batterv;  E.  Positive  eleetrode  or  brush: 
F.  Xesjative  electrode  or  brash ;  G.  Perforated  sending  slip ; 
H.  Self-induetion  Coil  for  neutralising  inductive  disturbances 
on  line. 

holes  on  the  paper  ribbon,  we  have  currents  sent  to  the 
far-away  office  which  sometimes  ilow  in  one  direction 
and  sometimes  in  the  other.  A  large  number  of  clerks 
prepare  the  paper  ribbons,  and  the  sending  apparatus 
can  be  fed  at  the  pace  required.  This  is  extremely 
simple  and  easily  followed  on  the  illustration. 

Now  as  to  the  receiving  arrangements.  These  consist, 
first,  of  a  fairly  powerful  bar-magnet  fixed  in  a  kind  of 
box  having  one  side  composed  of  thin  metal,  or  ferro- 
type. The  magnet  is  fixed  in  such  a  manner  that  it 
draws  in  the  metal  side  to  a  slight  degree.  Round  that 
part  of  the  magnet  which  is  near  the  metal  side,  or 
diaphragm,  of  the  box.  is  fixed  a  coil  of  fine  wire.     The 


B    - 


Fig.  .3. — Diagram  of  the  reeeiving  apparatus  of  the  PoUak- 
Virag  Telegrapli.  A.  Trunk  or  line  wire ;  B.  Earth  or  return 
wire ;  C.  Condenser  for  neutralising  disturbances  due  to  the 
"  Capacity "  of  the  line  ;  D.  Coil;  Sp.  Mirror;  L.  Electric  glow- 
lamp  ;  T.  Drum  of  sensitized  paper. 

disposition  of  these  parts  can  be  easily  distinguished 
in  Fig.  3.  Remembering  what  has  been  said  above 
about  the  effect  of  an  electric  current  on  a  magnet,  we 
can  see  what  would  be  the  result  of  a  current  passed 
through  the  coil  of  wire  fixed  on  the  end  of  this  magnet. 
The  end  of  the  magnet  near  the  diaphragm  is  a  north 


pole.  The  wire  on  the  coil  is  wound  in  such  a  way  that 
when  the  current  Hows  from  A  to  B  the  power  is  in- 
creased, whilst  when  it  flows  from  B  to  A  the  power  is 
decreased.  The  result  of  increasing  llie  power  of  the 
magnet  is  to  draw  the  metal  diaphragm  nearer,  whilst 
if  the  power  is  decreased,  the  diaphragm  is  released, 
and  draws  away  from  the  magnet.  With  the  sending 
apparatus  previously  described  the  ciirrcnt  is  sent  some- 
times in  one  direction  and  sometimes  in  the  other. 
The  diaphragm  answers  to  this  change  in  the  direction 
of  the  current  by  swerving  towards  or  away  from  the 
magnet.  But  at  the  pace  of  100.000  words  per  hour, 
the  diaphragm  would  move  '2G.400  times  per  minute. 
So  some  means  had  to  be  devised  to  register  these  move- 
ments in  an  intelligible  way.  This  is  done  by  enlisting 
the  aid  of  photography  in  the  following  ingenious  way. 

In  front  of  the  diaphragm  is  fixed  a  large  magnet 
made  in  a  peculiar  manner.  It  is  curled  round  some- 
what like  a  horse-shoe.  One  end  of  it  is  cut  into  two 
points,  the  other  end  into  a  pointed  weak  spring.  A  tiny 
mirror  (Fig.  ■"?,  Sp)  with  a  .small  plate  of  iron  fastened  to 
its  back  is  suspended  to  the  two-pointed  end,  which  holds 
it    by    magnetic    attraction.        The    spring    end    of    thc 


FlO.  4.—  The    words  "  Lord   Roberts  "  as   they  would   appear 
when  written  in  the  Morse  code  by  (he  Polbik-Virag  Telegrajib. 

magnet  touches  another  tiny  iron  plate  on  the  back  of 
the  mirror.  A  very  small  light  metal  rod  is  fixed  to 
the  middle  of  the  diaphragm,  and  to  the  spring  end  of 
the  magnet.  Now  if  the  diaphragm  moves,  this  rod 
communicates  the  movement  to  tlie  spring,  which  in 
turn  moves  the  mirror.  The  two-pointed  end  of  the 
magnet  acts  as  a  sort  of  hinge  with  practically  no 
friction,  upon  which  the  mirror  swings. 

Some  little  distance  from  the  mirror,  a  small  electric 
glow-lamp  is  placed,  which  throws  a  light  on  to  the 
reflecting  surface.  This  light  is  reflected  on  to  a  drum 
covered  by  sensitized  paper.  These  details  can  be 
easily  followed  in  Fig.  3. 

When  the  diaphragm  is  drawn  inwards  the  lower 
end  of  the  mirror  is  drawn  back  and  the  light  ray  is 
depressed.  When  the  diaphragm  moves  away  from  the 
bar-magnet  the  lower  end  of  the  mirror  is  thrust  for- 
ward and  the  light  ray  is  raised.  This  results  in  a 
line  on  the  sensitized  paper,  which  rises  sometimes  in 
waves  above  the  central  line,  and  is  sometimes  depressed 
in  waves  below  the  central  line.  The  waves  above  the 
line  represent  the  "  dashes  "  of  the  Morse  alphabet, 
those  below  represent  the  dots.  In  Fig.  4  the 
words  "  Lord  Roberts  "  are  given  as  they  would  be 
indicated  by  these  waves.  After  the  message  has  been 
sent,  the  sensitized  paper  is  taken  from  the  drum  and 
the  marks  are  "  fixed,"  a  process  occupying  about  two 
minutes,  and  then  the  message  is  ready  to  be  written 
up  by  a  clerk.* 

•  Herr  PoUak  writes  to  me  as  follows  :— '  We  are  now  using  endless 
slips  and  diagonal  writing  combined  with  an  automatic  system  of 
develojiment,  so  that  messages  are  ready  for  transcrijition  immediately 
on  receipt." 


196 


KNOWLEDGE 


[September  1,  1900. 


These  are  the  arrangements  by  which  this  marvellous 
rapidity  of  telegraphing  is  carried  out.  There  were  many 
technical  difficulties  in  the  way  of  its  realization,  but 
these  have  all  been  overcome  by  the  same  ingenious 
methods  applied  to  the  details,  and  one  of  our  illustra- 
tions (Fig.  5)  is  an  actual  reproduction  of  a  message  re- 
ceived at  the  rate  of  over  1600  words  a  minute  on  a  wire 
some  404  miles  in  length.  The  possibilities  of  this 
system  seem  almost  infinite.     In  cases  where  the  number 

Fio.  5. — Pliotograpliii'  vepvoduction  of  an  actual  me.ssage 
written  bj  the  Pollak-Virag  Telegraph  at.  tlie  rate  of  100,000 
norils  per  hour.  The  message  consists  of  tlie  U'tt.crs  of  tlie 
alphabet  A — K  repeated  continnonsly. 

of  wires  is  limited,  such  as  in  a  long  .submarine  cable, 
the  carrying  power  is  multiplied  in  an  astounding 
manner.  Fancy  being  able  to  send  a  column  of  this 
magazine,  about  500  words,  to  America  in  twenty-two 
seconds.  Take  an  ordinary  newspaper  of  40,000  words, 
for  example.  It  would  pass  over  the  wire  by  this 
system  in  twenty-five  minutes,  whilst  on  the  Wheat- 
stone  system  it  would  occupy  one  hour  and  forty 
minutes.  With  a  Morse  sounder  working  as  rapidly  as 
the  fastest  operators  could  work  it  would  occupy  nearly 
fifteen  hours.  A  message  of  500  words  occupies  about 
30  yards  of  slip  by  the  Morse  system.  The  same 
message  by  the  Pollak-Virag  system  bai-ely  covers  a 
piece  of  paper  measuring  5  feet  by  10  inches. 


THE   PYGMIES   OF   ASIA. 

By  R.  Lydekker. 

So  recently  as  the  year  1858,  when  they  wei-e  selected  as 
a  convict  settlement  by  the  Government  of  India,  the 
group  of  islands  in  the  Bay  of  Bengal  known  as  the 
Andamans  were  practically  cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the 
world;  and  no  definite  knowledge  was  extant  in  Europe 
as  to  the  peculiarities  of  the  natives  by  whom  they 
were  inhabited.  It  is  true  that  the  existence  of  such 
aborigines  had  been  ascertained  long  before,  Arabic 
writers  of  the  ninth  century  having  referred  to  them, 
while  they  were  also  mentioned  at  a  later  date  by  the 
Venetian  traveller,  Marco  Polo.  Moreover,  so  far  back 
as  the  year  1788,  the  East  India  Company  attempted 
to  form  a  penal  station  on  these  islands,  which  was,  how- 
over,  abandoned  a  few  years  later  without  any  accurate 
information  having  been  obtained  with  regard  to  the 
affinities  and  characteristics  of  their  aboriginal  inhabi- 
tants. This  lack  of  information  with  regard  to  the 
natives  api>ears  to  have  been  largely  due  to  the  reputation 
they  had  gained  for  ferociousness  and  hostility  to 
strangers,  in  consequence  of  which  they  were  avoided 
as  much  as  possible  by  the  officials  sent  to  establish 
the  proposed  settlement.  To  a  certain  extent  this  was 
a  fortunate  circumstance,  as  it  prevented  the  native 
race  from  being  contaminated  by  foreign  admixture 
until   a  much  later  period,   when   competent  observers 


were    fortunately    among    those    stationed    by    Govern- 
ment on  the  islands. 

A  glance  at  the  map  of  Asia  will  show  that  the 
Andamans  have  their  longer  diameter  running  nearly 
due  north  and  south,  and  that  they  form  the  central 
and  main  portion  of  a  cui-ved  chain  of  islands  com- 
mencing off  Cape  Negrais — the  southern  extremity  of 
Aracan — and  terminating  in  the  Nicobars ;  and  it 
seems  highly  probable  that  this  chain  originally  fonned 
a  peninsula,  with  its  axis  running  parallel  to  that  of 
Tenasserim.  The  southei-nmost  island  of  the  group  is 
the  imperfectly  known  Little  Andaman,  while  the  other 
three  main  islands,  which  are  separated  from  one  another 
by  narrow  channels,  and  are  respectively  named  North, 
Middle,  and  South  Andaman,  collectively  constitute 
Gi-eat  Andaman.  The  total  length  of  the  latter  is  140 
miles,  with  a  maximum  breadth  of  20  miles. 

To  the  anthropologist  these  islands  are  of  surpassing 
interest  from  the  circumstance  that  their  native  inhabi- 
tants are  the  purest  representatives  of  a  race  of 
diminutive  round-headed,  Negro-like  people,  peculiar  to 
South-eastern  Asia,  and  definitely  known  elsewhere  only 
in  the  Malay  Peninsula  and  the  Philippine  Islands. 
Even  in  the  Nicobare  these  Negritos,  as  they  are  called, 
are  quite  unknown,  the  natives  being  more  or  less 
closely  connected  with  the  Malays.  By  the  older  writers 
the  aborigines  of  the  Andamans  were  universally  called 
"  Mincopies,''  but  as  there  is  no  clue  to  its  origin,  this 
term,  which  is  unknown  among  the  natives  themselves, 
has  now  given  place  to  the  appellation  Andamanese. 

Although  having  the  characteristic  frizzly,  or 
"  woolly,"  black  hair  of  Negroes,  and  also  agreeing  with 
that  type  of  mankind  in  the  relative  proportions  of  the 
limb-bones  (especially  the  shortness  of  the  humerus,  or 
upper  ann-bone,  as  compai-ed  with  the  bones  of  the 
fore-arm),  as  well  as  in  the  form  of  the  pelvis  and  the 
large  size  of  the  teeth,  yet  the  Andamanese  do  not  show 
the  characteristic  Negro  features  in  their  full  develop- 
ment. The  jaws,  for  instance,  are  less  projecting,  the 
lips  thinner  and  not  so  prominent,  and  the  nose 
narrower  and  less  flattened  ;  so  that  the  coarser  features 
of  the  Negro  type  may  be  said  to  be  softened  or  "  toned  '' 
down  to  a  remarkable  degree.  Whether  the  Andamanese 
or  the  Negro  type  is  the  more  primitive  may  be  left 
an  open  question.  A  further  important  point  of  dif- 
ference from  Afi-ican  Negroes  is  to  be  found  in  the 
shape  of  the  skull,  which  is  of  the  round  instead  of  the 
long  and  narrow  type ;  the  relative  breadth  is,  however, 
by  no  means  so  great  as  in  certain  other  round-headed 
races.  As  regards  height,  the  Andamanese  present  a 
very  marked  contrast  to  Negroes,  some  of  whom,  like 
the  Zulus,  are  very  tall.  According  to  Mr.  E.  H.  Mann 
(formerly  assistant  superintendent  of  the  islands),  the 
average  height  of  the  men  is  only  4  feet  lOJ  inches, 
and  that  of  the  women  4  feet  1\  inches ;  the  tallest  man 
measured  by  that  observer  being  5  feet  4i  inches,  and 
the  shoi'test  woman  4  feet  4  inches. 

The  skin  does  not  appear  to  be  absolutely  black ; 
but  thei-e  is  some  degree  of  discrepancy  in  this  respect 
between  the  accounts  given  by  different  observers.  The 
late  Professor  V.  Ball,  who  visited  the  Andamans  in  1873, 
states  that  the  colour  of  the  skin  is  generally  obscured 
by  the  red  clay,  grease,  or  wood-ashes,  with  which  the 
Andamanese  are  in  the  habit  of  anointing  themselves, 
and  that  its  real  tint  is  only  revealed  among  the  well- 
washed  orphans  at  Port  Blair.  In  fact,  the  more  an 
Andaman  islander  washes  himself  the  blacker  he  be- 
comes !  The  hair  of  the  Andamanese,  like  that  of  other 
Negritos,    is    disposed    evenly    over    the    scalp    in    close 


Skptesiber  1,  1900  ] 


KNOWLEDGE, 


197 


spirals,  and  not  in  the  separate  tufte,  with  intervening 
bai'e  spaces,  chaj-acteristic  of  the  Bushman  type.  While 
generally  black,  it  may  sometimes  be  very  dai'k  brown 
in  colour.  In  some  instances  the  hair  is  allowed  to 
grow  to  it«  full  length,  but  it  is  veiy  frequently  (as  in 
the   accompanying   illustration')    partially   or   completely 


Group  of  Andamanese  at  the  Calcutta  luternational 
Exhibition,  lS83.8i. 

Phoiograifhiid  by  Colonkl  Watlhholsk. 

shaved.  Professor  Ball  mentions  meeting  a  large  party 
of  Andamanese  none  of  whom  possessed  a  hair  on  any 
part  of  their  bodies.  In  mourning  the  head  is  invariably 
shaved. 

Previous  to  the  founding  of  the  European  settlement 
at  Port  Blair,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  which  certain 
regulations  ai-e  now  enforced  with  regard  to  clothing 
(as  in  our  illustration),  the  Andamanese  were  in  the 
habit  of  going  about  in  a  perfectly  nude  condition, 
save  that  the  women  wore  a  leaf  suspended  from  a 
girdle  made  of  the  fibi'es  of  rattan  or  the  screw-pine. 
This  absence  of  di'ess  is  probably  to  some  extent  due 
to  the  nature  of  the  Andaman  climate,  which  renders  it 
unnecessary  to  keep  the  body  wann  by  artificial  means. 
With  the  exception  of  a  small,  and  probably  introduced, 
race  of  wild  pigs  (whose  flesh  afforded  an  important 
food  supply),  the  islands  are  inhabited  by  no  animals 
larger  than  palm-civets,  and  even  of  these  the  natives 
never  learnt  the  art  of  dressing  the  skins.  Neither  did 
they  practise  agriculture  nor  attempt  to  domesticate 
the  indigenous  pigs  and  jungle  fowl,  but  lived  entirely 
by  hunting  and  fishing,  and  on  such  edible  roots,  fruits, 
and  berries  as  grow  naturally  in  tho  jungle.  In 
addition  to  pork,  their  animal  food  included  the  flesh 
of  palm-civets,  dugongs,  monitor  lizards,  turtles,  and 
occasionally  porpoises,  together  with  turtles'  eggs,  fish 
of  vai-iou5  descriptions,  prawns,  shell-fish,  and  even  the 
larvae  of  large  wood-boring  and  burrowing  beetles.  The 
hostility  displayed  to  strangers  (ap]3arcntly  largely  due 
to  kidnapping  raids  on  the  part  of  Chinese  and  Malays) 
not   improbably   gave   rise    to   the    statement    that   the 


Andamanese  were  cannibals  ;     but  this  charge  has  been 
completely  disjjrovcd. 

Both  sexes  were  thoroughly  at  home  in  tho  water 
from  an  extremely  early  age,  and  tho  creeks  and  straits 
of  the  island  were  navigated  in  dug-out  canoes  and  out- 
riggers of  home  manufacture.  Home-made  clay  pots, 
either  partially  baked  by  fire  or  dried  in  the  sun,  formed 
tlieir  domestic  utensils;  and  for  capturing  game  and 
fish  they  employed  bows  and  jutows,  spears,  harpoons, 
and  nets.  With  the  latter,  says  Mr.  Mann,  they  take 
fish  more  readily  than  tho  most  skilful  angler.  In 
modern  times  their  speai's  and  arrows  have  been  tipped 
with  bono  or  shell,  but  in  tho  old  refuse  heaps  of  the 
islands  polished  arrow-heads  and  adzes  of  stone  have 
been  discovered,  cvidcuUy  manufactured  by  the  fore- 
fathers of  the  present  aborigines.  And  it  has  been 
suggested  that  the  use  of  stone  has  been  superseded  by 
shell  and  bone  owing  to  the  greater  facilities  with  which 
the  two  latter  substances  are  worked.  Till  within  a 
comparatively  recent  time  chips  or  flakes  of  flint  were, 
however,  still  used  for  shaving,  although  these  have 
now  been  completely  superseded  by  glass.  Professor 
Ball  relates  how  he  witnessed  the  manufacture  of  such 
glass  flakes  by  a  woman  who  chipped  them  off  from  a 
piece  of  dark  bottle-glass  with  a  pebble.  "  Having 
struck  off  a  flake  of  suitable  character,"  he  writes,  "  she 
forthwith  proceeded,  with  astonishing  rapidity,  to  shave 
off  the  spiral  twists  of  hair  which  covered  the  head  of 
her  son."  But  even  at  this  date  (1873)  the  writer  was 
infoi'mod  that  the  art  of  making  flint^flakes  was  entirely 
lost ;  the  process  of  flaking  being  facilitated  by  first 
beating  the  stones  in  a  fire.  Serviceable  knives  were 
manufactured  from  a  large  bivalve  shell  to  be  met  with 
in  numbers  on  the  shores  of  the  islands. 

The  mention  of  fire  affords  an  opportunity  of  refer- 
ring to  the  extraordinary  circumstance  that  although 
the  Andamanese  were  well  acquainted  with  its  use 
(always  eating  their  meat  and  fish  in  a  more  or  less 
cooked  condition),  yet  they  were  totally  unacquainted 
with  any  method  of  producing  it.  According  to  the 
legend,  fire  was  originally  obtained  from  a  volcano  in 
Barren  Island,  situated  to  the  eastward  of  the  Middle 
Andaman  ;  and  it  was  ever  since  kept  going  by  main- 
taining a  constant  supply  of  smouldering  or  burning  wood. 

In  addition  to  strings  of  shells,  the  women  wear 
the  skulls  of  deceased  relatives  as  ornaments.  Red 
clay  is  employed  for  daubing  the  skin ;  but  during 
periods  of  mourning,  when  the  head  is  shaved,  this  is 
leplaced  by  a  uniform  coating  of  white  clay.  Allusion 
has  been  already  made  to  the  girdles  and  fishing-nets 
of  vegetable  fibre,  and  the  latter  is  also  employed  in 
the  manufacture  of  baskets  and  sleeping  mats.  As  an 
amusement,  the  men  are  fond  of  making  "  cat's  cradle  " 
with  pieces  of  string,  and  as  the  same  game  is  practised  by 
the  Dyaks  of  Borneo  and  other  Malay  tribes,  it  was 
probably  imported  into  the  Andamans  from  the  East, 
as  it  can  scarcely  be  regarded  as  a  siu'vival  from  the 
original  Negrito  population  of  the  Malay  Peninsula. 
The  dwellings  of  the  Audamancce  are  of  a  rude  and 
primitive  type,  but  these  are  not  all  alike,  the  most 
simple  being  mere  shelters  of  leaves  and  boughs,  which 
are  usually  erected  only  in  temporary  encampments  and 
not  in  the  permanent  villages. 

Although  subject  to  passionate  outbursts  of  temper, 
during  which  arrows  may  be  shot  recklessly  among 
friends  and  relations,  the  Andamanese  are  described 
by  all  who  have  known  them  well  as  singularly  amiable 
and  kind  in  their  mutual  relations;  and  in  many 
respects   they  resemble   the   Melauesians,   being   merry. 


198 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[September  1,  1900. 


talkative,  inquisitive,  restless,  prone  to  resent  an  injury, 
but  fond  of  a  joke  so  long  as  it  does  not  assume  a 
practical  form.  From  the  majority  of  savage  peoples 
they  stand  out  in  pleasing  contrast  on  account  of  the 
treatment  accorded  to  the  women  by  their  husbands. 
A  man  has  but  one  wife,  to  whom  he  is  nearly  always 
faithful  throughout  life,  and  whom  he  regards  as  an 
equal,  and  treats  with  au  affection  which  might  be 
copied  by  some  civilised  pcoijle.  Like  many  sav-ige 
races,  the  Andamanese  have  evolved  a  complicated 
sj'stem  of  marriage  prohibitions  between  relatives,  and 
they  have  likewise  regulations  as  to  the  particular  kind 
of  food  they  nuiy  or  may  not  eat  at  certain  seasons 
of  the  year,  as  well  as  superstitious  with  regard  to 
uttering  certain  words  or  names.  But  to  mention  these 
and  many  others  of  their  customs  would  exceed  the 
limits  of  my  sjDacc.  There  apj^icars  to  be  no  form  of 
recognised  worshij),  yet  there  is  a  vague  belief  in  a 
supernatural  being  (I'li/uga),  whose  dwelling-place  is  in 
the  sky,  and  who  created  all  living  creatures  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  evil  spirits  whom  he  is  unable  to 
control.  Thunder  is  supposed  to  be  a  manifestation 
of  the  wrath  of  this  supreme  being,  who  is  credited  with 
the  curious  incapacity  of  being  unable  to  understand 
human  thoushts  durino-  the  hours  of  darkness,  although 
he  is  capable  of  so  doing  during  daylight.  The  absence 
of  any  traditions  among  the  Andamanese  of  the  arrival 
of  their  forefathers  from  some  other  pai't  of  the  globe 
may  be  taken  as  confirmatory  of  the  physical  evidence 
as  to  their  long  teniu'e  of  their  present  home.  By  the 
aborigines  the  Andaman  Islands  are  indeed  regarded  as 
alone  constituting  the  world ;  and  the  few  strangers 
by  whom  they  were  visited  in  the  early  days  of  their 
history  were  looked  upon  as  their  own  departed  ances- 
tors. The  islands  themselves  are  believed  to  be 
supported  on  a  lofty  tree,  one  day  destined  to  be  over- 
thrown by  an  earthquake,  when  they  will  be  re-occupied 
by  the  deceased  predecessors  of  the  present  inhabitants. 

As  regards  arithmetical  power  the  Andamanese  stand 
on  an  exceedingly  low  platform,  as  they  have  only 
words  for  one  and  two.  If  they  desire  to  express  a 
higher  number,  some  word  indicating  several  or  many  is 
usually  employed,  but  even  then  about  six  or  seven  seems 
to  form  the  limits  of  their  arithmetic.  A  few  specially 
gifted  individuals  are,  indeed,  able  to  indicate  ten  by 
tapping  the  nose  successively  with  the  ten  fingers  and 
then  holding  up  the  two  hands,  but  beyond  this  none 
are  able  to  go. 

In  spite  of  this  exceedingly  low  develojoment  of  cal- 
culating power,  the  Andamanese  have  succeeded  in 
evolving  a  remarkably  complex  language,  of  which  each  of 
the  nine  tribes  possesses  a  dialect  of  its  own.  Into 
the  characters  of  this  language  it  is  impossible  to  enter 
on  the  present  occasion,  but  it  may  be  mentioned  that 
it  apjjcaz's  to  have  no  close  affinity  with  any  other  known 
tongue,  and  consequently  sheds  no  light  on  the  origin 
and  relationship  of  the  race  by  whom  it  is  sjioken. 

In  spite  of  every  care  exercised  by  those  in  authority, 
the  establishment  of  the  convict  settlement  at  Port  Blair 
has  produced  the  results  universally  observed  when  a 
primitive  and  long  isolated  people  are  first  brought 
into  contact  with  higher  races.  The  newly  introduced 
habits,  diseases,  and  vices  soon  told  with  fearful  effect 
on  the  aborigines ;  the  pure-blooded  race  showing  a 
marked  tendency  to  die  out  and  to  be  replaced  by  half- 
breeds.  In  1891  the  number  of  j3ure-brcd  Andamanese 
was  stated  to  be  less  than  4000,  and  there  is  little  doubt 
that  their  eventual  fate,  like  that  which  has  already 
befallen  the  Tasmanians,  is  complete  extermination. 


If  we  now  enquire  as  to  who  are  the  nearest  relatives 
of  the  Andamanese,  and  whence  they  came,  we  shall  be 
confronted  with  a  considerable  amount  of  difference  of 
opinion  on  the  part  of  those  who  have  paid  most 
attention  to  the  subject.  By  some  it  has  been  supposed 
that  a  Negrito  population  is  to  be  met  with  in  the  more 
regiote  hill  districts  of  India,  China,  and  all  the  Malay 
countries,  as  well  as  in  New  Guinea,  and  that  these 
presumed  Negritos  indicate  the  original  population  of 
South-eastern  Asia  before  the  time  that  it  was  overrun 
by  Mongolo-Malayau  tribes.  And  it  has  been  further 
considered  that  there  is  no  intim.-ite  relationship  between 
the  true  Negritos  of  the  Andamans  and  the  long-headed 
Oceanic  Negroes  of  Papua  and  Melanesia. 

These  views  have,  however,  been  recently  opposed  by 
Dr.  A.  B.  Meyer,  the  learned  Director  of  the  Dresden 
Museum,  who  attaches  compai'atively  little  importance 
to  rovmd  heads  and  long  heads,  and  is  of  opinion  that, 
in  addition  to  the  Andamanese,  and  apart  from  Papua, 
the  only  Negritos  definitely  known  to  exist  in  Asia  are 
confined  to  the  Malay  Peninsula  and  the  Philippine 
Islands.  Moreover,  according  to  the  same  authority, 
Negritos,  in  place  of  having  no  near  kinship  with  the 
long-headed  Papuans  and  Melauosians,  ai'e  their  very 
intimate  relations,  there  being  no  evidence  to  support 
the  view  that  the  round-headed  individuals  occasionally 
met  with  among  the  two  latter  indicate  the  remnants 
of  a  distinct  Negrito  race. 

If  these  opinions  represent  the  true  state  of  the  case, 
and  if,  as  has  been  suggested  in  previous  articles  of  the 
present  series,  the  Australian  aborigines  and  the  primi- 
tive tribes  of  India  and  Ceylon  are  related  to  the 
Caucasian  leather  than  to  the  Negro  type,  it  will  be 
evident  that  the  Negro  element  occupies  a  much  less 
important  position  in  South-eastern  Asia  than  has  been 
commonly  supposed.  Unfortunately,  however,  no 
definite  light  is  thrown  on  the  problem  whether  the 
birthplace  of  the  Negro  stock  should  be  sought  in  Africa 
or  in  Asia. 

Putting  aside  such  theoretical  ([uestions,  the  short 
remaining  space  may  be  devoted  to  the  nearest  living 
relatives  of  the  Andamanese.  The  existence  of  Negroes 
of  small  stature  in  the  Philippines  appears  to  have 
been  known  to  the  Chinese  at  the  commencement  of  the 
thirteenth  century,  and  the  name  Hai-tan  was  applied 
by  them  to  the  people  in  question.  Those  small,  black, 
fiizzly-haired  people  were  subsequently  encountered  by 
the  Spaniards  when  they  colonized  the  Philippines,  aud 
as  they  were  first  seen  in  the  mountains  of  Luzon,  they 
received  from  their  conquerors  the  title  Negritos  del 
Monte.  They  are  accordingly  the  typical  "  Negritos." 
Their  native  name  is  Aita,  Ita,  or  Inagta,  which  iiipans 
black,  being  akin  to  the  Malay  itam  ;  and  it  is  possible 
that  the  Chinese  designation  Hai-tan  may  have  a  similar 
meaning.  The  average  height  of  the  men  is  4  feet 
8|  inches,  and  that  of  the  women  4  feet  6i  inches.  Not 
only  in  physical  apijeai'ance,  but  likewise  in  several  of 
their  moral  characteristics,  these  little  Negroes  resemble 
the  Andamanese,  and  it  is  a  highly  significant  fact  that 
they  are  likewise  faithful  to  their  marriage  vows  and 
have  but  one  wife  each.  Negritos  are  likewise  also  found 
in  other  islands  of  the  Philippine  group,  such  as  Mindoro, 
Panay,  Negros,  Mindanao,  etc.;  but  our  information 
concerning  all  of  them  is  extremely  deficient.  The  only 
other  region  where  Asiatic  pygmies  ar'e  known  to  occur 
is  the  Malay  Peninsula;  but  our  lack  of  knowledge  of 
them  in  that  area  is,  if  possible,  even  more  conspicuous 
than  in  the  Philippines. 


September  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


I'M) 


ASTRONOMY    WITHOUT   A   TELESCOPE. 

By  E.   Walter  Maunder,   f.r.a.s. 

VIII.— FOUR    VARIABLE    STARS. 

It  is  304  years  since  David  Fabricius,  one  of  the  earliest 
observers  of  sunspots.  noticed  that  a  star  in  the  neck  of 
Cetus  the  Whale,  which  he  had  observed  in  August, 
1596,  to  be  of  the  ord  magnitude,  had  disappeared  by 
October.  This  appeai'ed  an  observation  of  great  im- 
portance, since  it  seemed  to  show  that  the  fixed  stars  arc 
not  all  of  them  permanent,  but  that  they  might  die  out. 
Seven  years  later  Bayer  recorded  a  4th  magnitude  star 
in  precisely  the  same  position  as  that  which  Fabricius 
had  noted  to  have  disappeared.  Here,  however,  the 
matter  rested  for  an  entire  generation,  and  it  was  not 
until  1638  that  Holwai'da  detected  the  star  again  as  of 
the  3rd  magnitude  in  December,  but  found  it  disappear 
in  the  following  summer  to  reappear  again  in  the  autumn. 
This  star,  therefore,  Omicron  Ceti,  which  received  from 
Helvelius  the  name  of  Mira,  the  wonderful  star,  was 
the  first  to  become  known  as  a  periodic  variable. 

The  first  stai%  that  is  to  say,  in  historic  times.  There  is 
another, more  striking  even  than  Mira,  which  it  seems 
likely  w^as  noted  by  the  forgotten  astronomers  of  Arabia 
or  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  centuries  before  even 
Hipparchus  and  Ptolemy  compiled  their  catalogues.  This 
is  Beta  in  the  constellation  Perseus,  described  by 
Ptolemy  as  the  principal  star  in  the  head  of  the  Gorgon 
Medusa,  which  the  hero  is  represented  as  carrying  in  his 
hand.  This  star  has  come  down  to  us  from  the  Arabs 
with  the  name  Algol,  the  Demon  Star,  and  it  is  at  least 
a  probability  that  it  owed  this  name  to  the  fact  that 
though  ordinarily  of  the  2ud  magnitude  it  sinks  down 
almost  to  the  4th  at  perfectly  regular  intervals  of  two 
days  and  twenty -one  hours. 

The  variability  of  Algol  was  discovered  in  modern 
times  by  Montanari  in  1669,  and  it  was  re-discovered  by 
Goodricke  in  1782.  The  latter  observer  two  years  later 
added  two  other  variables  to  the  list;  Beta  Lyrse  with 
a  period  of  veiy  nearly  thirteen  days,  and  Delta  Cephei, 
with  one  of  five  and  a^-third  days.  At  this  date  scarcely 
more  than  a  century  ago  these  four  stars  were  almost 
the  only  variables  known  to  us,  and  variables  continued 
to  be  rare  objects  until  the  middle  of  this  century. 
Now  their  number.^  have  been  added  to  so  greatly  that 
the  catalogue  prepared  by  Prof.  Chandler  in  1896  com- 
prises 400,  the  vai-iability  of  which  is  fairly  well  estab- 
lished, and  new  members  of  the  class  are  being 
discovered  every  month. 

These  four  star's  ai-e  all  well  in  view  during  the 
September  nights.  Delta  Cephei  being  a  circumpolar 
is  necessarily  always  visible,  and  is  now  overhead  at 
midnight;  Algol  also  is  a  circumpolar,  but  descends  too 
near  to  the  northern  horizon  at  its  sub-polar  transit  for 
observation  then.  At  midnight  on  September  1,  how- 
ever, it  is  high  up  and  almost  due  cast  of  the  observer, 
whilst  Beta  Lyr«e  is  at  a  similarly  favourable  elevation 
in  the  west.  Mira  Ceti  being  slightly  south  of  the 
equator  is  only  above  the  horizon  about  IH  hours  out 
of  the  24 ;  it  comes  to  the  meridian  at  midnight  towards 
the  end  of  October,  consequently  at  midnight  on  Sep- 
tember 1  it  is  low  down  in  the  south-east. 

Mira  Ceti  has  been  somewhat  irregular  in  its  period 
of  late,  but  should  have  just  passed  a  maximum.  Its 
brightness  at  maximum  varies  through  wide  limits; 
sometimes  it  scarcely  exceed.s  the  5th  magnitude,  some- 
times it  is  distinctly  brighter  than  the  2ud,  but  u.sually 


it  ranks  between  the  3rd  and  the  4th.  It  is  thus 
always  within  the  range  of  unassisted  sight  at  maximum, 
but  it  goes  down  far  below  that  range  at  minimum,  its 
faintest  light  bringing  it  down  practically  to  the  10th 
magnitude.  The  "  astronomer  without  a  telescope," 
therefore,  can  only  watch  it  at  its  maxima,  hut  these 
form  for  Mira  Ceti  the  interesting  pliase.  The  other 
three  stars  are  at  all  times  well  within  the  range  of 
vision.  A  telescope,  therefore,  is  not  needed  for  them, 
and  it  is  much  better  that  it  should  not  be  used. 

The  most  striking  star  of  the  four  with  which  to  begin 
is  Algol.  The  student,  avoiding  all  references  to 
Ephemerides,  should  look  out  at  regular  intervals  and 
compare  the  brightness  of  Algol  with  certain  of  the 
neighbouring  stars.  Ordinarily  Alpha  Persei  will  be 
distinctly  but  not  very  greatly  brighter  than  our 
variable,  whilst  Gamma,  Delta,  Espilon  and  Zcta  will 
bo  distinctly  fainter.  At  a  little  greater  distance  are 
Alpha  and  Beta  Arietis,  the  fonner  slightly  brighter, 
the  latter  slightly  fainter  than  Algol.  Alpha  and  Beta 
Trianguli  arc  at  no  great  distance,  and  arc  good  com- 
parison stars  when  Algol  has  begun  to  fade. 

It  will  not  be  long  before  the  observer  will  find  that 
his  stai-  is  undergoing  a  change,  and  that  it  no  longer 
nearly  rivals  Alpha  Persei  or  Gamma  Andromedre  in 
brightness.  Directly  this  is  noticed,  systematic  ob- 
servation should  be  commenced.  A  star  should  be 
chosen,  reasonably  near,  distinctly  brighter  than  the 
variable,  and  a  second  star  distinctly  fainter.  It  is 
usual  among  variable  star  observers  to  estimate  these 
differences  in  "  steps,"  these  "  steps "  corresponding 
generally  to  about  a  tenth  of  magnitude,  though  pro- 
bably the  beginner  will  make  his  steps  considerably 
larger  than  this.  The  central  principle,  however,  is  that 
two  stars  should  be  selected,  one  of  which  the  observer 
is  clear  to  be  fainter  than  the  variable,  and  the  other 
brighter,  and  yet  both  of  them  pretty  near  the  variable 
in  brightness.  The  student  should  further  be  careful 
to  record  whether  the  difference  between  the  variable 
and  the  fainter  star  was  equal  to,  greater  than  or  less 
than  the  difference  between  it  and  the  brighter.  An 
observation  therefore  might  run  as  follows  :  — ■ 

Sep.  Id.  Uh.  15m.  2  >  a  3  <  fe 
where  a  and  h  are  the  two  comparison  stars  This 
would  mean  that  at  llh.  15m.  the  variable  was  noted 
to  be  two  "  steps  "  brighter  than  a  and  three  "  steps  " 
fainter  than  h  ;  in  other  words  that  it  is  slightly  nearer 
an  equality  with  a  than  with  h. 

Of  course  there  is  no  reason  why  the  observer  should 
confine  himself  to  two  comparison  stars.  To  begin  with, 
indeed,  it  is  well  that  he  should  try  more;  bearing  in 
mind  that  the  stars  should  be  a.s  nearly  as  possible  at 
the  same  altitude,  as  a  marked  difference  in  the  height 
above  the  horizon  will  have  a  considerable  effect  upon 
the  estimation. 

Having  made  one  set  of  satisfactory  observations,  the 
student  should  leave  the  star  for  a  while — say  for  half- 
an-hour — and  then  make  an  entirely  fresh  set  of  obser- 
vations. If  he  should  be  fortunate  enough  to  hit  upon 
the  commencement  of  a  minimum  his  second  observation 
will  show  him  the  star  somewhat  fainter  than  the  first, 
and  the  difference  will  become  more  marked  at  a  third 
observation.  The  entire  period  of  decline  and  recovery 
for  Algol  is  nine  hours,  the  light  fading  for  4|  hours, 
remaining  constant  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then 
gi-adually  increasing  again  for  another  period  of  4^ 
hours.  The  light  changes  therefore  at  a  most  rapid 
rate  at  about  23-  hours  before   minimum  or  about  the 


200 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[September  1,  1900. 


same  interval  afterwards,  that  is  to  say  when  the 
change  is  about  half  completed. 

The  observation  is  a  simple  one,  with  no  accessories 
of  brilliant  lights  or  pleasing  colours.  Yet  the  young 
observer  cannot,  we  think,  but  exjserieuce  a  real  pleasure 
when  for  the  first  time  his  observations,  carefully  and 
systematically  made  and  dul)'  recorded  show  him  beyond 
a  doubt  that  he  is  witnessing  the  dimming  of  the  Demon 
Star;  that  he  is  watching  across  untold  millions  of 
millions  of  miles  of  space  the  signalling  of  that  far 
distant  sun.  There  will  be  a  sense  of  achievement, 
greater  and  not  less  because  it  has  been  accomplished 
by  his  unaided  sight,  than  if  he  had  had  the  help  of 
some  great  instrument,  and  if  there  be  in  him  anything 
of  the  stuflt  of  which  astronomers  are  made,  he  will 
turn  eagerly  to  look  for  other  objects  of  study,  and  will 
wait  with  much  interest  for  other  opportunities  of  watch- 
ing Algol. 

He  will  not  soon  exhaust  this  field  of  work  which 
Algol  has  to  offer  him.  Minimum  after  minimum 
should  be  carefully  watched  so  as  to  determine  the 
period.  This  of  course  is  now  known  with  the  utmost 
exactness,  even  to  the  thousandth  part  of  a  second,  and 
the  purpose  of  the  student's  making  an  independent 
determination  is  for  his  own  training  in  the  work,  not 
for  a  closer  approximation  to  the  true  elements  of  the 
star.  Nevertheless  it  has  been  by  the  continual  re- 
jjetition  of  such  observations,  long  after  the  period  was 
precisely  known,  that  minute  variations  in  it  have  been 
discovered,  and  the  student  should  certainly  not  drop 
Algol  from  his  observing  list  until  he  has  been  able 
not  only  to  work  out  a  period  for  himself,  and  so  to 
predict  in  advance  future  minima,  but  also  to  detect 
an  apparent  irregularity  in  the  period  which  is  known 
as  "  the  equation  of  light,"  and  which  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  light  takes  some  16  minutes  to  cross  the  orbit  of 
the  earth.  Minima  which  are  observed  in  November, 
therefore,  when  the  earth  is  at  its  nearest  position  to 
Algol,  come  earlier  than  the  average;  those  in  Maixh 
and  June  come  later. 

It  is  of  course  well  known  now  that  the  variability  of 
Algol  is  due  to  its  having  a  dark  companion  which 
revolves  round  it  in  about  69  hours.  The  variation  in 
Beta  Lyrse  is  of  a  more  complicated  kind.  Here  there 
are  two  minima,  one  less  pronounced  than  the  other, 
and  we  infer  therefore  that  in  this  case  both  stars 
are  bright  and  that  they  alternately  eclipse  each  other. 
The  variation  is  less  than  with  Algol,  being  but  little 
more  than  a  single  magnitude. 

Delta  Cephei  has  a  variation  of  much  the  same 
amount  as  Beta  Lyr<e,  but  it  differs  from  that  star  in 
that  it  has  a  slow  decline  and  a  quick  recovery — the 
decline  being  91  hours,  the  recovei-y  38. 

It  is,  however,  rather  with  the  variables  of  longer 
period  that  the  student  will  most  occupy  himself,  and, 
therefore,  it  is  especially  desirable  that  the  beginner 
should  turn  his  attention  to  the  last  of  the  four  stars 
which  I  have  named,  Mira  Ceti,  before  it  again  fades 
into  invisibility. 


JUPITER   AND   HIS   MARKINGS. 

By  W.   F.  Denning,  f.r.a.s. 

Jupiter  is  the  most  interesting  planet  of  the  solar  system, 
considered  as  a  subject  for  telescopic  investigation;  and 
he  is  certainly  one  of  the  easiest  objects  we  have,  on 
account  of  his  large  size  and  the  conspicuous  character 
of   many   of   the   markings   he   displays.        It   is   in   the 


study  of  changes  in  the  figure  and  motion  of  these 
markings  that  Jupiter  offers  attractions  of  a  more 
distinct  and  special  kind  than  those  of  any  other  planet. 
Venus  is  beautiful,  as  a  crescent,  but  her  disc  shows 
no  more  than  mere  suspicions  of  dusky  areas,  of  which 
it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  trace  the  outlines  or  discern 
variation.  Mars  displays  an  interesting  configuration, 
in  reference  to  which  we  have  still  much  to  learn,  but 
he  is  of  small  dimensions,  and  only  visible  to  the  best 
advantage  at  comparatively  long  intervals.  Saturn 
exhibits  a  novel  and  picturesque  effect,  but  his  details 
are  somewhat  faint,  and  this,  combined  with  his  great 
distance  and  relatively  small  apparent  diameter,  has 
occasioned  a  good  many  dubious  observations  of  late 
years.  No  doubt  there  are  occasional  irregularities 
in  the  belts,  and  definite  spots  now  and  then  appear, 
for  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  surface 
phenomena  of  the  planet  is  somewhat  similar  to  that 
operating  on  Jupiter. 

In  1878  and  1879,  when  the  great  red  spot  developed 
into  striking  prominence  and  became  an  attractive  object 
for  study,  the  planet  Jupiter  was  surveyed  in  nearly 
every  telescope,  and  our  knowledge  of  his  phenomena 
was  much  enhanced.  It  was  soon  found  that  the  dark 
belts  and  bright  zones  represented  a  series  of  different 
longitudinal  currents.  The  red  spot  indicated  a  rotation 
in  9h.  55m.  34s.,  the  white  equatorial  spots  in  about 
9h.  50m.,  while  in  1880,  some  dai-k  spots  in  the  north 
hemisphere  returned  in  9h.  48m.  Other  objects  showed 
proper  motions,  and  the  rates  seemed  to  vary  with  the 
time.  It  is  true  these  features  were  not  entirely  new, 
for  Cassini,  about  two  centuries  before,  had  seen  a 
white  equatorial  marking  rotating  in  9h.  50m.,  while  a 
great  southern  spot  (possibly  identical  with  the  red  spot 
of  our  own  times)  moved  in  9h.  55m.  58s. 

The  spots  having  considerable  proper  motion  and 
being  subject  to  extensive  changes  cannot  be  regarded  as 
material  parts  of  the  planet's  surface.  They  are  pro- 
bably situated  in  the  outer  envelopes  of  Jupiter,  and 
do  not  accurately  indicate  the  true  rotation  period  of 
the  planet's  globe.  It  is  probable  that  the  time  differs 
little  from  91i.  56m.,  but  it  is  doubtful  to  several  seconds 
In  the  case  of  Mars  we  know  the  rotation  period  to 
the  tenth  of  a  second,  his  principal  lineaments  being 
durable  surface  markings,  which  have  been  followed 
during  the  two  and  a  half  centuries  which  have  elapsed 
since  the  times  of  Huygens  and  Hooke. 

During  the  last  few  years  Jupiter  has  received  much 
further  investigation.  The  red  spot  is  still  present,  though 
only  as  a  dusky  stain  in  the  bay  or  hollow  in  the  south 
side  of  the  gi-eat  southern  equatorial  belt.  The  latter 
feature  has  certainly  been  intermittently  visible  since 
1831,  Sejstcmber,  when  Schwabe  drew  it,  and  there  is 
every  prospect  that  it  will  remain  visible  for  many 
years.  In  fact,  it  appears  to  be  an  object  which,  like 
the  red  spot,  is  subject  to  fluctuations,  not  only  of 
velocity  but  of  apjjearance,  and  is  also  liable  to  tem- 
porary obliteration.  Its  mean  rate  of  rotation  between 
1831,  September,  and  1899,  September,  was 
9h.  55m.  36.4s.  (from  60,074  rotations),  while  its  present 
rate  is  about  9h.  55m.  41.7s.,  but  in  recent  years  it  has 
varied  as  under  :  • — ■ 


b.  m. 

s. 

h.  ni. 

s. 

1894   ... 

...   9  ,55 

41.0 

1897   ... 

...   9  55 

41.5 

1895   ... 

...   9  55 

41.1 

1898   ... 

...   9  65 

41.6 

1896   ... 

...   9  55 

41.3 

1899   ... 

...   9  55 

41.7 

The  values  for  the  last  two  years  are  slightly  less  than 
those  given  in  my  paper  in  Monthly  Notices.  Vol.  LIX., 
p.  580,   and   they   are   more   correct,   depending   as   they 


rt 


■^ 

c/> 

CO 
C5 

o 

CO 

.— 1 

1 

^ 

1. 

HH 

;4 

^ 

H 

a: 

< 

^ 

Cfl 

HH 

ffi 

Q 

2 

< 

a 

ta' 

pEi 

■? 

UJ 

Tl 

H 

^^ 

CO 

Ou 

fc 

p 

M 


September  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


201 


do  upon  a  later  and  more  complete  iuvcstigatiou.  There 
are  indications  tliat  the  spot  has  now  begun  to  show 
an  accelerat-ed  rate,  my  i-ecent  observations  being  as 
follows  :  — 

Daw.  Trausit.       Loiii-itmle.     Diite.  Tniiisit.        LoiiiMlu.lc. 

1S>»  u       M.  o  liXXI.  11.       M.  o 

AiiK-  50  ...    6  33  ...  57.0  Jan.  8  ...  20  22  ...  56.4 

Sept.    6  ...    7  21  ...  56,4  Feb.  6  ...  19  26  ...  37.9 

,,     14  ...    5  59  ...  34.7  „    20  ...  20  59  ...  37.5 

„     16  ...    5  41  ...  56.5  .,    21  ...  16  53  ...  59.0 

Dec.  13  ...18  51  ...  38.2  Mar.  15  ...  15  5  ...  58.7 

„     50  ...  17  54  ...  55.7  „    17  ...  16  42i  ...  59.5 

From  thirty-five  transits  obtained  in  1899,  and  from 
others  secured  in  1S98,  I  found  that  the  longitude  of 
the  spot  was  increasing  at  the  rate  of  O^.T  per  mouth 
and  that  if  this  had  been  continued  the  marking  wouKl 
now  be  in  41°. 5,  whereas  its  position  is  about  40°,  so 
that  its  rotation  period  this  year  has  vei-y  slightly 
exceeded  the  rate  (9h.  55m.  40.63s.)  adopted  for  system 
II.  of  Mr.  Crommelius  Ephcmerides,  published  in 
Monthly  Nutices.  The  spot  now  follows  the  zero  meridian 
about  66  minutes.  Its  eastern  (following)  end  is 
darkest,  and  easily  seen,  but  the  entire  elli])tical  outline 
of  the  object  can  only  be  traced  on  a  really  first  cla.'^s 
night. 

There  are  a  large  number  of  equatorial  spots  visible 
in  the  form  of  irregulai'  white  and  dark  patches  which 
are  constantly  undergoing  changes.  In  the  various 
years  when  I  have  watched  such  of  these  markings  as 
border  the  south  side  of  the  Equator,  their  rotation 
periods  have  been  as  under  :  — 

h.    m.       s.  b.    m.      s. 

1880      9    50    5.8         1886      9    50    22.8 

1S81      9    50    8.8         1895      9    50    34.5 

1882      9    50  11.4         1898      9    50    23.6 

1886      9    50  14.3         1899      9    50    24.6 

The  present  period  of  these  objects  does  not  differ 
materially  from  the  rate  exhibited  in  the  two  preceding 
years.  I  believe  that  many  of  these  objects  have 
existed  for  a  very  lengthy  intei-val.  They  are  probably 
the  same  objects  as  were  seen  so  prominently  in  1879, 
1880,  and  following  years.  Or  we  may  go  back  further 
still  to  the  similar  appearances  figured  by  Gledhill  and 
others  in  1869  and  1870,  and  even  to  the  equatorial 
spots  delineated  by  Dawes,  Huggins,  Lassell,  and  others, 
in  1858  and  1859.  But  there  is  a  difficulty  in  identify- 
ing the  objects,  as  they  are  very  numerous,  and  a  break 
of  a  few  months  has  necessarily  to  occur  in  the  obsei-- 
vations  every  year,  Jupiter  being  invisible  near  to  the 
sun.  At  the  present  time,  though  the  mean  rate  of  the 
equatorial  current  is  about  9h.  50m.  25s.,  the  individual 
spots  differ  in  their  rates  from  about  9h.  50m.  15s.  to 
9h.  50m.  3os. 

In  the  south  temperate  zone  (in  which  the  red  spot 
lies)  the  spots  rotate  at  a  regular  rate  of  9h.  55m.  19s. 
I  have  noticed  no  change  whatever  in  their  motion 
during  the  last  twenty  years,  and,  consulting  old  records, 
I  find  that  tliey  have  preserved  the  same  period  for  a 
great  length  of  time.  This  is  very  curious,  in  view  of 
the  singular  variations  of  rate  apparent  in  other 
latitudes,  and  I  believe  these  south  temperate  markings, 
like  many  other  features  of  Jupiter,  are  of  considerable 
duration.  They  suffer  variations  due  to  the  atmospheric 
vicissitudes  under  which  they  exist,  but,  though  tem- 
porarily obliterated,  reappear  in  the  same  positions. 
There  are  quite  a  large  number  of  light  and  dark  spots 
in  about  S.  latitude  28°  or  30°,  which  have,  I  believe, 
been  visible  during  the  last  twenty  years.  They  move 
more  rapidly  than  the  red  spot,  and  pass  that  object 
just  on  his  southern  borders.     Their  conjunctions  with 


the  red  spot  aro  exceedingly  inti'icsi  mi;  iilu-iiiiiiirua. 
In  about  1880,  when  the  rotation  period  of  the  latter 
was  9h.  55m.  35s.,  the  conjunctions  occurred  at  interval s 
of  about  920  days,  but  in  about  1898  the  period  was 
reduced  to  650  days.  The  interval  separating  the  con- 
junctions has,  however,  varied  each  year  in  consequence 
of  the  marked  change  of  velocity  in  the  rate  of  the  red 
spot.  I  have  traced  back  the  conjunctions  of  two  south 
temperate  dark  .spots  (nearly  all  observed)  with  the 
red  spot  approximate! V  as  follows:  — 

1.  "  H. 

1881,  December.  1880,  July. 

1884,  April.  1882,  December. 

1886.  Muv.  1885,  Feliniary. 

1888,  Ajiril.  1886,  November. 

1890,  February.  1888,  September. 

1891,  December.  1890,  August. 
1893,  September.  1892,  June. 
1895,  July.                                            1894,  AprilMay. 
1897,  April.                                          1896,  February. 
1899,  .biiiuarv,                                    1897,  November. 

»1900,  October.  1899,  Aut;ust. 

•1902,  July.  '1901,  May. 

*1903,  January. 
*  Ihese  are  the  predict e<l  dates  of  future  conjunctions. 

Spot  No.  I.  is  at  present  in  longitude  120°,  wlulo 
No.  II.  is  in  203°.  There  are  several  other  markings 
of  similar  character;  two  of  these  were  in  conjunction 
with  the  red  spot  at  following  times,  viz..  No.  III. 
1892,  October;  1894,  August;  189G,  May;  1898, 
January;  1899,  November;  and  No.  IV.,  1892, 
March;  1894,  January;  1895,  November;  1897, 
August;    1899,  April. 

Further  south  of  the  south  temperate  spots  tlu 
current  is  more  rapid,  the  rotation  period  being  about 
9h.  55m.  7s. 

In  the  north  temperate  region  there  is  a  remarkable 
diversity  in  the  proper  motions  of  the  objects.  Here 
we  discover  both  the  shortest  and  longest  periods. 
In  north  latitude,  about  30°,  the  spots  and  condensa- 
tions in  the  belts  rotate  in  periods  ranging  from 
9h.  55m.  50s.  to  9h.  56m.  Yet  there  is  a  narrow  belt 
in  about  latitude  25°  N.  which  in  1880  rotated  in 
9h.  48m.,  and  in  less  than  9h.  50m.  in  1891.  In  this 
belt  there  appear  to  be  remarkable  disturbances  at 
intervals  of  about  ton  years.  There  were  outbreaks 
from  it  in  1850,  1860,  1870,  1880,  and  1890.  Somy 
details  of  these  phenomena  were  described  by  the  writer 
in  the  Monfhhj  Notice);  for  December,  1898.  It  is  highly 
probable  that  another  eruption  of  spots  will  take  place 
from  the  same  belt  at  the  close  of  1900,  and  be  observed 
when  Jupiter  becomes  a  morning  star  in  February, 
1901.  Telescopic  observers  should  therefore  carefully 
observe  the  planet  at  this  time  with  a  view  to  detect 
the  recurrence  of  the  phenomenon. 

In  the  N.  tropical  zone  of  Jupiter,  and  bordering  liio 
N.  edge  of  the  northern  equatorial  belt,  we  find  another 
seat  of  very  active  and  long  continued  energy.  White 
and  dark  spots  are  plentifully  distributed  along  the 
edge  of  the  belt,  and  they  do  not  partake  in  the  rapid 
velocity  of  the  equatorial  current,  their  period  being 
about  9h.  55m.  33s.,  though  it  varies  to  the  extent  of  a 
few  seconds  in  different  years.  In  1899,  the  individual 
markings  differed  in  their  periods  to  the  extent  of  18 
seconds,  and  it  was  clearly  manifested  by  all  the  ob.3Ci- 
vations  that  one  section  of  the  belt,  between  longitude 
140°  and  260°,  was  moving  much  more  rapidly  than 
the  other  part  (.see  Kev.  T.  E.  R.  Phillip's  valuable 
chart  in  Monthly  Notices,  Vol.  LX.,  p.  214). 

The  time  seems  come  when  all  observations  of  Jupiter 
made  at  each  opposition  of  the  planet  should  be  com- 


202 


KNOWLEDGE 


[September  1,  1900. 


bined  and  discussed  according  to  approved  methods 
The  greater  the  number  of  observations  the  nearer  the 
approach  will  be  to  accuracy.  So  many  observers  now 
occupy  themselves  with  these  observations  that  in- 
dividual deductions,  as  regards  rotation  periods,  had 
better  be  discontinued  in  favour  of  a  collective  effort 
to  ensure  safe  and  certain  results.  The  plan  of  reduction 
initiated  by  Mr.  Marth,  and  followed  by  Mr.  A.  S. 
Williams,  Kev.  T.  E.  K.  Phillips,  and  others,  is  to  be 
greatly  commended,  and  there  seems  little  doubt  that 
in  future  years  it  will  be  generally  adopted,  and  be  the 
means  of  vastly  increasing  our  knowledge  of  the  surface 
vagaries  of  this  wonderful  planet. 

In  the  drawings  of  Jupiter  accompanying  this  paper 
no  attempt  has  been  made  to  show  the  slight  curvature 
of  the  belts  due  to  the  inclination  of  the  planet  in 
1898  and  1899. 

[It  should  be  lioted  that  this  iia.per  was  wiitteu  in  Aiiril, 
1900.— Eds.] 


THE   HUNDRED    BRIGHTEST   STARS. 

By  J.  E.  Gore,  f.r.a.s. 

We  sometimes  hear  of  "  the  Hundred  Best  Books,''  and 
there  is  much  difference  of  opinion  as  to  what  thesj 
books  are.  But  there  caai  be  little  or  no  doubt  as  to  th? 
hundred  brightest  stars  in  the  heavens,  although  the 
exact  order  of  their  arrangement — or  sequence,  as  it  is 
termed — may  be  somewhat  uncertain.  In  the  following 
table  I  have  arranged  the  hundred  brightest  stars  in 
the  sky  in  the  order  of  magnitude  as  measured  with 
the  meridian  photometer  at  Harvard  College  Observa- 


tory (U.S.A.),  and  at  Arequipa,  Peru.  For  the  stars 
visible  in  the  Northern  hemisphere  the  results  are  given 
in  the  "  Harvard  Photometry  "  (HP.),  and  in  the 
Revision  of  the  same  recently  published,  and  for  the 
Southern  stars  in  the  "  Southern  Meridian  Photo- 
metry "  (S.M.P.).  When  a  southern  star  occurs  in  all 
three  catalogues  I  have  taken  the  magnitude  given  in 
the  S.M.P.,  as  the  observations  were  evidently  mad3 
under  more  favourable  conditions.  I  have  also  given 
the  magnitude  of  each  star  as  measured  with  the  wedge 
photometer  at  Oxford,  and  also  in  the  Potsdam  photo- 
metric catalogues  (recently  published)  whenever  the  star 
is  found  in  these  catalogues.  To  make  these  catalogues 
strictly  comparable  it  should  be  noted  that  the  standai'd 
star  Polaris  is  2.15  magnitude  in  the  H.P.  and  S.M.P. 
catalogues,  2.05  in  the  Oxford,  and  2.34  in  the  Potsdam 
catalogue.  The  spectrum  of  the  stain's  light  is  given 
from  the  "  Draper  Catalogue  of  Stellar  Spectra,"  when 
the  star  is  found  in  that  catalogue,  I.  denoting  the 
Sirian  type,  II.  the  solar  type,  and  III.  the  third  type 
Some  are  given  from  the  Harvard  Annals,  Vol. 
XXVIIT.,  Part  I.,  and  a  few  from  other  sources.  I 
have  also  added  the  star's  parallax  and  proper  motioa 
where  these  have  been  determined.  I  have  placed  the 
stars  in  order  of  brightness  according  to  the  H.P.,  as  ia 
that  catalogue  the  comparison  star  was  Polaris,  a  com- 
paratively bright  star,  while  in  the  Revision  of  the  H.P. 
the  comparison  was  X  Ursaj  Miuoris,  a  faint  star 
(G.57). 

The  position  of  the  stai-s  are  given  for  1900.0,  and 
the  list  may  be  useful  to  variable  star  observers  as  afford- 
ing comparison  stars  for  naked  eye  stars  suspected  of 
variation  in  light. 


Photometric 

Magnitude 

tt. 

Proper 

No. 

Star. 

E.A. 

900.0. 

Dec.  1»UO.O. 

H.P. 

Revision 
of  H.P. 

Oxford. 

Potsdam. 

Spectrum. 

Parallax.       | 

Motiou. 

11. 

M. 

O         ' 

" 

1 

Sirius 

6 

40.7 

S.    IG  34 

— 1'43 

—1-67 

—0  95 

— 

I.  (A?)          i 

0-39 

1-32 

2 

Canopus 

6 

21.8 

S     52  39 

—0-96 

— 

— 

— 

11.        ! 

003 

3 

Arcturus 

14 

11.1 

N.  19  44 

003 

0  07 

031 

0  27 

II.  (K) 

0  018 

2-28 

4 

Capella 

') 

9.3 

N.  45  54 

0  18 

0  24 

008 

— 

n.  (F) 

0107 

U-43 

5 

Vega 

18 

33.6 

N.  38  41 

0  19 

0  10 

014 

0  41 

I.  (A) 

0  034 

0-36 

6 

a  Ceritaiiri                   j 

14 

39  8 

S.    60  25 

0  2(1 

— 

— 

— 

II.  (G) 

0-76 

3-62 

7 

Higcl  \«  Orionis)       ! 

.5 

9.7 

S.      8  19 

t)  32 

0  28 

-003 

— 

II.  (F) 

8 

Procvon 

7 

34  1 

N.     5  30 

0  46 

0  47 

0-50 

0  75 

II.  (F) 

0-27 

r26 

9 

tt  Eridani 

1 

34 

S.   57  44 

051 

— 

— 

— 

I.  (I!) 

10 

^  Centauri 

13 

56.7 

S.    59  53 

0  83 



— 

— 

I.  (B) 

0018 

11 

«  Orionis 

r> 

■19.8 

N.     7  23 

0  91 

0  94 

0  98 

— 

III. 

0009 

12 

Altair  («  AquiL'c) 

i',» 

45.9 

N.     8  36 

0  97 

0-74 

1-04 

1-15 

I.  (A) 

0  20 

0  64 

13 

Aldebaran                   ' 

4 

30.2 

N.  16  19 

IIKJ 

107 

112 

118 

II.  (K?) 

015 

019 

14. 

o-  Crucis 

12 

21.1 

S.    62  32 

1-02 

— 

— 

— 

I.  (B) 

1.5 

Antares 

16 

23.2 

S.    2-i  13 

106 

1-44 

1-13 

— 

III. 

1(5 

Pollux  O  Gemini) 

7 

39  2 

N.  28  16 

112 

1-25 

136 

1-54 

It.  (K?) 

0  068 

17 

Spica  («  Virginia) 

i:i 

19.9 

S.    10  38 

123 

1-09 

f  0  96| 
I  0  81  3 

— 

"Orion  tjpe" 

Negative 

18 

"  Pis.  Aust. 

22 

52.1 

S.    30     9 

1-27 

131 

— 

I. 

19 

Regulus  (»  Leunis) 

10 

3.1 

N.  12  28 

1-42 

1-34 

1-17 

176 

I  (A) 

0093 

20 

"  Cygni 

20 

38.0 

N.  44  56 

1-47 

1-25 

1-32 

— 

I.  (A) 

Negative 

21 

e  Can.  Maj. 

(i 

54.7 

S.    28  50 

1-49 

1-65 

— 

— 

I.  (A?) 

22 

P  Crucis 

12 

41.8 

S.    .59     8 

1-49 

— 

— 

— 

I.  (B) 

23 

7  Crucis 

12 

25.6 

S.    56  33 

1-55 

— 

— 

— 

III. 

24 

Castor  (a  Gem  ) 

7 

28.2 

N.  32     7 

1-.56 

1-61 

1-53 

1-97 

I.  (A) 

0198 

2.5 

3  Argus 

9 

12.1 

S.    69  18 

1-73 

— 

— 

— 

I.  (A) 

2(; 

e  Argus 

8 

20.4 

S.    59  11 

1-74 

— 

— 

— 

II.   (K) 

27 

(  Orionis 

5 

31.2 

P.      1    16 

1-76 

1-74 

— 

— 

I.  (A) 

28 

A  Scorpii 

17 

26.8 

S.    37     2 

179 

1-79 

— 

— 

I.  (B) 

29 

6  Can.  Maj. 

7 

4.3 

S.    26  14 

1-85 

216 

— 

— 

11.  (G?) 

30 

£  Ursse  Maj. 

12 

49.6 

>'.  56  30 

1-85 

1-76 

1-80 

— 

I.  (A) 

0  030 

31 

Y  Orionis 

5 

19.7 

N.    6  16 

1-86 

1-59 

1-79 

206 

I.   (B) 

32 

i  Orionis 

5 

35.8 

S.      2     0 

1-89 

1-89 

1-80 

— 

I.  (A) 

33 

a  Trian.  Aust. 

16 

38 

S.    68  51 

1-89 

— 

— 

— 

II.  (K) 

34 

^  Tauri 

5 

20.0 

N.  28  32 

\M 

1-66 

179 

2-02 

I.  (A) 

Septkmber  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE, 


203 






1 
1 

riiot.uiietrk-  Mat-iiitmlo 

^. 

! 

No. 

Star.                   i 

i 

R.A. 

19'Kp.O. 

Doe.  1!KXH>. 

H.P. 

1 

Revision 
of  H.P. 

Oxford. 

Potsrliiui. 

Spectrum. 

Piiriilliix. 

1 

P 1-0  per 
Motion, 

U. 

M.        ! 

O              '          1 

" 

" 

33 

V  Argils 

8 

6.5     1 

S.    47     2 

1-91 

2-37 

— 

— 

Bright  lines 

■M     ' 

«  Gruis 

22 

1.9 

S.   47  27 

1-92 

210 

— 

— 

1.  (A) 

:«7 

«  Saiiittarii 

18 

17.5 

S.    34  2() 

1-93 

1-81 

— 

— 

1.   (.A) 

:is    1 

»  Pei-soi 

3 

17.1 

N.  49  30 

1-94 

1-85 

1-93 

— 

II.   (F) 

39     1 

a  Ursit  Maj. 

10 

57.6 

X.  02  18 

1-96 

1-93 

1-89 

— 

II.   (K) 

1-22  (?) 

40 

9  Seorpii 

17 

30.1 

S.   42  56 

1-99 

208 

— 

— 

II.   (F) 

41 

y  Geminorum 

6 

31.9 

>-.  16  29 

200 

1-88 

213 

2-34 

I.  (A) 

42 

4  A'elorum 

8 

42.0 

S.   54  20 

2()(i 

— 



— 

1.  (A) 

43 

»  Can.  Maj. 

6 

18.3 

S.    17  65 

2  01 

1-97 

— 

— 

I.  (B) 

44 

o  Hydriv 

9 

22.7 

S.      8  14 

202 

2-29 

2-22 

— 

11.   (Iv) 

45 

'1  Ursa'  Maj. 

13 

43.6 

K  49  49 

2-02 

1-88 

1-77 

— 

1.  (A) 

(i(i9.-> 

46     ! 

o  Arietis 

2 

1.5 

N.  23     0 

20i 

219 

213 

2-22 

II.  (K) 

47    i 

o  Pavoiiis 

20 

17.7 

S.    57     3 

205 

— 

— 

— 

I.   (1!) 

48 

?  Aurigae 

3 

52.2 

N.  44  5(i 

2-07     1 

1-98 

1-94 

— 

1.    (A) 

49 

a  Audromedfle 

0 

3.2 

X.  28  33 

208 

209 

205 

2-41 

I.   (\) 

50 

^  Gruis 

22 

36.7 

S.    47  24 

2(W 

214 

— 

— 

III. 

51 

*  Argus 

9 

4  3 

S.   43     2 

2-10 

2-37 

— 

— 

Iv— M 

52     ! 

^  Ceti 

0 

3S.5 

S.    18  32 

213 

235 

2-12 

— 

II.  (K) 

53 

P  Ursa"  Min. 

14 

51.0 

X.  74  34 

2-13 

2-31 

2  26 

— 

H.   (Lvj 

Negative 

54     , 

y  ADdroiiioilic 

1 

57-7 

N.  41  51 

2-14 

2-26 

2-14 

— 

II. 

55 

«  Ursie  Min. 
(Polaris) 

1 

22.0 

N.  88  40 

2-1,1 

2-20 

2  05 

234 

II.  (F?) 

0-07 

0-05 

56 

«  OpUiuchi 

17 

30.3 

X.  12  38 

2-18 

2-10 

2-23 

2-54 

I  (A) 

l-,57  (?) 

57 

*  Centauri 

14 

0.8 

S.   35  £3 

2-19 

2-34 

— 

— 

n.  (K) 

58 

3  Andromedie 

1 

4.1 

X.  35     5 

221 

217 

2-21 

233 

ni. 

59 

«  Orionia 

5 

43.0 

S.     9  42 

2-22 

2-20 

2-42 

— 

I.  (A) 

60 

^  Leonis 

11 

44.0 

N.  15     8" 

2-23 

228 

2-07 

2-62 

I.  (A) 

61 

'  Argtis 

9 

14.4 

S.    58  51 

2-24 

— 

— 

— 

II.   (F) 

62 

Y  Lei>iiis 

10 

14.4 

N.  20  21 

2-24 

2  35 

212 

2-45 

II.  (K) 

63 

<»  CassiopeiiB 

0 

34.8 

N.  56    0 

2-25 

247 

2-41 

— 

II.  (K) 

0036 

64 

«  Scorpii 

16 

43.S 

9.   34    7 

2-29 

2  44 

— 

— 

II.  (K) 

65 

y  Cassiopeia! 

0 

50.7 

N.  60  10 

2-30 

2-23 

219 

— 

"  Orion  type  " 

0-05  (?) 

66 

"  Sagittarii 

18 

49.1 

S.   26  25 

2-30 

2  02 

— 

— 

"Urion  type" 

67 

Y  Cjgni 

20 

18.6 

N.  39  56 

2  31 

2-33 

2  26 

2  50 

II.  (ti) 

68 

P  Persei  (Algol) 

3 

1.6 

X.  40  3  4 

2-31 

— 

2-40 

— 

I.  (A) 

0  07  (?) 

G9 

4  Argus 

8 

0.1 

S.   39  43 

2-33 

2-36 

— 

— 

Bright  lines 

70 

Y  Draconis 

ir 

54.3 

N.  51  30 

2-35 

2-48 

2-40 

— 

H.  (K) 

Negative 

71 

Y  Centauri 

12 

36.0 

S.   48  24 

2.36 

— 

— 

— 

I.  (A) 

72 

s  Orionis 

5 

26.9 

S.     0  22 

2  30 

2-59 

2  02 

_ 

"  Orion  tvpe  " 

73 

a  Coronae 

15 

30.6 

N.  27     3 

237 

2-25 

2-23 

2-EO 

I.  (.V) 

74 

4  TJrsse  Maj. 

13 

19.9 

N.  55  26 

2-38 

2  18 

2-(9 

._ 

I.   (A) 

0-045 

75 

1  Can.  Maj. 

7 

202 

S.    29     6 

2-41 

2-50 

— 

— 

"  Orion  type  " 

76 

t  Pegasi 

21 

39.2 

X.     9  25 

2-41 

267 

2'43 

276 

II.  (K) 

77 

3  Cassiopeia? 

0 

3.8 

N.  58  36 

242 

2-44 

2-32 

— 

II.  (F) 

0162 

0-57 

78 

«  Phoenieis 

0 

21.3 

S.   42  51 

2  45 

2-40 

— 

— 

5 

79 

«  Lupi 

It 

35  2 

S.  46  58 

2-46 

3-33 

— 

— 

I.   (B) 

80 

"•  Argiis 

7 

13.0 

S.  36  55 

2-49 

2-92 

— 

— 

V 

81 

S  Scorpii 

15 

54  4 

S.  22  20 

252 

2-49 

^- 

— 

"  Orion  type  " 

82 

1  Centauri 

14 

29.2 

S.   41  43 

2-54 

2-84 

■ — 

— 

F  line  bright 

83 

e  Bootis 

14 

40.6 

N.  27  30 

256 

2-62 

2-47 

2  68 

II. 

84 

3  Pegasi 

22 

58.9 

X.  27  32 

2-56 

2-76 

2-50 

III.  (M  ?) 

85 

Y  UrssB  Maj. 

11 

48.6 

N.  54  15 

2-56 

2-53 

230 

— 

I.   (A) 

0017 

&G 

t  Centauri 

13 

£3.6 

S.   52  58 

2-, 58 

— 

— 

— 

I.  (B) 

87 

«  Cephei 

21 

16.2 

N.  62  10 

258 

2-63 

2-57 

— 

I.  (A) 

0061 

88 

«  Scorpii 

17 

35.5 

S.   38  59 

2-59 

2-60 

— 

1       — 

I.  (B) 

89 

»  Telorum 

9 

19.0 

S.   54  35 

2-59 

— 

— 

I.  (B) 

90 

fi  Urs«  Maj. 

10 

55.9 

X.  56  55 

2-60 

2-57 

217 

I.  (A) 

0011 

91 

"  Pegasi 

22 

59.8 

N.  14  41 

261 

2-61 

233 

1      3-20 

I.  (A) 

92 

1  Opliiuchi 

'     17 

4.6 

S.   15  36 

2-62 

2-60 

2-42 

— 

I.  (A) 

93 

9  Aurigse 

5 

52.9 

N.  37  13 

2-67 

2-70 

3  03 

2-88 

I.  (A) 

91 

«  Leporis 

5 

283 

S.   17  54 

2-67 

2-73 

— 

— 

I. 

95 

a  Ceti 

2 

57.1 

N.    3  42 

208 

2-84 

2-41 

2  89 

III. 

96 

t  Cygni 

;     20 

421 

N. 33  35 

2-69 

2-58 

2-45 

274 

II.  (K) 

97 

*  Sagittarii 

18 

14.6 

S.   29  53 

2-69 

2-98 

— 

— 

98 

f  Sagittarii 

18 

56.3 

S.   30    1 

209 

i-79 

— 

— 

99  ■ 

a  Serpentis 

15 

30.3 

N.    6  41 

2-71 

1     2  79 

2-67 

2-88 

II.  (K?) 

100 

3  Ar» 

17 

17.0 

S.   55  27 

2-72 

•       — 

— 

— 

11.  (K) 

(IMI 

t  Anrii:;( 

i 

50.4 

X.  33    0 

2-72 

21)9 

2-S7 

2-86 

n.   (K)) 

Notes   on  the  above  List. 

2.  A  very  brilliant  star  which  does  rise  above  the 
horizon  of  London.  Spectrum  "  early  solar  type " 
according  to  Huggins. 

3.  Sir  William  Herschel  found  Arcturus  considerably 
brighter  than  Vega. 


11.  This  star  is  variable  to  the  extent  of  about  half 
a  magnitude. 

13.  This  is  generally  considered  as  a  standard  star 
of  the  first  magnitude.  But  it  has  been  suspected  of 
variation. 

14.  This  is  the  brightest  star  in  tlic  Southern  Cross. 


204 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[September  1,  1900. 


15.  The  spectrum  of  this  star  is  said  to  l)e  "  com- 
posite." 

2'2.  One  of  the  stars  in  the  Soutliern  Cross. 

23.  Sjjcctrum  accoi'ding  to  Ellery. 

35.  This  star  was  estimated  3.0  at  Cordoba,  and  may 
possibly  be  variable.     Sir  John  Hcrschel  made  it  2.11. 

44.  This  star  is  red  and  a  suspected  variable. 

50.   Spectrum   according   to   Pechiile. 

53.  This  star  has  licen  suspected  of  variation. 

54.  Spectrum  said  to   be  "  composite." 

55.  This  is  the  standard  star  of  the  photometric 
catalogues,  except  the  Revision  of  the  H.P.,  in  which 
the  comparison  star  is  X  Ursse  Minoris,  magnitude  6'57. 

60.  A  suspected  variable  star.  It  was  rat-ed  of  the 
first  magnitude  by  Al-Sufi  in  the  10th  century. 

G3.  This  star  is  a  variable,  but  has  no  regular  period. 
The  variation  is  from  about  2.2  to  2.8,  so  that  when 
at  its  minimum  light,  it  is  not  among  the  hundred 
brightest  stars. 

()6.  The  famous  variable  star.  The  variation  is  from 
2.3  to  3.5,  so  that  at  minimum  it  I'etires  for  a  few  hours 
from  the  list  of  "  hundred  brightest  stars." 

72.  A  suspected  variable  star. 

73.  A  suspected  variable  star. 
76.  A  suspected  variable  star. 

79.  There  is  considerable  difference  of  magnitude 
lictween  the  H.P.  and  the  Revision  of  the  H.P.  The 
star  was  estimated  2.6.  at  Cordoba. 

82.  Spectrum  with  hydrogen  F  line  bright  according 
to  Bailey. 

83.  The  spectiaim  is  said  to  be  "  composite." 

84.  A  known  variable  star  which  varies  from  about 
2.2  to  2.7,  but  with  no  regular  period. 

91.  Allowing  for  difference  of  scale  there  is  con- 
siderable discrepancy  between  the  Oxford  and  Potsdam 
measures  which  suggests  possible  variation  of  light. 

The  lowest  magnitude  given  in  the  list  is  2.72.  The 
following  stars  are  brighter  than  this  in  the  Revision  of 
the  Harvard  Photometry  :  — • 

li.       m. 

a  Columbw  ."3  36  0  S.  34     8  2-55  S.M.P.  274 

S  Leonis  11     8  8  N.  21     4  2-68  H.P.      275 

/JLnpi  14  52-0  S.  42  44  2  68  S.M.P.  274 

(3  Libr»  15  11-6  S.    9     1  266  H.P.       274 

/3  Scorpii  15  596  S.  19  31  270  H.P.       2  91 

Z  Opbiuchi  16  817  S.  10  22  2-64  HP.       284 

Of  the  hundred  stars  in  the  list,  47  p^re  north  of  the 
Equator  and  53  south,  so  that  the  100  brightest  stars 
are  pretty  equally  distributed  in  each  hemisphere,  with 
a  slight  preponderance  in  favour  of  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere. 

I  find  that  of  the  100  stars  in  the  list,  no  less  than 
58  lie  in  or  near  the  Milky  Way,  a  remarkable  fact 
considering  that  the  Galaxy  does  not — at  most — cover 
more  than  one-fourth  of  the  area  of  the  star  sphere. 

With  reference  to  spectra,  there  are  51  of  the  I. 
type  (including  those  of  the  "  Orion  type  "),  34  of  II. 
type,  and  7  of  type  III.  Of  the  stars  lying  in  or  near 
the  Milky  Way,  there  are  32  of  type  I.,  and  19  of 
type  II.  This  shows  a  marked  preponderance  of  bright 
Sirian  stars  in  the  Galaxy. 

It  is,  I  think,  a  popular  idea  that  the  stars  forming 
the  Southern  Cross  are  some  of  the  very  brightest  in 
the  heavens,  but  this  is  quite  a  mistake,  as  the  brightest 
of  them,  a.  Crucis,  is  only  14th  in  the  above  list,  the  next, 
/3  Cru(-is,  is  No.  22,  the  next,  y  Crucis,  is  No.  23,  while 
the  fourth  star,  8  Crucis,  is  not  included  in  the  first 
hundred  brightest  stars,  its  magnitude'  being  only  .3-08. 


Hcttcrg. 

[The  Editors  do  not  hold  themselves  responsible  for  the  opinions 
or  statements  of  correspondents.] 

HOT  AND   DRY   SUMMERS. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — Distinguishing   each    of   the   last   60   summers 
at  Greenwich   as   either   hot  or  cool,   or   as   dry   or  wet 
(by  relation  to  the  averages),  it  may  not  be  too  obvious 
to  remark  that  hot  summers  arc  not  all  dry,  nor  cool 
summers   all   wet.        The   following   classification   shows 
this:  — 

Hot  and  dry  summers  ...  ...  53 

Cool  and  wet...  ...  ...  ...  19 

Cool  and  di7...  ...  ...  ...  12 

Hot  and  wet...  ...  ...  ...  6 


80 

Let  us  arrange  these  23  hot  and  dry  summers  in  ten 
groups,  according  to  their  positioji  in  a  decade ;  those 
of  years  ending  in  1  together,  those  of  years  ending  in 
2  together,  and  so  on ;  and  represent  each  summer  by 
a  dot  at  level  corresponding  to  the  temperature.  (The 
rainfall  relation  is  not  indicated  in  each  case ;  it  will 
be  understood  that  all  those  summers  had  less  rain  than 
the  average.) 

/    2   3   -^  6'  6^    y  ^  ^     0 


6S- 


»      o 

—  •       •  e  - 

•       •       ,       .       ♦ 


Hot  and  Di'y  Summers. 


In  this  rough  diagram  we  might  note  the  following 
among  other  points  :  — 

1.  The  five  hottest  dry  summers  (64°  and  over)  are 
all  in  the  years  ending  6  to  9. 

2.  Of  ten  summers  over  63°,  nine  are  in  the  decade 
half  6  to  0  ;    and  only  one  in  the  other  half,  1  to  5. 

3.  The  years  ending  6,  7,  and  8  have  four  times  as 
many  hot  dry  summers  as  those  ending  1,  2,  and  3 
(12  to  3). 

4.  The  summers  of  years  ending  in  7,  are  all  hot  and 
dry  except  one  (1867). 

These  facts  might  perhaps  be  found  useful  in  fore- 
casting. Alex.  B.  MacDowall. 


CRESCENT-SHAPED     IMAGES     OF     THE     SUN 
DURING  THE   ECLIPSE. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — If  you  look  under  a  tree  when  the  sun  is 
shining  you  will  see  that  where  the  sun  finds  its  way 
through  the  branches  all  the  small  spots  of  sunshine  on 
the  ground  are  of  a  circular  or  oval  shape.  This  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  interstices  between  the  leaves  act 
like  the  lens  in  a  camera  obscura,  or  perhaps  to  be 
more  accurate,  they  may  be  said  to  act  like  the  pinhole 
in  the  front  of  a  pinhole  camera,  and  they  therefore 
really  project  small  images  of  the  sun  on  the  ground. 

The  curious  thing  is  that  whatever  the  shape  of  the 


Sbptembkb  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE, 


205 


interstices  between  the  loaves,  provided  only  that  they 
are  small,  tlie  spot  of  light  on  the  ground  is  always  of  a 
round  or  oval  shape.  Our  photographic  readers  will 
remember  that  the  same  thing  is  noticed  with  the 
stops  of  their  lenses,  whether  the  aperture  of  the 
stop  is  round,  oval,  or  square,  the  image  on  the 
ground  glass  is  the  same.  Of  coui-se  to  get  the  spots  of 
light  on  the  ground  quite  circular  the  surface  of  the 
ground  must  be  at  right  angles  t-o  the  ray  of  sunshine 
which  finds  its  way  through  the  leaves.  In  this  country, 
however,  the  sua  is  never  vertical,  so  the  sun  images  are 


Crcsccnt-shaped  Images  of  the  Sim  during  tlie  Eclipse. 

generally  of  an  oval  shape,  except  only  in  the  rare  cases 
where  the  ground  happens  to  slope  in  such  a  manner 
that  the  sun's  rays  strike  it  at  right  angles. 

During  an  eclipse  the  images  of  the  sun  assume  the 
crescent  shape  of  the  sun  itself,  and  in  the  accompany- 
ing photograph,  taken  on  May  28th  last,  a  number  of 
spots  of  a  crescent  shape  will  be  seen  on  the  fence  and  on 
the  road.  The  large  irregularly  shaped  patches  of  sun- 
light are  cases  in  which  the  sun  has  been  shining  through 
spaces  too  large  to  act  as  a  "  pinhole-lens,"  or  where 
images  from  several  apertures  have  fallen  over  one 
another.  E.    Pierce. 

'"  Claremont,"  Balfour  Rd., 
South   Norwood. 


ASTROLOGY. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — I  should  like  to  appeal  against  the  antipathy 
which  appears  to  exist  against  those  doctrines  usually 
termed  astrological. 

The  majority  of  astronomers,  without  the  lea.st 
examination  of  the  subject,  reject  the  idea  of  planetary 
influence  as  being  totally  unworthy  of  their  considera- 
tion, completely  ignoring  the  fact  that  there  are  hun- 
dreds of  proofs  in  its  favour. 

No  modem  scientist  would  think  of  denying  that 
between  the  sun  and  the  planets,  and  the  planets  and 
each  other,  there  is  a  mysterious  connection,  akin  to 
electricity,  which  manifests  itself  in  gravitation,  centri- 
petal attraction,  and  perturbations  of  their  orbits.   Why, 


therefore,  should  not  this  mutual  influence  show  itself, 
psychically,  so  to  speak,  in  the  destinies  and  characters 
of  a  planet's  inhabitants? 

Pythagoras,  whom  wo  have  cvciy  reason  to  believe 
originated  the  modern  system  of  astronomy,  was  un- 
doubtedly a  believer  in  astrology,  and  the  famous  Kepler 
was  also  an  adherent  to  its  teachings. 

I  wish  that  some  of  your  readers  would  give  the 
matter  a  sound  and  unbiased  investigation  which  would 
prove  whether  the  Egyptians,  the  Chaldeans,  and  other 
liiglily-civilised  races  were  wrong  in  the  opinions  they 
entertained  for  many  thousands  of  years. 

240,  Ilolloway  Road,  N.  B.  Chatley. 

[In  reply  to  Mr.  Chatley  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that 
astronomers  do  not  care  to  waste  time  on  an  examina- 
tion into  astrology,  for  the  reason  that  there  is  nothing 
in  it  to  examine.  It  is  simply  a  gi-oss  imposture,  a 
special  form  of  Fetichism,  i.e.,  of  the  arbitrary  ascrip- 
tion to  inanimate  objects  of  mysterious  powers,  entirely 
apart  from  any  physical  and  material  action.  The  only 
excuse  it  ever  had  was  in  the  days  of  bygone  heathen- 
dom, when  the  sun,  moon,  and  planets  were  looked 
upon,  not  as  things,  but  as  beings :  as  Gods,  in  fact, 
and  were  worshipped  as  such. 

But  as  compared  with  the  English  astrologer,  the 
West  African  negro  shows  himself  much  the  more  reason- 
able and  intelligent.  The  latter,  if  his  fetich  does  not 
bring  him  the  expected  good  luck,  will  kick  or  beat  it, 
and  consign  it  to  the  dust^heap.  The  former,  if  Venus 
and  Mercury  do  not  justify  his  anticipations,  does  not 
dream  of  reconsidering  his  notions  as  to  their  "  in- 
fluences," but  goes  on  still  blindly  believing  in  spite  of 
the  clearest  evidences  against  him. 

Present  day  astrologers  can  neither  tell  when  or  how 
the  special  "  influences  "  supposed  to  reside  in  each  in- 
dividual "  planet  "  or  "  house  "  were  determined,  nor 
give  the  observations  upon  which  primitive  astrology 
was  based?  They  choose  to  call  Jupiter  "fortunate" 
and  Saturn  "malign";  but  if  anyone  should  think  fit 
to  reverse  the  attributes,  who  could  contradict  him  ? 

Mr.  Chatley  asks  "  whether  the  Egyptians,  the  Chal- 
deans, and  other  highly-civilised  races  were  wrong  in 
the  opinions  they  entertained  for  many  thousands  of 
years."  If  modcni  astrologers  are  right,  they  certainly 
were.  For  the  ancients  recognised  bait  seven  planets, 
whereas  there  are — according  to  modern  astrologers — 
nine.  That  is  to  say,  in  the  opinion  of  the  ancients 
Uranus  and  Neptune  had  no  influence,  for  they  never 
detected  anything  wrong  in  their  calculations,  as  they 
should  have  done  if  these  planets  were  really  potent. 

By-the-bye,  if  these  two  new  planets  have  any  astro- 
logical power  upon  the  characters  and  fortunes  of  men, 
how  is  it  that  astrologers  did  not  discover  them  centuries 
ago?  The  astronomers  had  to  wait  till  sufficiently 
powerful  telescopes  had  been  constructed ;  the  astro- 
logers had  their  materials  for  study — nations,  cities,  and 
individual  men,  all  ready  to  their  hands. 

Again,  when  Uranus  and  Neptune  had  been  dis- 
covered, from  what  observations,  and  by  what  process 
of  reasoning  were  their  specific  influences  defined? 

Further,  can  astrologers  tell  us  now,  by  the  "  out- 
standing differences "  between  their  predictions  and 
their  fulfilments,  whether  there  are  more  planets  to  be 
discovered,  beyond  Neptune  or  within  the  orbit  of 
Mercury  ? 

One  point  more,  the  force  of  gravitation, — to  which 
Mr.  Chatley  alludes, — varies  directly  as  the  mass  of  the 
attracting   body,    and    inversely    as  the    square    of   the 


206 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[Septejibee  1,  1900. 


distance.  Is  it  so  witli  the  "  astrological  "  or  "  psy- 
chical "  force  of  the  planets  ?  Does  any  astrologer 
know?  If  it  does  not  vary  according  to  the  same  law, 
does  it  vary  at  all  for  any  given  planet,  or  is  it  always 
the  same  for  the  same  body  whatever  its  distance,  and 
equal  for  all  the  planets  whatever  their  mass?  Or  if 
there  be  any  differences,  what  is  the  law  governing 
them  ?  No  astrologer  can  tell ;  yet  without  such  know- 
ledge astrology  stands  a  fraud  self  confessed. 

[E.  Walter  Maunder.] 


The  computed  maximum  was  due  September  3rd, 
but  it  cannot  be  definitely  placed,  though  I  incline  to 
say  20th  August.  Minimum  due  11th  April  was 
apparently  not  so  far  off  at  close  of  these  observations. 
A  difference  of  2.5  magnitudes  nearly  between  this 
maximum  and  the  previous  one  will  not  escape  remark. 

Memphis,   Tenn.,   U.S.A.,  David   Flaxery. 

20th  April,  1900. 


MIRA   CETI. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — The  usual  dOigence  did  not  alwavs  permit  as 
sa'^isfactory  obsei-vations  of  Mira  at  its  last  appearance 
but  they  were  begun  earlier  and  continued  later,  and 
altogether  mav  be  regarded  as  a  fair  exhibit  of  the  star's 


ovement. 

O    CETI    M.iXIMUM. 

1S99. 

M  isr. 

im>. 

Mas. 

July  J'J. 

7  10 

Oct.  21. 

.-j-lS 

„    31. 

5()2 

.,     22. 

5  45 

Aug.    3. 

5  02 

,.     22. 

0-31 

.,      6. 

4-92 

..     23,24,25.. 

5-47 

.,     10. 

4-37 

„     26. 

512 

„     12. 

442 

„     2S,  29.       .. 

5  33 

„     20. 

4-26 

„     31. 

5  28 

„     21. 

4:^7 

Sov.    3. 

5-38 

„     22. 

4  41 

)»       5. 

5-41 

„     22. 

4-45 

„       8. 

5-67 

„     24. 

4  47 

„      9. 

5-73 

„     31. 

4-37 

„     111. 

6-20 

Sept.    2. 

4-08 

„     22. 

613 

„       3. 

4-85 

„     23. 

6-65 

„       6. 

495 

„     28. 

6-95 

„      7. 

475 

„     29. 

6-91 

„    11. 

507 

„     SO. 

693 

„    r.i,  15.    .. 

5  02 

Dec.    1. 

700 

„     19. 

4  85 

2 

7  0<J 

„     21. 

400 

,',       3,4. 

6-85 

„     23. 

4-45 

„       5,  6. 

7-ir, 

„     24. 

400 

„     U. 

7  .=>!) 

„     25. 

425 

,.     21. 

7-91 

„     2fi. 

451 

„     2.5,26.        . 

7-95 

„    27. 

4-61 

,.     28. 

797 

„     29. 

4  86 

„     29. 

810 

„     30. 

4  92 

1900. 

Oct.     1. 

4  29 

Jan.     1. 

800 

2. 

4-41 

•> 

„       — 

797 

[]  3:      :: 

4  92 

„       3. 

7-92 

„       4. 

4  97 

4. 

7-87 

„       5. 

502 

„     14. 

8  50 

„      7. 

4-91 

„     20. 

8-60 

„       8. 

507 

„     21. 

8-62 

„     12. 

5  28 

,.     22. 

8-52 

„     13. 

5-29 

„     23. 

8-60 

„     15. 

4-95 

„     25. 

8-60 

„     16. 

500 

„     31. 

8"75 

.,     18. 

497 

Lost  for  the 

Season. 

„     20. 

5  02 

THE    HYPOTHETICAL    PLANET. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — I  have  read  with  much  interest  Mr.  Denning's 
letter  contained  in  Knowledge  for  June,  and  I 
agree  with   him  in   all   particulars.       It   is   practically 


certain  that  if  there  is  a  planet  revolving  within  the 
orbit  of  Mercury  it  has  never  yet  been  detected  as  such. 
Xo  one  disputes  the  irregularities  of  the  movements 
of  Mercury,  but  that  any  observer  with  any  pretensions 
to  astronomy  should  claim  to  have  seen  an  intra-Mer- 
curial  planet  in  the  act  of  transit,  is,  in  my  humble 
opinion,  either  wanting  in  good  faith,  or  lacking  in  the 
qualifications  of  good  sight  and  experience. 

Some  observers  are  apt  to  forget  that,  besides  having 
an  apparent  motion,  sun-spots  have  also  a  proper  motion, 
and  with  all  due  respect  to  the  memory  of  so  capable 
an  observer  as  "Webb,  he  seems  to  me  to  have  easily 
fallen  a  prey  to  this  rut,  and  imconsciously  mistaken 
sun-spots  with  proper  motions  for  bodies  revolving  in- 
side the  orbit  of  Mercury.  "  Vulcan  "  has  yet  to  be 
seen,  not  by  one  observer,  but  by  many,  since  it  is  hard 
to  think  that  it  would  escape  the  vigilance  of  so  many 
experienced  astronomers-  dotted  all  over  the  globe,  who 
daily  make  it  their  practice  to  look  out  for  any  strange 
phenomenon  in  or  near  the  sun's  immediate  neighbour- 
hood. G.  McKenzie  Kniset. 

Vale  View,  Barrells  Down, 
Bishop's  Stortford. 


BRITISH 


NOTES;:     _.j 


Conducted  by  Habby  F.  Witherby,  f.z.s.,  m.b.o.u. 

Golden  Orioles  in  Devon. — At  least  one  pair  (I  say 
"  at  hast  one  pair,  "  because  the  birds  have  been  seen 
in  places  so  far  apart  that  I  suspect  there  may  be  more 
than  one  pair)  of  "  Golden  Orioles  '  has  been  seen  here 
at  intervals  for  the  last  two  or  three  years ;  but  whether 
the  birds  breed  in  the  neighbourhood  or  not  I  cannot 
say,  but  I  have  seen  them  in  the  months  of  June  and 
.luly.  I  know  the  birds  by  sight,  having  seen  a  pair  which 
used  to  build  at  Beaulieu  Abbey,  Loi'd  H.  Scott's  place 
in  Hampshire.  I  will  ask  you  not  to  publish  the  name 
of  the  locality  for  fear  the  birds  might  be  shot. — Arnold 
D.  T.A.YL0R,  Devon,  August  3,  1900. 

The  Melodious  Warbler  (Kypolais  pohjglotta)  in  Sussex.  (The 
This,  July,  1900,  p.  569.)  Mr.'W.  KuskinButterfield,  in  a  letter  to 
the  Jfr«,  records  that  a  bird  of  this  species  was  obtained  on  May  11th, 
1900,  at  Xinfield,  Sussex.  The  bird  has  been  examined  by  Mr. 
Hartert,  as  well  as  by  Mr.  Howard  Saunders,  who  confirm  Mr. 
Buttcrfield's  identification.  Tliis  is  only  the  second  time  that  the 
bird  lias  been  positively  identified  as  oceur/ing  in  this  country, 
although  it  has  no  doubt  often  occurred  and  been  overlooked.  The 
first  specimen  was  also  obtained  in  Sussex  {sef  Kxowledge, 
November,  1897.  p.  257). 

The  Jfaiural  Hisfori/  of  the  Suff.  By  Charles  J.  Patten,  b.a  ,  Ji  D. 
(7mi  ^'aiuraiw^,  August,  19O0,  pp  187 — 209.1  This  is  an  exhaustive 
account  of  the  occurrences  and  distribution  of  the  Euff  in  Ireland, 
itr  Patten  also  includes  interesting  details  of  tlie  plumages  and  habits 
of  the  bird. 


Skptkmber  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


207 


PRODUCTION   OF  COLOUR  EFFECTS. 

A  VERY  singuhu'  cxperimeut  illustrating  the  pro- 
duction of  colour  effects  by  means  of  alternate,  after- 
images of  black  and  white,  has  been  devised  by  Mr. 
C.  E.  Benham,  of  Colchester.  It  is  an  extremely  simple 
application  of  the  principle  of  his  already  well-known 
<u-tificial  spectrum  top,  in  combination  with  a  wheel  of 
life  arrangement.  To  see  the  effect  a  circular  piece 
of  card  has  three  slits  cut  iu  it.  These  slits  radiate 
from  the  centre,  and  for  the  best  effect  should  be  within 
a  quarter  segment  of  the  circle,  and  the  width  of  the 
slits  should  not  exceed  the  width  of  the  pupil  of  the  eye. 
Opposite  the  central  slit  a  black  line,  dot)<,  crosses,  or  in 
fact  any  other  design  in  black,  is  traced.  The  whole 
of  the  back  of  the  cai'd  is  also  blacked.  The  most 
perfect  dead  bhu'k  for  this  purpose  is  made  by  mixing 
equal  parts  of  methylated  spirit  and  French  polish  with 


some  vegetable  black.  The  disc  is  suj)ported  on  a  pin 
passed  through  the  centre  and  revolved  iu  a  strung  liijlit 
in  front  of  a  min-or,  the  blackened  side  being  towards 
the  eye.  On  looking  through  the  slits  at  the  image  in 
the  mirror,  the  line,  dots,  or  other  design  traced  on  the 
face  will  be  seen  threefold,  and  the  three  images  will  be 
seen  to  be  coloured.  The  colours  differ  with  different 
people,  and  with  different  rates  of  rotation,  but  in 
general  the  effect  is  red  (the  lowest),  green,  and  dark 
blue,  when  the  disc  revolves  from  left  to  right ;  and 
dai-k  blue  (the  lowest),  gi-een,  and  red,  when  the 
disc  revolves  from  right  to  left.  Colours  are  also  seen 
with  other  dispositions  of  the  slits,  and  also  when  there 
are  only  two,  or  when  there  are  more  than  three,  though 
it  will  ba  found  that  the  arrangement  described  gives 
the  most  brilliant  effects.  The  more  slits,  the  slower 
must  be  the  rate  of  revolution,  and  vice  versa.  With  only 
one  slit  there  is  of  course  only  a  single  image,  apparently 
stationary,  and  uncoloured.  Two  slits  give  two  images, 
generalh'  red  and  dark  blue,  and  changing  places  as  to 
their  colour  when  the  direction  of  rotation  is  reversed. 


EROS  AND  THE  ASTROGRAPHIC  CONFERENCE. 

Foe  the  fourth  time  the  International  Permanent  Com- 
mittee met  at  Paris  on  July  19,  to  discuss  the  future 
proceedings  of  the  Astrographic  Catalogue  and  Chart. 
Of  the  eighteen  observatories  which  gave  promise  of 
support  at  the  inception  of  the  Astrographic  Chart,  three 
have  not  been  able  to  fulfil  their  promises.  These 
observatories,  of  the  mutable  South  American  Republics 
of  Rio  Janeiro,  La  Plata  and  Santiago  (Chile),  it  is  pro- 


posed to  replace  in  the  scheme  by  those  of  Perth  (West 
Australia),  Cordoba,  and  Monte  Video.  The  moot 
questions  of  the  publication  of  rectilinear  co-ordinates 
with  plate  constants,  or  R.A.  and  declination  of  stars; 
of  the  measuring  the  diameters  of  stars  by  xmie  or  by 
measuring  screw ;  of  giving  a  single  exposure  of  40 
minutes  or  three  exposures  of  30  minutes  each  to  tlu' 
second  series  of  chart  plates;  were  still  left  to  the 
several  Directors  of  the  eighteen  observers  to  decide  as 
it  pleased  them  individually.  Neither  was  it  decided 
whether  the  chart  plates  should  be  reproduced  by  helio- 
gravure, as  is  being  done  by  the  Paris  Observ.itory,  or 
by  some  less  expensive  method.  For  the  moment  it 
was  resolved  that  copies  should  be  made,  hut  tiu'  method 
of  so  doing  was  not  decided  upon. 

But  a  special  committee  was  also  ajipointed  to  take 
charge  of  the  planet  Eros  during  its  approaching 
opposition.  Tiiis  committee  consisted  of  the  President, 
M.  Lawy,  and  of  IMM.  Andre  (Lyons),  Bakhuyzen  (Ley- 
den),  Christie  (Greenwich),  Elkiu  (Ncwliaven,  U.S.A.), 
Gill  (Ca])e  of  Good  Hope),  Ilartwig  (Bamberg),  Prosper 
Henry  (Paris),  Trepied  (Algiers),  and  Weiss  (Vienna), 
and  they  submitted  the  following  resolutions  to  the 
general  Conference:  — 

(I.)  It    is    desirable    that    the    determination    of    the 
pai-allax  of  the  planet  Eros  should  be  maxle  by  micro- 
metric,  by  heliometric,  and  by  photographic  measures. 
(«)  By   means  of   observations   of  the   planet  made 
when  in  the  east  and  in  the  west  of  '.he  same 
observatory ; 
{h)  By    the    co-operation    of    the    observatories    of 
Europe  and  North  America; 

(c)  By  the  co-operation  of  the  observatories  in  the 
northern  and  southern  hemispheres. 

(II.)  During  the  periods  of  observations  of  parallax, 
the  daily  motion  of  Eros  should  be  determined  as  exactly 
as  jjossible  by  niicrometric,  heliometric,  and  photo- 
graphic measui-es. 

(III.)  The  Committee  recommend  to  observers  of 
{a)  and  {b)  that  they  should  make  measures  on  every 
morning  and  evening  available,  and  to  profit  by  the 
favourable  atmospheric  conditions  to  operate  through 
as  large  hour  angles  as  possible — this  will  diminish  the 
error  from  the  uncertainty  of  the  planet's  motion,  and 
{r)  that  the  mean  times  of  observation  should  not  gi'eatly 
differ  from  the  time  of  meridian  passage  of  the  planet 
at  the  southern  station. 

(IV.)  It  is  necessary  to  take  a  special  series  of  photo- 
graphic plates  of  the  regions  surrounding  Eros  so  as  to 
determine  the  places  of  the  comparison  steirs. 

M.  Hartwig  will  draw  up  a  programme  for  heliometer 
obsei-vations  of  the  planet;  MM.  Andre  and  Prosper 
Henry  undertake  to  make  researches  on  the  atmospheric 
dispersion  ;  and  MM.  Lanvy,  Brown  (Washington),  and 
Bakhuyzen  will  undertake  the  task  of  executing  reso- 
lutions concerning  niicrometric  and  photographic 
resolutions. 

The  observatories  taking  part  are  Algiers,  Athens, 
Bamberg,  Bordeaux,  Cambridge  (England),  Cambridge 
(U.S.A.),  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  Catania,  Cordoba,  Chicago 
(Yerkes),  Edinburgh,  Greenwich,  Heidelberg,  Leyden, 
Leipzig,  Lyons,  Marseilles,  Minneapolis  (U.S.A.),  Mount 
Hamilton,  Nice,  Paris,  Potsdam,  Rome  (Roman  College), 
San  Fei-nando,  Strasbourg,  Tacubaya,  Toulouse,  Upsala, 
Vienna  (Ottakrino),  Vienne  (Wahring),  and  Washington. 


208 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[September  1,  1900. 


iaoticfs  of  Uoofes. 

■  ■■  ♦  — 

THE   SCIENTIFIC  RESULTS   OF  DR.   NANSEN'S 
EXPEDITION. 

"  The  Nor\vkci.\n  North  Polar  Expedition,  1893-1896. 
Scientific  Results."  Edited  by  FridtjofNansen.  Vol.1.  (Longmans.) 
A  popular  narrative  of  Dr.  Nansen's  famous  expedition  has  been 
published,  as  is  well  known,  in  many  editions  and  in  many 
languages.  Considering  the  great  interest  taken  in  the  expedition 
and  its  results  all  over  the  world  it  is  no  small  compliment  which 
the  explorer  pays  to  the  British  nation  in  deciding  to  publish  the 
scientific  results  only  in  the  English  language.  The  volume  under 
review  contains  five  memoirs,  which  are  noticed  below  under  their 
separate  titles.  We  are  promised  four  or  five  moie  volumes, 
which  will  appear  from  time  to  time,  the  whole  work  being  com- 
pleted in  about  two  years'  time.  In  order  to  place  the  various 
memoirs  before  the  scientific  world  at  the  earliest  possible  date, 
they  are  printed  as  they  are  finished,  without  regard  to  systematic 
sequence.  And  as  each  memoir  is  paged  separately  and  is  given 
a  number,  we  cannot  see  that  the  plan  will  lead  to  any  confusion. 
In  the  preface  to  the  present  volume.  Dr.  Nansen  pays  a  high  tribute 
to  his  companions  on  board  the  "  Fram,"  and  we  would  add  that 
Dr.  Nansen  and  his  companions  are  indeed  deserving  of  the  highest 
praise  in  bringing  home  such  abundant  and  valuable  scientific 
materials  in  the  face  of  many  obstacles.  Not  only  had  the 
ordinary  difficulties  of  Arctic  travel  to  be  contended  with,  but 
owing  to  the  necessarily  small  size  of  the  "  Fram  "  in  proportion 
to  the  amount  of  provisions,  coal,  and  equipment  she  had  to  carry, 
no  room  could  be  found  for  special  laboratories,  and,  worse  still, 
the  "  crew  "  had  to  be  reduced  to  a  minimum,  and  thus  a  number 
of  observations  of  various  kinds  had  to  be  imdertaken  by  each 
man. 

Both  the  letterpress  and  plates  of  the  volume  are  well  printed, 
but  we  do  not  admire  the  character  of  the  type  used.  Only  the 
most  trifling  errors  of  spelling  in  technical  terms  mar  the  perfection 
of  the  English. 

"The  Fr.\m."  By  Colin  Archer,  pp.  16,  with  3  Plates.  It  is 
fitting  in  every  way  that  the  scientific  results  of  the  expedition 
should  commence  with  a  description  of  the  wonderful  ship  which 
bore  the  expedition  with  such  success.  And  what  more  fitting  than 
that  the  designer  and  builder  of  the  "  Fram  "  should  describe  how 
she  was  built,  how  she  was  rigged  and  equipped,  and,  above  all, 
how  she  was  made  capable  of  resisting  what  no  ship  had  ever  before 
successfully  resisted,  the  overwhelming  pressure  of  the  polar  ice. 
The  leading  idea  of  the  whole  expedition  was  to  get  the  "  Fram  " 
frozen  fast  in  the  ice,  ivhich,  according  to  Nansen's  famous  theory, 
drifted  across  the  North  Pole.  To  do  this  a  boat  had  to  be  built 
which  would  overcome  that  pressure  M-hich  was  generally  believed 
to  be  irresistible.  That  such  a  boat  could  be  built  and  has  been 
built  all  the  world  now  knows.  Although  it  is  probably  less  we'l 
known  that  notwithstanding  the  enormous  ice  pressure  to  which 
the  "  Fram  "  was  subjected — so  graphically  described  in  "  Farthest 
North  "—on  being  carefully  surveyed  both  outside  and  in  the 
hold  after  her  return,  the  only  sign  of  straining  which  could  be 
discovered  in  any  part  of  the  vessel  was  in  one  bolt  which  had 
started !  No  better  testimony  to  the  efficiency  of  Colin  Archer's 
design  and  system  of  construction  could  be  adduced.  The  most 
interesting  and  important  points  about  the  "  Fram "  are  the 
strength  of  the  structure  which  resisted  the  pressure  and  blows  of 
the  ice,  and  the  design  which  enabled  her  to  evade  a  pressure 
which  might  have  proved  fatal  even  to  her.  Wood  from  many 
trees  and  many  countries  go  to  make  up  the  strength  of  the 
"  Fram."  Her  keel  is  of  American  elm,  her  double  frames  are  of 
well  seasoned  English  oak,  the  main  deck  beams  are  of  American 
or  German  oak,  while  the  inner  lining,  the  keelston,  the  lower 
deck  and  poop  beams,  and  all  the  deck  planking  are  of  Norwegian 
pine.  The  outside  planking  is  double  and  all  oak,  the  inner  layer 
being  3  inches  and  the  outer  4  inches  thick,  wliile  over  this 
again  is  an  ice  sheathing  of  greenheart,  6  inches  thick  at  and  above 
the  water-line,  decreasing  to  3  inches  (hick  at  the  keel.  The 
interstices  between  the  frames  are  filled  with  a  composition  of 
coal-tar,  pitch,  and  sawdust,  the  ship's  side  thus  forming  one 
compact  mass  varying  in  thickness  from  28  to  32  inches.  In  liis 
choice  of  model  the  builder  was  largely  influenced  by  tlie  idea  that 
tlie  "Fram"  should  be  lifted  by  the  ice,  and  that'thus  the  force 
of  the  "nip"  should  be  broken  and  deprived  of  half  its  terrors, 
"  In  order  to  utilise  this  princijJe,"  Mr.  Archer  writes,  "  it  was 
decided  to  depart  entirely  from  the  usual  deep-bilged  form  of 
section,  and  to  adopt  a  shape  which  would  afl'ord  the  ice  no  iioint 
of  attack  normal  to  the  ship's  side,  but  would,  as  the  horizontal 
pressure  increased,  force  the  attacking  floes  to  dive  under  the 
ship's  bottom,  lifting  her."  How  successfullv  this  end  was  realised 
we  know  from  Dr.  Naasen's  account  in  "  Farthest  North  "    Mr 


Colin  Archer's  description  of  the  "  Fram  "  is  excellent,  and  with 
the  two  plans  accompanying  it  will  form  a  very  valuable  aid  to 
future  Arctic  work. — H.  P.  W. 

"  The  Jurassic  Fauna  of  Cape  Flora,  Franz  Josef  Land." 
By  J.  F.  Pompeckj.  With  a  geological  sketch  of  Cape  Flora  and 
its  neighbourhood,  by  Fridtjof  Nansen.  pp.  147,  with  3  Plates. 
This  .section  forms  a  continuation  of  the  work  done  by  Dr. 
Kcettlitz,  of  the  .Jackson-Harmsworth  Expedition.  It  is  to  some 
extent  controversial,  since  Dr.  Kccttlitz  submitted  his  fossils  to 
Mr.  E.  T.  Newton,  f.r.s.,  while  Dr.  Nansen's  collection  has 
been  examined  by  Dr.  Pompeckj,  with  results  which  difl'er  in 
certain  details.  The  fact  that  the  fossils  rejiresent  the  most 
northern  Jurassic  fauna  known  to  us  adds  greatly  to  their  interest ; 
and  the  publication  of  this  work  in  English  gives  it  a  special  claim 
on  our  gratitude  and  attention.  The  Jurassic  clays  of  Cape  Flora 
underlie  a  gre^tt  capping  of  jjlateau-basalt,  which  has  protected 
them  in  their  adverse  climatic  position.  Dr.  Nansen  remarks  that 
the  constantly  frozen  condition  of  the  clays  has  i^robably  prevented 
them  from  being  pressed  out  and  made  to  flow  under  the  weight 
of  igneous  rock  above  them.  Considerable  interest  was  aroused 
when  these  strata  were  described  before  the  Geological  Society  of 
London  by  Krx-ttlitz.  Newton,  and  Teall,  in  1897  and  1898,  owing 
to  the  possibility  that  certain  shales  containing  Jurassic  plants 
were  contemporaneous  with  the  outpouring  of  the  basalts.  Dr. 
Nansen  is  now  able  to  strengthen  the  view  that  "  the  greater  part 
of  the  basalt  is  also  of  Upper  Jurassic  or  Lower  Cretaceous  age  " 
(p.  26))  ;  Professor  Nathorst  has,  moreover,  come  to  the  same 
conclusion  respecting  the  basalts  wdiich  he  has  investigated  in 
Kong  Karl's  Land.  The  occurrence  of  terrestrial  and  estuarine 
strata  of  Jurassic  age  in  these  regions  fits  in  with  what  we  already 
know  of  the  northern  Jurassic  province,  from  the  Inner  Hebrides 
to  Brora,  Andcj,  and  onwards. 

The  result  of  Dr.  Pompeckj 's  examination  of  the  fossils,  and  of 
his  comparison  with  the  descriptions  published  by  Mr.  Newton, 
are  clearly  given  on  pages  108—133.  Cadoceras  is  the  prevalent 
ammonite,  and  the  author  concludes  that  no  marine  Jurassic  strata 
newer  than  the  Callovian  are  present.  The  Callovian  is  well  re- 
presented. On  the  other  hand  (p.  127),  Lower  Bajocian  marine 
beds  are  indicated  in  the  strata  N.W.  of  Elmwood.  The  differences 
between  this  correlation  and  that  made  by  Mr.  Newton  are  not  of 
a  veiy  momentous  character ;  but  they  affect  to  some  extent  our 
views  as  to  the  broad  physiographic  features  of  the  Jurassic 
period  (pp.  140 — 147).  The  alliance  of  the  beds  is  shown  to  be  witn 
the  Russian  Jurassic,  and  even  with  the  central  European  type 
(p.  137),  rather  than  with  the  Jurassic  of  East  Greenland. — G.A.J.C. 
"  Fossil  Plast.s  from  Franz  Josef  Land."  By  A.  (i. 
Nathorst.  pp.  26,  and  2  Plates.  Cape  Flora,  the  southern 
extremity  of  the  group  of  islands  known  as  Franz  Josef  Land  is 
about  20  degrees  from  the  Pole.  How  far  northwards  this  Arctic 
archipelago  extends  is  one  of  the  many  unsolved  problems  of  the 
region  of  mysteries  which  lies  within  the  Arctic  circle.  Franz  Josef 
Land  was  accidentally  discovered  by  Weyjjrecht  and  Payer  during 
the  search  for  the  North-east  passage  in  1872-4.  It  was  twice 
visited  by  Leigh  Smith  between  1880  and  1882,  and  at  Cape  Flora 
the  Jackson-Harmsworth  expedition  was  established  in  1896,  and 
was  joined  by  Nansen  and  Johansen  then  on  their  sledge  journey 
southwards.  Duriug  his  short  sojourn  with  the  English  expedition 
Nansen  studied  the  geology  of  the  neighbouring  country,  and  was 
frequently  accompanied  in  his  excursions  by  Dr.  Kcetlitz,  doctor 
and  geologist  to  the  expedition.  Hearing  of  a  "  uunatak  "  (a  sjjur 
of  rock  projecting  through  the  sheet  of  ice),  upon  which  plant- 
remains  were  to  be  found,  Nansen's  interest  was  aroused,  and  he 
and  Dr.  Kcetlitz  visited  it.  "  The  spur  of  rock  consisted  entirely 
of  basalt,  at  some  points  showing  a  marked  columnar  structure, 
and  projected  in  the  middle  of  the  glacier  at  a  height  which  I 
estimated  at  600  or  700  feet  above  the  sea.  ...  At  two  points 
on  the  surface  of  the  basalt  there  was  a  layer  consisting  of 
innumerable  fragments  of  sandstone.  In  almost  every  one  of  these 
impressions  were  to  be  found,  for  the  most  part  of  the  needles  and 
leaves  of  pine-trees,  but  also  of  small  fern-leaves.  We  picked  up 
as  many  of  these  treasures  as  we  could  cany.  .  .  .  Some  days 
later  Johansen  also  chanced  unwittingly  upon  the  same  place  and 
gathered  fossils  which  he  brought  to  me."*  Of  these  fossils 
Professor  Nathorst  gave  a  preliminary  account  in  "  Farthest 
North,"  and  has  now  presented  us  with  detailed  descriptions  and 
figures  in  the  memoir  before  us. 

The  well-executed  plates  bear  testimony  to  the  exceedingly  im- 
perfect nature  of  the  materials  with  which  Professor  Nathorst  had 
to  work.  In  his  preface  the  author  states  that  "  most  of  the 
remains  of  the  plants  are  very  fragmentary,  and  as,  moreover, 
the  leaves  in  themselves  are  small,  and  are  not  by  any  difl'erence 
of  colour  distinguishable  from  the  rock,  the  examination  of  the 
material  has  been  very  arduous,  having  almost  without  exceptioa 

'FridtjofNansen.     "  Farthest  North."    Vol.  II.,  pp.  483-4. 


Skptembek  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


200 


beeu  made  under  the  magnifying  lens."  This  being  so,  it  was  above 
all  essential  that  it.<  exainiua'tion  should  be  conducted  with  that  skill 
iind  caution  which  it  is  plain  that  Dr.  Nathoist  has  brought  to  bear 
upon  his  task. 

Considering  the  comlitiou  in  which  the  fossils  were  found  it  is 
not  surprising  that  their  study  has  yielded  no  botanical  or  geo- 
logiciU  result-s  of  a  startling  nature,  their  diief  interest  lies  in  the 
fact  that  ■'  they  give  us  our  lirst  insight  into  the  plant  world 
in  the  regions  north  of  the  eightieth  degree  of  latitude  during  the 
latter  p;u-t  of  the  Jurassic  period."  The  author  concludes  that 
these  plant-beds  most  nearly  resemble  the  "  previously  known 
Jurassic  floras  from  Siberia  and  Spitzbergeu,"  and  either  belong 
to  the  upper  part  of  the  Oxfordiun  group  or  represent  even  later 
dejiosits.  Some  doubt  exists  as  to  whether  the  plant  beds  are  in 
situ  or  have  been  intruded  into  the  basalt,  on  account  of  which 
it  is  impossible  to  determine  with  certainty  the  geological  position 
of  the  basalt.  If  Nansen  is  correct  in  supposing  them  to  be  in 
situ,  i.e.,  interbedded  between  the  basalts,  we  must  assign  the 
basaltic  formation  to  the  late  Jurassic  or  early  Cretaceous  periods. 

With  regard  to  the  plants  themselves,  Dr.  Nathorst's  work  may 
be  left  to  speak  for  itself.  The  shortcomings  of  this  account  of  the 
fossil  flora  of  the  most  northerly  region  of  the  globe  which  has 
been  examined  by  the  geologist  and  pahpobotanist  are  confined, 
as  far  .as  we  are  "able  to  see,  to  the  unsatisfactoiy  nature  of  the 
materials  it  treats  of,  and  for  this,  neither  author  nor  collector  is 
responsible.  We  offer  our  congratulations  to  collector,  editor, 
and  author  upon  the  production  of  a  thoroughly  efficient  account 
of  a  collection  representing  a  most  interesting  portion  of  the 
Jurassic  flora.— H.  H.  W.  P. 

"  An  AccocTiT  OF  the  Birds."  By  Robert  Collett  and  Fridtjof 
Xansen.  pp.  54,  with  2  Plates.  The  birds  observed  in  the  high 
latitudes  traversed  by  the  expedition  were,  as  might  be  expected, 
few  in  number.  Altogether  35  species  are  treated  of  in  this  account, 
which  is  divided  into  four  sections,  the  first  dealing  with  the 
Siberian  Coiist  in  the  autumn  of  1893,  and  the  second  treating  of 
the  first  summer,  being  from  Dr.  Kansen's  notes  on  board  the 
"  Fram " ;  the  third  section  describes  the  birds  observed  during 
the  famous  sledge  journey,  while  the  fourth  section  gives  the 
observations  made  on  the  "  Fram "  after  Nansen  and  Johansen 
had  left  in  March,  1895,  until  the  return  of  the  ship  in  .August, 
1896.  Although  the  birds  seen  were  comparatively  few  the 
observations  are  of  much  in'.erest  and  value.  The  bird  to  which 
chief  interest  is  attached  is  Rhodostethia  rosea,  Ross's  wedge- 
tailed  or  roseate  gull.  This  beautiful  rose-breasted  bird  is  a  truly 
Arctic  species,  and  was  first  discovered  by  Sir  .James  C.  Ross  in 
1823,  on  Melville  Peninsula.  Since  then  the  bird  has  seldom  been 
obtained  while  its  eggs  are  quite  unknown.  The  first  Ross's  gulls 
seen  by  the  expedition  were  eight  young  birds  in  August,  1894, 
when  the  "Fram"  was  in  about  81  degrees  N.  lat.,  and  127  E. 
long.  These  birds  were  all  shot,  and  those  preserved  are  the 
youngest  birds  of  this  species  ever  brought  home.  They  were 
just  able  to  fly,  and  are  worthily  represented  in  an  excellent 
coloured  plate  and  photographic  reproduction  appearing  in  the 
Memoir.  The  species  was  met  with  again  and  in  considerable 
numbers  by  Nansen  and  Johansen  in  July  and  August,  1895,  on 
the  north-east  side  of  Franz  Josef  Land,  where  it  was  obviously 
breeding  —  perhaps  on  Liv  island  —  although  the  explorers  were 
unable  to  discover  the  nesting  place,  indeed,  as  we  know,  they  had 
not  much  time  for  bird's  nesting.  The  bird  record  for  farthest 
north  is  held  by  a  Fulmar  (Fulmarus  glacialis),  seen  on  September 
14th,  1895,  when  the  "  Fram  "  was  in  85  degrees  5  min.  N.  lat.,  but 
had  it  not  been  for  the  fact  that  Nansen  and  Johansen  made  their 
"  rush "  for  the  north  too  early  in  the  spring  for  birds  to  have 
appeared  it  is  probable  that  even  this  record  would  have  been 
beat«n.  No  less  than  ten  species  were  observed  in  the  autumn  of 
1895,  while  the  ship  was  north  of  84  degrees,  one  of  these  being 
a  little  land  bird — the  snow  bunting.  The  exact  details  given  in 
each  section  regarding  dates,  localities,  and  habits  of  the  birds  ob- 
served make  the  account  doubly  interesting  and  valuable. — H.  F.  W, 

"  CRrsTACEA."  By  Professor  (i.  O.  Sars.  pp.  137,  with  36 
Plates.  For  the  last  forty  years  Professor  Sars  has  been  publishing, 
almost  annually,  some  important  contribution  to  our  knowledge  of 
Crustacea,  and  has  often  issued  several  such  works  in  a  single  year. 
■Whether  his  capacity  was  inherited  from  his  eminent  father, 
Michael  Sars,  or  was  the  result  of  early  environment,  others  may 
decide,  but  the  indisputable  fact  is  that  in  carcinological  literature 
he  became  a  classic  at  the  outset  of  his  career.  To  the  accuracy 
of  observation  and  ardour  of  pursuit  with  which  he  began,  and 
which  have  never  fallen  off  or  flagged,  he  has  since  added  two 
qualifications,  one  of  which  is  fitted  to  endear  him  to  naturalists 
of  our  land  and  the  other  to  naturalists  all  the  world  over.  After 
experimenting  with  Norwegian,  Latin,  and  French,  for  vehicles  of 
Bcientific  exposition,  he  has  finally  made  himself  an  accomplished 
writer  of  English,   as  his   present  and  all   his  recent  works   bear 


witness.  Furthermore,  he  has  mastered  a  still  more  cosmopolitan 
language,  by  becoming  an  artist  so  facile  and  so  faithful,  that, 
even  if  he  described  his  species  in  an  unknown  tongue,  their  struc- 
ture would  be  adequately  understood  from  his  skilful  and  copious 
drawings.  The  work  before  us  contains  no  less  tlian  thirty-six 
plates,  full  of  instructive  details  in  regard  to  Anipliipoda,  Cope- 
poda,  and  Ostracoda. 

The  pelagic  Copepoda  obtained  greatly  preponderate  in  numbers 
over  the  other  grou]is,  and  for  this  an  e.xplaiialion  is  given  in  the 
introduction.  In  preparing  the  "Fram"  for  its  projected  ex- 
pedition, the  assumption  of  geographers  had  been  accepteil  "  that 
the  Polar  basin,  north  of  Siberia  and  Franz  Josef  Land,  could  only 
be  quite  a  shallow  sea,  with  depths  .scarcely  exceeding  some  hundred 
fathoms,"  and  the  zoological  eciuipment  was  arranged  accordingly. 
I!ut  then  a  wonder  came  to  light.  Knornious  depths  were  met 
with.  No  rope  has  been  provided  for  dredging  or  trawling  lu 
such  abysses.  Even  for  sounding  a  makeshift  line  hail  to  he  con 
structed  out  of  the  wire  ropes  of  the  vessel.  For  a  water  bottle 
or  an  ordinary  lead  this  long  <lrawn  thread  of  steel  sufficed,  but 
not  for  hauling  a  dredge.  This  was  disappointing,  because,  not 
only  were  the  su]ierficial  strata  of  the  almost  ice  covered  sea  abound- 
ing in  life  at  all  times  of  the  year,  and  to  the  highest  latitudes 
reached,  but  the  greater  depths  excited  tantalizing  expeclations, 
for  "  in  many  cases  the  tow-net  was  lowered  to  depths  exceeding 
200  or  300  metres,  and,  as  a  rule,  the  draught  was  considerably 
richer  in  such  instances  than  when  it  was  working  in  smaller 
depths.  " 

The  sounding-line,  however,  produced  at  least  one  inteiesting 
faunistic  result,  in  which  we  find  aristocratic  names  niixeil  up  with 
singular  coincidences  and  remarkable  facts  of  distribution.  First  it 
should  be  mentioned  that  the  "  Challenger"  brought  home  a  single 
specimen  of  a  new  amphipod,  about  halt'an-inch  long,  from  a  depth 
of  420  fathoms,  in  the  Pacific,  off  Tahiti.  This  was  described  undi  r 
the  name  of  Cyelocaris  tahitensis,  and  it  is  a  rallicr  peculiji 
member  of  the  family  Lysianassidte.  To  obtain  a  second  specimen 
of  this  unique  rarity  one  can  imagine  a  rich  enthusiast  giviii}; 
instructions  for  a  search  in  the  southern  ocean.  That  has  not 
yet  occurred,  but  something  less  to  be  expected  has  come  to  pass. 
Dredging  off  the  Lofoten  Islands  in  1898,  at  a  depth  of  1095 
metres,  the  Prince  of  Monaco  obtaineil  among  other  valuable 
captures  six  specimens  of  a  Lysianassid  which  M.  Chevreux  has 
named  Cyelocaris  Guilelini.  The  generic  name  was  necessary  from 
the  fact  that  the  species  stood  in  the  closest  possible  relationship 
to  the  type  from  Tahiti.  The  specific  name  was  given  by  special 
request  of  the  Prince  in  compliment  to  the  Emperor  of  tiermany, 
who  was  on  board  the  "  Princesse  Alice  "  when  the  dredge  con- 
taining the  new  species  was  hauled  in.  But  Prince  and  Emperor 
were  not  the  first  to  obtain  this  bright  red  polar  form.  Already 
in  1894,  at  about  the  80th  degree  of  north  latitude,  it  had  been 
taken  by  the  Norwegian  Expedition,  and  Sars  in  discussing  it  says, 
"  I  had  intended  to  dedicate  it  to  our  celebrated  explorer.  Professor 
Nansen."  But  neither  was  Nansen  the  first  to  secure  it,  for  Canon 
Norman  has  just  published,  under  the  name  Cyelocaris  faroensis. 
a  species  which  cannot,  I  think,  be  distinguished  from  that  which 
has  an  Imperial  namesake,  and  Norman's  description  and  figures 
are  based  on  "two  specimens  taken  by  Sir  .John  Murray  in  the 
•  Triton '  expedition  of  1882,  Stat.  8,  Faroe  ( :iiannel,  lat. 
60  degrees  18'  N.,  long.  60  degrees  15'  W.,  in  640  fathoms,  tem- 
perature 30  degrees  Fahr."  The  name  given  by  Chevreux  has 
priority,  since  his  specimens,  though  the  latest  found,  were  the 
earliest  described.  Of  those  taken  by  the  "Fram,"  the  first  were 
found  clinging  to  the  sounding  line,  but  others  were  subsequently 
taken  in  the  tow-net,  and  one  at  least  was  so  obtained  at  a  station 
"  north  of  the  85th  degree  of  latitude,"  therefore  more  than  a 
hundred  degrees  of  latitude  distant  from  its  twin  species  oil'  Tahiti, 
to  which  all  three  authois  notice  its  resemblance. 

Apparently  for  Amphipoda  the  record  of  "farthest  north"  is  at 
present  held  by  Amphithopsis  glacialis,  Hansen,  wliidi,  along  witli 
half  a  score  of  species  of  Copepoda,  is  reported  as  having  beeu 
taken  at  "85  degrees  13'  N.  lat.,  79  degrees  E.  long." 

Among  the  interesting  new  Copepoda  which  Sars  here  describes 
there  is  one  which  he  names  Hemicalanus  spinifrons,  giving  a  cogent 
reason  for  cancelling  the  generic  name  but  leaving  it  uncancelled. 
He  is  more  concerned  with  a  point  of  more  importance.  No  one 
of  the  eleven  species  hitherto  included  in  the  genus  has  ever 
been  found  north  of  the  Mediterranean,  so  that  it  seemed  to  be 
quite  southern  in  distribution.  "  It  was  therefore,"  Sars  observes, 
"  not  a  little  surprising  to  find  a  specimen  undoubtedly  belonging 
to  this  genus  in  a  sample  taken  from  about  the  centre  of  the  Polar 
basin  traversed  by  the  'Fram.'"  This  ami  various  other  facts 
relating  to  the  range  of  species  and  genera  will  no  doubt  attract 
the  keen  attention  of  naturalists,  and  these  fruits  of  Arctic  research 
will  greatly  strengthen  their  hojws  of  a  rich  harvest  from  Antarctic 
exploration. 


210 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[September  1,  1900. 


Among  the  honours  which  may  in  some  degree  have  compensated 
Xansen  for  the  hardships  of  his  I'ohir  experiences,  this  fine  con- 
tribution to  the  scientific  results  by  his  distinguished  brother-in-law 
is  entitled  to  stand  in  the  front  rank. — T.  R.  K.  S. 

"  WiBELESS  Telegraphy  and  Hertzian  Waves."  By  S.  R. 
Bottone.  (Whittaker.)  3s.  The  fourth  and  last  chapter  of  this 
volume  occupies  nearly  half  the  book,  of  which  it  forms  by  far  the 
most  useful  and  interesting  portion.  The  author  is  evidently  well 
versed  in  the  requirements  of  the  numerous  amateur  electricians 
who  have  much  enthusiasm  but  few  tools  and  little  knowledge 
of  their  use.  To  amateurs  of  this  class  we  can  recommend  the 
volume  for  the  sake  of  this  chapter.  The  instructions  both  for 
making  and  using  the  apparatus  are  given  with  such  minute  atten- 
tion to  practical  and  essential  details  that  it  is  evident  that  the 
author  has  himself  experimented  with  apparatus  constructed 
by  him  in  the  manner  wliich  he  describes.  The  introductory 
chapter  is  the  least  satisfactory  part  of  the  book.  The  very  brief 
statement  of  certain  elementary  electrical  facts  would  be  of  very 
little  if  any  assistance  to  a  reader  having  no  knowledge  of  the 
subject  and  superfluous  for  others.  Tarts  of  it,  moreover,  are 
misleading.  Both  on  pages  1  and  12  it  is  stated  that  an  electrically 
charged  liody  consists  in  rapid  molecular  vibration,  and  on  page  3 
it  is  suggested  that  conductors  are  bodies  which  freely  transmit 
electrical  vibrations  while  insulators  do  not.  Now  one  of  the 
things  we  do  Icnow  about  electricity  is  that  insulators  are  the 
best  transmitters  of  electric  waves,  and  that  the  better  con- 
ductor a  body  is,  the  more  imperfectly  does  it  transmit 
these  waves,  indeed  a  theoretically  perfect  conductor  would  act  as 
an  absolute  screen  to  the  transmission  of  electric  action,  being  im- 
penetrable to  electric  vibrations.  On  page  10,  again,  the  author, 
referring  to  the  strained  condition  of  the  insulating  medium  near 
electrically  charged  bodies,  treats  the  air  as  a  rigid  substance,  and 
does  not  seem  to  be  aware  of  the  physical  properties  of  gases. 

We  should  advise  the  author  in  his  next  edition  to  sujipress  this 
chapter  entirely,  and  devote  the  space  to  enlarging  chapter  II., 
which  might  be  done  with  advantage.  It  would  also  be  advisable 
in  a  new  edition  to  draw  a  clearer  distinction  between  Mr.  Preece's 
system  of  wireless  telegrai)hy  by  means  of  electro-magnetic  iu- 
iluction,  and  the  utihzation  of  the  Hertzian  waves  which  forms  the 
basis  of  the  system  which  has  been  brought  into  practical  shape 
mainly  by  the  indefatigable  industry  and  skill  of  Mr.  Marconi, 
aided  as  he  has  been  by  Mr.  Preece  and  the  resources  of  the  British 
Postal  Telegraph  Department. 

■'  Object  Lessons  in  Botany."  Book  II.  By  E.  Knelgrove,  b.a. 
(Jarrold.)  Illustrated.  3s.  6d.  One  hundred  lessons  from  forest, 
tield,  wayside,  and  garden,  are  herein  embodied  and  neatly  illus- 
trated with  simple  woodcuts.  The  author's  ideal  in  planning  his 
work  is  thus  expressed — "  Whether  education  or  mere  instruction 
be  its  aim,  that  book  is  most  likely  to  succeed  that  leads  its  readers 
along  the  same  paths  as  the  discoverers  of  the  science  must  them- 
selves have  followed.  Students  should  not  have  facts  thrust  at 
them,  but  should  be  shown  how  to  find  them  out ;  steps  should 
be  made,  not  simplj-  taken ;  conclusions  should  be  drawn,  not 
merely  stated ;  definitions  should  be  led  up  to  and  not  started 
from."  The  lessons  are  designed  to  suit  the  cajjacities  of  children 
from  nine  to  eleven  years  of  age,  and  we  think  Mr.  Snelgrove  has 
veiy  closely  approximated  to  the  laudable  standard  he  set  out  to 
attain. 

"  Chatty  Object  Lessons  in  Nature  Knowledge."  By 
F.  W.  Hackwood.  (Longmans.)  Illustrated.  3s.  6d.  Here  are 
brought  together,  in  convenient  form,  a  good  selection  of  outline 
lessons  on  the  common  objects  of  nature.  Teachers  who  experience 
dilEculty  in  preparing  object-lessons  of  this  kind  will  find  ih. 
Hackwood  very  helpful  in  the  way  of  suggestion.  A  number  of 
drawings,  white  on  black,  are  scattered  throughout  the  volume  to 
serve  as  auxiliaries  to  the  teacher  in  sketching  on  the  blackboard 

"The  Struggle  for  Kmpike."  By  Robt.  W.  Cole.  (KUiot 
Stock.)  Mr.  Cole  in  these  pages  makes  an  ingenious  attempt  to 
describe  a  great  war  between  England  and  the  inhabitants  of  the 
star  Sirius  in  the  year  2236  a.d.  Those  who  enjoy  foUowing  in  the 
wake  of  the  visionary  may  here  find  jileasant  reading  for  an  hour 
or  two.  War  ships  of  the  future  according  to  the  author's  notion 
wiU  be  closely  allied  to  Jules  Verne's  "  CUpper  of  the  Clouds." 
Of  course,  in  the  war  with  Sirius  England  wins,  but  only  after  a 
great  sacrifice  of  hfe  and  shijjs.  It  is  interesting  to  observe  that 
the  war  office  of  this  future  period  is  credited  with  the  fault 
ascribed  to  that  of  the  present  day,  namely,  unpreparedness. 

"An  Essay  on  Mental  Culture."  By  G.  A.  Hight.  (Dent.) 
3s.  6d.  net.  Our  author  seeks  to  impress  on  the  mind  the  supreme 
imiJurtance  of  intellectual  culture  in  these  latter  days,  and  the 
necessity  for  self-reliance  in  the  solution  of  the  many  perplexing 
ijuestions  evolved  by  advanced  thinkers.  The  book  is  an  essay — 
nothing  more;  it  contains  much  sound  matter  with  which  all 
thoughtful  readers  will  agree,   but  a  considerable  portion  is  dis- 


torted by  a  strong  personality.  Plain  speaking,  indeed,  is  the  most 
characteristic  feature  of  the  essay  ;  right  or  wrong  the  author  may 
be,  yet  truth  and  error  are  delivered  with  the  same  unreserve. 
-  "  Signalling  Through  Space  Without  Wires.''  (The  work 
of  Hertz  and  his  successors.)  ("  Electrician"  Publishing  Co.)  ii.  and 
133  pages.  This  is  the  third  edition  of  Professor  Lodge's  weU- 
knoMTi  little  volume,  generally  known  by  the  second  title  quoted 
above,  which  formed  the  first'title  in  the  first  two  editions.  This 
third  edition  cuntains  some  27  pages  of  interesting  additioiuil 
matter,  including  notes  on  his  own  recent  researches  in  syntonic 
telegraphy.  In  referring  to  Professor  Slaby's  work  on  Spa'-k 
Telegraphy,  and  to  his  having  succeeded  in  signalling  from  3  to  13 
miles  across  laud.  Dr.  Lodge  inadvertently  does  an  injustice  to 
Marconi  in  not  jiointing  out  that,  according  to  Professor  Slaby 
himself,  he  had  not  got  beyond  50  metres  until  after  he  had 
witnessed  Marconi's  earlier  demonstrations. 

"The  Flowering  Plant."  3rd  Edition.  By  J.  R.  Ainsworth 
Davis,  M.A.  (Griffin.)  Hlustrated.  3s.  6d.  Actual  dissection 
of  the  plants  studied  is  insisted  on  by  the  author  of  the  book 
under  notice,  to  facilitate  which  easily  obtained  objects  are  figured 
and  described  instead  of  rare  and  often  inaccessible  ones.  A 
special  chapter  on  ferns  and  mosses  forms  the  chief  feature  in 
this  edition,  an  innovation  which  will  be  appreciated  by  most 
teachers,  seeing  that  these  plants  are  abundant  everywhere  and 
so  imperfectly  understood  outside  the  ranks  of  the  specialists. 

"  The  Theory  and  Practice  of  Interpolation."  By  Herbert 
L.  Rice.  (Nichols  Press  :  Lynn,  Mass.)  Professor  Rice  endeavours 
to  give  a  simple,  practical,  yet  comprehensive  discussion  of  all 
that  is  useful  concerning  diiierences,  interpolation,  tabular 
differentiation,  and  mechanical  quadrature — a  complete  exposition 
of  all  the  tables  required  by  a  practical  computer.  Many  of  the 
tiibles  are  here  printed  for  the  first  time,  and  are  true  to  the  nearest 
unit  of  the  last  figure.  We  note  with  regret  that  references  to  the 
writings  of  Walmesley,  Mouton,  and  Lalande  have  been  purposely 
omitted  "  because  of  the  general  inaccessibility  of  their  works." 
Although  the  author  has  used  with  discretion  the  works  of  such 
writers  as  Encke,  Loomis,  and  Newcomb,  he  has  drawn  very 
largely  on  his  own  resources  in  preference  to  the  usual  forms  of 
analysis,  but  the  subordination  of  facts  and  figures  has  been  so 
thorough  and  masterly  in  the  Professor's  hands  that  we  feel  con- 
vinced the  fundamental  principles  involved  stand  out  the  clearer  as 
a  result.  The  comj  utations  were  all  made  in  duplicate  by  indepen- 
dent methods,  so  that  the  absolute  of  accuracy  is  thus  as  near 
as  may  be  attained. 

"  Ferric  and  Heliographio  Processes."  By  George  E. 
Bi'own,  E.i.c,  (Dawbarn  &  Ward.)  Illustrated.  2s.  net.  Prac- 
tical in  character  and  hmited  in  scope,  this  book  is  intended 
to  supply  amateur  photographers,  draughtsmen,  engineers,  archi- 
tects, surveyors,  and  others,  who  find  the  reproduction  of  tracings 
and  drawings  a  matter  of  cvery-day  necessity,  with  just  enough 
exact  knowledge  to  duplicate  pictures  and  drawings  by  the  so- 
called  "  blue  jnocess."  Many  devices  are  employed  for  varying 
the  background  so  as,  for  example,  to  get  a  brown  or  other  colour 
in  place  of  the  TurnbuU's  blue — eflects  produced  by  the  employ- 
ment of  tinted  paper  or  other  means.  Thorough  working  details 
are  presented  so  that  anyone  with  the  aid  of  this  book  may  readily 
master  all  the  phases  of  the  art. 

"Life  and  Correspondence  of  Dr.  Arnold."  By  Dean 
Stanley.  (Ward,  Lock.)  Illustrated.  2s.  "Arnold  of  Rugby" 
is  a  name  more  or  less  familiar  to  all.  When  we  mention  the  fact 
that  this  work  went  through  twelve  editions  during  the  late 
Dean's  lifetime,  its  merits  will  be  sufficiently  apparent.  The  chief 
point  about  the  present  edition  is  that  the  book  is  piresented  in  a 
most  attractive  form  at  a  price  within  the  means  of  the  largest 
number.  By  far  the  greater  portion  of  the  volume  is  occupied  with 
the  great  teacher's  correspondence  suitably  interspersed  with  bio- 
graphical details  by  his  devoted  pupil.  Two  good  portraits  of  the 
master  are  given,  together  with  views  of  the  places  Dr.  Arnold 
was  associated  with  during  his  lifetime. 

We  have  received  the  August  issue  of  the  "'  Theosophical  Review  ' 
(Is.),  the  organ  of  the  Theosojihical  Society,  containing  contribu- 
tions from  Dr.  A.  A.  Wells,  Mr.  A.  H.  Ward,  and  other  writers. 
Persons  interested  m  the  subjects  treated  of  in  the  Review  should 
communicate  with  the  Hon.  Otway  Cuffe,  at  28,  Albemarle  Street, 
I  ondon.  The  publications  of  the  Theosophical  Publishing  Society 
may  be  obtained  at  o,  Langham  Place,  London. 

We  have  received  two  catalogues  of  physical  apparatus  from 
Messrs.  Griffin,  which  will  recommend  themselves  to  those  science 
teachers  who  are  engaged  in  organised  courses,  and  also  to  students 
working  up  for  the  London  University  practical  examinations. 
This  fiirm  has  adopted  the  excellent  idea  of  making  up  complete 
sets  of  apparatus  to  suit  the  experimental  portions  of  most  of  the 
well  known  text-books,  and  thus  a  great  deal  of  time  may  be  saved 


Septkmbkk  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


211 


by  teachers  ami  otlieTs  desirous  of  following  miy  special  course  of  ]   brackishness,    from   semi-stagnaliou    to  wild   waves   and 

iust ruction.     We  note  also  that  Messrs.  tIrilUn  li;i\e  issued  some  laciii"'  cuiTCUls,   from  pelagic  expanse  to   the   space  be- 

special  Xray  re-euerative  tubes  for  use  with  ^Vehnelt•s  electro  =  tidcniarks,  from  tracts  of  iniid  and   smooth   ihie 

Ivtic  bre;ik.  ' 


BOOKS    RECEIVED. 

Pi-iniiples  uf  Chess.  Snl  Editiou.  Bv  Janios  Ma^oii.  (Horace 
Cox.)     -'s.  Gil. 

A  SomaMcer's  Local  Colour.  (I'auiphlol.)  By  S.  R.  Crockett. 
(Xowman  &  Ifuunlia.) 

While  Cattle:  ait  Inquiri/  into  their  Origin  and  Jlistori).  By 
R  Hedger  Wallace.  (Reprinted  from  the  Trans,  of  the  N.  H. 
Societtt  of  Olastjoic.) 

Yar'iahle  Star  Notes.     No.  6.     (Roiisdon  Observatory  ) 

Instructions  for  the  Use  of  the  Calculus.  By  W.  Gorn-Ohl. 
^[DoUoud  :  London.) 

Subject  List  of  Vorls  on  Photography,  (ralcut  Ofiicc  Libmiv 
Series  :  No.  2.)     6d. 

Feilden's  Magazine,  August,  1901).     Is.  net. 

Flora  of  Bournemouth.  By  Edwai-d  F.  Linton,  M..V.  (Mate  ;u»l 
Sons  :  Bournemouth.)     Ss.  (kl.  net. 

The   Application    of   Klectric-Motors   to    Machine-Driving 
Andrew  btewart,  A.l.E  E.     (Rentcll  ;  London.)     Is 

M'est  Ham  Public  Libraries :  Annual  Report,  18'J'J-l'JOO. 

Miniature  Chessboard  and  Chessmen.     (iJritisli  Cliess  Co)    2 

Over  the  Alps  on  a  Bicgcle.     By  Mrs.  Pcnnell.     (Uuwin.) 

Bulletins  de  la  Societe  D'Anthropologie  de  Paris. 

A  Handbook  of  Photography  in  Colours.     By  X.  Bolas,  Al 
A.  K.  Tallent,  and  Edgar  Senior.     (Marion.)     5s. 

An  Account  of  the  Oldest  Book.':  in  the  World.     By  Isaac 
LL.B.     (Kogan  Paul  )     Illustrated.     30s.  net. 

yuore  Osseri-azioni  di  Marte.      V.  Cerulli.      1898-99. 


Bv 


(id. 


Is 


■xantlci" 
Mcvcr, 


THE    KARKINOKOSM,    OR    WORLD    OF 
CRUSTACEA. 

By  the  licv.  Tuomas  K.  R.  Stebbikg,  m.a.,  i-.u.s.,  f.i..s., 
F.Z.S.,  Author  of  "  A  History  of  Crimtacea,"  '  Tlie 
XaturaUst  of  Cmnbrae,"  "  Report  on  the  Amjihii/oda 
collected  by  U.M.S.  '  Uhallenger,'  "  etc. 

THE  MANY-TWINKLING  FEET. 
Amphipod.y  are  much  more  abundant  and  useful  than 
amphitheatres,  though  their  name  is  less  familiar.  An 
amphitheatre  is  well  conceived  for  convergent  eyes,  and 
an  amphipod  for  divergent  legs.  Imagine  the  central 
space  of  an  amphitheatre  to  be  the  body  of  an  animal 
and  its  radiating  gangways  the  legs,  and  you  may  then 
understand  something  of  Latreillc  s  intention  in  reining 
the  word  Amphipoda,  which  signifies,  as  he  explains 
it.,  feet  extended  in  every  direction.  These  feet  are  not 
stiff  and  stony  and  uniform  in  pattern  like  the  gang- 
ways to  which  I  have  compared  them,  but  mobile, 
m^y-jointed,  endlessly  diversified,  and,  moreover, 
capable  of  being  uplifted  or  downward  bent  at  all  sorts 
of  varying  angles.  Like  the  Isopoda  of  the  last  chapter, 
the  AJnphipoda  are  fourteen-footed.  That  is  to  say, 
besides  several  other  more  or  less  leg-like  appendages, 
they  have  seven  pairs  of  legs  attached  to  the  central 
trunk.  Just  think  what  nature  can  do  in  the  way  of 
variety  with  us  poor  quadrupedal  or  quadrumanous 
creatures,  making  the  front  legs  so  long  in  the  giraffe, 
so  short  in  the  kangaroo,  so  solid  in  the  elepiiant,  so 
slender  in  the  gazelle,  so  handy  in  ourselves,  so  invisible 
in  the  bashful  snake,  and  then  fancy,  if  you  can,  how 
the  same  nature  may  run  riot  when  there  are  seven  pairs 
of  limbs  to  play  with  instead  of  only  two.  The  oppor- 
tunity is  not  neglected. 

Seeing  that  the  majority  of  the  Amphipoda  take  their 
pastime  or  at  any  rate  pass  their  time  in  the  ocean,  a 
common  environment  might  seem  unfavourable  to 
variability.  But  the  environment,  though  continuous, 
is  multiform,  from  surface  to  abyss,  from  tropical  heat 
to  glacial  temperature,  from  strong  salinity  to  a  slight 


Scina  ratlrayi,  Stebbing.       Hypci'id  I'roiij    Atlantic. 

sand  to  coral  reefs  and  ragged  rocks,  whiu-c  the  lost 
luormaideu  dwelt  of  yore  among  the  still-surviving 
tangle  of  many-coloured  algte  and  zoopliytes.  Into  all 
those  situations,  romantic  or  prosaic,  and  into  some 
others,  Amphipoda  have  found  their  way.  Not  so  easy 
a  thing  is  it  to  bury  yourself  in  sand  or  sticky  mud, 
and  then  to  unbury  yourself  as  if  nothing  had 
happened,  with  your  coat  as  shining  as  before  and  every 
delicate  hair  uninjured.  But  many  species  of  ani- 
phipods  can  accomplish  this.  To  walk,  to  run,  to  climb, 
to  delve,  to  build,  to  grasp  the  prey,  to  clasp  the  beloved 
one,  to  shelter  the  brood — these  are  obvious  among  the 
functions  of  the  fourteen  feet,  as  illustrated  in  the  life- 
history  of  various  sijecics.  How  easily  it  all  appears 
to  come  about,  by  shortening  one  joint,  and  lengthening 
another,  widening  this  and  narrowing  that,  with  a  little 
notching  and  sculpturing  of  margins,  inflating  or  flatten- 
ing of  surfaces,  curving  the  straight,  straightening  the 
crooked,  feathering  a  hair,  fortifying  a  sctule  into  a 
spine,  and  behold  for  every  function  there  arises  its 
adapted  form  in  permutations  and  combinations  which 
arithmetic  proclaims  to  be  inexhaustible. 


Pardalisca  abyssi,  Bocck.       Gammarid,  with  eyes  imperfectly 
developed. 

This  is  a  happy  moment  for  beginning  the  study  of  the 
Amphipoda,  because  at  present  the  order  has  definite 
and  undisputed  boundaries.  Nothing  that  is  not  an 
amphipod  wants  to  be  one,  nothing  that  is  an  amphipod 
wants  to  trek.  First,  there  are  the  branchial  sacs, 
simple  or  almost  simple,  not  enclosed  in  a  branchial 
chamber,  and  beh^nging  to  some  of  the  trunk-lLmbs. 
Secondly,  there  is  the  pleon,  which  never  has  more  than 
three  pairs  of  swimming  feet  with  lash-like  branches. 
This  combination  of  characters  protects  the  Amphipoda 
from  being  confused  with  any  other  known  crustaceans. 


212 


KNOWLEDGE, 


[September  1,  1900. 


Also  among  themselves  they  form  three  groups  to  which 
nature  has  been  pleased  to  give  a  rare  distinctness. 
These  are  known  as  the  Gammaridea,  Caprellidea,  and 
Hyperiidea,  names  derived  from  an  early  defined  genus 
in  each,  to  wit,  Gammarus  for  the  fii-st,  Caprella  for  the 
second,  Hyperia  for  the  third.  The  middle  set  resemble 
Manx  cats  and  mankind  and  some  other  more  or  less 
interesting  creatui-es  in  the  circumstance  that  they  have 
lost  or  nearly  lost  their  tails,  that  pai-t  of  the  body 
which  in  the  higher  ci-ustaceans  is  decorously  designated 
the  pleon.  In  the  other  two  sets  this  part  is  rather 
powerfully  developed,  almost  always  caiTving  its  proper 
complement  of  appendages,  namely,  three  pairs  of  pleo- 
pods  for  swimming  and  three  of  uropods  for  jumping 
or  some  equiv;deut  mode  of  progression.  The  pleopods 
show  comjjaratively  little  variation,  each  usually  consist- 
ing of  a  stout  stem  to  which  are  attached  two  branches, 
many-jointed,  and  feathered  with  long  setK  which  are 
themselves  feathered.  The  Gammai-ids  and  Hyperids 
are  distinguished  one  from  the  other  by  a  character  in 
which  the  Gammarids  agree  with  the  Caprellids,  a 
character  not  of  the  tail  but  of  the  head.  The  maxilli- 
peds  in  the  Hyperiidea  have  only  three  joints,  the  re- 
maining four  having  for  some  mysterious  reason 
vanished,  whereas  in  the  other  Amphipoda  some  and 
usually  all  of  these  joints  are  present,  ^\^lether,  there- 
fore, by  the  head  or  the  tail  the  three  divisions  of  the 
order  are  clearly  distinguished  and  at  the  same  time 
closelv  linked  together. 


Piireipalpus  linea.  Mayer.      From  Mayer. 

The  Caprellidea  embrace  two  families,  the  Caprel- 
lids and  Cyamidae.  The  former  of  these  are  familiarly 
spoken  of  as  spectre-shrimps  and  skeleton-shrimps,  and 
in  one  of  these  species,  the  Parvipalpus  linea,  Mayer, 
here  figured,  tenuity  reaches  perhaps  its  furthest  amphi- 
podan  limit;  nor  does  this  jJrecious  specimen  make  up 
for  want  of  breadth  by  any  unnecessary  length,  since 
it  is  only  two-fifths  of  an  inch  long.  It  may  be  proper 
to  mention  that  in  the  lateral  view,  according  to  car- 
cinological  custom,  the  antenna;  and  legs  of  one  side 
only  are  portrayed.  The  third  and  fourth  perajopods 
are  missing  by  accident.  The  first  and  second  are 
missing  in  natui-e,  nothing  of  them  remaining  but  the 
little  branchial  sacs.  Thus  artistic  convention,  the 
frailty  of  tlie  specimen,  and  nature's  thrift,  have  com- 
bined to  present  the  picture  of  a  three-footed  animal, 
which  nevertheless  has  ten  feet  by  rights,  and  by  classi- 
fication belongs  to  a  fourteen-footed  order.  Cousins  to 
the  skinny  clambering  CapreUidffi,  and  closely  resem- 
bling them  in  stinicture,  are  the  more  sedentary 
Cyamidee,  commonly  known  as  whale-lice.  In  appear- 
ance these  greatly  differ  from  their  near  relations, 
because,  instead  of  being  cylindrical  and  thread-like 
with  geniculating  bodies,  they  are  comparatively  broad 
and  flat,  adapted  for  close  adhesion  to  the  skin  of  their 
gigantic  hosts.  The  Caprellid*  are  ascetics,  subduing 
the  flesh  to  such  an  extent  that  substance  runs  a  risk 
of  passing  into  shadow.  The  Cyamidse,  having  adopted 
a  lethargic  life  in  oleaginous  luxury,  seem  to  be  gradu- 
ally recovering  some  of  that  corporeal  amplitude 
which  is .  appropriate  to  the  epicurean. 

The  Hyperids  are  not  quite  so  accessible  as  the  other 
two    groups,    being    rarely    found    in    England    between 


tide-marks,  except  when  thrown  up  by  storms,  either 
independently  or  on  the  jelly-fishes,  which  some  of  them 
frequent.        Many    of    them    are    distinguished    Dy    the 


rrrnm.^ 


Teirathifrits  moncoeuri,   StebbiDg. 

extreme  development  of  the  eyes  and  by  the  glassy 
transparence  of  the  body.  Often  in  the  female  the 
second  pair  of  the  antenna;  are  obsolete.  In  the  male 
the  same  pair  frequently  show  a  curious  arrangement. 
They  have  delicatel)-  slender  joints  of  great  length, 
which,  when  not  in  use,  can  be  folded  together  like  a 
cai-penter's  rule  and  tucked  away  securely  at  the  sides 
of  the  animal.  In  some  genera  the  folding  plan  is 
carried  further,  being  applied  to  the  whole  body,  as  in 
the  Tetrathyrus  mottcteuri  and  Dithyrus  faha  here 
figured.        In  Tttrafliyriis,  "  foul'  doors."   and  Bithyrus, 


Dithyrus  faha,  PaEia.     From  Dana. 

''  two  doors,  '  allusion  is  made  to  the  gi'eatly  expanded 
joints  of  the  two  pairs  of  legs  which  precede  the  tiny 
last  pair.  It  is  a  jjeculiar  function  for  leg-joints  to 
have  to  assist  in  armoiu'-plating  the  owner's  body.  A 
comparison  of  the  two  figures  will  show  how  the  animal 
by  the  infraventral  folding  of  the  broad  joints  in  ques- 
tion, and  the  apjiroximation  of  its  head  and  tail,  be- 
comes a  smooth  little  egg-like  box,  as  compact  a  fortress 
of  its  kind  as  could  well  be  devised.  Very  different  in 
appeai'ance  but  not  so  verj'  different  in  structui'e  is  ,the 
C alamorhynchiis  rigkluK,  of  which  a  dorsal  view  is  given, 


Calamorhi/nc/iiis  rigicliis,  Stebbing. 

that  does  not  show  the  rather  insignificant  legs.  Its 
generic  name,  meaning  "  pen-beak."  is  appropriate  to 
the  form  of  the  head  in  mature  life,  but  it  is  born  blunt- 
headed. 

Of  the  three  groups,  the  largest-  publicity  and  promi- 
nence has  been  obtained  by  the  Gammaridea,  and  one 
can  easily  believe  that  from  this  type  the  other  two  are 
derived,  because  in  each  of  those  other  two  a  feature 
has  become  degraded  or  lost  which  the  Gammaridea 
still  retain.  The  Gammai'idea  alone  of  the  three  have 
made  their  way  into  fresh  water  and  on  to  dry  land. 
It  is,  indeed,  a  fresh  water  species,  Gammarus  pulex, 
which    the    student   has    always    at   hand    as    a   simple 


September  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


213 


pattern  with  wliii'h  to  coiiipaio  the  iiinuinerable  modifi- 
cations presented  by  the  order  at  large.  But  Gammorus 
iiKiriniis  on  the  shore  and  Gaminarus  locusta  from 
the  shore  into  tolerably  deep  water  will  provide 
him  with  equalh'  suitable  standards  of  com- 
parison. To  the  eye  of  the  beginner  these  three  species 
will  probably  look  as  like  as  three  peas,  and  will  there- 
fore serve  him  as  a  useful  exercise  in  disoi-imination. 
The  amphipods  that  have  ta.keu  to  life  ou  land  are  not 
OS  yet  very  numerous.  They  all  belong  to  the  Tali- 
tiidse,  a  family  better  known  as  sandhoppei-s  and  beach- 
fleas.  These  show  a  great  and  good  ambition  to  walk 
uprightly,  but  their  education  in  the  ways  of  sub-aerial 
life  is  evidently  still  in  progress.  Many  are  as  yet  in  the 
stage  of  making  experiments  that  are  not  always  .success- 
ful.    Some,  like  the  Talorchextia   here  depicted,  steady 


V*- 


^i\  ).^ 


Tatorchestia  tellurix,  Bfitc.     From  Biite. 

themselves  by  remarkable  expansions  of  certain  joints 
in  the  hinder  limbs.  Other  devices  are  found  in  other 
families  for  species  that  whether  in  or  out  of  water 
favour  an  ambulatory  gait.  In  the  open  air  an  animal 
that  falls  over  on  its  side  and  can  then  only  move  on 
by  jerks  and  wriggles  must  painfully  feel  that,  the  more 
legs  it  has,  the  more  ridiriilous  it  looks. 

Though  species  of  amphipods  swarm  in  all  seas,  they 
make  themselves  more  than  usually  conspicuous  in 
Arctic  waters.  Fittingly,  therefore,  the  earliest  in- 
telligible description  of  any  amphipod  resulted  from  a 
voyage  to  Spitzbergen  and  Greenland.  Friderich 
Martens,  a  barber-surgeon  on  board  a  whale-ship,  to- 
ward the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  may  be  said 
to  have  discovered  them.  Some  of  the  largest  and  most 
abundant  of  the  smooth  Arctic  forms  were  described  in 
1774  by  Captain  Phipps,  aftenvards  Lord  Mulgrave,  and 
some  of  the  thorniest  forms  a  little  later  by  the  Russian 
writer  Lepekhin.  Enri/tJienes  gryUus,  long  the  cham- 
pion gammarid.  was  not  made  known  till  1822.  It  has 
been  found  exceeding  four  and  a  half  inches  in  length, 
with  girth  in  proportion.  It  is  in  colour  rosy  with  a 
tinge  of  yellow,  and  has  its  limbs  aesthetically  picked 
out  with  vermilion.  Regardless  of  its  array,  petrels 
and  sharks  and  other  pirates  swallow  it  without  remorse. 
Their  greediness  first  gave  it  to  science,  for  Mandt,  its 
discoverer,  says,  "  the  only  specimen  I  brought  back 
from  my  journey  was  vomited  by  an  Arctic  petrel." 
Sailors,  aft-er  their  wont,  angling  in  the  air  for  sea-birds, 
caught  the  petrel  and  gave  it  a  mortal  crack  on  its 
skull,  whereupon  it  disgorged  the  crustacean,  well 
digested,  yet  with  the  chitinous  framework  scarcely 
injured.  This  amphipod  has  a  vast  range  from  north 
to  south.  Also  it  descends  through  various  depths  to 
the  greatest  reached  by  any  species  of  its  order.  Sea- 
birds  must  capture  it  near  the  surface,  but  whether  they 
find  it  there  alive  or  dead  is  uncertain.  In  any  case 
one  may  still  admire  its  powers  of  navigation,  though 
it  no  longer  holds  the  record  for  size.  AliceJIa  gignnlea. 
Chevreux,  dredged  by  the  Prince  of  Monaco  in  1897 
from  a  depth  of  2890  fathoms,  is  five  and  a  half  inches 
long,  thus  beating  the  longitude  of  Euryfhenes  gryUu't 
bv  an  inch. 


AL  the  beginning  of  this  chajjter  stress  was  laid  on 
the  variability  of  the  seven  pairs  of  trunk-limbs.  There 
are  twelve  other  pairs  of  appendages  also  more  or  less 
variable,  but  here  at  the  end  of  the  chapter  it  is  im- 
possible to  expatiate  on  the  changes  they  exhibit  with 
their  branches  double  or  single,  their  joints  many  or 
few,  their  teeth  and  lobes,  their  hooks  and  spines,  their 
feathers  and  functions.  Even  the  eyes,  which  have  no 
joints  at  all,  and  which  arc  normally  two,  seated 
laterally  on  the  head,  arc  far  from  displaying  mono- 
tonous similarity.  For,  instead  of  two,  there  may  be 
four  or  three  or  one  or  none.  They  or  it  may  be  on 
the  top  of  the  head  instead  of  at  the  sides,  and  on  the 
projecting  tip  or  further  back.  They  may  be  compound 
or  simple.  The  outline  may  bo  circular,  oval,  or  collar- 
like,  it  may  be  reniform,  lageniform,  fusiform,  that  is, 
like  a  kidney,  a  flask,  or  a  spindle,  or  it  may  be  in 
divers  ways  irregular.  The  elements  may  bo  few  or 
so  numerous  as  to  cover  almost  the  whole  cephalic 
surface.  The  colour  .may  be  bright  red  or  brown  or 
green  or  ferociously  black,  or  again  it  may  bo  white  or 
grey  or  variously  pallid  to  evanescence.  There  is  just 
that  one  point  of  consistency  about  the  eyes,  that  they 
are  never  stalked,  never  articulated.  By  a  hemispherical 
bulging  they  may  occasionally  ti-y  to  intimate  that  they 
could  gi-ow  a  stalk  if  they  choose,  but  they  never  do 
choose. 

In  conclusion  it  may  be  said  that  persons  of  a  fine 
sporting  instinct,  who  desire  to  be  exhilarated  by  the 
chance  of  experiencing  savage  nips  and  pinches,  lacera- 
tions, stabs  and  bites,  will  find  the  Amphipoda  of  no 
use.  Such  persons  must  pursue  the  crab,  the  lobster, 
the  prawn,  the  squilla,  and  the  isopod.  Among  the 
Amphipoda  there  are  a  few  species  armed  with  strictly 
defensive  spines,  but  otherwise  they  arc  of  all  the  Mala- 
costraca  the  most  absolutely  and  universally  peaceable 
towards  mankind,  never  intentionally  inflicting  upon  him 
any  personal  injury  whatever. 


Sir  John  Murray  and  the  Black  Sea. 

Sir  John  Murray  recently  delivered  a  lecture  on 
the  Physical,  Chemical,  and  Biological  Conditions  of  the 
Black  Sea,  to  the  Fellows  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Edin- 
burgh. The  Black  Sea  has  peculiarities  which  distin- 
guish it  from  the  Mediterranean,  Atlantic  or  Pacific. 
The  greatest  ascertained  depth  is  1200  fatlionis.  A 
surface  current  flows  continually  from  the  Black  Sea 
into  the  Mediterranean  through  the  Bosphorous  and 
Dardanelles,  and  an  undercurrent  of  salt  water  from 
the  Mediterranean  into  the  Black  Sea.  This  under- 
current of  water  was  found  to  be  wann  and  to  sink 
to  the  bottom,  and  in  consequence  of  its  gr.iat  density 
prevented  vertical  circulation.  The  result  was  that  these 
deeper  waters  were  rendered  quite  stagnant.  They  were 
saturated  with  sulphuretted  hydrogen  and  consequently 
life  was  impossible.  In  an  expedition  in  which  thi 
lecturer  took  part,  the  water  brought  up  by  means  of 
a  water  bottle  from  a  depth  of  300  fathoms  smelt 
exactly  like  rotten  eggs.  No  life  therefore  is  possible 
in  the  Black  Sea  beyond  a  depth  of  100  fathoms,  which 
was  a  striking  contrast  to  what  happened  in  the  open 
ocean,  where  there  was  an  abundance  of  animal  life  at 
that  depth.  This  brought  about  another  extraordinary 
condition  with  reference  to  the  deposits,  viz.,  that  in 
all  the  deeper  deposits  there  is  an  abundant  chemical 
precipitate  of  carbonate  of  lime,  a  condition  of  matters 
that  obtains  as  far  as  is  known  in  no  other  ocean. 


214 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[SEPTEirBER    1,  1900. 


Ht(ctoscopi). 


By  John  H.  Cooke,  f.l.s.,  p.g.s. 

Thft  following  simple  method  for  examining  the  gonococci  of 
purulent  ophthalmia  is  suggested  by  Dr.  W.  li.  Canfield.  A  little 
of  the  pus  is  pressed  between  two  fover  glasses,  which  are  then 
drawn  apart.  The  glasses  are  allowed  to  dry,  and  are  cjuickly 
passed  through  a  Bunsen  flame  to  coagulate  the  albumen  and  to 
fix  the  pus.  A  few  drops  of  the  ordinary  methylene  blue  or  violet 
are  allowed  to  cover  the  specimen  for  a  few  minutes  and  washed 
off,  after  which  the  specimen  may  be  examined  in  water  or 
glycerine,  or  it  may  be  dried  and  mounted  in  balsam,  which  makes 
it  more  distinct. 

Permanent  preparations  of  blood — amphibian  for  preference  as 
the  red  cells  are  so  large  and  contain  such  prominent  nuclei — may 
be  prepared  by  allowing  fresh  blood  to  fall  drop  by  drop  into  <i 
solution  of  osmic  acid  (two  per  cent,  acid  solution,  one  part ;  one 
per  cent,  solution  of  sodium  chloride,  two  parts ;  di.stilled  water 
one  part).  The  solution  should  be  constantly  stirred  while  the 
blood  is  dropping  Allow  tlie  blood  and  acid  to  stand  one  night, 
and  then  wash  the  acid  away  witli  distilled  water.  Add  alcohol, 
then  clove  oil,  in  which  the  blood  may  be  kept  indefinitely.  Before 
tlie  alcohol  is  added,  the  nucleus  of  the  corpuscle  may  be  stained 
in  alum  carmine  ;  or  the  whole  corpuscle  may  be  stained  in  aniline 
blue.     Mount  in  balsam. 

A  warm  slide  is  an  indispensable  piece  of  apparatus  to  the  student 
of  histology.  In  the  study  of  ama>boid  movements  it  is  essential 
unless  a  suitable  spot  in  the  frog's  web  can  be  found.  To  make  a 
warm  stage,  take  a  strip  of  copper  the  size  of  a  glass  slide,  and 
make  a  diaphragm  opening  in  the  centre.  Attach  a  long  strip  of 
c<jpper  to  this — or  the  wliole  can  be  of  one  piece — sufficient  to 
pi'oject  about  four  inches  over  the  edge  of  the  stage  of  the 
microscope.  The  flame  of  an  alcohol  lamp  heating  the  end  of  this 
strip  will,  by  conduction,  heat  the  whole  piece  together  with  the 
slide  placed  on  it.  A  drop  of  blood  being  prepared  for  examination 
in  the  usual  way,  make  a  ring  round  the  cover  glass  with  oil  to 
prevent  evaporation,  place  on  the  warm  stage,  apply  the  heat,  and 
the  leucocytes  can  be  studied  in  their  movements  with  higher 
powers  and  with  greater  ease  than  in  the  frog's  web. 

A  water  bath  is  another  very  necessaiy  adjunct  where  a  certain 
very  moderate  degree  of  heat  is  not  to  be  exceeded.  Few  persons 
fully  appreciate  the  difficulty  of  regulating  or  even  estimating  tl'.e 
temperature  of  an  object  held  over  a  naked  flame,  and  mischief  is 
often  done  before  the  operator  is  aware  of  it.  A  serviceable  watsr 
bath  is  easily  extemporized  out  of  an  old  fruit  can  and  a  small 
beaker  glass.  This  serves  for  exposing  material  and  preparations 
to  a  temperature  lower  than  that  of  boiling  water.  Where  slides 
are  to  be  so  heated,  the  simplest  contrivance  is  a  flat  tin  box, 
w-itli  all  the  joints  (cover  and  all)  tightly  soldered.  A  small 
tube  closed  with  a  cork  serves  to  admit  the  water. 

Sections  of  buds  may  be  cjuickly  prepared  for  class  demon- 
stration by  the  following  method.  Fix  the  specimen  in  the  section 
cutter,  wet  it  with  alc-ihol,  and  slice  off  the  sections,  meanwhile 
keeping  the  knife  flooded  with  alcohol.  Place  the  specimens  in 
alcohol  tinged  with  iodine  green,  and  leave  them  there  for  several 
hours  until  the  solution  becomes  colourless.  Next  place  them  in  a 
solution  of  alcohol  and  eosin,  and  leave  them  till  they  assume  a 
pink  colour.  Pass  them  through  an  alcohol  bath,  immerse  in 
clove  oil  for  a  few  minutes,  and  mount  in  Canada  balsam. 

The  curriculum  of  the  elementary  school  has  recently  undergone 
a  much  needed  and  welcome  reform.  The  new  code  contains,  inter 
alia,  the  official  sanction  of  the  Board  of  Education  for  the  recog- 
nition of  nature  study  as  a  means  of  educating  the  childien  of  the 
peojde.  This  is  a  step  in  the  right  direction,  for  when  children 
are  early  taught  the  nature  study  of  evei-y-day  life,  and  become 
familiar  with  the  common  things  in  nature  around  them,  their  ideas 
as  to  cause  and  effect  in  natural  phenomena  will  cease  to  be  asso- 
ciated with  superstition  and  mystery,  and  the  range  of  available 
information  open  to  them  will  be  indefinitely  extended.  No 
educa,tion  that  does  not  inchide  a  knowledge  of  the  every-day  pheno- 
mena of  nature  can  be  regardeil  as  complete  :  and  as  there  is  a  veiy 
wide  range  of  the  most  essential  and  )iractical  knowledge  that  can 
lie  reached  only  through  the  microscope,  the  day  may  perhaps  be 
not  so  far  distant  when  the  microscope,  as  an  aid  to  nature  study, 
will  be  used  more  extensively  and  more  seriously  in  our  public 
schools  than  it  is  at  present.  There  is  no  reason  whatever  whv  a 
compound  microscope  of  low  magnifying  power  should  not  be  just 
as  much  a  common  aj)purtenance  of  a  well  regulated  elementary 
school  as  a  blackboard  or  a  piano. 

All  who  are  interested  in  microscopy  and  photo-micrography 
should  obtain  a  copy  of  an  interesting  little  brochure  entitled 
"  (_)i  thochroniatic  Photography,"  which  is  being  distributed  gratis 
l)y  Messrs.  Cadett  and  Neall,  Ashstead,  Surrey. 

We  have  recently  had  an  opportunity  of  experimenting  with  the 
"  Absolutus  "  light  filter  used  in  conjunction  with  the  Cadett  Light- 


ning Spectrum  plates.  The  great  rapidity  of  these  plates,  the 
sensitometer  number  of  which  was  360,  renders  them  specially 
suitable  foT  photographing  the  movements  of  microscopic  plants 
and  animals,  while  their  extreme  sensitiveness  to  all  colour  lumi- 
nosities of  the  spectrum,  excepting  a  very  small  margin  at  the 
extreme  red  end  of  the  spectrum,  enable  them  to  represent  with 
great  delicacy  the  gradations  in  the  coloured  luminosities  of  stained 
jireparations"  Tlie  "  Absolutus  "  light  filter,  which  is  specially 
adjusted  for  the  spectrum  plate,  i-enders  all  gradations  correctly 
with  but  a  very  small  margin  of  error.  It  may  be  used  eithei 
before  or  behind  the  objective.  Its  use  increases  the  exposure  at 
a  window  with  a  northern  outlook  about  twenty  times,  but  this 
is  really  no  drawback  with  the  Lightning  plate,  as,  owing  to  its 
great  rapidity,  the  exposure  necessary  is  invariably  shorter  than 
it  would  be  when  using  an  ordinary  plate  without  a  filter.  The 
surfaces  of  the  "  Absolutus  "  are  optically  worked,  and  the  colouring 
accurately  adjusted  by  the  help  of  Abney's  colour  sensitometer 
to  suit  the  spectrum  plate.  Workers  with  light  filters  know  the 
unsatisfactorj'  nature  of  ordinary  coloured  glasses  and  fluid  cells. 
The  care  bestowed  on  the  manufacture  of  the  "  Absolutus " 
eliminates  most  of  the  objections,  and,  in  addition,  the  colouring 
of  the  screen  is  pleasant  to  the  eye,  and  it  does  not  interfere  with 
the  definition  of  the  image. 

[All  communication!)  in   reference,   to    this   Column   -ihoiild    be 
addressed  to  Mr.  J.   E.  Cooke  at  the  Office  of  Knowledge.] 


NOTES   ON   COMETS   AND   METEORS. 

By  W.  F.  Denning,  f.r.a.s. 

Nkw  Comet. — In  justification  of  our  statement  in  last  month's 
notes  that  it  was  highly  probable  we  should  shortly  hear  of  a  dis- 
coveiy  in  this  field,  a  bright  comet  with  a  tail  was  discovered  by 
Borelly  at  Marseilles,  and  by  Brooks  at  Geneva,  U.S.A.,  on  the 
night  of  July  23.  The  comet  was  moving  rapidly  northwards. 
The  position  at  discovery  was  given  by  Borelly  as  2h.  43m.  40s., 
Dec.  -^  12°  :iO'  in  the  extreme  S.E.  region  of  Aries.  On  the  follow- 
ing night  the  comet  was  observed  by  Bigourdan  at  Paris,  and  the 
daily  motion  was  found  -t-  16'  in  E.A.  and  +'!'•'  48'  in  Dec.  On 
.July  30  it  was  seen  at  Bristol  in  a  (>l  inch  refractor  ;  it  was  a  con- 
sjiicuous  object  with  a  bright  tail,  and  in  the  beautifully  cle.ar  sky 
which  prevailed  soon  after  midnight  the  comet  was  just  perceptible 
to  the  naked  eye. 

tir.vcoBiNi's  Comet. — This  object  has  now  become  exceedingly 
faint  and  is  rapidly  passing  beyond  the  sphere  of  our  observation. 
Its  place  on  Scptcndier  2  will  be  B.A.  ITh.  39m.  7s.,  Dec. -h  17°  58'-3, 
and  its  distance  from  the  earth  will  be  169  millions  of  miles.  The 
aspect  of  the  comet  will  be  such  that  only  the  largest  telescopes 
will  be  able  to  deal  effectively  with  it. 

De  'Vigo's  Comet  (1844  I.). — This  object,  which  was  computed 
to  revolve  in  a  period  of  about  5^  years,  was  not  redetected  during 
the  half  century  whicli  followed  its  discovery,  but  in  August,  1834, 
Mr.  E.  Swift,  son  of  the  famous  and  veteran  comet  finder  Lewis 
Swift,  found  a  small  periodical  comet,  the  elements  showing  a 
striking  resemblance  of  orbit  to  that  of  De  Vico's  comet,  and  it 
seemed  probable  that  the  two  bodies  were  identical,  allowing  for 
some  slight  differences  of  orbit  introduced  by  planetary  pertur- 
bation. The  return  of  the  comet  is  now  due,  but  the  circumstances 
are  not  very  favourable.  In  Ast.  Nach.  3653  Seares  gives  a 
sweeping  ephemeris,  from  which  it  appears  that  the  object  on 
September  2  will  be  in  K.A.  16h.  17m.  19s,  Dec.  S,  2.5"  ."/'.  This 
position  is  less  tlian  1"  N.E.  of  the  star  o"  Scorpii,  tlic  place  of 
whicli  on  January  1,  1901,  is  R.A.  ]61i.  Lira.  10s.,  Dec.  S.  2.5"  21'. 
The  bright  star  Antares  will  be  only  2  degrees  E.S.E.  of  the  comet 
at  the  same  time.  The  latter  will  be  about  190  millions  of  miles 
distant  from  the  earth  early  in  September,  and  far  iieyond  the 
reach  of  ordinary  telescopes. 

FiREn.ALLR. — In  the  strong  twilight  at  8h.  47s.  on  July  17  a 
splendid  fireball  appeared  over  the  north  of  England,  and"  left  a 
streak  visible  for  more  than  three  quarters  of  an  hour.  It  moved 
somewhat  slowly  from  south  to  north,  and  the  nucleus  burst  out 
with  great  brilliancy  several  times,  finally  dividing  into  two  frag- 
ments. Dr.  C.  O'Hara,  of  Burnley,  describes  the  meteor  as  falling  at 
an  angle  of  about  45  degrees,  and  in  a  low  altitude  a  little  east 
of  north.  \i  Sjiennymoor,  I3urham,  its  direction  of  flight  was 
noted  from  .50°  over  the  S.E.  horizon  to  15"  above  N.X.E.,  and 
duration  2^  or  3  sec.  The  same  observer  says  the  fireball  con- 
sisted of  two  pear  sliaped  masses,  tailing  off  behind  into  two  parallel 
streaks  of  vivid  white  brilliancy  accompanied  by  blue  and  crimson 
coruscations.  The  writer  has  received  about  15  accounts  of  the 
meteor  from  various  observers  in  the  N.  of  England  and  Scotland. 
The  real  path  of  the  object  appears  to  have  been  from  a  heignt 
of  58  miles  over  Pickering,  Yorks,  to  15  miles  over  the  North  Sea. 
Its  length  of  observed  path  was  175  miles,  and  its  astronomical 
radiant  point  was   at  249° — 20"  a  few  degrees  N.E.  of  Antares  in 


September  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


215 


Scorpio.  The  iii.u..ii>  >\Mtiii  to  which  this  brilliant  object  oe- 
loimcil  is  a  remarkable  oiie,  for  it  furnishes  many  large  lireballs 
in  the  summer  months. 

Ou  July  18  at  llh  55m.  a  meteor  as  briirht  as  Jupiter  was  seen  by 
Prof.  A.  S.  TIerschel  at  Slous;h,  by  Mr.  H.  S.  Camiibell  at  CIroyilon, 
and  others.  It  was  a  most  extraonlinary  object,  for  it  had  a  very 
slow  /.ijzai;  motion.  It  was  very  low  in  the  air,  for  its  coniputeil 
heights  were  from  48  to  24  miles  over  Suffolk,  and  velocity  only 
7  miles  per  second. 

On  July  24  at  lOh.  49m.  a  fine  meteor,  seen  in  its  greatest 
splendour  over  the  eastern  counties  of  England,  aiiil  considerality 
exceeding  the  lustre  of  Venus,  fell  from  heights  of  68  to  27  miles 
over  the  coasts  of  Ksse;c  and  Xorfolk.  It  had  a  path  of  about  103 
miles,  velocity  19  miles  per  second,  and  a  radiant  point  at  about 

Jri.T  Shootixg  St.i^rs. — The  hue,  hot  weather  prevailing  during 
the  la.st  half  of  .July  enabled  a  large  number  of  meteors  to  be 
recorded  by  Prof.  A.  S.  Herschel,  Mr.  W.  K.  Besley,  the  writer 
at  Bristol,  and  other  observers.  The  earliest  indication  of  the 
Perseids  was  noticed  on  July  16,  and  the  shower  gradually  de- 
velojied  in  intensity  on  later  nights.  The  ea,sterly  motion  of  the 
radiant  was  distinctly  traced.  A  fine  Perseid  was  seen  by  Prof. 
Herschel  at  Slough,  and  by  the  writer  at  Bristol  ou  July  19  .it 
nil.  49m.  It*  nuliant  was  at  IT^  +  .'iO",  and  it  fell  from  ,SI  to  .j  t 
miles.  Another  bright  Perseid  was  recorded  on  July  24,  12h.  12ni., 
by  Prof.  Herschel.  Mr.  W.  E.  Be.sley,  and  the  writer,  shooting  from 
a  radiant  at  24"  +  52",  and  descending  from  Hi  to  55  miles. 
Many  interesting  minor  showers  were  seen  in  July.  The 
most  active  display  of  all  seen  by  the  writer  was  tli.it  of  the 
Aquarids  from  a  nuliant  at  33S"  -10",  which  furnislieil  23  iiieteoi-s 
out  of  an  aggregate  of  177  observed  between  July  15 — 30.  One 
of  these  was  a  verj-  curious  object.  It  appeared  on  July  24  at 
llh.  Sm.,  and  looked  like  a  small  nebulous  streak  running  slowly 
across  the  sky.  Its  path  was  .So  degrees  long  from  324"  +  25"  to 
145^  +  6y°.  The  meteor  seemed  to  be  very  feebly  iiicaiulescpnt,  and 
was  directed  from  a  radiant  on  the  horizon  at  about  321° — 33°. 


THE  FACE  OF  THE  SKY  FOR  SEPTEMBER. 

By    A.    FOWLEK,    F.H..\.S. 

The  Sun. — Sun-spots  and  facuhe  may  be  looked  for, 
but  they  are  not  likely  to  be  either  numerous  or  large. 
On  the  1st  the  sun  i-ises  at  5.14  and  sets  at  6.46;  on 
the  30th  he  rises  at  6.0  and  sets  at  5.40.  He  enters 
Libra,  and  Autumn  commences  at  noon  on  the  23rd. 

The  Moon. — The  moon  will  enter  first  quarter  on 
the  2nd  at  7.56  a.m.  ;  will  be  full  on  the  9th  at  5.6  a.m.  ; 
will  enter  last  quarter  on  the  15th  at  8.57  p.m.;  and 
be  new  on  the  23rd  at  7.57  p.m.  The  principal  occul- 
tations  are  as  follows,  that  of  Saturn  on  the  3rd  licing 
especially  notable  :  — 


1 

a 

3 

■     .^ 

§ 

a 

o 

i            § 
a              1 

1 

5 

si 
■3 

< 

r 

8 

o          o 

o 

o 

<i.  h. 

Sept.  3  ,  Saturn 

7.1G  P.M. 

128      12fi 

8.11  P.M. 

217      208 

!l    IB 

„     * 

f  iSa^ittarii 

50 

7.:f.5  P.M. 

62     se 

8..=i0  P.M. 

271     26:i 

10  in 

„   13 

IS  Tiinri 

5* 

9.13  P.M. 

Sfl  j     99 

10.34  P.M. 

273  ,  314 

19   18 

The  Planets. — Mercui-y  is  not  well  placed  for  obser- 
vation this  month.  He  will  he  in  superior  conjunction 
with  the  sun  on  the  13th. 

Venus  is  a  morning  star,  reaching  greatest  westerly 
elongation  of  46°  on  the  17th.  The  time  of  rising  is 
about  1.30  A.M.  throughout  the  month.  She  passes 
from  Gemini  into  Cancer  about  the  4th,  and  into  Leo 
about  the  26th,  the  path  being  towards  Regulus.  At 
the  middle  of  the  month  the  diameter  of  the  planet  is 
24".4,  about  half  the  disc  being  then  illuminated. 

Mars  rises  shortly  before  midnight  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  month.  The  path  of  the  planet  is  easterly, 
passing  from  Gemini  into  Cancer  about  the  19th.  On 
the  5th  the  planet  will  be  near  Delta  Geininorum,  less 
than  a  detn-ce  to  the   north  of   the   star.     On   the    15th 


the  apparent  diameter  of  the  planet  is  5". 2,  and  the 
illuniiuated  part  0.915;  the  distance  of  the  planet  from 
tlic  earth  will  then  be  nearly  IGS  millions  of  miles. 

Jupiter  remains  an  evening  star,  in  Scorpio,  but  as 
it  sets  about  half-past  nine  ;it  the  beginning  of  the 
mouth,  and  shortly  before  eigiit  o'clock  at  the  end  of 
the  month,  tliore  will  ])robably  be  few  opportunities 
of  observing  him.  On  the  1st,  at  8  p.m.,  the  planet  will 
be  in  conjunction  with  the  moon,  0°  51'  to  the  north. 
Tlie  most  notable  salellitc  phenomena  are  a  shadow 
ingress  of  the  first  satellite  at  7.51  on  the  4th,  a  li-ansit 
ingress  of  the  second  satellite  at  7.21  on  the  12t.li,  an 
eclipse  reappeai-ancc  of  the  second  satellite  at 
7.18.38  on  the  14th,  and  a  transit  egress  of  the  first 
satellite  at  7.13  on  the  20th. 

Saturn  is  also  an  evening  star,  in  Sagittarius,  but 
perhaps  too  low  for  useful  observation.  On  the  1st 
the  planet  sets  about  11  p.m.,  and  on  the  30th  snim 
after  9  p.m.  The  planet  is  stationary  on  the  2nd,  and 
in  conjunction  with  the  moon,  1°  5'  south,  at  8'  p.m. 
on  the  3rd.  On  (he  22nd  the  planet  is  in  quadrature 
with  the  sun. 

Uranus  is  in  quadrature  with  the  sun  on  the  morning 
of  the  1st,  and  may  perhaps  bo  observed  during  the 
early  evening.  The  planet  sets  soon  after  9.30  p.m. 
on  the  1st,  and  shortly  before  8  p.m.  on  the  30th.  The 
position  of  the  planet  is  near  Omega  Ophiuchi. 

Neptune  is  an  evening  star,  in  quadrature  on  the 
22nd,  rising  shortly  after  11  p.m.  on  the  1st,  and  about 
9.17  P.M.  on  the  30th.  The  planet  describes  a  sliort 
easterly  path  in  Tauiiis,  almost  midway  lictwcen  132 
Tauri  and  Eta  Geminorum. 

The  Stars. — About  10  p.m.  at  the  middle  of  the  month, 
Auriga  and  Perseus  will  be  in  the  north-east;  Taunis 
low  down  a  little  north  of  east;  Aries,  Andromeda,  and 
Cassiopeia  towards  the  east;  Pisces  a  little  south  of 
east;  Cetus  low  down  from  east  to  south-east;  Pegasus, 
south-east ;  Aquarius  and  Capricornus  nearly  south  ; 
Cyguus  almost  overhead ;  Aquila  and  Lyra  nearly 
south-west;  Hercules  in  the  west;  Corona  and  Bootis 
to  the  north  of  west;    and  Ursa  Major  nearly  due  north. 

Minima  of  Algol  will  occur  on  the  17th  at  12.8  a.m., 
and  on  the  19th  at  8.57  p.m.  Omicron  Ceti  (Mira)  may 
bo  expected  to  be  at  or  near  a  maximum. 


€^tnn  Column. 

Bv     C.      D.      LOCOCK,      B.A. 


Communications  for  this  column  should  be  addressed 
to  C.  D.  LococK,  Netherfield,  Camberley,  and  be  posted 
by  the  10th  of  each  month. 

Solutions  of  August  Problems. 

No.    1. 
1.    Kt  to  R4,  and  niad's  next  nmve. 

No.  2. 

(A.  F.  Mackenzie.) 

1.    B  to  R.5,  and  males  next  move. 

B  to  QB7  also  ajijiears  to  solve  this  problem. 

[This  problem  was  selected  in  haste  and,  following  the 

example  of    the   BritiKh   Cliefx   Mufjaziw,  whence   it   was 

taken,  erroneously  given  as  a  thrtje-mover.     Solntinns  in 

three  moves  are  of  course  adjudged  cori-rect.J 


216 


KNOWLEDGE 


[September  1,  1900. 


B  to  K"  will  not  solve  No.  2 
ies  liv  moving  the  Kt  to  Q3. 
Queen  to  Q6,  and  the 


CoEKECT  Soi.uTioxs  of  botli  proMems  received  from 
Alpba,  K.  W.,  H.  S.  Brandretli,  H.  Le  Jeune,  3.  Baddelev, 
G.  W.  Middletou,  W.  de  P.  Cronsaz. 

Of  No.  1  only  from  G.  A.  Forde  (Capt.),  J.  T.  W. 
Claridge,  J.  Humble. 

G.  A.  FoEDE  (Capt.).— 1 
iu  two  moves  if  Black  re] 
The  Bishop  blocks  the  way  of  th 
Rook  is  undefended. 

Max  Judge. — The  King  cannot  move  into  check  in  the 
position  which  you  enclose,  or  under  any  circumstances. 
It  is  true  that  the  Pawn  is  pinned,  but  the  Black  King 
would  be  taken  first  if,  as  you  suggest,  both  jjlayers 
iU'e  breaking  the  intended  rules.  If  Black  is  allowed  to 
move  into  check,  White  would  be  allowed  to  capture  the 
King  even  if  he  thereby  exjioses  his  own  King  to  the  risk 
of  snbseqnenf  capture. 

A.  C.  Waters. — See  remarks  on  the  problem  abo\-e. 
Seventeen  seems  a  reasonable  number  of  solutions  in 
three  moves  for  a  problem  intended  to  be  solved  in  two. 

W.  I.  M. — No  doubt  chess  affords  an  excellent  logical 
training  for  the  mind,  but  I  should  scarcely  go  so  far  as 
to  recommend  it  in  preference  to  the  study  of  ^Mill's 
Logic. 


PROBLEMS. 

No.  1. 

By  N.  M.  Gibbins  (Brighton). 

Black  (H. 


m 


m     m 


m ^. 


Bl     B     B 


1!^ 


i    ill    m.^  m. 
m.    ill    Wf.^'^9. 

win^     ^^^     '^M     wai^ 


m     «     -^A     ^m 
■mm      «t  A  isi      ■ 


J 


pi 


White  (fi) 

^liite  mates  in  two  moves. 

No.  2. 
By  C.  D.  Locoek. 

Black    (,«), 


mm 
i 


p  »  ^ 


t    

rf      i 


§ 


if «„....,..  ill  5  » 


i     €M  ^.s 


WM     fc  a  W     


White  (11). 

White  mates  iu  two  moves. 


CHESS  INTELLIGENCE. 


Tie  foT  first,  sccoud.  :iik1  third  prizes. 


The  International  Tournament  at  Munich  was  brought 
to  a  couclusiou  with  the  following  result : — 

H.  N.  PiUsbury 

C.  SeWechter   ... 

G.  Maroczv 

A.  Burn  ...  ...     lil.V      Fourth  prize. 

Fifth  prize. 

Sixth  prize. 

Tie  for  seventh  and  eightli  prize.s. 


in 


Ct.  Marco 

..      10 

W.  Colin 

S 

D.  Janowski      .  , 

..       7^ 

J.  AV.  Showalter 

7J 

J.  Berger 

7i 

Wolf 

..       7i 

Gottschall 

..        6i 

Popiel 

..       6i 

C.  Halprin 

..       6 

M.  Billecard     ... 

..        3 

C.  "\'on  Bardelehen 

2 

Jacob     ... 

..     u 

Tlie  tie  for  the  iirst  three  prizes  has  to  be  played  off, 
each  player  contesting  two  games  against  each  of  the 
others.     Pillsbury  won  the  first  game  against  Maroczy. 

An  examination  of  the  score  sheet  shows  that  most  of 
the  prize-winners  have  come  out  in  their  correct  places, 
judging  by  their  form  in  the  recent  Paris  tournament. 
Janowski  has  again  come  out  lower  than  in  previous  years, 
while  V.  Bardeleben  is  evidently  no  longer  the  fine  player 
he  was  when  he  held  his  own  in  tournaments  against  the 
very  best  masters  some  years  ago.  His  health  has  no 
doubt  broken  down,  and  he  has  frequently  retired  before 
the  conclusion  of  recent  tournaments. 

The  Northern  Counties  Chess  Union  have  challenged 
the  Southern  Counties  to  a  correspondence  match 
between  teams  of  fifty  aside,  each  pair  to  play  two  games 
simultaneously.  The  challenge  has  been  accepted,  and 
the  match  will  begin  early  in  October.  Strong  players 
desirous  of  having  their  names  placed  before  the  Selection 
Committee  should  write  at  once  to  Mr.  T.  M.  Brown,  6, 
Wellington  Place,  Eccleshill,  Bradford  (North),  or  Dr. 
J.  W.  Hunt,  93,  Richmond  Road,  Dalston,  N.E.  (South). 
The  cjualification  is  birth  in  one  of  the  northern  or  southern 
counties,  or  a  hona  firJe  residence  for  the  past  twelve 
months. 

The  Chess  Editor  would  be  glad  to  receive  some  original 
problems  in  two  or  three  moves  for  publication  in  this 
column.  The  talented  composers  who  have  contributed 
in  this  way  for  some  years  past  have  in  many  cases  failed 
to  send  their  customary  problems  this  year.  It  is  sincerely 
hoped  that  the  omission  will  shortly  be  supplied. 

The  death  is  announced  of  William  Steinitz,  for  many 
years  champion  chess  player  of  the  world.  We  hope  to 
give  a  notice  of  his  career  next  month. 

For  Contents  of  the  Two  last  Numbers  of  "  Knowledge,"  see 
Advertisement  pages. 


The  yearly  bound  volumes  of  Knowledge,  cloth  gilt,  8s.  6d.,  post  free. 
Binding  Cases,  Is.  6d.  each  ;  post  free.  Is.  9d. 

Subscribers'  numbers  bound  (including  case  and  Index),  2s.  6d.  each  Tolume. 
Index  of  Articles  and  mustrations  for  1891,  1992,  1894,  1895,  1896,  1897,  and 
1898  can  be  supplied  for  3d.  each. 
All  remittances  should  be  made  payable  to  the  PubUsher  of  "  KnowunoK." 


"Knowledge"   Innnal    Subscription,  thronghout   the    world, 
7b.  6d.,  post  free. 

Communications  for  the  Editors  and  Books  for  Review  should  be  addre.ssed 
Editors,  "  Knowledge,"  326,  High  Holbom,  Lond.^n,  W.C. 


October  1,  1900  ] 


KNOWLEDGE 


217 


Founded  by  RICHARD    A.    PROCTOR. 
LONDON:    OCTOBER  1.   1900. 


CONTENTS. 

The  Smallest  of  the  Wild  Cattle.  By  E.  Ltdekkeh. 
{lUuslrated)      " 

The  Borders  of  the  Karst.  By  Gbestillk  A.  J.  Cole, 
M.B.H..  F.r..*.    .. 

On  the  Respiration  of  Certain  DragonFly  Nymphs. 
Bt  the  Rov.  .ARTHfK  East 

The  Evolution  of  Simple  Societies.  -  V.— The  Meta- 
morphosis of  Herders  into  Tillers.    By  Prof.  Aifhed 

C.   HaDDON.  M  A..  SC.l)..  F.B  S.  ...  ...  

Astronomy  without    a   Telescope.  — IX.     Auroras.     By 

K.  Walter  ilArsDBB    f.  b.a.s. 
Dark  Markings  in  the  Solar  Corona.  By  W.  H.  Weslet, 

F  K  A.S.      (Illustrated) 

The  Corona  of  1900.     (Plate) 
Letters  : 

AsiBOLOov.     By  B.  Chatley  and  Alas  Leo.      Jiotes  liy 

E.  Walieb  Maundbe 

The  Zodiacal  Light  in  Relation  to  the  Cobona.     By 
A  CorNTBY  Lad.     Xotc  by  E.  Waltee  Maunder  ... 
The  100  Bbightest  Stabs.     By  L.  Cpthbebtsoj; 

OcCrLTATION    OF   SaTUBN    on   .SsrTBMBEB  3.      By    W.    F. 

DEN.viNe.     JrriTEB.     By  W.  F.  Dbnnino  '. 

Obituary      ...  .  '  

British   Ornithological   Notes.      Conducted  by  Hasbt  F. 

WiTHBBBT,    P.Z.S.,    M.B.O.tl.     ... 

Notices  of  Books  ...         

Books  Recbited 
Wireless  Telegraphy.— IV.     Electric  Waves.    By  G.  W. 

D8  Tr.vzELirAXX,  li.fC.     {Illustrated) 
Plants  and  their  Food.— IV.     By  II.  H.  W.  Peaeson,  m.a. 

(Illustrated)      

Notes  on  Comets  and  Meteors.  By  W.  F.  Dbnnino,  f.b.a.b. 

Microscopy.     By  John  H.  Cookb,  f.l.s.,  p.o.s 

The    Face    of  the    Sky  for    October.     By  A.  Fowlee, 

F.B.A.8.    ...  

Chess  Column.    By  C.  D.  Lococx,  b.a.       


PACK 

217 
2-'(.l 


223 
225 

227 

228 
22i) 

229 

2.30 

230 
231 
231 

232 

23.5 

238 
238 

239 
239 


THE   SMALLEST   OF  THE   WILD   CATTLE. 

By  R.  Lydekker. 

Among  the  larger  mammals  the  species  or  varieties  in- 
habiting islands  are  more  or  less  markedly  inferior  in 
point  of  size  to  their  nearest  continental  relatives.  In 
the  case  of  the  smaller  islands,  like  Sardinia  and  Corsica, 
the  reason  of  such  a  diminution  in  stature  is  not  far  to 
seek,  and  it  is  therefore  not  in  the  lea.st  surprising  to 
find  that  the  Corsican  red  deer  is  a  very  inferior  edition 
of  its  prototype  of  the  mainland.  The  buffalo  of  the 
small  island  of  Mindoro,  in  the  Philippines,  is  greatly 
inferior  in  size  to  the  wild  buffaloes  of  the  tall  gi-ass- 
jungles  of  Assam.  In  the  case  of  islands  of  the 
dimensions  of  Sumatra  and  Borneo  the  reason  of  the 
phenomenon  is  by  no  means  apparent,  especially  when 
we  find  them  inhabited  by  a  man-like  ape  (the  orang- 
utan) almost  rivalling  in  bulk  and  stature  the  gorilla 
of  Western  Africa.  Nevertheless,  even  in  such  areas 
the  same  feature  is  to  a  certain  extent  noticeable,  the 
wild  buffalo  of  Borneo  being  considerably  smaller  than 
its  Indian  relative.  As  regards  its  actual  area,  the 
island    of     Celebes    occupies    a     kind    of     intermediate 


I  position,  since  it  is  much  inferior  in  extent  to  either 
Sumatra  or  Borneo,  although  far  too  extensive  to  come 
under  the  dcnoinination  of  a  small  island.  From  its 
peculiar  shape,  which  recalls  the  form  often  a.ssumcd 
by  an  amoeba,  it  has,  however,  a  much  smaller  area 
than  could  be  enclosed  by  a  ring  fence  than  many 
islands  of  less  than  half  i*^s  acreage,  and  this  may 
really  bring  it,  so  far  as  the  development  of  animal 
life  is  concerned,  into  the  sa.me  category  ;us  a  small 
island. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  Celebes  has  the  distinction  of  being 
the  home  of  the  smallest  living  representative  of  the 
wild  cattle,  or,  indeed,  of  the  wild  cattle  of  any  period 
of  the  earth's  history,  for  no  equally  diminutive  fossil 
member  of  the  group  appcaj-s  t«  be  known  to  science. 
An  idea  of  the  extremely  diminutive  proportions  of  the 
anoa,  or  sapi-u'^an,  a.s  the  animal  in  question  is  re- 
spectively called  by  the  inhabitants  of  Celebes  and  the 
Malays,  may  be  gained  when  it  is  stated  that  its  height 
at  the  shoulder  is  only  about  3  feet  3  inches,  wherea.s 
^hat  of  the  great  Indian  wild  ox,  or  gaur,  is  at  least 
6  feet  4  inches,  and  may,  according  to  some  writers, 
reach  as  much  as  7  feet.  In  fact  the  anoa  is  really  not 
much,  if  at  all,  larger  than  a  well-grown  South  Down 
sheep,  and  scarcely  exceeds  in  this  respect  the  little 
domesticated  Bramini,  cattle  shown  a  few  years  ago  at 
the  Indian  Exhibition  held  at  Earl's  Court. 

The  anoa  has  many  of  the  characters  of  the  large 
Indian  buffalo,  but  its  horns  are  relatively  shorter,  less 
cui-ved,  and  more  upright.  In  this,  as  well  as  in  certain 
other  respects,  it  is  more  like  the  young  than  the  adult 
of  the  last-named  species ;  and  as  young  animals  fre- 
quently show  ancestral  features  which  are  gradually  lost 
as  maturity  is  approached,  it  would  be  a  natural  sup- 
position that  the  anoa  is  a  primitive  type  of  buffalo. 
This  idea  receives  a  remarkable  confirmation  from  the 
circumstance  that  in  the  latter  Tertiaiy  strata  of 
Northern  India  there  occurs  skulls  of  anoa-likc  buffaloes, 
which,  however,  in  correlation  with  the  continental  area 
where  they  are  met  with,  indicate  animals  of  consider- 
ably lai-ger  dimensions  than  the  living  Celebes  animal. 
In  fact  the  latter,  together  with  the  somewhat  larger 
wild  buffalo,  or  tamarau,  of  the  island  of  Mindoro,  and 
the  aforesaid  extinct  Indian  species,  constitute  an  alto- 
gether peculiar  and  primitive  gi-oup  of  the  buffalo  tribe. 

In  its  young  state  and  during  middle  life  the  anoa 
is  covered  with  a  fairly  thick  coat  of  somewhat  woolly 
hair,  which  is  at  first  yellowish  brown,  but  eventually 
becomes  daik  brown  or  blackish.  In  common  with 
other  Asiatic  buffaloes,  the  hair  is  reversed  along  the 
middle  line  of  the  neck  and  back  as  far  as  the  haunches; 
that  is  to  say  the  tips  are  directed  towards  the  head 
instead  of  towards  the  tail.  What  may  be  the  precise 
object  of  this  reversal  (which  is  also  met  with  among 
many  antelopes  and  doer)  is  not  yet  ascertained.  Pos- 
sibly it  may  have  something  to  do  with  the  manner  in 
which  the  animals  rub  themselves  against  the  stems  or 
boughs  of  trees  and  bushes. 

In  old  individuals,  especially  those  of  the  male  sex, 
the  coat  of  hair  almost  completely  disappears,  leaving 
the  black  skin  bare  and  shining,  like  that  of  old  buffaloes 
in  general.  This  condition  has  been  attained  by  the 
bull  shown  in  the  foreground  of  the  accompanying 
photograph.  And  here  it  should  bo  remarked  that  this 
particular  animal  has  suffered  the  loss  of  the  greater 
portion  of  its  tail,  which  somewhat  alters  the  appearance 
of  its  hindquarters.  And,  with  the  usual  fatality  that 
attends  the  grouping  of  animals,  it  has  happened  that 
the  hind-quarters  of  the  bull  are  in  full  view,  while  those 


218 


KNOWLEDGE. 


'  October  1,  1900. 


of  the  cow  are  concealed  !  Tlie  somewhat  spiteful  and 
uncertain  temper  of  the  bull  is  indicated  by  the  circum- 
stance that  it  was  found  necessary  to  af&x  brass  knobs 
to  its  horns.     From  the  more  tvpical  buffaloes  the  anoa 


Male  and  Female  Anoa  at  Woburu  Abbey. 

From  a  PhoiognipJi  hy  the  DrcHESS  OF  Bedford, 

differs  by  the  general  presence  of  wliite  markings.  These 
usually  take  the  form  of  a  gorget  on  the  lower  part  of 
the  throat,  and  of  one  or  two  spots  on  each  side  of  the 
under  jaw,  as  well  as  patches  above  tbe  lateral  hoofs ; 
but  there  mav  also  be  white  blotches  on  the  neck  and 
back,  and  in  front  of  the  eyes,  while  more  or  less  of 
white  may  appear  on  the  muzzle  and  the  whole  of  the 
lower  portion  of  the  limbs.  The  special  interest  attach- 
ing to  these  white  markings  is  that  the  spots  on  the 
sides  of  the  face  as  well  as  the  gorget  on  the  throat  ai-e 
also  met  with  among  certain  antelopes,  such  as  the  kudu 
and  the  bushbucks ;  and  from  this  it  has  been  inferred 
that  the  anoa  is  more  neai-ly  related  to  the  antelopes 
than  is  any  other  member  of  the  ox  tribe.  Although 
this  may  be  true  to  a  certain  extent,  the  connection 
with  the  kudu  tribe  is  remote. 

According  to  the  meagi-e  accounts  we  at  present  possess 
of  the  creature  in  its  native  haunts,  the  anoa  dwells  in 
pairs  on  the  elevated  ground  of  the  interior  of  Celebes, 
where  it  passes  most  of  its  time  in  thick  forests  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  water.  In  associating  in  pairs  it 
is  quite  unlike  all  other  wild  cattle,  with  the  possible 
exception  of  the  Philippine  tamarau ;  and  here  again 
it  presents  a  resemblance  to  the  kudu  and  bushbucks. 
which  also  generally  go  about  in  pairs  or  small  family 
parties. 

Examples  of  the  anoa  are  but  rarely  seen  alive  in 
England,  although  they  do  not  appear  very  difficult  to 
procure.  The  first  specimen  exhibited  in  the  London 
Zoological  Gardens  was  purchased  in  May,  1871,  and 
a  second  was  obtained  by  exchange  in  June,  1880.  Be- 
tween the  latter  date  and  1896  (when  the  last  complete 
list  of  the  animals  in  the  menagerie  was  published)  not 
a  single  example  of  this  very  interesting  little  buffalo 
was  obtained.  At  "Woburn  Abbey  the  pair  represented 
in  ♦he  accompanying  photograph  dwelt  in  a  good-sized 
paddock  by  themselves  and  flourished  for  a  considerable 


period.     tJnfortunately,   however,    one   of   the  two  has 
died  since  the  photograph  was  taken. 

Apart  from  the  interest  attaching  to  it  as  a  primitive 
island  tvpe.  and  as  being  the  smallest  representative 
of  the  ox  tribe,  it  cannot  fairly  be  said  that  the  anoa 
is  a  very  attractive  animal.  It  has  nothing  specially 
to  commend  it  from  an  jesthetic  point  of  view,  being,  in 
fact,  a  rather  uglv  and  ungainly  creature  ;  and  from  its 
pugnacious  disposition  it  is  not  adapted  for  turning  out 
in  British  parks  among  other  horned  animals.  More- 
over, it  has  a  decidedly  delicate  constitution,  which  alone 
would  be  sufficient  to  render  it  unfit  for  this  kind  of 
life. 


THE  BORDERS  OF  THE  KARST. 

By  Grekville  A.  J.  Cole,  m.e.i.a.,  f.g.s.,  Professor  of 
Geology  in  the  Royal  College  of  Science  for  Ireland. 

If  we  ascend  the  Predil  Pass  from  the  Karinthian  side, 
we  rise  above  the  fields  of  Villach  to  the  typical  land- 
scapes of  the  Eastern  Alps.  At  Raibl  we  are  surrounded 
by  the  dehris  of  the  crags,  and  the  white  pebbles  fill 
the  valley-floor;  still  climbing,  through  the  last  fir- 
woods,  we  look  down  into  the  rich  green  Eaibler  See. 
and  then  up  to  the  notch  that  forms  the  passage  through 
the  limestone  crests.  After  that  all  is  limestone,  down 
to  the  very  shores  of  the  Adriatic,  and  there  we 
approach,  with  a  feeling  of  satiety,  the  bare  white 
plateaux  of  the  Karst. 

The  learned  Mojsisovics*  reminds  us  that  the  Karst  is 
occasionallv  clothed  with  grass  upon  its  summits,  and 
with  woodland  on  its  flanks  towards  the  sea.  Anyone 
who  has  gazed  upon  the  Karst  will  feel,  however,  that 
he  must  insist  on  its  essential  barrenness. 

The  Aran  Isles  off  the  coast  of  Clare,  and  some 
surfaces  in  the  west  of  Yorkshire,  may  give  us  an 
inti-oduction  to  the  nakedness  of  the  Karst.  In  a 
limestone  country,  where  storms  prevail,  on  the  one 
hand,  or  where  drv  seasons  parch  it,  on  the  other,  such 
soil  as  may  be  formed  has  little  chance  of  preservation. 
The  exposed  surface  becomes  worn  down  along  the  planes 
of  bedding  of  the  strata  ;  if  these  are  gently  tilted,  the 
bare  dip-slope  may  extend  for  miles ;  if  they  are  hoi-i- 
zontal.  a  dreai-y  and  unbroken  plateau  may  result. 
Solution  sets  in  along  the  prevalent  joint^planes,  and 
great  open  grooves  arise,  like  the  crevasses  in  the  surfaee 
of  a  glacier.  The  water  missing  from  the  surface  is 
found  again  underenround,  where  it  dissolves  away  the 
rock,  and  forms  chains  of  caves  and  passages  as  it  flows. 

As  we  swing  down  the  great  curves  of  the  Predil. 
under  the  peaks  of  the  Mangart  and  the  Terglou,  the 
pebbly  floor  assumes  more  and  more  a  feattire  of  the 
landscape.  The  vegetation  on  the  shifting  limestone 
surfaces  becomes  broken  up  into  little  clumps,  and 
acquires  the  monotonous  dull  green  tint  that  seems 
characteristic  of  the  east.  The  road  in  summer  lies 
inches  deep  in  hot  white  dust,  as  the  Slovenian  peasant 
knows  too  well,  trudging  down  the  ravine  behind  his 
thirsty  flocks.  At  length  we  emerge  on  the  plain  of 
Gorz.  where  Eocene  sandstones  and  marls  lend  some 
divei-sity.f  But  there  is  a  grim  touch  of  the  genuine 
Karst  in  the  ridge  that  has  still  to  be  encountered, 
before  the  Italian  deltas  come  in  view. 

The   landscape    reminds   one    mostly   of    pictures    of 

*  "Ziir  Geologie  der  Karst-erscheinungen,"  Zetischrift  d.  deiitsch. 
>i.  oesferr.  Alpenvereinf,  1S80. 

t  See  L.  K.  Moser.  Ber  Karxf  und  xeine  Hohlen  (Trieste,  1899), 
,,.11. 


October  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


219 


the  Holy  Land.  Stone  walls  bound  the  fields,  scaixely 
distinguishable  from  the  baix  edges  of  the  strata  as 
they  come  out.  one  above  another,  on  the  hill.  Dull 
lumpy  trees,  and  forlorn  patches  of  scrub,  make  dai'k 
spots  upon  the  slopes,  aud  gather  together  a  little  more 
closely  in  the  shelter  of  some  waterless  ravine.  Tlio 
forlorn  hamlet  of  Doberdo,  by  its  name,  should  still  be 
a  Slavonic  village ;  but  from  it  wo  look  down  to  tlio 
Adriatic,  where  the  Italiau  population  clusters  along  the 
shore.  The  delta  below  is  covered  with  trees,  aud  still 
banks  us  out  from  open  water.  As  wo  drop  from  this 
bare  dn*  summit  to  Jlonfalcone,  we  see  the  hills  rising, 
one  beyond  another  on  our  left,  all  of  the  same  charact.er, 
terraced  with  limestone  edges,  and  spotted  grudgingly 
with  trees.  The  limestone  here  is  Cretaceous,  but  tho 
Eocene  sandstones  lie  along  the  sea-front  from  below 
Nabresina  to  Trieste. 

The  plateau  above  Trieste,  to  an  e}'c  fresh  from  the 
riches  of  Karinthia,  is  a  scene  fraught  with  desolation. 
About  Nabresina,  it  is  fair  to  say  that  continuous 
quarrying  has  made  the  country  still  more  stony.  Tho 
Romans  built  Aquilcia  from  the  Eocene  and  Upper 
Cretaceous  limestone  of  these  plateaux, J  aud  lowered 
the  blocks  down  an  incline  to  the  quays  below.  The 
great  railway-embankment  made  in  1853  was  constructed 
entirely  from  the  rubbish  rejected  by  the  Romans.  It 
is  strange  that  Aquileia,  since  the  assault  of  Attila,  has 
completely  disappeared ;  its  walls  and  towers,  villas 
and  temples,  have  merely  served  to  extend  the  desolate 
Karst  from  which  it  rose. 

Vaanous  limestones  go  to  form  the  plateaux  that 
stretch  southward,  from  the  foraminiferal  strata  of  the 
Eocene  down  to  the  Triassic  dolomites.  The  main  mass 
was  upheaved  by  the  first  important  Alpine  movements, 
and  the  beds  following  the  Eocene  were  laid  down  in 
freshwater  basins. § 

The  Dinaric  Alps  are  a  somewhat  early  offshoot  of 
the  great  Alpine  system,  and  the  surface  now  formed 
by  denudation  often  follows  the  dip-slope  of  broad  and 
gentle  folds.  The  feature  insisted  on  by  Mojsisovics|| 
is  the  occurrence  of  infilled  lake-basins  on  this  limestone 
surface,  many  of  which  date  from  Miocene  times.  These 
may  easily  be  picked  out  on  any  detailed  map,  such  as 
the  Austrian  staff-map  on  the  scale  of  1  :  200,000.  The 
name  "  polje,"  or  field,  is  given  to  them  by  the  peasants, 
and  is  applied  also  to  the  alluvial  stretches  along  the 
great  rivers  of  Croatia.  The  Glamocko  Polje  north  of 
Livno  is  a  fine  example,  in  a  closed  basin  300  metres 
deep,  thirty  kilometres  long,  and  fairly  in  the  strike  of 
the  Triassic  and  Jurassic  limestones.  Modern  alluvium 
partly  covers  the  freshwater  Tertiary  deposits;  but  no 
water  escapes  from  the  hollows  along  the  surface,  and 
the  streamlets  that  occur  disappear  here  and  there 
into  the  ground.  The  northern  end  is  still  occupied 
by  a  marsh.  Mojsisovics  ascribes  the  formation  of 
these  basins  to  the  closing  of  valleys  of  ei'osion  by 
barriers  raised  across  the  courses  of  the  streams. 
"  Almost  every  larger  valley-system  in  Bosnia,"  he 
remarks,  "  possesses  one  or  more  Tertiary  lake-basins. 
The  old  lakes  are  hence  a  common  and  characteristic 
feature  of  the  Bosnian  valley-systems,  and  their  origin 
must  be  due  to  some  cause  operating  on  a  wide  scale, 
and  affecting  the  whole  region  equally.    The  disturbances 

J  Moser,  op.  eif.,  p.  10. 

§  A.  Bittner.in  Grv.ndUnien rler  Oeologie  ron  Sosnien- Hercegoeina 
(1880),  p.  2«. 

i  Op.  cit.,  anfl  also  Grundlinien  der  Oeologie  von  Bosnun- 
Hercegooina.  p.  61. 


exhibited  by  tho  Newer  Tertiary  formations  within  the 
basins  indicate  that  the  upheaving  forces  in  these  dis- 
tricts were  still  in  full  activity,  even  in  the  most  recent 
period." 

Similar  infilled  basins,  usually  traversed  by  tho  rivers 
along  which  they  have  arisen,  occur  throughout  the 
wooded  region  of  the  Bosnian  highlands,  on  the  east  side 
of  the  typical  and  barren  Karst.  Tho  plateau-country  ex- 
tends from  Trieste  through  Dalmatia,  West  Bosnia,  tho 
Hercegovina,  and  Montenegro,  and  much  is  now  being 
done  by  the  Austrians  to  store  up  its  water  and  to 
encom-age  the  growth  of  trees. 11  Tho  numerous  small 
funnel-shaped  depressions,  called  simply  "  dolinas,"  or 
valle3'S,  by  the  Slavs,  show  how  tho  atmospheric  waters 
soak  into  the  surface  and  enlarge  their  vertical  channels 
by  solution.  But  for  a  few  artificial  wells  and  cisterns, 
hundreds  of  square  miles  of  the  Karst-land  would  bo 
praeticallv  impassable. 

Asboth,'"'  whoso  admirabk'  and  unassuming  book  stands 
nut  amid  all  that  has  been  written  upon  Bosnia,  gives 
us  some  characteristic  pictures  of  the  south.  Hero  is 
ono  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Mostar : — "Our  eyes 
rest  on  nothing  but  cliffs  and  boulders,  and  between 
the  stones  venomous  snakes  and  scorpions,  long  lizards, 
the  carcases  of  dead  animals,  and  the  stumps  and  roots  of 
fallen  trees.  The  sky  is  of  a  transparent  pale  azure, 
the  rocks  ashy-grey,  here  and  there  changing  into  sand 
colour  or  i-usty  brown,  the  sparse  vegetation  being  of  a 
melancholy  greyish-green.  The  whole,  a  Southern  soli- 
tude, almost  a  desert,  inhospitable  and  bare ;  and  yet 
withal  beautiful." 

And  this  picture  from  Gacko,  on  the  Montenegrin 
frontier: — "  One  feels  that  those  who  cling  to  this  soil 
are  born  for  battle.  .  .  .  Ashy-grey  or  glai-ing  ochre- 
coloured  stones  of  all  sizes,  from  entire  mountain  masses, 
enormous  blocks,  and  lofty  ijointcd  pyramids,  down  to 
small  boulders,  which  everywhere  cover  the  ground, 
and  especially  where  there  are  passes  leading  across  the 
Saddle.  .  .  .  Vegetation  is  almost  entirely  lacking,  as 
IS  also  water.  Very  seldom  does  a  spring  show  itself, 
and  then  rapidly  vanishes  again  amidst  the  chinks  in 
the  rocks,  after  having  created  a  small  oasis  of  green." 

On  the  east  flank  of  the  Dinaric  Alps,  the  Cainozoic 
earth-movements  have  brought  up  Palaeozoic  rocks  along 
the  folds,  and  a  far  greater  diversity  of  scenery  is  the 
result.  But  a  true  Karst-land,  formed  of  Cretaceous  and 
Jurassic  limestones,  extends  between  Banjaluka  and 
Jajcc.  The  old  road  left  the  Vrbas  valley  just  above 
the  suburbs  of  Banjaluka,  and  struck  up  to  the  plateau, 
coming  into  more  pleasant  country  as  it  dropped  on  to 
tho  long  band  of  Lower  Triassic  sandstone  at  Varcar 
Vakuf.  The  new  read,  however,  has  been  now  carried 
up  the  gorge,  which  was  previously  inaccessible,  even 
to  pedestrians;  its  walls  provide  superb  sections  in  the 
materials  that  form  the  Karst.  Though  the  plateaux 
throughout  Bosnia  often  coincide  with  the  crests  of 
broad  and  simple  anticlinals,  or  with  the  level  central 
portions  of  denuded  synclinals,  much  subsidiaiy  folding 
may  occur  within  the  limestone  mass.  Great  thick- 
nesses of  the  pale  Jurassic  and  Cretaceous  limestones 
have  been  brecciated,  apparently  by  the  Miocene  earth- 
pressures,  and  the  constituent  blocks,  ovoid  and  squeezed 
together,  form  a  characteristic  feature  of  the  sections. 
Near  Jajce  itself,  at  the  close  of  a  series  of  magnificent 

IT  See  H.  Kenner,  Durcli  Boxnien  und  die  Sercegovina  kreuz  und 
quer,  2te.  Auflage  (1H97),  pp.  ;J2.J-.3.")1. 

**  "  An  Ofllcial  Tour  tlirougli  Bosnia  and  Hoi-zcgoTina,"  Englisli 
edition  (18'JO),  jip.  273  and  .■i2.9. 


220 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[October  1,  1900. 


ravines,  the  contortions  and  overfolds  in  the  Jurassic 
beds  can  be  clearly  traced  upon  the  great  rock-walls. 
The  passage  of  fifty  miles  up  the  river  lies  almost 
entirely  in  the  limestones ;  neai-  its  close  we  come  out 
abruptlv  on  the  Kewer  Cainozoic  conglomerates  of  Jajce, 
which  contain  pebbles  of  the  rocks  that  form  the  Karst. 
Here  denudation  has  cleared  out  a  sort  of  amphitheatre, 
at  the  head  of  which  the  town  and  castle  stand.  Part 
of  this  basin  has  been  filled  up  by  recent  travertine, 
vet  another  tvpe  of  limestone,  which  forms  massive  beds, 
cut  through  by  the  Yrbas  and  the  Pliva.  The  Moham- 
medan town,  climbing  up  a  conical  hill,  is  thus  actually 
built  on  material  brought  in  solution  from  the  Karst. 
The  modern  waters  are  still  adding  to  this  deposit, 
trickling  through  the  interstices  of  the  tufa,  and  forming 
new  films  and  stalactites  in  the  clefts. 

Above  Jajce,  the  wooded  valley  i"uns  at  first  in  the 
Palseozoic  shales,  which  tend  to  pass  into  mica-schists. 
Now  and  then  a  brecciated  limestone  comes  in,  with 
faults  and  slickensided  surfaces,  and  probably  also  of 
Palaeozoic  age. ft  Palaeozoic  limestones  are,  indeed  bent 
up  to  form  plateaux  east  of  Bugojno,  which  repeat  the 
characters  of  the  great  Karst-Iand  to  the  west. 

Between  Donji  Yakuf  and  Gornji  Yakuf.  two  highly 
typical  Bosnian  villages,  the  elongated  "  polje  "  of 
Bugojno  extends.  The  hills  fall  back  on  either 
hand,  and  here  and  there  across  the  level  cultivated 
land  one  can  see  the  mouth  of  some  gorge  in  the  Karst, 
guarded  by  a  ruined  tower.  In  late  Cainozoic  times,  when 
the  basin  came  into  existence,  the  streams  from  the  lime- 
stone plateaux  speedily  converted  it  into  a  lake ;  but 
their  clear  hard  water  flowed  through  it,  bringing  down 
scarcely  any  matter  in  suspension.  Consequently,  the 
freshwater  molluscs,  Limnctn  and  so  forth, jj  flourished 
in  the  lake,  and  their  activity  formed  the  fine  chalkv 
limestone,  the  so-called  "shell-marl,"  that  ultimately 
filled  the  basin.  A  tiiie  alluvium,  deposited  in  modern 
days  by  the  Yrbas,  covers  the  central  part  of  the  area. 

The  road  up  this  part  of  the  valley  has  a  verv  English 
air,  gently  winding  between  fine  old  hedgerows,  which 
were  planted  in  the  Turkish  days.  Down  among  the 
willows,  a  man  and  his  horse  are  bathing  together  in  the 
stream,  and  the  two  figures  are  as  simple  and  natural  as 
a  scene  from  prehistoric  times.  In  a  small  field,  three 
horses,  tied  to  a  post,  run  round  and  round,  treading 
out  the  corn  ;  while  the  winnowing  is  done,  in  a  more 
open  area,  by  a  turbaned  peasant,  who  flings  up  the 
grain  with  a  shovel  into  the  air.  The  stream  shining 
in  the  sunlight,  the  life  of  the  Bosnian  homestead,  the 
light  wind  blowing  away  the  chaflt,  and  the  far-ofiF 
piping  of  some  herd-boy  seated  in  the  shadow  of  the 
woods — here  you  have  the  "  polje  "  at  its  fairest,  the 
oasis  set  against  the  Karst.  Above  Gornji  Yakuf  all 
this  ceases;  we  plunge  again  into  the  beech-forests,  and 
begin  the  ascent  of  the  watershed  between  the  Black 
Sea  and  the  Adriatic,  which  has  been  chosen  as  the 
natural  boundary  between  Bosnia  and  the  rugged  Herce- 
govina.  The  woods  of  beech  and  young  oak  cover  the 
lower  hills  completely,  but  leave  long  grass-slopes  on 
heights  of  five  thousand  feet  or  more.  On  the  cnl 
of  the  Maklen  Pass  (1123  metres),  there  is  a  little 
clearing,  and  then  we  look  out  from  the  northern  forest 
into  a  new  and  rock-girt  world.  The  mountain-side 
drops  steeply  from  our  feet,  and  the  Alpine  road  goes 
down  in  windings,  like  a  white  serpent,  to  the  mosques 
and  roofs  of  Prozor.     The  bare  cliff  of  Triassic  limestone 


on  which  we  stand  is  succeeded  by  a  park-like  region, 
again  due  to  the  presence  of  Newer  Cainozoic  beds ; 
but  beyond  and  above  this  smiling  foreground  rise,  tier 
upon  tier,  the  craggy  walls  of  the  Hercegovina,  cul- 
minating in  the  Prenj  planina,  7000  feet  above  the 
sea.  Seen  from  this  distance,  the  country  is  clearly  a 
huge  plateau  intersected  by  ravines.  Beyond  Prozor. 
we  run  abruptly  into  one  of  these  gorges  m  the  lime- 
stone. There  is  just  room  for  the  road  in  the  notch 
through  which  we  pass ;  then  we  swing  down  and  down, 
curve  after  cui-ve,  into  the  great  Rama  vale  below. 
Here  we  are  lost  among  the  rocks,  driven  on- 
ward, like  the  stream,  along  the  one  passage  opened 
thi-ough  the  country ;  now  and  again,  what  looks  like  a 
knife-cut  appears  in  the  precipice  on  our  left,  where  some 
tributary  has  worked  its  way  down  from  the  level  high- 
land of  the  Karst,  The  ravine,  in  the  heat  of  a  Dinaric 
day,  is  always  deep  in  shade ;  at  its  foot,  we  run  out 
into  the  still  nobler  valley  of  the  Narenta.  and  halt  for 
the  night  under  the  Prenj  crags  in  an  amphitheatre 
worthy  of  Tyrol. 

Here  the  way  is  open  to  the  Adriatic,  through  the 
great  gorge  that  cuts  across  the  Karst,  past  the  barren 
slopes  of  Mostar,  and  down  to  the  marshes  of  the 
Dalmatian  shore.  The  sun  beats  upon  the  precipices, 
and  makes  each  cirque  a  white  fiu-nace  in  the  hills.  The 
river  itself  shrinks  among  its  stone-banks,  leaving  on  its 
edges  green  and  stagnant  pools.  The  lizards,  revelling 
in  the  noonday  glare,  lie  motionless  on  gleaming  slabs 
of  rock ;  far  up.  one  may  see  an  eagle,  sailing  across  the 
pale  blue-purple  of  the  sky.  Perhaps  it  is  time  to 
turn  northward,  to  ci'oss  the  Ivan  Saddle,  and  drop 
through  the  cool  dark  woods  to  Sarajevo. 


t+  Compare  Mojsiso*  ics,  GrundUnien,  S;c.,  ))p.  .58  aiul  ")(>. 
XX  Moj?isoTics,  iHd..  ]i.  6.3. 


ON  THE  RESPIRATION  OF  CERTAIN  DRAGON- 
FLY NYMPHS. 

By  the  Rev.  ARTHrR  East. 

The  question  as  to  the  method  of  respiration  amongst 
the  various  members  of  the  family  of  the  Odonata  is 
admittedly  an  obscure  one,  and  the  following  obser- 
vations will,  it  is  feared,  not  tend  much  to  elucidate 
matters,  but  are  intended  only  to  draw  attention  to  a 
point  which  does  not  appear  to  be  generally  recognised. 
That  the  question  is  one  requiring  careful  investigation 
may  be  infeiTed  from  the  following  instance.  One  family 
of  the  dragon-fly  group  is  furnished  with  certain  leaf- 
like appendages  to  the  extremity  of  the  abdomen,  which 
are  known  as  the  caudal  lamellse.  These  organs  are 
closely  connected  with  the  tracheal  system,  no  doubt 
acting  in  the  same  way  as  the  gills  of  a  fish,  and  extract 
the  air  dissolved  in  the  water  —  in  fact  the  nvmph 
breathes  by  means  of  them.  But  of  the  three  caudal 
lamellje  which  these  Zygopterid  nymphs  normally  rely 
upon  for  supplying  them  with  air,  which  is  as  essential 
to  them  as  it  is  to  us,  often  one,  or  two,  or  even  all 
three  are  missing;  lost  to  their  owners  by  some  un- 
toward accident.  Of  one  member  of  this  group,  Mr 
Lucas,  in  his  book  on  the  British  dragon-flies,  even 
writes  that  Agrion  puella,  as  bred  by  him,  vsuallij  lost 
its  lamellse  before  emergence,  and  yet,  strange  to  sav, 
the  nymph  appears  quite  as  happy  without  its  breathing 
apparatus  as  with  it,  and  only  suffers  incont-enience, 
apparently,  from  the  loss  of  its  propeller,  which  function 
•  the  caudal  lamellae  also  fulfil.  It  is  believed  that  the 
process  of  breathing  may  be  performed  through  the  skin. 
A  nymph  recently  placed  in  water,  together  with  a  small 
quantity  of  indigo,  in  order  to  see  whether  any  stream 


October  1,  I'JOO.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


221 


of  liquid  could  be  detected  entering  and  leaving  the 
abdomen,  as  iu  the  other  chief  group  of  the  Odonata, 
was  found  to  be  stained  with  the  pigment  iu  the  five  last 
segments  of  the  abdomen,  the  other  segments,  together 
with  the  head  and  legs  remaining  green,  as  before, 
but  the  proof  that  the  pigment  was  drawn  in  by  respira- 
tion through  the  skin  was  not  by  any  means  conclusive. 

The  other  chief  group  of  the  Odonata  perform  the 
act  of  respiration  iu  a  different  manner.  The  abdomen 
terminates  in  five  more  or  less  pointed  appendages,  two 
of  them  short  and  three  longer. 

In  J-Jsclina  cyanea.  a  member  of  the  Anisoptend  group, 
two  of  these  latter  appendages  are  sharp  spines,  and  arc 
used  as  weapons  of  offence  ;  the  third,  which  is  called  the 
upper  anal  appendage,  is  somewhat  obliquely  truncated, 
axid  all  three  are  grooved  within,  forming  a  minute 
chalinel  when  closed  together.  The  effect  of  the  upper 
anal  appendage  being  truncated  is  that  this  channel, 
fine  as  a  small  bristle,  is  always  open  to  the  element 
the  nymph  is  in,  whether  air,  or  water,  even  when  the 
spines  ai^e  quite  closed. 

Ordinarily  these  spines  are  kept  wide  open,  and  water 
is  admitted  to  the  interior  of  the  abdomen  and  expelled 
therefrom  by  the  regular  dilation  and  contraction  of 
the  ventral  side  of  the  abdomen,  the  dissolved  air  being 
abstracted  b\'  certain  folds  in  the  last  part  of  the  in- 
testine and  distributed  thence  through  the  tracheal 
system. 

The  rate  of  breathing,  which  is  very  easily  observed, 
varies  from  about  thirty  pulsations  a  minute  to  twenty, 
seventeen,  or  even  thirteen  a  minute,  the  nymph  at 
times  remaining  for  several  minutes  at  a  time  with  all 
the  anal  spines  closed,  ajid  without  any  perceptible 
dilation  or  conti-action  of  the  abdomen. 

Now  the  fact  of  this  anal  channel  alwaj-s  remaining 
open,  even  when  the  spines  terminating  the  abdomen 
are  closed  tightly  together,  is  connected  with  a  very 
extraordinary  faculty  possessed  by  one  at  least,  and 
possibly  all,  of  the  members  of  this  group  of  the 
Odonata. 

Of  more  than  two  hundred  individual  nymphs  of 
^schna  cyanea  observed,  every  one  spent  about  the  last 
two  weeks  of  its  aquatic  life  (minus  the  final  two  r)\- 
three  days)  wi^h  the  tip  of  the  abdomen  clear  of  the 
water,  and  the  anal  passage  open  to  the  air ;  when 
disturbed  the  nymphs  would  descend  a  short  distance 
down  the  stick  they  rested  on  into  the  water,  and  return 
very  shortly  to  their  former  position.  During  the  two 
or  three  days  immediately  preceding  emergence  the 
position  was  reversed,  and  the  head  and  thorax  were 
protruded  into  the  air  as  far  as  two  large  breathing 
apertures  on  the  fore  part  of  the  body,  called  the 
thoracic  spiracles.  These  .spiracles  under  a  lense  could 
be  seen  to  be  open  and  they  are  connected  with  well 
developed  tracheEe.  This  habit  suggests  very  strongly 
that  during  the  last  fortnight  of  its  aquatic  life  the 
nymph  breathes  the  outer  air  direct  into  the  tracheal 
system. 

Being  anxious  to  know  whether  this  faculty  is  confined 
to  the  later  nymph  stages  alone,  the  writer  lately  pro- 
cured some  nymphs  of  JS.  cyanea,  about  1^  inch  long, 
and  kept  them  out  of  water  in  damp  weed,  and  the 
result  is  not  a  little  surprising.  Two  nymphs  have 
been  living  out  of  water  for  more  than  two  months  with 
only  "  short  intervals  for  refreshment,"  and  are  as  well 
and  vigorous  when  put  back  into  water  as  when  first 
removed  from  it,  and  take  their  food  with  the  wonted 
appetite  of  their  kind;    the  intervals  between  visits  lo 


the  water  have  varied  from  two  days  to  twenty-eight 
days,  and  the  times  in  the  water  have  varied  from  two 
minutes  to  twenty  hours;  during  its  aerial  periods 
the  nymph  is  perfectly  quiescent  on  the  weed,  and  re- 
sumes its  aquatic  life  exactly  where  it  left  off.  Nor 
does  this  extnvordiuary  faculty  of  living  in  both  elements 
alternately  seem  confined  to  nymphs  of  which  Ji.  cyanea 
is  an  example. 

Four  nymphs  of  the  Zygopterid  group,  viz.,  Agrinn 
puella,  have  lived  under  similar  conditions  for  thirty- 
three  da3's  without  visiting  the  water  at  all,  and  appear 
perfectly  vigorous  and  healthy.  Similarly  Erytlinnniiia 
Xaias  lived  from  March  16  to  April  16  in  damp  weed 
only. 

The  present  writer  was  led  to  investigate  by  the 
accident  of  leaving  one  nymiWi  for  some  days  in  an 
empty  bottle  by  mistake,  and  finding  it  well  and  hearty 
at  the  end  of  that  time.  It  is  time  that  this  observation 
was  only  made  on  three  species,  but  they  arc  repre- 
sentative of  both  the  Anisopterid  and  Zygopterid 
groups,  and  there  is  no  structural  i-eason  why  the  same 
faculty  should  not  be  possessed  by  all  the  Odonata 
nymphs  in  an  equal  degree. 

This  faculty  seems  to  be  closely  akin  to  that  of  the 
common  crayfish  of  our  streams,  of  which  Huxley,  in  his 
''  Introduction  to  Zoology,"  writes  :  "  As  is  tlie  case  with 
many  fishes,  the  crayfish  breathes  very  well  out  of  the 
water  if  kept  in  a  situation  sufficiently  cool  and  moist 
to  iDrevont  the  gills  from  drying  up,  and  thus  there  is 
no  reason  why,  iu  cool  and  damp  weather,  the  crayfish 
should  not  be  able  to  live  very  well  on  land,  at  any 
rate  amongst  moist  herbage." 

Consequently,  the  explanation  that  the  nymphs 
breathe  through  the  skin  may,  perhaps,  be  dispensed 
with,  when  the  nymph  is  out  of  water,  and  true  aerial 
breathing  substituted.  One's  only  regret  is  that  thus 
the  point  would  seem  to  be  removed  from  one  of  Mrs. 
A.  Gatty's  most  beautiful  "  Parables  from  Nature." 


THE     EVOLUTION     OF     SIMPLE     SOCIETIES. 

By  Professor  Alfred  C.  Haddon,  m.a.,  sc.d.,  f.r.s. 
v.— THE  METAMORPHOSIS  OF  HERDERS  INTO 

TILLERS. 
Ix  the  article  on  "  The  Beginning  of  Agriculture  "  it 
was  stated  that  a  powerful  constraint  is  necessary  to 
force  pastoral  communities  into  the  uncongenial  occupa- 
tion of  agriculture.  Again  closely  following  M.  Demolins 
I  shall  briefly  describe  how  this  constraint  has  been 
exercised  upon  two  very  different  groups  of  herders.  My 
French  colleague  has  in  his  turn  drawn  upon  the  obser- 
vations made  on  the  spot  by  Le  Play,  and  published  in 
his  "  Ouvriers  Europeens,"  Vol.  II.,  chaps.  1  and  8. 

EsviR0NME.\T. — The  first  locality  selected  for  study  is 
the  village  of  Mochmet,  which  is  situated  on  the  ca.stcrn 
slopes  of  the  Ural  Mountains  between  Troitzk  and 
Ekaterineburg,  close  to  the  great  divide  on  the  upper 
portion  of  the  valley  of  Miask.  Thus  this  village  is 
located  on  the  last  of  the  Siberian  slopes,  and  conversely 
is  at  the  first  point  of  contact  with  the  sedentary  popu- 
lations of  Europe.  It  is  inhabited  mainly  by  Bashkirs, 
who  fomierly  were  nomadic  pastors,  as  their  brethren 
still  are  on  the  neighbouring  steppes, 

Two  conditions  are  necessary  to  enable  a  people  to 
pass  from  a  pastoral  mode  of  life  to  cultivation  of  the 
soil: — 1.  The  soil  must  naturally  or  artificially  receive 
a  sufficiently  prolonged  irrigation.  As  we  have  seen, 
owing  to  the  short  season  of  humidity,  grass,  jJractically 


222 


KNOWLEDGE 


[October  1,  1900. 


to  the  exclusion  of  other  vegetation,  characterises  the 
steppes;  here  numerous  rivers  and  forests  bear  witness 
to  the  humidity  of  the  climate.  2.  The  population  must 
be  constrained  to  become  sedentaiy. 

The  neighbourhood  of  pastoral  hordes  is  a  permanent 
soui'ce  of  danger  to  sedentary  peoples.  The  Russians, 
like  the  Romans  of  old  and  the  French  in  Algeria  with 
regard  to  the  Arabs,  remedy  this  by  forcing  the  frontier 
nomads  to  become  sedentary  and  agricultm'alists.  This 
is  effected  by  the  system  of  cantonment.  No  one  is 
allowed  to  go  beyond  his  canton  on  pain  of  death. 

The  process  of  cantoning  consists  in  limiting  the 
range  of  a  horde  and  even  in  reducing  it  to  till  the  soil. 
This  modifies  the  pastoral  life.  The  families  begin  to 
be  less  independent  and  self-sufficient.  Soon  they 
exchange  the  excess  products  of  their  flocks  for  domestic 
utensils  and  cereals  in  the  great  markets  of  Oi-enburg, 
Troitzk,  etc.  The  introduction  of  cereals  into  every-day 
food  is  a  forerunner  of  more  important  transformations. 

Occupation. — The  Bashkirs,  as  fai-  as  possible,  retain 
the  pastoral  life,  as  during  the  five  summer  months, 
May  to  September,  they  live  in  tents.  The  main 
nourishment  of  the  nomadic  herders  is  furnished  by 
mares'  milk,  and  it  is  the  number  of  these  animals  that 
constitutes  a  sign  of  wealth,  but  their  number  is  gi'eatly 
i-educed. 

All  pastoral  peoples  exhibit  a  repugnance  to  other 
occupations.  Two  examples  will  suffice  to  illustrate 
this  disjxjsition.  The  pastoral  mountaineers  of  the 
small  canton  of  Uri,  in  Switzerland,  could  not  be 
induced,  even  by  high  wages,  to  work  at  the  St.  Gothard 
tunnel,  and  Italians  had  to  be  imported.  The  Arabs 
in  Algeria  exhibit  the  same  dislike  to  manual  labour 
on  the  soil.  The  desire  for  wealth  and  the  satisfaction 
of  refined  wants  ai-e  not  constraining  forces  in  simple 
societies ;  they  are  rather  ai'tificial  products,  created 
slowly  and  with  difficulty  by  a  more  complicated  social 
state.  What  is  natui-al  to  man  is  the  love  of  ease  and 
quietude. 

The  poorer  Bashkirs  who  are  obliged  to  subsist  by 
agriculture  or  manufactures,  go  at  least  once  a  week 
to  the  tents  to  pai-take  of  the  pleasures  of  kumis  and 
exemption  from  agricultural  toil,  as  well  as  for  prayer 
and  meditation  in  the  beautiful  country  where  the  tents 
are  pitched.  How  hard  it  is  when  winter  ai'rives  to 
descend  to  the  village  of  Mochmet  to  be  confined  to  a 
house  and  to  live  a  sedentary  life. 

Work  ceases  to  be  attractive  and  the  social  conditions 
more  complex.  Two  classes  of  family  result:  (1)  the 
provident  and  (2)  the  improvident — i.e.,  the  greater 
number  who  have  to  be  directed  and  maintained  by 
the  former.  Thus  we  have  an  upper  class  and  a  lower 
class,  and  here  we  can  trace  the  commencement  of 
inequality  among  them.  Hence  the  social  problem 
arises  of  2)rotecting  the  improvidents  against  their  im- 
providence. These  two  classes  are  clearly  marked  among 
the  Bashkirs.  The  one  succeeds  in  maintaining  and 
developing  its  first  attempts  at  cultivation;  the  other, 
after  vain  attempts,  falls  back  purely  and  simply  to 
the  wandering  life  of  the  pastors. 

At  fii-st  a  pastoral  people  does  not  entirely  devote 
itself  to  agriculture.  The  more  improvident,  as  we 
have  seen,  live  in  their  old  state  of  life,  while  even  the 
provident  continue  to  rely  as  far  as  possible  on  the 
old  habit  of  simple  harvesting.  The  education  of  the 
agriculturist  is  a  slow  process. 

Great  variety  of  treatment  is  required  in  the  cultiva- 
tion of  diverse  plants,   and  the   social   consequences   of 


varied  tillage  are  very  different  from  the  uniformity 
impressed  on  the  pastoral  art.  The  Bashkirs  employ 
those  plants  that  necessitate  the  least  amount  of  trouble 
and  foresight.  These  ai-e  (1)  hay  for  winter  con 
sumption,  (2)  vegetables,  and  (3)  flax  and  hemp.  They 
demand  little  time  and  labour,  and  all  but  the  last 
two  provide  products  immediately  usable  for  the  direct 
wants  of  the  family.  (1)  Hay  is  the  spontaneous  pro- 
duction of  the  grass.  (2)  The  vegetables  require  only 
easv  work.  The  soil  is  abundant,  rich,  and  well  watered. 
The  labour  is  performed  by  the  women.  A  family 
possesses  only  two  spades  and  a  hoe,  there  is  no  plough. 
Seven  days  of  work  in  a  year  suffices  for  the  cultiva^ 
tion  of  a  garden.  They  grow  potatoes,  tui-nips,  carrots, 
onions  and  hops.  (3)  The  cultivation  of  flax  and 
hemp  demands  only  five  days'  labour  of  the  women, 
four  days  of  the  childi-en  and  one  day  of  a  horse. 

Many  Bashkirs  refuse  to  cultivate  com,  because  it 
gives  too  much  trouble,  but  they  have  need  of  it 
owing  to  the  diminution  in  milk.  The  work  of  the  men 
occupies  only  twelve  days,  which  are  employed  in  the 
transport  of  the  grain  and  other  commodities. 

Even  this  rudimentary  cultivation  demands  more  fore- 
thought and  more  resources  than  the  pastoral  art;  for 
example,  the  stabling  of  the  animals  in  winter  and 
feeding  them;  the  building  of  stables  and  barns;  the 
hay  must  be  got  in  rapidly  and  be  properly  preserved 
and  of  sufficient  quantity  to  last  through  the  winter. 
Then  there  is  the  cultivation  of  edible  and  textile 
plants. 

A  fixed  house,  as  opposed  to  a  tent,  becomes  necessary, 
fodder  cannot  be  readily  transported.  Here  the  diffi- 
culties in  the  way  of  a  fixed  house  are  considerably 
reduced  owing  to  the  abundance  of  available  land, 
the  sufficiency  of  spontaneous  productions,  such  as  wood, 
etc.,  and  the  custom  of  heumniin,  or  communal  laboui'. 
This  is  an  assemblage  called  together  for  a  special  pur- 
pose, such  as  carting,  harvesting,  building,  and  the  like, 
the  only  reward  being  a  copious  feast  at  the  end  of 
the  day  and  a  distribution  of  brandy.  This  custom  is  a 
very  widely  spread  one,  and  these  communal  operations 
fonn  occasions  for  recreation  and  feasting.  The 
hciiminin  is  an  important  social  symptom,  as  it  testifies 
that  owing  to  cultivation,  families,  at  least  for  certain 
works,  can  no  longer  as  in  pastoral  societies  suffice  for 
themselves.  They  have  to  call  in  strangers,  especially 
in  the  case  of  harvest,  when  on  one  occasion  the  pro- 
visions for  the  whole  year  are  garnered.  This  is  the 
first  step  along  the  road  that  leads  to  the  introduction 
of  hired  labourers. 

Property. — In  the  steppes  the  soil  belongs  to  the 
community  at  large,  the  herder  pitches  his  tents,  and 
his.  flocks  browse  the  pasture.  Proprietorship  lasts  as 
short  a  time  as  the  work.  In  agi'icidtiu'al  communities 
the  duration  of  work  is  prolonged.  It  takes  several 
months,  or  even  a  year,  before  the  recompense  for  the 
labour  is  attained.  The  prolongation  of  the  diu'ation  of 
work  necessitates  the  prolongation  of  ownership.  This 
is  the  case  with  the  Bashkirs,  who  have  the  least  possible 
love  for  ownership  of  the  soil.  They  take  the  minimum 
ownership ;  but,  for  all  that,  they  remain  several  years 
on  one  spot.  They  do  not  annex  property,  it  is  the 
property  that  seizes  and  constrains  them  and  which 
will  not  let  them  go.  The  duiation  of  appropriation 
grows  according  to  the  exigencies  of  the  labour.  Among 
the  Bashkii's  the  commune — still  the  sole  propi-ietor  of 
the  soil — concedes  to  each  family  a  portion  of  land 
for  a  period  of  fifteen  years.     Tacitus  has  recorded   a 


October  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


99^ 


vcrv  similar  state  of  affaii-s  for  the  ancient  Germans, 
a  mobile  people  but  lightly  attached  to  the  soil.  He 
says :  "'  Laud  proportioned  to  the  number  of  iuluibi- 
tants  is  occupied  bv  the  whole  community  in  turn, 
and  aftenvaids  divided  among  them  according  to  rank. 
The  wide  exp.uise  of  plains  makes  the  partition  easy. 
They  till  fresh  fields  every  yeaa-,  and  they  have  still 
more  land  than  enough ;  with  the  richness  and  extent 
of  their  soil,  they  do  not  laboriously  exert  themselves 
in  planting  orchards,  inclosing  meadows  and  watering 
gardens.  Corn  is  the  only  produce  required  from  the 
eai-th.' 

Landed  property  tends  to  become  more  and  more 
permanent.  Le  Play  says  that,  among  the  Bashkirs, 
the  arable  lands  and  the  prairies  where  they  gather 
hay  are  allocated  to  the  families,  and  they  transmit  them 
from  generation  to  generation  with  definite  limitations. 
However,  the  right  exercised  over  this  property  by  the 
family  is  more  restricted  than  it  is  for  the  proprietors 
of  the  west,  and  still  leaves  a  fairly  large  pajft  to  the 
right  of  the  community.  If  portions  of  the  land  con- 
ceded to  the  families  are  not  tilled  during  the  space 
of  several  years  those  uncultivated  lands  revert  to  the 
community. 

Landed  property  in  becoming  fixed  is  distributed  by 
families,  but  not  every  family  is  capable  of  owning 
landed  property.  Among  the  Bashkirs  the  community 
gives  each  family  a  domain  of  which  the  greatest  part 
is  usually  left  fallow,  because  there  is  not  the  necessary 
aptitude  for  cultivating  it.  At  the  expiration  of 
fifteen  years  the  uncultivated  land  is  reabsorbed  by  the 
community.  The  majority  of  the  Bashkirs  of  Mochmet 
are  in  this  case — they  eliminate  landed  property  from 
themselves,  only  the  more  provident  remain  proprietors. 
Thus  there  is  a  natural  selection. 

This  return  of  unutilised  landed  property  guarantees 
the  possession  of  the  soil  to  those  who  can  cultivate 
it.  The  land  cannot  be  alienated  or  mortgaged.  Often 
even  capable  cultivators  might  be  tempted  to  realise 
on  land  in  order  to  pay  numerous  small  debts,  as 
happened  when  the  serfs  were  suddenly  put  in  jDossession 
of  land  in  Russia  and  Hungary.  On  this  occasion  the 
majority  of  freed  serfs  were  incapable  of  retaining  it, 
and  so  a  great  deal  of  land  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Jews. 

A  distinction  must  be  drawn  between  projjerty  in 
land  and  the  property  of  the  home.  Landed  proprietors 
comprise  the  more  provident  individuals,  the  best  trained 
to  work,  to  economy,  to  the  position  of  masters.  It  is 
the  race  of  true  small  farmers,  the  men  of  the  country, 
strongly  attached  to  the  land,  and  who  form  the  solid 
foundation  of  society.  The  proprietors  of  homes  and 
their  immediate  dependencies  with  garden  and  orchard 
comprise  the  less  provident  individuals  only  capable  of 
owning  a  property  corresponding  to  their  daily  needs. 

The  Family. — Cultivation  of  the  soil  does  not  necessi- 
tate any  essential  modification  of  the  organisation  of 
the  patriarchal  family,  and  it  maintains  the  moral  effects 
of  this  fonii  of  family,  the  spirit  of  tradition  pushed 
to  routine,  respect  for  pastoral  authority,  the  pre- 
eminence of  the  old  men,  and  social  stability  or  rather 
immobility. 

Certain  functions,  however,  are  henceforth  fulfilled 
by  agents  outside  the  family;  these  are  (1)  religion,  (2) 
the  intellectual  training,  (3)  government.  In  the  isola^ 
ticn  of  the  nomadic  life  these  three  functions  were,  like 
all  the  others,  fulfilled  by  the  patriarch.  But  these  three 
functions   are   not  essential   to   the   paternal   authority, 


thoy  can  be  removed  without  diminishing  anything  of 
the  essentiid  function  of  a  father,  which  is  the  govern- 
ment of  the  family. 

The  Bashkirs  ai'c  Musulmen,  and  the  Mullah  of 
!Mochmct  performs  in  the  mosque  the  ceremonies  of  his 
religion  that  relate  to  the  birth,  life,  and  death  of  his 
Hock  and  to  the  sacred  days  of  Islamisni.  He  also  acts 
as  advisei-,  arbitrator,  and  often  as  judge.  He  teaches 
the  young  of  both  sexes,  he  even  i-enders  aid  in  sickness. 

Government. — As  to  government,  three  causes  con- 
tribute to  lessen  the  paternal  authority: — - 

1.  The  necessity  of  administrating  and  allocating  the 
communal  ground.  This  necessity  docs  not  exist  in  the 
steppe,  for  grass  requires  no  administration,  but  in 
settled  communities  the  land  has  to  be  partitioned  out. 
The  distribution  of  land  is  made  by  the  assembly  of 
the  inhabitants,  presided  over  by  the  Vuibcrni,  a  sort 
of  mayor  of  the  commune.  The  Vuibcrni  is,  after  the 
Mullah,  the  richest  person  in  Mochmet :  he  has  four 
wives,  and  possesses  six  mai-es  and  four  cows. 

2.  The  obligation  to  constinict  and  maintain  the  neces- 
sary buildings  for  religion  and  instniction.  This  is 
another  consequence  of  a  settled  condition  of  life,  and 
requires  the  combined  action  of  all  the  families  of  the 
community,  and  it  imislies  the  payment  of  the  instructor. 

3.  The  necessity  to  provide  for  the  public  peace.  As 
families  congregate  in  a  limited  ajfca  misunderstandings 
arise,  and  disputes  have  to  be  settled  by  the  intervention 
of  a  superior  authority.  Further,  the  neighbourhood 
of  nomads  is  a  source  of  perpetual  conflicts — all  border 
countries  between  steppes  and  cultivated  land  develop 
a  race  of  nomad  robbers.  Each  family  cannot  defend 
itself  against  the  raiders,  hence  a  public  force  has  to 
be  constituted,  which  is  supported  by  a  levy,  according 
to  circumstances,  of  recruits,  horses,  or  money.  A 
simple  form  of  government  regulates  the  public  affairs 
of  the  community. 

Although  the  soil  is  allocated  by  the  Vuibcrni  the 
communal  forests  are  under  the  charge  of  a  Russian 
official.  In  Switzerland  the  forests  of  each  canton  are 
inspected  by  federal  officers,  the  same  obtains  in  France, 
otherwise  the  forests,  which  really  are  the  accumulated 
wealth  of  the  community,  would  fall  a  prey  to  the  im- 
provident. 

Thus  the  law  of  property  varies  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  chattels.  The  land  may  belong  to  every- 
body, cultivated  laud  to  provident  families,  the  manage- 
ment of  forests  only  to  the  most  capable  or  to  a  stable 
government. 

A  study  of  even  a  small  people  may  thus  illustrate 
the  social  transformation  due  to  the  sole  cause  of  a 
substitution  of  cultivation  for  pastoral  life. 

Work  becomes  hard  and  exercises  restraints.  Pro- 
perty is  restricted  and  is  possessed  by  the  most  provident 
families.  The  family  is  shorn  of  some  of  its  functions. 
Special  representatives  of  religion  and  education  are 
elected.     Government  arises. 

What    has    produced    these   great    changes?        Is    it 

intense  cultivation  made  over  large  areas?     No;    ib  is 

the    most    rudimentary   of     all     cultivation — a   simple 

gardening;      the   growing   of   a   few   potatoes,   turnips, 

carrots,  and  onions ! 

« 

ASTRONOMY   WITHOUT   A   TELESCOPE. 

By  E.   Walter  Maunder,   f.r.a.s. 

IX.— AURORA. 

It  is  an  old  saying,  of  the  truth  of  which  we  are  often 


224 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[October  1,  1900. 


reminded  by  our  daily  experience,  that  what  is  every- 
body's business  is  nobody's  business.  Work  which 
someone  is  obliged  to  do,  or  is  paid  to  do,  gets  done. 
Work  too  which  is  only  open  to  a  few  to  undertake 
also  generally  finds  that  some  of  that  few  will  undertake 
it.  But  that  which  is  open  to  everybody  and  yet  to 
which  no  one  is  appointed,  nobody  driven,  hangs  fii^e 
and  is  left  undone. 

To  take  one  example,  one  of  the  very  earliest  achieve- 
ments of  astronomy  was  to  determine  the  length  of 
the  year.  This  was  done  long  ages  ago,  earlier  than  we 
have  any  record.  But  it  was  a  necessary  or  at  any  rate 
a  very  practical  and  useful  work,  and  consequently  was 
done  at  an  early  epoch.  Take  again  a  modern  instance 
— the  observation  of  double  stai-s.  This  is  a  work  which 
is  by  no  means  within  everybody's  reach.  A  powerful 
telescope,  well  mounted,  clock  driven,  and  furnished 
with  a  good  micrometer,  is  the  luxury  of  the  few.  But 
in  spite  of,  perhaps  we  should  rather  say  because  of 
this  restriction,  double  star  observation  has  always  found 
a  number  of  ardent  followers.  So  that,  although  it  is 
but  120  years  since  this  branch  of  astronomy  took  its 
rise,  it  has  already  made  a  most  amazing  progress. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  various  branches  of  naked  eye 
astronomv,  branches  open  to  every  one  who  had  eyes 
to  see  and  a  good  atmosphere,  have  been  left  almost 
unworked.  The  departments  of  meteoric  and  variable 
star  astronomy  are  the  only  two  in  which  great  and 
substantial  progress  has  been  made,  and  in  both  cases 
such  progress  has  been  the  work  of  the  last  few  years. 

There  need  therefore  be  no  surprise  that  the  study 
of  auroree  has  not  yet  received  the  attention  which 
is  its  due.  A  certain  progress  has  been  made,  and  it 
has  had  some  very  earnest  and  able  workers,  but  the 
"  Astronomer  without  a  Telescope  "  who  should  take  up 
this  subject  would  find  that  he  was  by  no  means  a 
gleaner  in  a  closely  reaped  field. 

The  points  which  have  been  established  ai'e  of  great 
importance.  First  of  all,  we  know  that  though,  strictly 
speaking,  meteorological  phenomena,  aurorae  have  a  close 
astronomical  connection.  They  vary  in  number  as 
obsei-\'ed  in  any  given  locality  in  accordance  with  the 
sunspot  cycle.  More  than  that,  they  are  evidently  in 
the  closest  sympathy  with  the  distm-bances  which  take 
place  in  terrestrial  magnetism.  The  present  time  there- 
fore is  not  a  specially  favourable  one  to  attempt  their 
observation  in  these  latitudes,  since  they  are  practically 
non-occurrent  in  England  at  the  sunspot  minimum 
through  one  of  which  we  are  now  passing.  Yet  just  as 
magnetic  storms  have  their  greatest  amplitude  and  occur 
most  frequently  near  the  equinoxes  so  it  is  with  aurorse, 
and  October  is  the  most  prolific  month  of  the  year. 

Auroral  observation  demands,  beside  good  eyesight, 
au  observing  station  remote  from  the  glare  of  towns 
and  artificial  lights.  The  stories  are  common  enough 
of  fire  engines  being  turned  out  to  quench  an  aurora, 
and.  on  the  other  hand,  it  has  not  seldom  happened  that 
a  very  mundane  conflagration  has  passed  muster  for 
"  celestial  display."  "  In  the  Memoirs  of  Baron  Stock- 
mai'  an  amusing  anecdote  is  related  cf  one  HeiT  von 
Radowitz,  who  was  given  to  making  the  most  of  easily 
picked  up  information.  A  friend  of  the  Bai'on's  went 
to  an  evening  pai-tj"  near  Frankfort,  where  he  expected 
to  meet  Herr  von  Radowitz.  On  his  way  he  saw  a 
barn  burning,  stopped  his  caiTiage,  assisted  the  people, 
and  waited  till  the  flames  were  nearly  extinguished. 
When  he  arrived  at  his  friend's  house  he  found  Herr 
von  Radowitz,  who  had  previously   taken  the  party   to 


the  top  of  the  building  to  see  an  aurora,  dilating  on 
teiTCstrial  magnetism,  electricity,  and  so  forth. 
Radowitz  asked  Stockmar's  friend,  '  Have  you  seen  the 
beautiful  Aurora  Borealis?'  He  replied,  'Certainly; 
I  was  there  myself;  it  will  soon  be  over.'  An  explana- 
tion followed  as  to  the  barn  on  fire.  Radowitz  was  silent 
some  ten  minutes,  then  he  took  up  his  hat.  and  quietly 
disappeared.  ' 

Granted  the  suitable  position  the  most  impoiiant  con- 
sideration for  the  student  of  aurorfe  to  bear  in  mind 
is  the  absolute  necessity  for  keeping  as  systematic  a 
watch  as  possible.  The  general  agreement  between  the 
cycles  of  sunspots,  of  magnetic  variation  and  of  aurorse 
is  clearly  established,  but  there  are  many  questions 
ai'ising  as  to  the  connection  between  their  minor 
fluctuations.  Now  the  observation  of  the  magnetic 
elements  is  perfectly  continuous.  Self-recording  magnets 
are  set  up  at  many  observatoi-ies,  and  supply  us  year  iu 
and  year  out  with  an  unbroken  register.  Our  record 
of  the  state  of  the  sun's  surface  is  practically  continuous 
also,  but  from  the  nature  of  the  case  aui-orse  cannot  be 
presented  in  the  same  manner.  The  chronicle  is  broken 
by  the  intei-^-ention  of  cloudy  nights.  It  is  weighted 
by  the  diflference  in  length  of  darkness  between  winter 
and  summer.  Further,  it  is  difficult  to  express  our 
auroral  obsei-\'ations  on  a  perfectly  uniform  numerical 
scale.  One  year  may  have  a  poor  record,  either  because 
aurorze  were  actually  rare,  or  because  the  observer  was 
remiss  or  the  weather  unfortunate.  Another  year  may 
present  a  fallacious  appearance  of  abundance  simply 
because  the  observer  was  more  diligent  or  more  lucky 
in  the  circumstances  of  his  observations.  In  a  word, 
the  accidental  errors  of  the  work  are  large,  and  it  there- 
fore becomes  the  first  duty  of  the  student  to  keep  his 
own  personal  part  in  the  matter  as  systematic  and  as 
free  from  accident  as  he  can. 

This  is  the  first  essential,  and  the  observer  therefore 
should  draw  up  a  scheme  for  himself  for  the  examination 
of  the  sky  at  certain  definite  hours,  and  for  certain  fixed 
intervals,  to  which  he  should  adhere  with  the  gi-eatest 
possible  regularity.  There  is  no  need  for  him  to  make 
any  great  inroad  into  the  ordinaiy  hours  of  rest,  as  the 
meteoric  observer  must  do.  or  that  his  watches  should 
be  vei-y  prolonged.  It  will  be  sufficient  if  they  are 
perfectly  regular. 

It  is  much  to  be  desired  that  auroral  obsei-vers 
should  be  scattered  as  widely  as  possible,  that  we  may 
be  able  to  present  not  merely  the  auroral  conditions  for 
a  single  place,  but  for  the  entire  planet.  It  has  already 
been  discovered  that  they  are  most  frequent  in  two 
zones,  one  in  the  northern  and  one  in  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere, and  that  these  zones  shift  their  position  with 
the  progi-ess  of  the  cycle.  In  mid-latitudes  as  in 
England  aurorfe  are  most  frequent  at  the  time  of  the 
sunspot  maximum.  They  retire  polewards  as  the  sun- 
spot  frequency  declines,  and  are  most  frequent  in  high 
latitudes  at  the  sunspot  minimum.  The  place  of  the 
observer,  therefore,  is  not  a  matter  of  indifference.  A 
broken  record  iu  England  cannot  be  pieced  out  by 
observations  in  the  Shetlands  or  in  Iceland. 

But  the  value  of  a  regular  system  of  observations 
carried  on  at  a  single  station  for  many  successive  years 
is  vei-y  great,  and  we  cannot  have  too  many  observers 
in  the  field. 

After  the  mere  fact  of  an  auroral  display  has  been 
noted,  its  duration  and  its  average  brightness  ai-e  points 
to  record.  The  duration,  of  coui-se,  is  a  simple  matter; 
the  brightness  is  more  difficult,  but  a  careful  watch  upon 


October  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


•^'>ri 


the  aurorse  of  a  rich  year  will  enable  the  observer  to 
draw  out  a  rough  scale  for  himself,  which  will  satisfy 
the  possibilities  of  the  case. 

An  important  detail  in  auroral  work  is  the  fixing  of 
the  position  of  some  specially  bright  point  from  two 
or  three  fairly  distant  stations  with  a  view  to  the  deter- 
mination of  its  height.  This  can  obviously  be  best  done 
by  reference  to  the  stars  if  many  of  these  are  visible 
at  the  time.  It  would,  however,  be  well  to  have  at  hand 
some  rough  and  ready  means  for  obtaining  the  altitude 
and  azimuth  of  any  given  point,  and  for  this  it  would 
be  casv  to  make  a  sort  of  rough  wooden  tiieodolite  or 
altazimuth  witli  a  bar  cai-rying  a  big  easily  seen  pair 
of  sights  upon  it  instead  of  the  telescope.  As  the  auroral 
flashes  come  and  go  so  quickly  the  time  of  any  such 
determination  must  be  taken  with  jealous  exactness. 

The  value  of  having  some  means  always  at  hand,  how- 
ever rough,  for  determining  the  position  of  an  auroral 
beam,  together  with  the  need  for  exactness  in  giving 
the  time  of  the  observation,  was  well  illustrated  by  the 
remarkable  auroral  beam  of  1882,  November  17.  A 
great  sunspot,  tiic  largest  visible  for  eleven  years,  was 
Hearing  the  central  meridian  of  the  solar  disk.  The 
magnet,  which  had  been  uneasy  from  the  time  of  the 
first  appearance  of  the  spot  at  the  east  limb,  began  io 
be  seized  with  the  most  violent  convulsions  about  two 
hours  before  noon  on  the  17th,  the  disturbance  lasting 
till  6  o'clock  the  following  morning.  "  Strong  earth 
currents  were  also  observed  at  all  the  times  of  magnetic 
disturbance,  varying  in  magnitude  with  the  intensity  of 
the  magnetic  changes,  and  the  most  violent  electric  storm 
recorded  for  more  than  thirty  years  swept  over  Europe 
iind  America.''  In  sympathy  with  these  manifestations 
a  superb  auroral  display  w;us  witnessed  on  the  evening 
of  the  17th,  but  bv  far  the  most  unique  and  striking 
phenomenon  occurred  "  at  about  6  p.m.,  when  a  bright 
beam  of  light  i-ose  from  the  eastern  horizon  and  passed 
majestically  across  the  sky  in  much  the  same  manner 
as  any  ordinary  celestial  body  might  do,  but  with 
several  hundred  times  their  rapidity."  Some  twenty- 
six  observations  of  the  phenomenon  were  collected  to- 
gether by  Mr.  Rand  Capron,  but  most  of  these  were  very 
incomplete,  and  their  discussion  was  therefore  attended 
with  much  difficulty,  yet  imperfect  as  the  obsei-vations 
were  they  seemed  to  show  with  considerable  probability 
that  the  height  of  the  beam  was  133  miles,  and  its  speed 
about  10  miles  per  second.  The  direction  of  its  flight  was 
from  east  to  west,  magnetic  not  geographical.  Had 
three  or  four  of  the  observers  but  possessed  some  simple 
means  for  measuring  the  height  of  the  beam  at  its 
culmination  and  the  azimuths  of  its  rising  and  setting, 
the  precision  of  these  conclusions  would  have  been 
greatly  increased. 

The  same  charts  that  are  useful  for  meteor  observa- 
tions may  very  conveniently  be  used  for  aurorse,  the 
positions  of  the  streamers  or  of  the  auroral  crown  being 
sketched  in  with  reference  to  the  stars.  In  all  the  work 
the  first  thing  to  be  aimed  at  is  to  make  the  record 
as  definite  as  possible.  It  is  here  that  the  difficulty  of 
auroral  observation  is  most  felt.  They  are  beautiful 
and  impressive  as  spectacles,  and  the  student  will  need 
no  instruction  in  the  preparation  of  his  general 
descriptions.  But  to  pick  out  the  particular  phenomena 
to  which  the  desirable  amount  of  definiteness  can  be 
ascribed  will  require  practice. 

From  time  to  time  curious  beams  of  light  are  seen 
in  the  sky  the  exact  nature  of  which  it  is  difficult  to 
determine.     Thus  on  March  4,  1896,  a  curious  light  was 


seen  stretching  up  from  the  horizon  towards  the  Pleiades 
which  some  observers  were  inclined  to  regard  as  auroral, 
some  as  the  Zodiacal  Light,  and  some  actually  regarded 
it  as  being  comctary.  The  fact  that  an  unmistakable 
aurora  was  seen  the  same  evening  pointed  strongly  in 
favour  of  the  auroral  theory.  On  the  other  hand,  as 
its  direction  coincided  nearly  if  not  precisely  with  that 
of  the  axis  of  the  Zodiacal  Light,  and  as  similar  beams 
have  been  seen  in  the  same  position  on  other  occiisions, 
the  question  cannot  be  regarded  as  absolutely  decided. 
It  would  be  a  matter  of  the  highest  interest  could  it 
be  shown  that  certain  definite  regions  of  the  heavens 
were  subject  to  recurrent  flashes,  and  a  careful  collation 
of  observations  made  at  widely  separated  stations  would 
soon  settle  as  to  whether  we  should  regard  them  as 
auroral  or  zodiacal,  and  could  not  fail  to  increase  our 
comprehension  of  one  or  the  other  plienoinenou. 


DARK   MARKINGS  IN  THE  SOLAR  CORONA. 

By  W.  II.  Wesley,  f.h.a.s. 

Everyone  who  has  examined  a  scries  of  photographs 
of  total  solar  eclipses  is  familiar  with  dark  rifts  or  gaps 
ill  the  corona.  Most  conspicuous  at  times  of  sun-spot 
minimum  are  the  polar  rifts,  which  at  such  periods 
open  widely  and  occupy  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
sun's  polar  regions.  Rifts,  more  or  less  dark,  also  occur  in 
other  parts  of  the  corona,  sometimes  sharply  cutting  into 
the  densest  portions.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  these 
rifts  ai-e  merely  inter.spaces  between  coronal  rays.  They 
show  the  extremely  irregular  manner  in  which  the 
corona  is  distributed  over  the  sun's  surface.  In  view 
of  the  fact  that  the  corona,  whatever  it  may  be,  is  not 
flat,  as  it  appears  during  an  eclipse,  but  is  an  object 
possessing  three  dimensions,  it  is  obvious  that  a  sharply 
defined  rift,  cutting  into  a  dense  portion  of  the  corona, 
and  traceable  to  the  sun's  limb,  represents  a  gap  of 
most  singular  form. 

But  striking  as  are  these  coronal  rifts,  there  is  a 
still  more  interesting  class  of  dark  markings  that  in 
many  cases  cannot  be  explained  as  mere  interspacea 
among  the  bright  rays.  Unlike  the  ordinary  rifts 
these  dark  markings  are  only  occasionally  seen.  A  close 
examination  of  the  original  negatives  is  often  necessary 
to  detect  them,  and  as  a  rule  they  are  lost  in  any 
photographic  reproduction. 

The  first  instance  of  their  occurrence  of  which  I  know 
was  in  1871.     On  the  eastern  side  of  the  corona,  in  the 


4////m: 


Fio.  1. — I)i!ii,'t;im  111'  AFiii-kiDgs  on  tlio  Coroiiii  of  1S71. 

equatorial   region,   there  appears  on   the   photographs   a 
small  dark  spot  about  9'  from  the  sun's  limb.     It  docs 


226 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[OCTOBEK    1,  1900. 


not  occur  near  the  crossing  of  any  coronal  rays,  in  which 
situation  such  an  object  might  possibly  be  simply  an 
interspace,  but  appears  to  encroach  on  bright  rays. 
Morever,  it  is  the  centre  of  three  aa-cs  of  circles,  concave 
towards  the  sun,  with  radii  of  3',  6',  and  10'  respectively, 
the  middle  one  being  fairly  strong,  while  the  others 
are  excessively  faint.  These  singular  appeai-ances  were 
thought  by  Mr.  Ranyard  to  indicate  the  existence  of  a 
comet,  showing  as  a  dark  object  on  the  background  of 
the  corona;  but  as  to  this  I  pass  no  opinion.  If  it  was 
a  comet,  its  appearance  was  unique,  for  the  comet  on 
the  negatives  of  the  1882  eclipse,  and  the  much  fainter 
one  found  by  Schaeberle  on  his  photographs  of  the 
eclipse  of  1893,  were  both  bright  objects.  But  in  any 
case  it  seems  impossible  that  the  dark  spot  and  concen- 
tric arcs  on  the  corona  of  1871  can  be  interspaces 
between  rays,  for  the  arcs  actually  cut  through 
several  coronal  rays  almost  at  right  angles,  partially 
obliterating  them.  The  whole  appearance  is  extremely 
difficult  to  see,  but  I  have  traced  the  dark  spot  and  the 
arcs  on  several  negatives  of  two  different  series,  and  am 
certain  of  their  existence. 

The  next  example  of  dark  markings  occurred  in  the 
corona  of    1896,   the   eastern   side   of   which    exhibited 


Pro 


Fig.  2. — Diagram  of  Markings  on  the  Coronn  of  1896. 

features  of  a  different  kind  to  any  I  have  examined.  I 
will,  however,  refer  only  to  those  bearing  on  the  subject 
in  hand.  Almost  at  the  sun's  equator  is  a  bright 
double-headed  prominence,  which  is  distinctly  outlined 
by  a  strong  daa-k  line,  following  all  its  contours.  A 
little  to  the  north  is  a  small  hooked  coronal  ray  about 
2i'  high,  apparently  springing  from  a  small  prominence. 
This  ray  is  also  outlined  in  the  same  manner.  But 
by  far  the  most  extraordinary  appeai'ance  is  that  of  a 
dark  roughly  elliptical  ring,  about  IV  in  its  longer 
axis,  which  stands  on  the  top  of  the  bright  prominence. 
From  the  summit  of  the  ring  springs  a  fairly  bright, 
fine  ray,  which  would  probably  be  traceable  further 
down  towards  the  limb  but  that  its  base  seems  cut  off 
by  the  ring.  There  are  many  other  dark  streaks  in  this 
part  of  the  corona,  but  we  may  confine  our  attention 
to  the  most  striking  features — the  outline  to  the 
prominence  and  the  ring.  They  are  clearly  seen  on  at 
least  two  of  the  negatives  taken  by  Mr.  Shackleton  m 
Sir  G.  Baden-Powell's  expedition  to  Nova  Zembla,  and, 
unlike  the  markings  on  the  corona  of  1871,  they  are 
quite  easy  to  see  under  suitable  conditions  of  illumina- 
tion. A  little  reflection  will  convince  anyone  that  the 
outline  can  be  due  to  no  known  photographic  effect.  The 
image  of  a  bright  object  (such  as  a  bright  prominence) 
may  spread  itself  on  the  islate,  and  thus  appear  en- 
larged, or  it  might  conceivably  be  surrounded  by  a 
halation  ring,  though  I  feel  svu'e  that  the  exposures 
during  eclipses  have  never  been  nearly  sufficient  to  cause 


such  a  ring  round  a  prominence.  But  neither  of  these 
well-known  photographic  effects  will  explain  the  appear- 
ance in  the  least.  Had  an  observer  drawn  the  dark 
outline  surrounding  the  bright  prominence,  we  should 
have  concluded  at  once  that  it  was  a  mere  effect  of 
contrast,  but  the  camera  is  fortunately  not  influenced 
by  conti-ast.  Is  it  possible  that  the  prominence  had 
edges  enormously  brighter  than  its  centre,  so  that  the 
dai'k  outline  is  a  phenomenon  of  reversal?  This  is 
improbable  in  the  last  degree,  in  view  of  the  small 
aperture  of  the  instrument  and  its  considerable  focal 
length ;  there  was  also  slight  hazy  cloud,  and  the  plates 
generally  show  no  signs  whatever  of  over  exposure; 
their  definition  is  admirable.  There  are  many  instances 
of  reversal  of  the  images  of  prominences  in  1882,  1893, 
1898,  and  1900.  In  1882  their  centres  were  reversed, 
but  there  has  been  no  case  of  reversal  of  their 
edges.  Besides,  the  hooked  coronal  ray  is  also  outlined, 
and  that  was  certainly  not  bright  enough  for  reversal, 
so  this  explanation  breaks  down.  Then  we  have  the 
elliptical  ring,  for  which  there  seems  absolutely  no  ex- 
planation, except  that  it  is  really  a  dark  marking  of 
some  kind.  It  is  surely  absurd  to  suggest  that  it  can 
be  a  mere  space  between  coronal  rays ;  we  should  have 
to  imagine  a  tunnel  cut  through  the  body  of  the  corona, 
directed  precisely  in  the  line  of  sight,  and  a  plug  of 
coronal  matter  lying  along  the  centre  of  that  tunnel  but 
not  touching  its  sides. 

It  will  be  seen  that  in  the  above  cases  the  argument 
for  the  objective  existence  of  dark  markings  is  based 
upon  the  form  and  character  of  the  markings,  and 
not  upon  their  actual  darkness.  Neither  in  1871  nor 
in  1896  are  they  nearly  as  dark  as  the  sky;  but  have 
we  any  instances  of  markings  in  the  corona  that  are 
actually  darker  than  the  sky?  If  so,  it  appears  to  me 
that  their  objective  existence  is  jDroved  beyond  a  doubt. 
I  believe  we  have  such  evidence,  but  here  great  caution 
is  required,  for  although  the  camera  is,  as  has  been  said, 
unaffected  by  contrast,  the  eye  which  examines  the 
photographs  is  much  affected  by  it,  and  we  may  be  very 
easily  deceived. 

I  have  before  me  two  negatives  of  the  eclipse  of  1898, 
taken  by  Mr.  F.  Bacon  at  Buxar,  near  Benares ;  they 
are    rather   over-developed,    the   lower   joortions    of   the 


Fig.  3.  — Diagram  of  Markings  on  tlie  Corona  of  1898. 

corona  are  extremely  dense  and  opaque,  but  the  focus 
is  excellent,  and  the  outer  portions  well  shown.  The 
scale  is  a  little  over  half  an  inch  for  the  moon's 
diameter.  On  first  looking  at  these  I  was  struck  by 
the  unusual  sharpness  of  definition  of  some  of  the  rays 
of  the  great  southern  rift;  but  on  more  careful  examinar 
tion  with  various  illuminations  it  seemed  possible  that 
this  sharp  definition  is  due  to  nothing  less  than  to  two 
or  more  fine  dark  rays  (of  course  bright  on  the  negative) 
lying  between  some  of  the  bright  polar  rays  near  the 
western  boundary  of  the  polar  rift.     There  is  nothing  un- 


t- 

(0 

LJ 

5 


I 
I- 
q: 
O 
z 


=) 

o 


O 
O 


\1* 

O 
< 
O 

o 

u 

w 

rn 

H 


Q. 


■BO 

o 

■M 

o 

a 

£/) 

in 

bJ 
Q 
Z 

< 


CO 


Si 


I- 
< 


October  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


227 


usual  or  extraordinai-y  in.  the  position  of  these  dark  rays. 
I  at  first  considered  them  to  be  merely  spaces  between 
the  ordinary  polar  rays,  but  I  now  think  that  they  are 
slightly  darker  than  the  sky.  The  development  has 
been  carried  faa'  enough  for  the  light  of  tho  sky  to 
impress  itself  on  tho  plates ;  but  for  this  fact  the  mark- 
ings woidd  appear  simply  as  interspaces,  but  on  these 
plates  I  think  I  can  just  see  the  ends  of  the  rays,  ter- 
minating at  about  two-thirds  of  a  lunar  diameter  from 
the  limb.  They  cannot  be  traced  to  the  limb,  as  they 
are  lost  among  the  mass  of  bright  rays,  and  they  are 
lost  in  long  exposure  negatives.  These  markings  are 
feir  more  difficult  to  see  than  those  in  1896,  but  if  they 
are,  as  I  think,  darker  than  the  sky,  wc  seem  to  have 
taken  a  considerable  step  towards  proving  their  objective 
exist€nce. 

We  now  come  to  the  negatives  taken  by  Mr.  Maunder 
at  Algiers  during  the  eclipse  of  May  last.  On  two 
negatives  taken  on  Sandell  plates  with  very  long  ex- 
posures, and  on  a  series  of  negatives  exposed  by  Miss 
Maunder  with  i  sec.  exposures  in  a  stationary  camera,  arc 
certain  dark  streaks  of  much  the  came  chaxacter  as  those 
of  1898,  but  unlike  these,  they  are  most  easily  seen; 
in  fact  on  some  of  the  plates  they  strike  the  eye  at  once. 
One  of  them  forms  a  shai-p  boundary  to  the  northern  edge 
of  the  western  equatorial  streamer,  and  one  bounds  in  the 
same  manner  its  southern  edge,  while  another  radiates 
from  the  limb  near  the  centre  of  the  great  southern 
rift;  there  are  several  others  that  may  be  suspected. 
The  only  point  in  doubt  is  whether  they  are  unusually 
definite  spaces  or  rifts  between  bright  rays,  only  seeming 
dark  by  contrast,  or  whether  they  are  actually  darker 
than  the  sky.  If  they  are  darker  than  the  sky  we  seem 
forced  to  admit  that  they  are  real,  however  impossible 
it  may  be  to  offer  any  physical  explanation  for  their 
existence.  We  cannot  isolate  these  fine,  narrow  dark 
streaks,  so  as  to  avoid  the  effect  of  contrast.  They  are 
visible  on  all  the  six  plates  of  the  short  exposure  series, 
and  the  dark  markings  forming  the  north  and  south 
boundaries  of  the  western  portion  of  the  corona  are 
very  strikingly  shown  on  the  long  exposure  negatives. 
These  dark  rays  bounding  the  coronal  extension  are 
extremely  remarkable,  and  it  seems  impossible  to  regai-d 
them  as  effects  of  contrast.  For  while  on  the  one  side 
they  are  each  bounded  by  the  edge  of  the  coronal 
streamer,  there  is  apparently  no  ray  bounding  them  on 
the  other  side,  and  they  appear  to  extend  beyond  the 
coronal  streamer  itself.  If  this  is  so,  they  are  obviously 
darker  than  the  sky,  or  the  faint  nearly  unifonn  light 
which  forms  their  background.*  The  dark  marking 
bounding  the  southern  edge  of  the  western  coronal  ex- 
tension is  the  most  conspicuous. 

The  narrow,  slightly  cvu'ved  dark  ray  near  the  centre 
of  the  southern  rift,  is  well  shown  on  the  short  exposure 
negatives.  It  has  a  distinct  temiination  at  a  distance 
of  about  half  a  lunar  diameter  from  the  limb — a  ter- 
mination in  fact  more  definite  than  those  of  the  bright 
coronal  rays.  It  seems  decidedly  darker  than  its  back- 
ground of  sky  or  faint  coronal  light.  If  this  marking 
is  merely  a  rift,  or  interspace,  it  must  be  a  rift  dosed 
at  its  outer  extremity,  which  apjjears  a  most  improbable 
supposition. 

I  am  quite  unable  to  offer  any  explanation  of  such 

•  It  is  probable,  as  Mr.  Maunder  lias  pointed  out  (Knowiedse, 
August,  ISKX)),  that  there  is  a  considerable  amount  of  diffused  coronul 
light  beyond  the  limit?  of  the  detailed  corona.  This  appears  to  be 
borne  out  by  Prof.  Turner's  photometric  measures  of  the  negatives  of 
the  eclipse  of  1893. 


features  as  these,  but  I  think  we  cannot  resist  tho 
evidence  for  their  reality.  As  Mr.  Maunder  has  said, 
they  must  be  caused  "  by  the  interposition  of  actual 
dark  absorbing  matter  between  ourselves  and  the  general 
diffused  coronal  glow  " ;  so  that  the  corona  appears  to 
be  "  not  wholly  an  emission,  but  partly  an  absorption 
effect.'  The  nearest  analogy  to  them  arc  the  thick  rays 
in  the  prominences  to  which  Trouvclot  drew  attention, 
and  which  I  believe  Mr.  Evershed  has  confirmed. 

I  have  just  examined  some  excellent  negatives  taken 
by  Miss  Bacon  at  Wadcsborough,  U.S.A.,  which  clearly 
show  the  dark  markings  visible  on  Mr.  Maunders 
plates. 

[The  eight  photographs  of  the  1900  eclipse  to  which 
Mr.  Wesley  refers  in  the  above  paper  were  as  follows:  — 
Two  taken  with  a  Dallmeycr  stigmatic  lens,  IJ  inch 
aperture  and  9  inches  focal  length,  on  Sandell  triple 
coated  plates,  and  six  with  a  4  inch  lens,  presented  to 
the  British  Astronomical  Association  by  Mr.  G.  E. 
Niblctt,  of  the  Royal  Obscrva,tory,  Greenwich.  Focal 
length,  34  inches.  Plates  —  Imperial,  Extra  rapid 
Ordinary,  and  Fine  grain  Ordinary. — E.  Walter 
Maunder.] 

-♦ 

Hctttrs. 

[The  Editors  do  not  hold  themselves  responsible  for  the  opinions 
or  statements  of  correspondents.] 

• 

ASTROLOGY. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     UF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — Referring  to  your  Editorial  note  to  my  letter 
in  the  September  number  of  Knowledge,  permit  me 
to  express  my  opinion  that  there  is  something  to  examine 
in  astrology,  and  that  though  it  is  possible  that 
astrologers  were  and  ai-e  self-deceived,  they  are  most 
decidedly  not  impostors.  They  do  not  go  on  blindly 
accepting  the  old  teachings,  but  do  their  best  to  rectify 
and  allow  for  any  irregulai'ities  they  may  discover. 
"  Astrologei's  can  neither  tell  when  or  how  the  special 
'  influences '  supposed  to  reside  in  each  individual 
'  planet '  or  '  house '  were  determined,  nor  give  the 
observations  upon  which  primitive  astrology  was  based  " 
because  thousands  of  years  have  elapsed  since  these 
data  were  established,  and  we  have,  like  astronomers, 
no  traditions  or  records  to  guide  us,  but  it  is  only  fair 
to  assume  that  the  early  star-gazers  were  led  to  compare 
the  planetary  motions  with  events  until  the  present 
system  was  formulated,  possibly  in  Sumers-Akkadia, 
Hindustan,  or  Egypt,  who  can  say  ? 

You  say  in  your  remarks  ''  The  ancients  i-ecognised  but 
seven  planets,  whereas  there  are — according  to  modern 
astrologers — nine.  That  is  to  say,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
ancients  Uranus  and  Neptune  had  no  influence,  for  they 
never  detected  anything  wrong  in  their  calculations,  as 
they  should  have  done  if  these  planets  were  really 
potent."  It  cannot  be  denied  that  modern  astrologers  do 
ascribe  influences  to  Uranus  and  Neptune.  They,  however, 
agree  that  the  influence  of  Neptune  is  reduced  to  almost 
nil  by  his  great  distance,  and  that  Uranus  only  affects 
when  in  positions  astrologically  powerful  for  a  similar 
reason.  It  is  true,  however,  that  in  some  instances, 
when  nativities  have  happened  at  these  periods  at  a  time 
when  the  existence  of  this  planet  was  unknown,  the 
astrologer  has  foimd  his  predictions  to  a  certain  extent 
falsified  in  subsequent  events,  but  these  cases  arc 
exceptional.     On    the    whole    the    ancients   could    prog- 


228 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[October  1,  1900. 


nosticate  very  satisfactorily  without  having  any  know- 
ledge of  Uranus,  as  his  influence  is  only  very  obvious 
on  rare  occasions,  and  most  probably  the  astrologer 
would  at  these  times  attribute  his  failures  to  irregulari- 
ties or  mistakes  in  his  calculations,  or  to  some  slight 
variation  in  the  planetary  influences. 

The  power  ascribed  to  Uranus  has  been  an-ived  at 
by  the  carefully  rendered  judgment  of  the  leading  astro- 
logers upon  the  aggregate  obser\-ations  and  comparisons 
of  the  students  of  this  science.  Astrologers  cannot  tell 
whether  there  are  planets  beyond  Keptune  for  the  simple 
reason  that  their  enormous  distance  would  render  them 
of  none  effect,  if  existing,  and  if  there  are  any  within 
Mereui-y's  orbit  they  are  too  small  to  have  any  effect. 

It  mav  be  asked  if  Uranus  affects  so  little  why  should 
not  Saturn  have  considerably  less  influence  than  is  astro- 
logically  ascribed  to  it.  To  this  it  can  be  said  that 
Satui-n  is  much  greater  in  mass  and  nearer  in  distance, 
and  these  are  facts  which  must  be  considered,  as  the 
influence  does  "  vary  directly  as  the  mass  of  the  acting 
bodv,  and  inverselv  as  the  square  of  the  distance.  " 

240,  Holloway  Eoad,  N.,  B.  Cratley. 

September  5,  1900. 

[Mr.  Chatley  writes  so  temperately  that  although  the 
subject  of  astrology  seems  to  me,  except  as  a  matter  • 
of  folk-lore,  to  be  one  of  utter  worthlessness.  I  feel  bound 
to  briefly  reply  to  him.  I  would  not  have  him  suppose 
that  I  consider  all  astrologers  necessarily  conscious  im- 
postors. Astrology  itself  is  certainly  a  fraud,  but  many 
of  its  followers,  in  the  present  as  in  the  past,  have  no 
doubt  been  perfectly  honest. 

Mr.  Chatley  says  that  the  astrological  influence  of 
the  planets  does  vary  directly  as  the  mass  of  the  acting 
body  and  inversely  as  the  square  of  the  distance.  Here 
he  is  distinctly  at  variance  with  all  ancient  astrologers, 
and  I  fancy  with  the  great  majority  of  modem  ones. 
The  masses  of  the  planets  have  only  been  determined 
within  the  last  200  years.  Their  relative  distances  were 
of  course  known  earlier,  but  neither  distances  nor  masses 
enter  into  the  construction  of  ancient  horoscopes,  and 
are  certainlv  very  often  if  not  always  omitted  from 
modern  ones. 

Mr.  Chatley  has  probably  overlooked  the  fact  that 
if  it  be  true  that  astrological  influence  be  subject  to 
the  same  law  as  gravitation,  then  the  sun  is  some  five 
million  times  as  potent  as  Mercury,  and  the  moon  is 
thirty  thousand  times ;  Jupiter  one  hundred  and  eighty 
times ;  Venus  and  Saturn  only  twelve  and  fifteen  times. 
Mars  will  average  as  weaker  than  Mercury,  and  will 
have  almost  the  same  mean  potency  as  Uranus ;  but 
though  Mars  will  occasionally  come  into  very  effective 
positions  for  a  considerable  part  of  its  orbit  it  will  rank 
much  lower  than  Uranus,  and  often  be  feebler  than 
Neptune.  The  influence  of  Uranus,  so  far  from  being 
occasionally  effective,  will  be  veiy  evenly  steady. 

I  think  then  it  is  abundantly  clear  that  the  law  of 
gravitation  finds  no  place  in  astrology.  Yet  if  wc 
assume  that  the  influence  of  the  planets  is  irrespective 
both  of  mass  and  distance  we  shall  find  ourselves  con- 
fronted by  a  more  serious  difliculty  still. 

It  is,  however,  sufficient  to  take  Mr.  Chatley "s  own  ad- 
mission that  the  original  observations,  if  there  ever  were 
any  such,  upon  which  the  rules  of  astrology  were  based, 
have  perished.  Those  rules,  therefore,  are  accepted  now 
adays  simply  in  blind  unreasoning  faith,  and  therefore 
"  astronomers  do  not  care  to  waste  time  on  an  examina- 
tion into  astrology',  for  the  reason  that  there  is  nothing 
in  it  to  examine." — E.  Walter  Maunder.] 


TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — Mr.  E.  W.  Maunder  does  not  appear  to  have 
got  beyond  the  five  senses  in  his  criticism  of  Astrology, 
and  I  am  quite  certain  from  his  remarks  that  he  has 
never  given  the  subject  any  serious  study.  The  TRUE 
astrologer  believes  that  the  sun  is  the  body  of  the  Logos 
of  this  solar  system,  "  in  Him  we  live  and  move,  and  have 
our  being."  The  planets  are  his  angels,  being  modifi- 
cations in  the  consciousness  of  the  Logos.  Astrology 
explains  the  harmony  of  the  spheres,  and  a  correct 
knowledge  of  its  teachings  must  elevate  and  raise  every 
individual  consciousness. 

It  is  vei-j-  easy  to  pull  down,  but  a  far  more  difficult 
task  to  build  up.  If  anyone  chooses  to  call  Jupiter 
malign,  and  Saturn  benefic,  as  Mr.  Maunder  suggests,  I 
will  contradict  him,  and,  what  is  more,  prove  it.  You 
can  settle  any  dispute  with  regard  to  the  truth  of 
astrology  by  accepting  a  test  case,  and  publishing  the 
result  in  Knowledge.  But  to  convince  a  prejudiced 
person  against  his  will  is,  I  feai',  a  hopeless  task,  but  I 
am  willing  to  do  all  I  can  to  prove  that  astrology  is 
true  and  not  false.  Alan  Leo, 

Editor  of  MuJern  Adrulogy. 

9,  Lyncroft  Gardens, 

West  Hampstead,  London,  X.W. 

[I  did  not  expect  so  prompt  and  authoritative  an 
acknowledgment  that  I  was  right  in  stating  that 
astrology  was  only  a  survival  of  paganism.  Mr.  Chatley 
will  see  that  Mr.  Leo  conclusively  answers  him.  The 
physical  sciences  deal  simply  with  the  objects  known 
to  us  by  the  five  senses.  If  he  is  to  be  an  astrologer  on 
Mr.  Leo's  lines,  he  must  leave  the  evidence  of  his  senses 
behind.  To  such  a  demand  men  of  science,  and 
Knowledge  in  their  name,  can  pay  no  regard. 

E.   Walter  Maunder.] 


THE  ZODIACAL  LIGHT  IX  RELATION  TO  THE 
CORONA. 

TO    THE    EDITORS    OF    KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — As  an  amateur  who  in  a  humble  way  takes 
delight  in  the  study  of  "  Astronomy  Without  a 
Telescope,  I  read  with  much  pleasure  Mr.  Maunders 
article  on  the  Zodiacal  Light,  and  it  occiured  to  me  that 
this  light  may  arise  from  the  same  cause  and  partake 
of  the  same  natiu-e  as  the  mysterious  light  that  plays 
about  the  moon's  edges  during  a  solar  eclipse.  This 
may  seem  bold  for  an  amateur  to  suggest,  but  the 
thought  carries  reason  with  it  when  we  reflect  that  every 
sunset  is  an  eclipse  of  the  sun — to  the  observer — that  is 
to  say,  every  time  the  sun  sinks  out  of  view  the  observer 
sees  it  being  gradually  eclipsed  by  the  rising  horizon ; 
and  every  morning  he  sees  the  sun  rise  into  view  he 
sees  the  eclipse  passing  off. 

Early  astronomers  held  the  opinion  that  the  corona 
was  due  to  the  solar  beams  being  refracted  b}-  the  at- 
mosphere of  the  moon,  but  modern  investigators  t€ll 
us  the  moon  is  devoid  of  atmosphere.  In  this  case,  by 
the  way,  why  is  the  moon  not  battered  out  of  existence 
by  comets,  meteors,  and  the  various  fiery  fragments  that 
scourge  the  heavens,  seeing  that  the  earth  is  protected 
by  an  atmosphere  ;  and  by  what  means  (if  these 
celestial  batteries  have  been  falling  on  its  surface  for 
countless  ages)  has  it  not  become  overweighted,  lost  its 
equilibrium,  and  fallen  from  its  high  sphere  into  the 
lap  of  mother  earth?  But  admitting  the  moon  to  have 
no  atmosphere;  when  we  know  that  light  is  capable 
of  being  reflected  from  any  body  whatsoever,  no  matter 


October  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE, 


229 


how  solid  or  rugged  its  substance  may  be,  it  is  no  great 
stretch  of  imagination  to  suppose  that  the  solar  beams, 
impinging  on  tlie  i-uggcd  surface  of  the  moon,  will  be 
broken  up  and  dispersed  in  all  directions,  as  the  sea 
waves  arc  broken  up  and  scatt-ered  in  foam  when  they 
dash  against  a  rock-bound  shore.  This  theory  is  not 
confuted,  as  may  seem  at  lirst  sight,  by  the  appearance 
of  the  moon's  dark  bodj-  moving  across  the  luminous 
area.  We  take  it  for  granted  that  the  rays  of  the  sun 
in  course  of  an  eclipse  are  at  all  times  focussed  upon  a 
given  point  of  the  moon's  sphere,  that  point  being  in  a 
direct  lino  between  the  eye  of  the  observer  and  the 
centre  of  the  sun,  and  that  said  rays  are  dispersed 
within  a  given  area  describing  a  circle.  Now,  as  the 
central  point  of  the  moon's  sphere  approaches  coinci- 
dence with  the  central  point  of  the  solar  orb,  the  in- 
creasing diameter  of  the  moon  will  encroach  on  the 
circle  of  visible  dispersion,  and  seem  to  pass  across  the 
face  of  the  illuminated  area.  The  extent  of  this 
luminous  circle  of  dispersed  light  will  vary — to  the 
observer— and  might  be  expected  to  increase  in  bril- 
liance and  in  area  in  proportion  to  the  decrease  of 
direct  light  from  the  sun,  until  when  complete  coin- 
cidence takes  jjlace  and  darkness  lies  over  the  land  a 
more  or  less  concentric  ring  of  light  will  result,  extend- 
ing far  beyond  the  borders  of  the  moon. 

With  reference  to  the  analogy  between  this  phenomenon 
and  the  Zodiacal  Light  it  may  be  obsei-\'ed  that  before 
and  immediatelv  after  the  sun  sinks  below  the  horizon, 
to  a  beholder  its  rays  are  refracted  solely  by  the  earth's 
atmosphere ;  and  cloud  and  sky  assume  an  endless 
variety  of  beautiful  and  evanescent  hues ;  but  as  the 
earth  revolves  on  its  axis,  the  beholder  changes  his 
position  relative  to  the  direction  of  the  solar  rays, 
which  form  an  ever-widening  angle  with  the  observer's 
line  of  vision.  This  being  so,  is  it  not  just  possible 
that  given  a  certain  position  for  sun,  earth,  and  beholder, 
the  reflected  light  of  earth  and  atmosphere  together 
are  jirojected  upwards  in  the  direction  of  the  zenith, 
and  become  visible  from  the  observer's  standpoint  after 
the  darkness  is  sufficiently  dense  to  show  it  up  ?  This 
earth-shine  anyone  can  see  with  naked  eyes  by 
examining  a  new  moon.  A  Country  Lad. 

Galston,  Ayrshire. 

[A  friend  of  oui-s  having  been  shown  the  anatomy  of 
a  caterpillar  under  a  microscope,  exclaimed  in  wonder, 
"  I  never  knew  that  a  caterpillar  had  organs ;  I  always 
thought  it  was  only  skin  and  squash."  There  might 
have  been  something  in  "  A  Country  Lad's  "  suggestion, 
if  either  the  Corona  or  the  Zodiacal  Light  were  mere 
shapeless  glares  of  light.  A  single  glance  at  the  actual 
Corona,  or  the  comparison  of  a  few  good  photographs, 
would  convince  "  A  Country  Lad  "  that  it  was  no  more 
an  amorphous  "  squash  "  than  a  caterpillar  is,  but  that 
it  possessed  a  real  and  definite  structure ;  a  structure 
quite  independent  of  "  the  i-uggcd  surface  of  the  moon." 
It  is  a  real  entity;  not  a  mere  diffusion  or  refraction 
effect.  So  the  Zodiacal  Light,  although  much  less  definite, 
proves  by  the  character  of  its  motion  amongst  the  stars 
that  it  too  has  an  actual  objective  existence. 

[E.  Walter  Maunder.] 


"  THE    100    BEIGHTEST    STAES." 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

SiES, — In  the  article  on  the  "  Hundred  Brightest 
Stars "  there  are  several  points  I  should  like  to  ask 
about.     I  will  number  them. 


L  No.  7  is  given  as  '•  Rigel  (a  Ononis)  "  and  No.  11 
as  "  a  Orionis."  If  the  second  "a  Orionis  "  is  Betelgeux 
it  is  given  as  "  /3  Orionis  ''  iu  my  chart. 

2.  Sliould  not  the  note  en  No.  2  road  "  does  not  rise  "  ? 

3.  The  uote  numbered  (it!  looks  as  though  it  belonged 
to  Algol,  68. 

4.  In  the  list  there  does  not  seem  to  ho  a  sharp  line 
between  the  magnitudes  as  given  on  my  little  chart.  Can 
you  say  on  what  ]ilan  or  on  whose  autbcirity  these  "rough" 
charts  (my  own  is  Philijis'  Star  Maps)  mark  the  magni- 
tudes ?  L.    CUTUBERTSON. 

:?2,  Sparsholt  iioad,  Croiu^h  Hill,  N., 
September  12,  1900. 

[1.  No.  7,  Rigel  (a  Orionis),  is  a  misprint  for  /3  Orionis. 
2.  Yes. 

8.  66  is  a  mistake  and  should  road  CiH  (Algol). 
4.  The    magnitudes   shown  on   po|)ular  star  m:ips  are 
always  more  or  less  unreliable. — J.  E.  Gore.] 


OCCULTATION  OF  SATURN  ON  SEPTEMBER  3. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — This  phenomenon  was  witnessed  here  under  the 
best  of  atmospheric  conditions.  I  turned  a  4-inch 
Cooke  refractor  on  the  moon  at  Gh.  35m.,  and  with  a 
power  of  65  immediately  saw  Saturn  a  little  east  of  the 
dark  limb  and  exceedingly  faint.  Increasing  the  power 
to  235  I  calculated  the  approach  of  the  two  bodies,  and 
then  the  gradual  encroachment  of  the  moon's  dark 
periphery  upon  the  W.  ansa,  the  ball,  and  finally  the  E 
ansa.  The  effect  was  very  picturesque  and  novel  during 
the  110  seconds  over  which  the  disappearance  extended. 
This  interval  applies  to  the  time  elapsing  from  the  first 
observed  flattening  of  the  ring  to  complete  occultation. 

At  reappearance  the  moon  was  much  brighter 
in  the  darker  sky,  and  the  relative  brilliancy  of  Saturn 
and  the  limb  of  our  satellite  afl'orded  a  notable  dif- 
ference. When  the  outer  section  of  the  ring  emerged 
it  was  only  just  perceptible,  being  nearly  obliterated 
by  the  intensity  of  the  light  from  objects  on  the  lunar 
margin.  The  reappearance  of  the  planet  occupied  a 
shorter  period  than  the  disappearance,  as  it  emerged  at 
a  different  angle  i-elativcly  to  the  major  axis  of  the  rings. 
When  quite  free  the  comparison  of  tint  between  the 
planet  and  moon  was  very  interesting,  the  feeble  leaden 
line  of  Saturn  being  in  striking  contrast  with  the  vivid 
lustre  of  our  satellite. 

As  the  ball  of  Saturn  was  emerging  from  occultation 
I  looked  for  a  dusky  band  fringing  that  part  of  the 
moon's  edge  projected  on  the  planet,  but  no  such 
appearance  could  bo  discerned.  A  feature  of  this  kind 
seems  to  have  been  occasionally  noticed  on  Jupiter 
during  occultation  of  that  planet. 

The  times  of  first  and  last  contact  of  the  outer  edge 
of  Saturn's  ring  with  the  moon  were  very  I'oughly 
noted  by  my  watch,  as  7h.  12Jm.  and  8h.  10m.  About 
15  minutes  after  the  I'eappearancc  Saturn  became  dis- 
tinctly visible  to  the  naked  eye  near  the  S.W.  limb  of 
the  moon.  W.  F.  Denning. 

Bishopston,  Bristol, 

1900,  September  6th. 


JUPITER. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — I  regret  that  in  my  drawings  of  Jupiter,  pub- 
lished in  the  September  number  of  Knowledge,  the 
planet  was  shown   with   a  circulai'  instead  of  an  oblate 


230 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[OCTOBEB    1,  1900. 


disc.  My  original  figiu'es  were  correct,  but  in  the  wash- 
copies  made  from  them  at  your  office  for  purposes  of 
reproduction  the  shape  was  altered,  and  when  examining 
the  proofs  I  failed  to  notice  the  change,  my  attention 
being  riveted  on  the  markings.  The  responsibility  for 
the  mistake  rests  entirely  with  me,  and  no  doubt  it 
would  have  been  rectified  but  for  the  very  ill-health 
from  which  I  suffered,  and  which  made  work  very 
difficult  for  me  at  about  the  time  I  had  the 
proofs.  The  shape  of  the  planet  as  represented  does 
not  affect  the  general  accuracy  of  the  details  shown, 
but  the  object  ought  to  have  been  delineated  in 
his  natural  figui'e,  and  I  have  thought  it  worth  while 
to  make  these  few  remarks  in  explanation. 

On  September  3  I  observed  Jupiter  with  a  4  inch 
Cooke  refractor,  power  235,  and  found  the  hollow  in 
the  great  southern  equatorial  belt,  north  of  the  red  spot 
central  at  7h.  10m.,  so  the  longitude  of  this  feature  was 
44°. 4,  for  it  followed  the  zero  meridian  (system  II.)  of 
Mr.  Crommelin's  ephemerides  lb.  13.4m. 

Bishopston,  Bristol,  W.  F.  Denning. 

1900,  September  6th. 

♦ 

Among  the  new  committees  appointed  by  the  British 
Association  at  Bradford  is  one  to  assist  Mr.  Vaughan 
Cornish  in  his  investigation  of  terrestrial  sui-face  waves 
and  wave-like  surfaces.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
Mr.  Cornish  contributed  a  series  of  articles  on  "  Waves  " 
to  these  columns  in  1896,  and  he  has  lately  received 
the  "  Gill  Memorial  "  for  his  work  in  connection  with 
the  subject. 

The  following  awards  at  the  Paris  Exhibition  were 
made  to  British  Scientific  and  Photogi-aphic  Instniment 
Makers  : — James  J.  Hicks,  London,  two  gold,  two  silver, 
and  four  silver  to  employees ;  Cambridge  Scientific 
Instrument  Company,  Limited,  Cambridge,  grand  prix 
and  silver — one  gold  and  one  silver  to  employees ;  Ross, 
Limited,  London,  gi-and  prix;  James  White,  Glasgow, 
grand  prix;  Negretti  &  Zambra,  London,  two  gold; 
W.  Watson  ife  Sons,  London,  two  gold ;  Newman  & 
Guardia,  Limited,  London,  gold ;  J.  H.  Dallmeyer, 
Limited,  London,  gold  :  Crompton  &  Company,  Limited, 
London,  gold;  Kodak,  Limited,  London,  grand  prix; 
also  to  J.  Defries  &  Sons,  London,  2  grands  prix ;  Smith- 
Premier  Typewriter  Company,  London,  grand  prix. 


#t  iluarg. 

We  regret  to  record  the  death,  on  the  31st  August, 
of  Sir  John  Bennet  Lawes,  Bart.,  d.c.l.,  ll.d.,  f.r.s., 
our  pioneer  of  scientific  agriculture.  He  was  born  at 
Rothamsted  in  the  year  1814,  and  educated  at  Eton  and 
Oxford.  At  an  early  period  of  his  life  he  succeeded  to 
the  family  estates,  and  commenced  the  series  of  experi- 
ments which  have  since  made  him  world  famous.  He 
discovered  the  value  of  bones  for  fertilizing  the  soil, 
but  the  process  of  breaking  these  up  was  a  laborious  one, 
and  the  fragments  were  long  in  being  absorbed  by  the 
soil.  In  1842,  however,  after  many  experiments  in  the 
field,  a  patent  was  taken  out  for  treating  mineral  phos- 
phates with  sulphuric  acid,  and  a  small  industry  was 
commenced  at  Harpenden.  The  success  of  this  under- 
taking led  Sir  John  to  enlarge  the  manufactoi-y,  and  a 
place  was  selected  at  Barking.  After  many  years  of 
prosperity  the  whole  business  was  9old  for  £300.000. 
thua    testifying    to   the    enormous    value    of    artificial 


manures  as  fertilisei-s  of  the  soil.  In  1843,  Dr.  (now 
Sir)  Henry  Gilbert  became  associated  with  Sir  John 
Lawes,  and  the^e  two  worked  together  for  upwards  of 
fifty  years.  It  is  impossible  to  indicate  here  the  vast 
amount  of  work  done  by  Sir  John  and  his  colleague, 
but  the  results  of  the  investigations  would  form  a  com- 
plete history  of  scientific  agriculture  during  the  last 
half  century.  The  memoirs  published  by  these  experi- 
menters from  the  year  1847  onwards  number  130,  and 
include  the  results  of  a  great  many  classical  investi- 
gations on  many  such  questions  as  wheat  production, 
beet  sugar  manufacture,  and  the  sources  of  the  nitrogen 
of  vegetation.  The  late  Sir  John  was  elected  Vice- 
President  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  in  1878, 
and  a  ti'ustee  in  1891 ;  was  elected  a  Fellow  of  the 
Royal  Society  in  1854,  while  in  1882  the  Queen  created 
him  a  baronet. 

It  is  with  great  regret  that  we  leam  of  the  death, 
in  San  Francisco,  on  August  12th,  of  James  Edwaed 
Keeler,  A.B.,  sc.D.,  Director  of  the  Lick  Observatory 
and  Astronomer. 


BRITISH 


V    ^ 


OPxNiTHOLOGiCAl^ 


Conducted  hy  Harry  F.  Witherby,  f.z.s.,  m.b.o.u. 

Re-inteoduction  of  the  Great  Bustard. — Whether 
the  re-introduction  of  the  Great  Bustard  in  England  will 
be  a  successful  experiment  or  not  it  is  at  all  events  a 
most  interesting  one.  Several  Great  Bustards  have 
been  impoiii-ed  and  liberated  on  the  borders  of  the 
Norfolk  fens.  ''  This  effort  is  due,"  Lord  Walsingham 
informs  us,  "to  the  public  spirit  of  an  English  gentle- 
man resident  abroad."  The  introduction  of  creatures 
in  a  wild  state  into  a  country  altogether  foreign  to 
them  is  from  every  point  of  view  deplorable,  but  we 
shall  all  look  forward  to  the  success  of  this  experiment 
to  re-introduce  the  Great  Bustard — once  the  pride  of  our 
indigenous  avifauna. 

The  success  of  the  experiment  depends  we  are  afraid 
in  a  large  measure  to  the  good  fortune  of  the  birds 
themselves. 

How  ever  much  may  be  done,  and  we  are  glad  to  say 
that  much  has  been  done,  in  publishing  the  facts  about 
these  birds,  what  will  prevent  their  desti-uction  if  once 
they  come  within  easy  range  of  the  ignorant  villain 
who  goes  out  to  kill,  no  matter  how,  or  what,  as  long 
as  he  can  safely  boast  of  it? 

Let  us  hope  that  these  bustards  from  a  sunnier  clime, 
but  we  are  afraid  no  less  barbarous  country  than  ours, 
are  amongst  the  wiliest  of  their  crafty  race,  and  will 
thus  survive.  We  can  hardly  expect  them  to  increase 
greatly,  and  become  what  they  were  a  hundred  years 
ago,  for  since   then   railways,   roads,   houses,   trees  and 


OCTOBKR    1     1900] 


KNOWLEDGE 


231 


hedges,  and  a  hundred  minor  things  havo  grown  up 
to  bar  their  way  and  t^errify  th?ir  wild  nature,  where 
once  stretched  the  great  wastes  and  rolling  plains  they 
loved  so  well. 

Grtal  Crested  Grebes  in  Richmond  Park.  (The  Field,  Aiipust  18th, 
p.  21IS. )  Mr.  W.  R.  Rfftil  reionls  tUo  iuterostiiig  fnct  that  f<n-  tho 
second  Tear  in  succession  a  pair  of  Grout  Cresti'il  Grebes  have 
hatolied  out  two  young  ones  in  Kiehniond  Park. 

A  Short  Uisinry  of  the  Bearded  Titmouse.  B.v  J.  H.  Gurney. 
(Zooloffist,  August,  lillK),  pp.  ;?oS  -  374.)  Tliis  is  an  interesting 
account  of  the  Bearded  Titmouse,  which  is  reduced  in  numbers  in 
England  to  a  mere  remnant  (althougli  we  are  ghid  to  say  now  an  in- 
creasing  remnant),  confined  to  tlie  Norfiilk  Broa<ls.  The  author 
divides  his  account  into  the  following  heads :  Distribution,  increasing 
scarceness,  habits,  uidifieation,  former  breeding  area,  etc.  Addi- 
tional notes  appear  in  the  Zoo/ot/ist  for  September,  190<),  pp.  422 
and  423. 

A  J'isit  to  Loinih  Erne  in  Search  of  the  Sandinch  Tern.  By 
Robert  Warren.  '  (Irish  Sat.,  September,  19tKl,  pp.  22(1—223.) 
This  is  ail  account  of  the  birds  observed  breeding  aliout  Lough  Erne, 
and  establislies  the  fact  that  the  Sandwich  Tern  nests  th(>re. 
Hitherto  the  only  known  nesting  jihice  of  this  I)ird  in  Ireland  was 
near  Bailina,  in  County  Mayo. 

♦ 

Notices  of  Boofts. 

'"  Rkse.\rches  ixto  the  Origin  of  the  Primitive  Constel- 

L.VTIONS    OF   THE   GREEKS,    PH(EXICIANS,    AND    B.ABTLONIANS."      Bf 

Robert  Brown,  junior,  f.s.a.,  etc.,  etc.  Vol.  II.  (Williams  and 
Norgate.)  10s.  6d.  Just  a  year  ago  we  reviewed  the  first  volume 
of  Mr.  Brown's  work  on  the  Primitive  Constellations,  and  it  is 
with  much  pleasure  that  we  note  its  continuance  in  the  second  and 
concluding  volume.  The  second  volume  is  in  many  ways  an  im- 
provement on  the  first.  Important  though  the  first  volume  was, 
as  a  serious  and  practically  a  new  investigation  into  the  history 
and  origin  of  the  constellation  figures,  this  volume,  which  is  con- 
cerned entirely  with  the  Euphratean  star  records,  is  more  important 
and  takes  us  into  ground  more  entirely  virgin  still.  Further, 
some  of  the  faults  which  disfigured  the  first  volume  are  less  felt 
or  have  been  corrected  in  the  second  ;  there  is  less  reason  to  com- 
plain of  those  vain  repetitions  which  led  us  before  to  think  that 
Mr.  Brown  had  become  so  enamoured  of  the  principle  of  redujdi- 
cation  in  the  Zodiac  as  to  conclude  that  there  could  not  be  too  much 
of  it  in  the  pages  of  his  books.  Though  the  subject  is  newer  and 
more  difficult  than  in  the  preceding  volume,  Mr.  Brown  has  handhd 
it  more  clearly  and  invested  it  with  greater  attractiveness.  The 
restoration  of  the  Euphratean  planisphere  from  three  small  frag- 
ments, which  forms  the  subject  of  chapter- IX.,  is  of  particular 
interest.  The  chapter  on  "  Constellation  Subjects  in  Euphratean 
Art "  would  be  more  convincing  if  it  were  not  for  the  manifest 
assumption  on  Mr.  Brown's  part  that  any  object,  no  matter  how 
familiar,  that  the  Euphrateans  sculptured  or  engraved  must 
necessarily  be  constellational  if  it  chanced  to  be  amongst  the  objects 
which  they  had  chosen  for  the  constellation  forms.  In  the  "  Tablet 
of  the  Thirty  Stars  "  there  is  a  good  deal  that  we  find  unconvincing. 
It  is  dilBcult  to  suppose  that  the  original  lunar  zodiac,  no  doabt 
far  earlier  than  the  solar  one,  can  have  begun  with  the  group  o' 
Alpha  Aquarii.  Chapter  XIII.,  on  the  Celestial  Equator  of  Aratos, 
deals  with  a  subject  which  Mr.  Brown  has  already  treated  fully 
elsewhere,  but  its  great  importance  in  the  present  connection  fully 
justifies  him  in  bringing  it  forward  again.  We  note,  too,  with 
pleasure  his  very  pregnant  suggestion  that  the  constellations  pro- 
bably began  with  the  choice  of  single  stars  or  of  small  striking 
groups ;  other  stars  being  selected  later  as  they  happened  to  li-; 
most  suitably  for  connection  with  the  original  idea.  He  justly 
and  strongly  repudiates  the  suggestion  that  the  natural  con- 
figuration of  the  stars  suggested  the  constellation  figures.  The 
idea  has  had  some  good  names  to  back  it,  but  ,1  very  little  direct 
acquaintanceship  with  the  appearance  of  the  heavens  is  .sufficient 
to  disabuse  any  impartial  observer. 

When  we  come  to  the  question,  however,  of  the  origin  of  the 
constellation  forms,  we  find  a  grievous  inconsistency  in  Mr.  Brown's 
position.  He  cannot  make  up  his  mind  as  to  whether  the  Zodiac 
took  its  origin  when  Aries  or  when  Taurus  was  the  equinoctial 
sign.  He  tells  us  indeed  explicitly  in  more  than  one  passage  that 
the  latter  was  the  case  ;  he  assumes  in  a  hundred  that  the  former 
was.  Both  cannot  be  true.  If  he  could  but  steadily  lay  hold  of 
the  fact,  which  is  certainly  astronomically  established,  that  the 
constellations  were  originally  mapped  out,  possibly  in  the  Euphra- 
tean valley,  but  far  north  of  Babylon,  and  many  centuries  before 
the  equinox  had  entered  Aries,  it  would  cause  him  indeed  to  revise 
very  much  of  what  he  has  written,   but  its  value  would  be  in- 


definitely increased.  The  bearing  of  this  fact  on  the  solar  myth 
is  most  important ;  it  teaches  us  that  the  sun  was  not  first  personi- 
fied as  a  llam  and  tho  constellation  then  designed  to  accord  with 
it,  but  that  the  constellation  first  received  the  name  and  figure  of 
the  Bam,  and  the  sun  derived  its  personification  from  the  star 
group.  We  trust  that  Mr.  Brown  may  be  persuaded  to  |)rovido 
liimself  with  a  good  precessional  globe,  .and  setting  it  for  about 
3000  B.C.,  to  go  over  the  ground  again,  checking  every  concdusion 
by  its  aid.  We  have  no  doubt  that  it  will  materially  modify  his 
views  in  many  details.  Even  as  it  is,  we  assuredly  owe  Mr. 
Brown  a  very  heavy  debt  for  the  industry  and  aliility  with  which 
he  has  pushed  his  enquiries  into  a  re.gi(m  previously  so  entirely 
unexplored,  and  yet  of  such  intense  interest  to  all  who  concern 
themselves  with  the  beginnings  of  the  oldest  and  grandest  of  the 
sciences. 

"  Inoroanio  Evolution  as  Studied  dy  Sr'ECTUuM  Analysis." 
By  Sir  Norman  Lockyer,  K.c.B.,  F.R.s.  (Macmill.au.)  As.  net. 
Tliis  vidumc  may  be  considered  as  a  sequel  to  the  three  works 
pulilished  in  the  preceding  thirteen  years  —"  Chemistry  of  the  Sun," 
"The  Meleoritic  Hypothesis,"  and  "The  Sun's  Place  in  Nature." 
Its  ]nirpose  is  to  gather  together  and  focus  the  evidence  presented 
in  the  three  former  volumes  of  the  dissociation  of  those  substances 
which  we  are  accustomed  (o  regard  as  elementary,  and  (he  entire 
array  of  observations  and  theories  presented  in  tho  whole  <'olIection 
are  regarded  as  a  contrilnilion  to  the  study  of  the  evolution  of 
those  elements.  It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  the  book  is  one  dealing 
with  a  subject  of  the  highest  importance,  and  it  should  be  said 
at  once  that  of  the  four  volumes  of  the  series  it  is  by  far  the  best. 

The  earlier  cha))ters  dealing  with  the  first  principles  of  spectro- 
scopy are  admiraldy  clear,  so  clear  as  to  give  rise  to  the  unkind 
suspicion  when  Sir  Norman  writes  obscurely — and  no  one  can 
sur])ass  him  in  this  respect  at  times — that  either  he  has  then  no 
definite  idea  of  what  he  wishes  to  say,  or  else  no  very  strong  desire 
that  he  should  be  understood.  So  far,  too,  as  the  present  work 
summarizes  the  conclusions  of  the  three  earlier  volumes,  we  fin  1 
a  considerable  increase  in  precision. 

As  to  the  theoi-y  here  put  forward,  that  of  the  growth  of  the 
elements  themselves,  it  is  one  of  which  it  is  very  easy  to  vaguely 
formulate.  It  has  been  done  repeatedly  by  men  who  are  justly 
regarded  as  paradoxers  as  well  as  by  some  of  the  very  leaders  of 
science.  Front's  Law,  Meudeleef's  Periodic  Law,  were  quite 
sufficient  to  suggest  it  to  any  imaginative  mind.  But  the  working 
out  in  detail  is  a  very  different  business,  and  to  discuss  adequately 
the  details  here  given  would  require  a^  much  space  as  the  book 
itself.  Leaving  the  plausibility,  therefore,  of  the  theory  entirely 
on  one  side,  it  is  sufficient  to  say  here  that  Sir  Norman  Lockyer 
gives  a  clearer  .account  of  the  present  state  of  the  discussion,  and 
a  more  precise  exposition  of  his  own  views  with  regard  to  it,  than 
in  any  of  his  previous  works.  He  comes  more  nearly  to  com- 
mitting himself  to  definite  propositions  which  can  be  tested  and 
refuted  or  confirmed.  The  book,  therefore,  will  both  be  more 
useful  to  the  student  and  a  more  valuable  contribution  to  science 
than  any  of  its  three  precursors. 

The  illustrations  are,  we  regret  to  say,  of  the  same  unsati.3 
factory  character  as  in  the  previous  volumes. 

BOOKS    RECEIVED. 

Tejrt-Soof.-  of  Zool'),/,/.  Part  II. — Birds,  Reptiles,  Fishes.  By 
Dr.  Otto  Sclimcil.     (Uiack.)     Illustrated.     3s.  Cd. 

Microscopes  and  Srii^ntifto  Instruments  —  Cutalogne,  ItJOIJ  19i)l, 
(C.  Baker.) 

Elementary  Physics  and  Chemistry.  Gregory  and  Simmons. 
(Macmillan.)      Illustrated.     Is. 

Outlines  of  Field  Geology.  5th  Edition.  By  Sir  .\.  Oeikio. 
(Maeraillau.)     3s.  Ijd. 

Photometrical  Measurements.  By  Wilbur  M.  Stiue,  ch.d. 
(Macmill.an.)     (is.  fid. 

A  Treatise  on  Zoology.  Edited  by  Prof.  E.  Ray  Lankester. 
Part  II. — The  Poripera  and  Cwlentera.     (Black.)     15s.  net. 

An  Outline  of  the  Theory  of  Thermodynamics.  By  Edgar 
Buckingham.     (Macmillan.)     8s.  net. 

The  Spectrum  Plate.      (I'ampldet.)     By  Miss  Ackland. 

The  Path  of  the  Sun,  Illustrated  hy  Diagrams.  By  William 
Sandcnian.     (Simpkin.) 

The  Journal  of  the  Society  of  Comparatire  Legislation.  August, 
lilix).     (Murray  )     03. 

Studies  in  Fossil  Botany.  By  Dr.  1).  H.  Scott,  k.b  s.  (Black.) 
Illustrated.     7s.  <id.  net. 

On  llie  Rotation  of  Spiral  Nebula  Messier  ~)1  Canum  Venaticorum  ; 
Annual  Report,  IS'JO-iyOO,  Saeilian  Professor  of  Astronomy :  and 
other  astronomical  pamphlets.  By  H.  11.  Turner,  Savilian  Prof,  of 
.Vstrononiy. 

The  Birds  of  Ireland.  By  Richard  J.  Usaher  and  Robert  Warren. 
(Gurney  &  Jackson.)     30s, 


232 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[October  1,  1900. 


WIRELESS     TELEGRAPHY. -IV. 

By     G.     W.     DE     TUNZELMANX,     B.SC. 

ELECTRIC  WAVES. 
As  far  back  as  1842,  the  American  professor,  Joseph 
Heni-y,  pointed  out  that  the  phenomena  accompany- 
ing the  discharge  of  a  Leyden  jar  suggested  that  it  was 
of  an  oscillatory  character;  and  Helmholtz,  in  1847, 
in  his  celebrated  essay  on  the  Conservation  of  Energy, 
made  the  same  assumption,  and  pointed  out  that  the 
oscillations  would  become  continually  smaller  until  the 
entire  energy  was  dissipated  by  the  opposing  resistances. 
The  time  of  a  complete  oscillation,  as  mentioned  in  my 
first  art.icle,  is 

T  =  2  ir  \^L  S, 
where  L  and  S  are  the  self  induction  and  ca,pacity  of 
the  circuit  respectively. 

The  meaning  of  these  electrical  constants  will  be 
more  clearly  understood  by  a  comparison  of  the  elec- 
trical oscillations  with  mechanical  oscillations  of  a 
simple  character  such  as  those  of  a  straight  spring  fixed 
at  one  end  and  having  a  weight  attached  to  the  other. 

The  flexibilitv  of  the  spring  is  the  analogue  of  the 
capacity,  and  the  inertia  of  the  loaded  spring  that  of 
self  induction.  An  increase  in  either  of  them  will 
diminish  the  rate  of  oscillation.  In  the  electincal  case 
the  capacity  of  the  circuit  may  be  increased  by  making 
the  jar  larger,  and  as  the  self  induction  is  due  to  the 
magnetisation  of  the  medium  surrounding  the  current 
it  may  be  augmented  by  increasing  the  length  of  the 
circuit.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  there  is  very  little 
magnetising  effect,  except  close  to  the  conductor,  the 
area  included  in  the  circuit  makes  very  little  difference, 
so  that  the  circuit  may  be  wound  into  a  coil,  making 
the  arrangement  more  compact.  If  the  oscillations 
were  slower  the  self  induction  might  be  still  further 
increased  by  filling  the  space  inside  the  coil  with  iron, 
but  with  these  extremely  rapid  oscillations  the  iron 
is  protected  from  magnetisation  by  the  currents,  opposed 
to  those  in  the  coil,  which  ai'e  induced  by  the  latt«r 
in  the  outer  skin  of  the  iron,  and  the  result  is  that 
the  introduction  of  iron  does  not  increase  the  self  in- 
duction but  actually  diminishes  it. 

\Vhen  the  spring  is  set  in  motion  the  vibrations 
rapidly  die  away.  This  damping  action  is  caused  by 
the  friction  of  the  difiEerent  portions  of  the  spring,  the 
energy  of  vibration  being  thereby  dissipated  into  mole- 
cular \abrations  or  heat.  It  may  be  increased  still 
further  by  immei-sion  in  a  viscous  medium,  and  if 
suificiently  viscous  the  motion  may  become  dead-heat, 
that  is  to  say,  simply  a  single  excursion  and  return 
to  the  position  of  equilibrium.  Another  cause  of 
damping  is  the  transference  of  energy  to  the  medium 
by  the  production  of  waves  in  it,  and  if  the  spring  is 
so  shaped  as  to  increase  this  effect  the  damping  will 
also  be  increased.  The  electric  oscillations  which  occur 
when  a  Leyden  jai'  is  discharged  are  damped  in  a  very 
simDar  manner,  the  resistance  of  the  circuit  con-espond- 
ing  to  friction,  in  the  case  of  the  spring,  but  in  order 
to  destroy  its  oscillpvtory  chai-acter,  except  in  the  case 
of  very  large  condensers,  such  as  are  used  in  submarine 
telegraphy,  it  is  necessary  to  include  in  the  circuit  some 
very  bad  conductor,  such  as  a  wet  string  or  a  block  of 
wood.  The  rapid  damping  of  the  oscillations  of  a 
Leyden  jar  discharge  when  the  circuit  is  so  designed 
as  to  be  an  efficient  exciter  of  electric  waves  follows 
necessarily  from  the  principle  of  the  conservation  of 
energy,  just  as  in  the  case  of  the  spring. 


The  Hertz  oscillator,  or  exciter  of  electric  waves,  is 
simply  a  Leyden  jar  of  such  design  as  to  facilitate  the 
transference  of  the  energy  of  the  electric  oscUlations 
of  its  discharge  to  the  surrounding  ether,  and  therefore 
a  compai'atively  large  amount  of  energy  is  required  to 
maintain  it  in  action.  Several  years  before  Hertz's 
experiments  were  made.  Professor  Fitzgerald,  of  Dublin, 
had  suggested,  from  theoretical  considerations,  that  it 
should  be  possible  to  excite  such  electric  waves  in  the 
ether  by  means  of  the  discharge  of  Leyden  jars  of  suitable 
design,  and  about  the  same  time  that  Hertz  began  these 
investigations  Professor  Oliver  Lodge  was,  in  connection 
with  the  theoi-y  of  the  lightning  conductor,  making  a 
series  of  experiments  on  tlie  discharge  of  small  con- 
densers, which  led  him  on  to  the  observation  of  ether 
waves  within  the  wires,  and  not  waves  transmitted  by 
the  material  of  the  wires  themselves. 

As  Hertz  himself  suggests.  Professor  Lodge  would  in 
all  probability  have  succeeded  in  discovering  the  ether 
waves  in  air  had  he  not  anticipated  him. 

Hertz  tells  us  that  in  1886  he  was  experimenting 
with  a  pair  of  what  he  calls  Riess  or  Knochenhauer 
spirals,  but  which  should  be  more  properlv  called  Henry 
spirals,  spirals  of  silk-covered  copper  tape  first  used  by 
Professor  Joseph  Henry  about  1838  in  his  researches 
on  mutual  and  self  induction.  Hertz  noticed  that  in 
order  to  obtain  sparks  in  one  of  these  spirals  the  large 
batteries  which  had  hitherto  been  employed  might  be 
replaced  by  even  a  small  Leyden  jar,  provided — and  this 
was  the  important  point — that  the  discharge  was  made 
to  spring  across  a  spark-gap.  This  observation  led  to 
the  splendid  series  of  researches  which  experimentally 
demonstrated  the  truth  of  Maxwell's  theory  of  electro- 
magnetic waves,  and  laid  the  foundation  for  the  method 
of  telegraphy  which  Signer  Mai-coni  and  others  have 
so  successfully  developed  into  a  practical  system. 

It  is  well  known  to  musicians  as  well  as  to  students 
of  acoustics  that  when  a  certain  musical  note  is  sounded, 
a  string  or  pipe  which  would  give  out  this  note  will 
respond  to  it,  and  in  a  similar  manner  an  electric  con- 
ductor  may   be    adjusted    or    tuned   to    respond    to   the 


S'-der  for  Tunifif. 


Fic.   1. — Lodge's  Experiments  witli  Syntonic  Leyden  Jars. 

¥ro>a  Lodge*s  "  SitjnalUug  throuKb  Space  without  Wires." 

oscillations  set  up  by  the  discharge  of  a  Leyden  jar. 
This  is  well  shown  in  an  experiment  maJe  by  Professor 
Lodge  after  reading  Hertz's  papers.  He  took  a  pair  of 
Leyden   jars    (Fig.    1)    with    circuits    about    a   yard    .n 


October  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


233 


diameter,  aiid  separated  by  a  distance  of  about  two 
yards,  aud  fouud  that  when  the  first  jai-  wa.s  charged 
"and  discharged  the  waves  set  up  in  the  second  circuit 
could  be  made  to  cause  it  to  overflow  across  a  short  air- 
gap,  provided  by  pasting  a  slip  of  tinfoil  over  the  lip 
of  the  second  jai-,  by  experimentally  adjusting  the  slides 
shown  in  the  illustration.  Lodge  calls  this  syntonising 
the  pair  of  jars.  A  closed  circuit  such  as  this  is  a  feeble 
radiator,  because  it  is  not  well  adapted  for  the  transfer 
of  its  cuergv  to  the  siurounding  ether,  some  thirty  or 
fortv  oscillations  taking  place  before  there  is  any  serious 
damping.  Great  precision  of  tuning  is  therefore  neces- 
sary. 

It  will  be  instructive  to  compare  this  an-angenient  of 
Professor  Lodge's  with  a  standard  llcrtz  oscillator  aud 
resonator,   as  shown   in  Fig.   2.     A   powerful   induction 


o^o. 


Fuj.  2.— Hertz  Oscillator  aud  Resonator. 

S.B. — C,  C,  are  spheres  with   wires  shown   through    lenlres,  aud 
therefore  represented  by  circles.     D  is  scjuare  of  wwe. 

coil,  A,  having  the  terminals  of  its  secondary  circuit 
connected  with  the  oscillator,  which  consists  of  a  pair 
of  brass  rods  terminating  in  small  polished  knobs,  B, 
the  distance  between  which  is  adjustable,  while  two  large 
metal  spheres,  C,  C,  slide  on  the  brass  rods.  By 
altering  the  positions  of  these  spheres  the  oscillator  can 
be  tuned  into  syntony  with  the  resonator,  D,  consisting 
of  a  wire  rectangle  or  circle,  tenninating  in  a  pair  of 
polished  brass  knobs,  which  should  be  vei-y  close 
together. 

If  Lodge's  exciting  jar  had  its  two  coatings  removed 
to  a  considerable  distance  apart,  and  the  dielectric 
sepai'ating  them  were  made  to  extend  out  into  the  room, 
we  should  obtain  the  equivalent  of  the  Hertz  oscillator, 
which  is  of  the  most  suitable  form  to  facilitate  the  trans- 
ference of  its  electric  wave  energy  to  the  surrounding 
ether.  'When  the  coatings  are  close  together,  as  in 
Lodge's  form,  the  magnetic  energy  largely  predominates 
over  the  electrostatic.  When  the  distance  between  them 
is  increa-sei  and  the  dielectric  more  exposed,  the  electro- 
static energy  becomes  more  nearly  equal  to  the  magnetic, 
and  therefore  the  arrangement  gains  in  efficiency  as  a 
radiator,  since  in  true  radiation  the  two  energies  must 


Fig.   3.— Oscillations  of  Dumb-bell  Hertz  Oscillator. 

be  nearly  equal.     The  spheres,  C,  C,  may,  if  desired,  be 
replaced  by  large  metal  plates. 


By  means  of  calculations  from  the  readings  of  an 
electrometer  inserted  in  the  air-gap,  D,  Fig.  2,  Bjcrknes 
succeeded  in  obtaining  curves  representing  the  il.imping 
of  the  oscillations.  Figure  3  shows  the  oscillations 
obtained  with  a  dumb-bell  oscillator,  such  as  that  illus- 
trated in  Fig.  2,  and  it  will  be  observed  that  they  die 
away  with  extreme  rapidity. 

The  persistent  character  of  the  oscillations  excited  in 
a  ring  resonator  by  an  oscillator  tuned  to  syntonism 
with  it  is  shown  in  Fig.  -l. 


I  u 

Fio.  4.— Oscillation  nt   Rin^;. shaped    Hertz   Kesoualur  excited  by 
Syntonic  Oscillation. 

Ju.st  as  in  the  case  of  acoustic  resonance,  when  the 
resonator  has  its  natiu'al  oscillations  strongly  damped, 
the  tuning  of  the  oscillator  into  syntony  with  it  is  of 
comjiaratively  small  importance,  but  if  its  oscillations 
are  persistent  then  exact  tuning  is  essential.  Exact 
syntony  is  also  necessai-y  whenever  the  exciter  is  a  per- 
sistent oscillator,  as  otherwise  it  will  tend  to  destroy  at 
one  moment  the  oscillations  which  it  set  up  a  moment 
before.     This  is  well   shown   in  Fig.   5,  which  exhibits 


Fio.  5. — Oscillation  of  Rinfj-shnped  Hertz  Resonator  cieited  by 
Oscillation  not  cjuito  Syntonic  with  it. 

the  oscillation  of  a  ring  resonator,  excited  by  an  oscil- 
lation not  quite  in  syntony  with  it. 

To  understand  hew  an  electrical  oscillation,  or  its 
equivalent,  an  oscillating  charged  body,  ca.n  excite  electric 
waves  in  the  ether,  I  will  ask  my  readers  to  refer  to 
Fig.  6  in  my  last  article.  Let  the  rack  represent  the 
electrically  charged  body,  and  imagine  it  is  oscillating 
backwards  aud  forwards  in  the  direction  of  its  length. 
This  will  set  up  a  rotary  oscillation  in  the  wheelwork, 
and  the  wheelwork  being,  as  has  been  assumed  through- 
out, elastic,  this  rotai-y  oscillation  will  bo  propagated 
with  a  velocity  depending  on  the  elasticity  and  the 
density,  as  has  already  been  explained.  The  axes  of  the 
wheels  represent  the  direction  of  tho  magnetic  rotary 
oscillation,  and  this  is  perpendicular  to  the  line  of  rack 
which  represents  the  direction  of  the  electrical  oscil- 
lation. The  direction  in  which  the  wave  is  advancing 
is  perpendicular  to  both  of  thcni.  Hertz  by  exploring 
with  his  resonator  the  space  in  the  neighbourhood  of  an 
oscillator  succeeded,  not  only  in  demonstrating  the 
existence  of  electric  waves,  but  in  differentiating  between 
the  electrostatic  and  magnetic  oscillations.  He  also 
succeeded  in  proving  they  liatl  all  the  well-known  pro- 
perties of  light  and  heat  waves. 


234 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[OCTOBEE    1,    1900. 


The  Discovery  and  Development  of  the  Coherer. 

Hertz's  splendid  results  were  all  obtained  witli  only 
the  simple  resonator  sbown  in  Fig.  2  as  a  detector  of 
the  presence  of  electric  waves.  This  would,  however,  not 
have  been  nearly  sensitive  enough  for  transmitting 
signals  over  considerable  distances,  even  with  the  most 
perfect  oscillators  or  transmitting  instruments,  and  each 
transmission,  therefore,  only  advanced  into  the  realm  of 
the  possible  with  the  discoveiy  of  the  microphonic  trans- 
mitter, or,  as  Professor  Lodge  calls  it,  the  cohertr,  which 
was  not  brought  into  general  use  for  this  pui-pose  until 
years  latei-,  although  it  had  been  discovered  and  actually 
used  for  the  detection  of  the  presence  of  the  Hertzian 
waves  by  that  great  and  patient  experimentalist.  Pro- 
fessor Hughes  (whose  loss  we  have  so  recently  had  to 
lament),  as  far  back  as  1880,  some  half-dozen  yeai's 
before  Hertz  began  his  investigations. 

His  experiments  were  shown  to  Sir  George  Gabriel 
Stokes  and  other  physicists  in  1879  and  1880,  but  owing 
to  their  unfortunate  failm-e  to  gra,sp  the  meaning  of 
them  as  Hughes  himself  certainly  did,  their  publication 
was  deferred.  The  result  was  that  Hughes  found  his 
own  discoveries  as  to  the  sensitiveness  of  the  micro- 
phonic contact,  and  its  useful  employment  as  a  receiver 
for  electrical  ether  waves,  remade  by  others. 

A  capital  historical  sketch  of  the  course  of 
this  discovery  was  given  by  Professor  Lodge  in  the 
Electrician  for  November  12th,  1897,  from  which 
much  of  what  follows  has  been  taken.  In  this  article 
he  suggests  that  probably  the  earliest  discovery  of  co- 
hesion under  electric  influence  was  contained  in  a  for- 
gotten observation  of  Guitard  in  1850,  that  when  dusty 
air  was  electrified  from  a  point  the  dust  pai-ticles  tended 
to  cohere  into  strings  or  flakes,  and  points  out  that 
the  same  thing  occiu's  in  the  formation  of  snowfiakes 
under  the  influence  of  atmospheric  electrification,  and 
in  the  cohesion  of  small  drops  into  large  ones  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  a  charged  cloud  forming  the  familiar 
thunder  shower.  In  1879,  Lord  Rayleigh  showed  that 
when  a  stick  of  rubbed  sealing  wax  was  brought  within 
a  few  yards  of  a  small  fountain  which  was  scattering 
its  spray  in  all  directions,  the  scattering  ceased,  the 
broken  jet  rising  and  falling  in  large  heavy  drops. 

The  next  stage,  with  the  exception  of  Professor 
Hughes's  work,  which  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  re- 
mained unknown  during  the  whole  of  the  development 
described  in  what  follows,  was  the  re-discovcry  by  Pro- 
fessor Lodge  and  the  late  J.  W.  Clark  of  Giiitai-d's  dust 
phenomenon  when  experimenting  on  the  cause  of  the 
dust^free  region  of  air  discovered  by  Professor  Tyndall 
as  existing  over  hot  bodies,  and  erroneously  ascribed 
by  him  to  the  dust  being  burnt  up,  but  which  was  shown 
by  Lodge,  Osborne,  Reynolds  and  others  to  be  really 
due  to  molecular  bombardment,  phenomena  analogous 
to  those  occurring  within  a  Crookes'  radiometer. 

Before,  however,  aiTiving  at  this  explanation,  experi- 
ments were  made  to  see  if  it  was  caused  electrically, 
and  it  was  found  that  when  the  hot  body  was  placed 
in  a  thick  smoky  atmosphere  and  then  chai'ged  with 
electricity  the  smoky  atmosphere  immediately  became 
clear.  In  1889,  Professor  Lodge  was  investigating  the 
action  of  the  lightning  guards  used  for  protecting  tele- 
graphic insti-uments  from  the  effect  of  the  sudden  rushes 
due  to  lightning  dischai-ges.  These  were  made  by  adding 
as  a  shunt  to  the  circuit  containing  the  instrument,  an 
open  circuit  with  a  small  air-gap,  with  te:Tninals  con- 
sisting of  a  pair  of  small  brass  balls,  across  which  the 


discharge  jumped,  rather  than  flow  round  the  coils  of 
the  insti-ument,  which  had  great  self-induction,  and 
therefore  offered  much  opposition  to  a  sudden  rush  of 
cun-ent.  Lodge  found  tliat  when  the  knobs  were  placed 
too  close  together  even  a  Leyden  jar  discharge  would 
often  short  circuit  the  gap,  the  knobs  being  found  both 
by  electrical  and  mechanical  tests  to  be  feebly  united 
at  a  single  point.  When  the  knobs  were  in  mechanical 
contact,  and  separated  only  by  an  extremely  thin  film, 
consisting  probably  of  oxide,  extremely  feeble  sparks 
were  found  to  be  sufficient  to  produce  this  effect.  The 
adhesion  of  the  two  sui-faces  were  demonstrated  by 
means  of  an  electric  bell  placed,  together  with  a  single 
battei-y  cell,  in  the  circuit,  and  every  time  a  spark 
occurred  the  bell  rang,  and  continued  to  ring  until  the 
table  on  which  the  apparatus  was  standing,  or  some  part 
of  the  support  of  the  knobs,  was  tapped,  so  as  to  shake 
them  asunder  again.  The  arrangement  was  found  to 
form  a  convenient  detector  in  the  syntonic  Leyden  jar 
experiment  described  at  the  beginning  of  this  article. 

If  the  electric  bell  was  placed  on  the  same  table  as 
the  sparking  knobs,  or,  better,  were  allowed  to  touch 
them,  its  tremor  was  found  to  be  quite  sufficient  to 
effect  this  separation,  unless  the  spark  and,  therefore, 
the  adhesion  had  been  too  strong.  In  the  meantime. 
Hertz's  experiments  had  attracted  general  attention  from 
physicists.  Professor  Minchin,  in  1891,  when  working 
with  some  photo-electric  cells,  and  especially  some  which 
behaved  abnormally,  as  it  seemed  to  him  at  the  time, 
and  which  he  called  "  impulsion  cells,"  found  that  when 
a  Hertz  oscillator  was  working  in  another  part  of  the 
r  om  the  electrometer  connected  with  liis  cells  re- 
sponded, and  by  means  of  this  detector,  which  certainly 
depended  on  the  coherer  principle,  he  succeeded  in 
signalling  without  wires  over  a  considerable  number  of 
yards. 

Professor  Boltzmann,  about  the  same  time,  used  a 
charged  gold-leaf  electroscope  for  a  like  purpose, 
arranging  it  ,so  that  the  electroscope  was  just  on  the 
l^oint  of  discharging  across  a  minute  air-gap,  so  that  its 
leaves  were  deilected  by  a  definite  amount.  It  was 
found  when  in  this  condition  to  be  extremely  sensitive 
to  Hertz  waves,  which,  if  excited  in  any  part  of  the 
room,  would  bridge  over  the  gap  and  dischai'ge  the 
instniment. 

This,  as  Professor  Lodge  points  out,  is  not  a  detector 
depending  on  the  principle  of  cohesion,  but  it  led  him, 
when  repeating  the  experiment  in  a  modified  form,  to 
the  conclusion  that  cohesion  could  be  effected  by  the 
surgings  due  to  the  regular  Hertz  waves. 

One  of  the  modifications  adopted  by  him  was  to  make 
the  gajj  of  carbon,  and  to  connect  it,  with  its  wave 
collector,  to  the  terminals  of  the  110-volt  electric  light 
leads,  so  that  whenever  a  Hertz  oscillator  was  discharged 
across  the  gap,  the  spark  would  close  the  circuit  and  set 
up  an  ai-c.  This  method  was  suggested  to  him  by  the 
observation  of  the  behaviour  of  some  incandescent 
lamps  used  to  light  his  lecture  tables,  which  were  shaded 
on  one  side,  and  prevented  from  rotating,  by  means  of 
a  pair  of  copper  wires  stretched  across  the  lecture  room. 
As  long  as  the  wires  were  there  the  lamp  fuzes  used  to 
blow  whenever  a  Hertz  oscillator  was  worked  in  the 
room,  owing  to  these  wires  acting  as  collectors,  and  they 
were  therefore  replaced  by  silk  threads,  when  the  fuzes 
ceased  to  blow. 

In  1891,  Professor  Branly,  of  the  Catholic  Institute 
in  Parifl,  published  some  experimental  researches  of  the 
greatest  importance,   in   which   he  showed   that  metals 


October  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


235 


in  the  state  of  powJor  or  lihugs,  aoid  al^w  .ai-ious  i 
mixtures  of  metallic  powders  with  non-conducting  ones, 
which  ordinarily  offer  iui  extiemoly  high  resistance  to 
the  passage  of  an  electric  current,  fell  enormously  and 
quit-e  suddenly  in  resistance  whenever  an  electric  sp;u'k 
occurred  in  the  neighboiu-hood.  This  lowered  resistance 
continued  for  some  time,  but  the  powder  could  be  in- 
stantly restored  to  its  high  resistance  state  by  tapping 
it,  and  in  some  cases  by  increasing  the  temperature. 
Branly  found  that  when  the  powders  had  once 
been  submitted  to  powerful  electric  action  mechanical 
shocks  did  not  restore  them  entirely  to  their 
original  state,  but  that  they  continued  to  show  them- 
selves very  much  more  sensitive  to  electrical  actions. 
Some  few  bodies,  such  as  peroxide  of  lead,  had  their 
lesistance  increased  by  the  action  of  the  electric  sparks, 
and  others  again  had  their  resistance  alternately  in- 
creased and  diminished.  The  last  results  ai'c  curious 
and  interesting,  but  the  important  case  for  its  applica^ 
tion  to  Hertzian  telegraphy  is  that  of  diminished 
resistance.  Branly's  results  became  known  to  Professor 
Lodge  at  the  end  of  1893,  when  he  at  once  proceeded 
to  try  the  Branly  tubes  of  filings,  and  found  them  greatly 
superior  in  manageabUity  to  either  the  Boltzmanu  gap 
or  his  own  delicately  adjusted  cohering  knobs,  but  imme- 
diately afterwards  he,  in  conjunction  with  Professor 
Fitzgerald,  devised  a  coherer  consisting  of  a  sewing 
needle  resting  upon  aluminium  foil,  which  they  found 
to  be  of  extraordinai-y  sensitiveness  and  at  the  same  time 
reasonably  manageable.  Professor  Lodge  then  made  a 
whole  series  of  what  he  describes  as  quasi-optical 
experiments  with  the  new  detector,  and,  before  long, 
various  improved  methods  of  airanging  the  filings  were 
discovered,  especially  that  of  sealing  them  up  tn  vacuo 
or  in  hydrogen,  in  order  to  protect  them  from  oxidation 
by  the  air,  the  effect  of  which  would  be  to  produce  too 
great  a  thickening  of  the  extremely  thin  film  separating 
them  from  one  another.  When  brass  filings  immersed 
in  hydrogen  were  used,  they  soon  became  too  clean,  and 
their  sensitiveness  so  great  that  it  was  impossible  to 
restore  the  original  high  resistance  by  tapping.  Pro- 
fessor Lodge  consequently  preferred  the  vacuum  ob- 
tained by  the  use  of  a  Spreugel  mercury  pump.  He 
states  that  almost  any  filings  tube  was  capable  of  detect- 
ing signals  sent  from  a  distance  of  60  yards,  with  a  mere 
six-inch  sphere  used  as  oscillator,  and  without  the 
slightest  trouble,  but  that  he  found  the  single  point 
coherer  much  more  sensitive  than  any  filings  tube. 

For  tapping  back,  the  use  of  an  electric  beU  mounted 
on  the  base  of  a  filings  tube  was  not  found  very 
satisfactory,  owing  to  the  disturbances  produced  by  the 
small  sparks  occurring  at  its  contact  breaker,  to  which 
this  more  delicate  detector  responded  as  well  as  to  the 
signals  which  it  was  meant  to  attend  to,  while  the  less 
delicate  knob  apparatus  had  not  been  so  affected.  A 
tapper  consisting  of  a  rotating  spoke  wheel  driven  by 
the  clockwork  of  a  Morse  instrument  and  giving  the 
coherer  a  series  of  jerks  at  regular  intervals  was  there- 
fore employed. 

Mr.  Rolls  Appleyard  and  Lord  Rayleigh  have  devised 
a  liquid  coherer  consisting  of  two  globules  of  mercury 
separated  by  a  thin  film  of  grease,  such  as  paraffine 
oil.  When  a  battery  cell  is  connected  up  in  a  circuit 
with  these  globules,  they  are  pressed  together  evei-y  time 
the  circuit  is  closed,  and  Lord  Rayleigh  has  observed 
that  it  takes  an  appreciable  time  before  they  come  into 
contact,  aa  though  a  film  had  to  be  mechanically  squeezed 
out  from  between  the  oppositely  charged  metallic  sur- 


faces, and  this  suggests  that  cohesion  may  in  every  case 
be  simply  a  resvdt  of  electrostatic  attraction,  and  that  the 
moleculai"  films  separating  solids  in  contact  may  be 
squeezed  out  in  a  similar  manner.  The  force  of  attraction 
between  two  surfaces  difl'eriug  in  jjotential  by  a  volt 
and  separated  by  the  smallest  known  thickness  of  thin 
film  (which  is  about  10.7  centimetres)  would  be  equiva- 
lent to  about  650  pounds  to  the  square  inch,  a  quite 
sufficient  pressure  to  make  this  explanation  a  perfectly 

possible  one. 

♦ 

PLANTS    AND    THEIR    FOOD.    V. 

By  H.  H.  W.  Peaeson,  m.a. 

We  have  now  to  consider  the  means  by  which  the  food 
constituents  of  the  soil  enter  the  plant  and  are  cairicd 
ujjwards  to  the  leaves ;  for  it  is  in  the  cells  of  the  leaves 
that  the  food  supplies  from  the  atmosphere  and  from  the 
soil  axe  brought  together  and  luidergo  chemical  changes. 
This  important  work  of  the  absorption  of  mineral  food 
from  the  soil  is  entrusted  to  the  root,  which  in  most 
cases  serves  the  additional  pui-jsose  of  holding  the  plant 
firmly  in  fiosition,  and  frequently  also  acts  as  a  store- 
house in  which  is  laid  by  food  or  water  for  future  use. 

if  a  bean  or  pea  be  soaked  in  water  until  the  embryo 
swells  and  bursts  the  seed-coat,  it  is  seen  to  consist  of 
two  comparatively  large  and  thick  embi-yo-leaves  or 
cotyledons,  a  minute  bud  or  "  plumule  "  between  them, 
and,  in  a  straight  line  with  this,  projecting  beyond  the 
cotyledons,  a  very  small  papilla,  which  is  the  embryonic 
root  or  "  radicle."  The  cotyledons  contain  so  much 
organic  food  matei-ial — starch  and  proteid — that  the 
embryo  in  the  early  stages  of  its  growth  needs  no  root, 
but  grows  at  the  expense  of  these  materials  stored  up 
for  its  use  by  the  mother-plant.  Meanwhile  the  tiny 
radicle  insinuates  itself  between  the  soil-pai-ticles  and 
grows  downwards,  and  later  gives  off  minor  branches, 
and  so  becomes  capable  of  laying  the  soQ  under  con- 
tribution to  supply  the  mineral  needs  of  the  common- 
wealth of  which  it  forms  a  part,  as  soon  as  the  stores 
in  the  cotyledons  are  exhausted.  In  many  plants — e.g., 
the  Grasses — the  radicle  perishes  almost  as  soon  as  it 
emerges  from  the  "  seed,'  and  is  replaced  by  numerous 
branches  arising  from  the  scar  left  by  the  defunct  radicle 
or  from  the  lower  part  of  the  stem  or  leaves. 

The  fact  that  roots  grow  downwards  is  so  well  known 
that  mention  of  it  may  seem  superfluous.  This  habit  is 
due  to  the  influence  of  gi-avity.  It  is  easily  noticed 
that  the  main  root  (produced  by  the  continued  growth 
of  the  radicle)  is  more  strongly  influenced  by  the  force 
of  gravity  than  are  its  side-branches,  for  while  it  strikes 
a  course  which  is,  in  the  main,  towards  the  earth's 
centre,  its  branches  make  a  considerable  angle  with  it, 
and  frequently  grow  in  a  horizontal  direction.  Con- 
sequently the  roots  are  able  to  exploit  a  much  larger 
area  of  soil  than  would  be  possible  if  the  branches 
and  the  main  root  were  equally  amenable  to  gravity. 
A  fui-ther  peculiarity  in  the  growth  of  most  roots  is 
that  they  shun  the  light  and  take  the  shortest  course 
to  dark  or  shady  places.  On  an  ivy  stem  the  clinging 
roots  by  which  it  is  attached  to  the  wall  or  tree  all 
emerge  on  the  shady  side  of  the  stem  and  proceed  at 
once  to  bury  their  sensitive  tips  in  the  nearest  hollows 
of  the  support.  There  arc,  on  the  other  hand,  roots 
which  behave  like  stems,  in  that  they  bid  defiance  to 
gravity  and  gi'ow  erect  and  show  no  tendency  to  hide 
themselves  from  the  light.  These,  however,  are  quite 
exceptional,  and  as  a  rule  serve  the  planta  which  pro- 


236 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[October  1,  1900. 


duce  them  in  other  ways  than  by  the  absorjDtion  of  food. 
These  two  characters  possessed  by  most  roots — viz.,  a 
tendency  to  grow  (1)  in  the  direction  of  gravity  and 
(2)  away  from  the  light — cause  them  to  penetrate  the 
soil  in  which  their  quest  (mineral  food)  is  to  be  found. 

The  soil  varies  considerably  in  composition,  and  even 
within  small  areas  the  distribution  of  moisture — and 
therefore  of  available  plant-food — is  by  no  means 
uniform.  Roots  have  a  third  character,  which  enables 
them  to  follow  such  a  course  in  the  soil  that  they  tap 
the  places  most  richly  supplied  with  moisture  and  nutri- 
ment. The  root-tip  is  extremely  sensitive  to  moisture, 
and  will  travel  through  the  moister  pai-ts  of  the  soil 
even  if  by  so  doing  it  leaves  the  more  direct  downwai'd 
course  dictated  by  gravity.  This  fact  is  of  immense 
importance  to  the  root  in  its  search  for  food,  for  it  is 
guided,  as  by  an  unerring  instinct,  to  just  those  places 
where  food  in  an  available  form  is  to  be  found.  It  is 
not  difficult  to  see  for  oneself  evidence  of  this  interest- 
ing behaviour  of  the  root  in  the  presence  of  moisture. 
A  sieve  is  made  by  fastening  some  netting  to  a  box  from 
which  the  bottom  has  been  removed;  it  should  be  about 
two  inches  deep  and  eight  inches  from  side  to  side. 
The  sieve  is  filled  with  moist  sawdust  in  which  some 
barley  grains  are  sown,  and  then  hung  up  in  a  green- 
house* in  such  a  way  that  the  netted  surface  makes  an 
angle  of  45°  to  50°  with  the  vertical.  As  the  roots 
grow  through  the  bottom  of  the  sieve  the  attraction 
exercised  by  the  moisture  in  the  sawdust  overcomes  the 
effects  of  gravity  and  they  are  deflected  from  the  vertical 
and  grow  downwards  along  the  inclined  surface  of  the 
sieve. 

The  younger  parts  of  the  root  are  provided  with 
so-called  "  root-hairs,"  the  organs  actually  concerned  in 
bringing  into  the  plant  the  mineral  solution  of  the  soil. 
Each  hair  is  produced  by  the  elongation  of  a  single  cell  of 
the  root  surface.!  They  appear  on  the  young  part  of  each 
branch  of  the  root  a  little  distance  behind  the  apex, 
and  fall  off  as  it  becomes  older  and  thicker.  Only 
those  parts  of  the  root  which  are  provided  with  "  hairs  " 
are  able  to  take  in  solutions  from  without.  They  are 
usually  thickly  placed  on  that  part  of  the  root  where 
they  occur,  and  very  short — as  a  rule,  much  less  than 
^  of  an  inch  long,  but  sometimes  ^  inch  or  more.  Their 
formation  is  much  influenced  by  the  conditions  under 
which  the  root  grows,  for  they  are  more  abundantly 
developed  in  a  moderately  dry  than  in  a  very  wet  soil. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  the  soil  be  very  diy,  or  so  com- 
pact and  hard  as  to  offer  much  resistance  to  the  growth 
of  the  root,  their  formation  is  hindered.  The  connection 
between  the  root>hairs  and  the  soil  particles  is  very 
intimate ;  this  is  seen  on  uprooting  almost  any  young 
plant,  when  it  will  be  found  very  diff.cult  to  remove 
the  last  traces  of  soil  from  the  younger  parts  of  the  root. 
The  root^halr,  choosing  in  its  growth  the  path  of  least 
resistance,  comes  into  close  contact  with  particles  of 
soil  at  various  points;  at  the  places  of  contact  its 
cellulose  wall  becomes  soft  and  jelly-like,  so  that  the 
particle  is  more  or  less  embedded  in  it.  J 

The  root-hair  is  merely  a  long  cell,  and,  like  other 
living  cells, g  is  surrounded  by  a  cellulose  wall,  on  the 

•  Or  in  a  dark  room  ;  in  tliis  case  the  lloor  of  thf  room  should  be 
occasionally  watered,  that  the  air  may  not  become  so  dry  as  to  cause 
tlic  withering  of  the  roots. 

t  See  figure  in  Knowledge,  July,  1!«l(l,  p.  Kid,  /i,  //. 

X  See  fi|,'urc  in  Knowlbdoe,  July,  1900,  p.  160,  s,  h 

§  Knowleuqk,  January,  1900,  \}.  3. 


inside  of  which  is  a  lining  of  semi-fluid  protoplasm. 
As  much  of  the  cell  as  is  not  occupied  by  protoplasm 
is  filled  by  the  cell-sap,  a  solution  of  organic  and  in- 
organic substances.  Outside,  the  root^hairs  are  bathed 
by  a  weak  solution  of  mineral  salts,  the  water  of  the 
soil.  There  are  thus  two  solutions  sepai-ated  from  one 
another  by  a  double  wall,  the  outer  of  cellulose  and  the 
inner  of  protoplasm. 

The  cellidose  wall  being  very  minutely  perforated,]]  the 
two  solutions  are  provided  with  passages  by  which  they 
can  communicate.  Under  these  circumstances  physical 
forces  are  called  into  play,  and  the  fluid  particles  in 
the  minute  passages  in  the  cell-wall  are  set  in  motion. 
Owing  to  the  presence  in  the  cell-sap  of  various  organic 
substances  iu  the  plantrcell,  the  solution  in  the  soil 
passes  into  the  cell,  which  becomes  in  time  full  and  the 
elastic  cellulose  wall  distended — a  condition  in  which 
the  cell  is  called  "  turgid."  The  pressure  within  the 
cell,  which  may  be  as  much  as  four  or  five  atmospheres, 
is  then  only  relieved  by  the  transference  of  some  of  the 
cell-sap  onwards  to  other  cells.  The  root-hair  thus 
obtains  the  nutrient  solution  which  it  seeks  by  the 
purely  physical  process  of  osmosis,  and  passes  it  on  to 
the  interior  cells. 

If  the  wall  separating  the  cell-sap  and  the  soil 
solution  consisted  of  the  cell-wall  only,  without  the 
lining  of  protoplasm,  the  passage  of  solution  into  the 
cell  would  take  place  in  the  same  manner,  but  certain 
modifications  are  caused  by  the  presence  of  the  inner 
wall  of  living  protoplasm.  If  a  slice  of  fresh  beet-root  be 
carefully  washed  and  placed  in  clean  cold  water  no  red 
colouring  matter  escapes,  but  the  water  remains  clear 
and  colourless.  On  heating,  a  change  occurs  ;  when  the 
water  is  boiled  it  is  coloured  red  by  the  sap  which 
escapes  from  the  cells  of  the  beet^root.  As  long 
as  the  protoplasm  lining  the  cell-wall  is  living  it 
prevents  the  coloured  sap  —  and  other  substances 
as  well  —  from  escaping,  but  as  soon  as  it  is 
killed,  by  raising  the  temperature  or  in  other  ways, 
it  loses  this  power  and  the  sap  diffuses  through  it  into 
the  water.  The  living  protoplasm  thus  exercises  some, 
control  over  the  dissolved  substances  which  leave  and 
enter  the  cell  ;  and,  further,  a  solution  which  enters 
at  one  time  is  unable  to  escape  at  another.  It  is 
probable  that  the  constitution  of  the  protoplasm  varies 
from  time  to  time,  though  in  what  precise  manner  and 
under  the  influence  of  what  cause  or  causes  it  does  not 
al  present  admit  of  explanation.  The  fact  remains  that 
the  protoplasm  as  long  as  it  is  alive  prevents  some  sub- 
stances from  entering  the  cell  and  others  from  leaving 
it.  Despite  this  control,  a  large  quantity  of  mineral 
matter  enters  the  plant  which  is  of  no  use  to  it  as  food 
and  may  indeed  be  harmful.  We  have  noticed  in  the 
case  of  SilicaU  an  instance  of  the  absorption  of  large 
quantities  of  a  substance  which  is  of  no  food-value  to 
the  plant. 

The  roots  of  many  plants  not  only  absorb  mineral 
food  from  the  soil  but  are  also  manufactories  in  which 
the  transformation  of  free  Nitrogen  into  an  oxidised 
state  occurs.  It  has  long  been  known  that  agricultural 
land  is  improved  by  ploughing  into  it  the  remains  of 
previous  crops,  and  that  the  benefit  derived  is  greater 
in  some  cases  than  in  others.  Nearly  300  years  ago 
Bacon  wrote**  : — "  The  Fourth  Helpe  of  Ground  is  the 

II  Knowledoe,  January,  1900,  p.  3. 
^  Knowledge,  M.ay,  1900,  p.  101. 
**  "  Sylva  Sylvarum,"  p.  146. 


October  1.  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


237 


Suffering  of  Veget-ables  to  die  into  the  Ground ;  And 
so  to  Fatten  it;  As  the  Stubblo  of  Corne,  Especially 
Pease."  Equally  beneficial  with  "  Pease  "  are  other 
crops,  such  as  clover,  belonging  to  the  Natural  order 
Leguminosje  (so-called  because  its  members  produce  a 
fruit  known  as  the  "legume"  or  "pod").     The  roots 


A   Lupine    Plant,   reduced    from   a  drawing   by    Mi?s   E.   E.   Praft, 
ahowing  the  tubercles  \t)   on  the  roots. 

of  many  plants  belonging  to  this  order  are  swollen  or 
knotted  at  intervals  like  that  of  the  garden  Lupine 
shown  in  the  figure.  Similar  tubercles  are  sometimes 
found  also  on  the  roots  of  the  Alder  and  a  few  other 
less  familiar  trees  and  shrubs.  Needless  to  say,  they 
were  observed  long  before  their  importance  to  the  plant 
was  realised.  On  examining  a  section  cut  through  one 
of  them,  it  is  seen  that  the  tissues  of  the  root  have  been 
stimulated  to  increased  growth,  causing  the  part  affected 
to  swell.  Such  an  abnormal  growth  of  an  organ  is  often 
caused  by  the  presence  within  it  of  a  foreign  organism. 
And  so  it  is  in  this  case,  for  in  the  cells  of  the  tubercle 
IS  a  multitude  of  minute  residential  organisms  to  which 
we  hesitate  to  apply  a  name.  In  some  stages  of  their 
existence  they  resemble  bacteria,  by  which  name  they 
are  frequently  called.     Their  exact  nature  is,  however, 


still  under  discussion  ;  it  is  certain  that  they  are  not 
true  bacteria,  but  probably  the  degraded  descendants 
of  ancestors  belonging  to  one  of  the  lower  groups  of  the 
Fungi.  The  work  done  by  these  tubercle-organisms  has 
been  studied  only  in  a  few  members  of  the  Leguminosa?, 
but  it  is  probable  that  wherever  they  are  found  they  are 
equally  important  to  the  plant  in  whose  roots  they  live. 
On  some  roots  the  tubercles  are  found  in  large  numbers ; 
more  than  4,500  have  been  counted  on  a.  single  pea- 
plant. 

In  a  previous  articlcft  it  has  been  noticed  that  most 
green  plants  obtain  their  Nitrogen  in  the  form  of 
Nitrates  (i.e.,  oxidised  Nitrogen),  and  that  they  are 
unable  to  make  use  of  the  free  Nitrogen  of  the  atmo- 
sphere. When  certain  leguminous  plants,  such  as  the 
Lupine,  arc  gi-own  in  soil  which  contains  no  Nitrates, 
they  may  die  from  Nitrogen  starvation,  or,  on  the  other 
hand,  they  are  more  likely  to  grow  in  normal  luxuriance. 
If  the  plants  which  die  under  these  circumstances  arc 
examined  their  root.s  are  found  to  be  (jiiite  free  from 
tubercles;  while  the  roots  of  those  which  flourish  are 
invariably  provided  with  tubercles,  in  the  cells  of  which 
is  the  usual  population  of  organisms.  If  the  soil  is 
strongly  heated  and  then  allowed  to  cool  before  the 
Lupine  is  planted  in  it,  and  afterwards  carefully  pro- 
tected so  that  no  impurities  from  outside  may  reach  it, 
the  roots  grown  in  it  do  not  become  swollen,  i.e.,  they 
are  not  invaded  by  the  organism  which  causes  the 
swellings.  The  organism  is  present  in  the  soil,  and 
under  ordinary  circumstances  "  infects  "  certain  roots, 
such  as  those  of  the  Lupine;  but  if  the  soil  has  been 
previously  heated,  bacteria  and  other  living  iiihabitaiits 
are  killed,  and  roots  grown  in  it  afterwards  do  not 
become  infected.  What  the  Lupine  and  similar  plants 
require  in  the  soil  is  not  an  abundant  supply  of  Nitrates 
but  the  presence  of  the  minute  organism  which  infects 
and  establishes  colonies  in  its  roots. 

The  facts  of  the  last  paragraph  clearly  indicate  that 
the  work  of  the  rootorganism  consists  in  the  production 
of  compounds  of  Nitrogen  which  can  be  made  use  of 
by  the  plant  which  gives  it  lodging  and  partial  "  board." 
As  a  result  of  much  careful  and  reliable  investigation 
we  now  know  that  the  free  Nitrogen  of  the  atmosphere|]: 
is  oxidised  by  the  activity  of  these  humble  guests,  and 
the  resulting  Nitrates  are  passed  on  to  the  hostplant. 
The  latter  not  only  houses  its  guests  during  their  life- 
time but  apparently  also  consumes  their  remains  after 
death,  thereby  doubtless  making  use  of  the  stores  of 
accumulated  nitrogenous  compounds  in  their  bodies. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  promising  fields  of  future  investi- 
gation, and  many  interesting  results  may  yet  be  expected 
from  it.  For  the  present,  we  must  realise  that  we  know 
very  little  about  the  details  of  the  co-operation  between 
the  flowei-ing  plant  and  the  soil-organism — a  union 
which  was  not  su.spccted  two  or  three  decades  ago.  We 
are  at  least  certain  that  some  leguminous  plants  are 
rendered  independent  of  supplies  of  Nitrates  in  the  soil 
by  reason  of  the  activity  of  minute  soil-organisms  which 
reside  in  their  roots,  assimilate  free  atmospheric  Nitro- 
gen and  pass  it  on  to  their  host  in  an  oxidised  state. 
At  the  end  of  the  growing  season  the  root  of  such  a 
plant  contains  a  store  of  nitrogenous  substances  ready 
to  be  absorbed  by  plants  whoso  existence  depends  upon 
a  supply  of  oxidised  Nitrogen.  The  roots  of  a  crop 
of  leguminous  plants  such  as  "  Pease,"  left  to  decay  in 

tt  July,  1900. 

XX  AH  Boils  contain  air,  and  therefore  free  Nitrogen.  ,See  figure 
in  Kmowledqe,  July,  1900,  p.  160. 


238 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[October  1,  1900. 


the  soil,  enrich  it  by  axiding  to  it  such  compounds  of 
Nitrogen,  and  thereby  render  it  more  fertile  the  next 
season  for  a  crop  which  possesses  no  means  of  iitUising 
the  free  Nitrogen  of  the  air. 

♦ 

NOTES   ON    COMETS   AND   METEORS. 

By  W.  F.  Denning,  f.r.a.s. 

Borrellt-Brooks's  Comet. — This  object  has  formed  a  very 
interesting  one  for  telescopic  observers  during  the  last  two  months. 
It  has  exhibited  a  well  defined  tail  and  bright  head  ;  in  fact  its 
aspect  lias  been  that  of  a  large  comet  presented  in  miniature.  Its 
motion  away  from  the  earth  and  sun  has  now  rendered  it  extremely 
faint,  and  it  will  soon  pass  beyond  the  range  of  the  most  powerful 
telescopes.  At  the  beginning  of  October  the  position  of  the  comet 
is  5  degrees  S.W.  of  the  stars  (i  —  7  Ursac  Minoris,  and  its 
motion  is  directed  towards  the  S.E.,  but  it  is  now  apparently  travel- 
ling very  slowly.  A  very  large  number  of  observations  of  this  object 
have  been  obtained  at  observatories  in  various  parts  of  the  world. 
Its  orbit  appears  to  be  parabolic,  but  definite  elements  have  not 
yet  been  computed. 

Barnard's  Comet  (1884  II.).— In  Ast.  Nach.  3660,  A.  Berberich 
gives  a  sweeping  ephemeris  of  this  object.  Its  perihelion  passage 
wall  probably  take  place  at  the  end  of  October,  but  the  precise 
date  is  uncertain.  On  October  23  the  computed  place  of  the 
comet  will  be  E.A.  17h.  :Uin.,  Dec.  -  27"  12',  but  its  southerly 
position  and  great  distance  (nearly  150  millions  of  miles)  from  the 
earth  must  prevent  its  being  seen  in  this  country  except  in  a  very 
powerful  telescope.  The  comet  was  discovered  in  1884,  and  has 
a  period  of  about  Sj  j'ears.  It  must  have  returned  to  perihelion  in 
1890  and  1895,  but  escaped  observation  on  both  occasions.  It  seems 
probable  that,  in  view  of  the  unfavourable  conditions,  the  comet 
will  again  elude  detection  during  its  present  return. 

Fireballs. — A  considerable  number  of  these  objects  have  been 
reported  from  various  places  during  the  past  two  months.  In  the 
majority  of  cases,  however,  the  observations  are  not  sufficiently 
full  and  accurate  to  enable  the  real  paths  of  the  meteors  to  be 
computed.  On  July  30.  at  lOh.  46m.,  a  very  brilliant  Perseid  was 
seen  from  the  S.W.  part  of  England  and  from  Jersey.  It  fell  from 
a  height  of  about  95  to  50  miles  over  the  English  Channel,  S.  of 
Cornwall.  On  August  19,  several  brilliant  fireballs  appeared  in  the 
moonlight.  Two  are  described  by  the  Rev.  T.  E.  R.  PhiUips  of 
Yeovil.  One  of  these  was  seen  at  lOh.  21m.,  and  was  brighter 
than  Venus.  It  travelled  from  2914  ■  +  30"  to  271"  -  7",  and  was 
a  fine  Perseid.  The  other  came  two  minutes  later,  and  shot  from 
252"  +  2-i"  to  19.^°  +  59",  and  was  probably  directed  from  the  same 
radiant  as  the  fireball  of  July  21.  at  2S(r  -  15\  On  August  19, 
lOh.  36m.,  the  end  point  of  a  brilliant  fireball  was  observed  by  the 
writer  at  Bristol  at  198"  +  2(i",  and  the  same  object  was  seen  at 
Yeovil  by  the  Rev.  T.  E.  R.  PhiUips,  and  at  places  in  Ireland  by 
other  observers.  Its  radiant  point  was  at  3-16"  +  1",  and  it  de- 
scended from  56  to  29  miles  over  the  east  coast  of  Ireland,  but 
only  the  latter  portion  of  the  flight  seems  to  have  been  satisfactorily 
recorded.  When  the  fireball  first  became  visibly  incandescent  it 
was  probably  much  higher  than  56  miles,  and  it  is  hoped  that 
further  observations  of  it  will  come  to  hand.  On  August  22, 
lOh.  8m.,  a  fine  meteor  estimated  equal  to  Jupiter  was  seen  by 
Mr.  A.  King  at  Leicester,  and  by  the  writer  at  Bristol.  It  proves 
to  have  been  a  Cygnid  from  a  radiant  at  310" -^  53' ,  and  having 
heights  of  75  to  50  miles. 

Large  D.wlioht  Meteor  of  September  2. — Just  before  sunset 
on  September  2  at  6h.  54m.  a  magnificent  meteor  was  seen  from 
the  northern  crmnties  of  England  and  from  Scotland.  A  consider- 
able cumber  of  descrijitions  have  appeared  in  the  newspapers,  and 
Mr.  W.  H.  S.  Mnnck,  of  Dublin,  has  collected  and  kindly  furnished 
me  with  many  of  these.  The  meteor  appeared  at  a  time  when  there 
were  no  stars  or  planets  visible  by  which  to  mark  its  apparent  path, 
hence  the  accounts  give  positions  which  were  only  roughly  estimated. 
A  full  discussion  of  the  materials  has  not  yet  been  attempted, 
but  it  appears  certain  that  the  meteor  disappeared  over  Lancashire 
at  a  height  between  20  and  25  miles,  and  that  it  was  directed  from 
a  radiant  probably  in  Cepheus  at  33-1"  -i-  57 ".  At  Bristol  5  meteors 
were  observed  from  the  shower  later  on  the  same  night  but  they 
were  small.  The  faintest  meteors  and  the  largest  fireballs  are, 
however,  directed  from  the  same  radiant  points. 

August  Shooting  Stars. — The  full  moon  of  August  10  practically 
obliterated  the  Perseids  at  and  near  the  time  of  maximum  display 
this  year,  but  a  few  ot  the  usual  streak-leaving  meteors  of  this 
prominent  system  were  noticed  at  various  places.  They  appear 
to  have  been  most  numerous  on  the  veiy  clear  night  of  August  12. 
The  change  in  the  position  of  the  radiant  was  noticed  by  several 
observers.  At  Bristol,  between  August  16  and  26,  in  watches 
extending   in    the   aggregate    over    15    hours,    125   meteors    were 


observed.  The  chief  shower  was  at  346+1°  (12  meteors),  and 
there  was  another  active  radiant  at  333"  -I-  28"  (11  meteors).  The 
Perseids  still  exhibited  striking  activity  on  August  16,  and  indicated 
a  radiant  at  5-1"  f  58".  On  August  22  about  5  streak-leaving 
meteors  gave  a  good  centre  at  59"  +  59",  which  is  close  to  the 
computed  place  of  the  Perseid  radiant,  but  there  is  a  shower  of 
Oamelopardids  from  this  point,  and  it  is  possible  that  the  meteors 
were  not  real  Perseids.  The  observations  are,  however,  very  signifi- 
cant that  the  Perseid  shower  continues  until  August  22.  This  was 
distinctly  suggested  by  Lieut. -Col.  Tupman's  observations  in  the 
Mediteiranean  in  1870,  but  I  recognised  very  little  if  any  evidences 
of  the  prolongation  of  the  shower  on  August  22  in  the  years  1879, 
1884,  and  1887,  when  I  registered  a  considerable  number  of  meteors 
on  this  date.  The  point  is  an  interesting  one.  It  will  be  important 
to  learn  in  future  years  the  visible  strength  of  the  shower  on  the 
nights  intervening  between  August  16  and  22.  The  radiant  is 
very  well  defined  on  {]■'  former  date,  but  before  assuming  that  it 
continues  in  action  to  the  22nd  we  must  thoroughly  watch  for  it 
on  the  immediately  previous  nights,  and  this  will  enable  us  to  assign 
definite  limits  to  the  showers'  sustenance.  From  the  writer's  own 
observations  at  Bristol  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Perseids  continue 
to  fall  as  late  as  August  19,  but  the  Perseid-like  meteors  seen  on 
following  nights  may  belong  to  a  distinct  shower  in  Oamelopardus, 
very  well  defined  earlier  in  the  month,  and  notably  on  Augu'st 
16  :it  tlie  point  61" -t- 6(1". 


By  John  H.  Cooke,  f.l.s.,  f.g.s. 

Mr.  G.  H.  J.  Rogers,  f.e.m.s.,  has  invented  an  improved  form 
of  compressor  for  which  the  principal  advantage  claimed  is  the 
ready  replacement  of  the  cover  glass  in  the  event  of  it  being  broken 
by  accident. 

Chinese  cement  is  composed  of  finely  powdered  calcined  lime  54 
parts,  alum  6  parts,  fresh  blood  40  parts.  These  are  worked  into 
a  homogeneous  mass.  Pasteboard  saturated  with  it  will  become 
as  hard  as  wood. 

One  of  the  diSiculties  experienced  by  those  who  keep  fresh  water 
aquaria  for  the  purpose  of  cultivating  material  for  microscopical 
study  or  class  work  is  the  rapid  decay  of  the  plants,  due  in  a 
measure  to  the  ravages  of  the  bacterial  zooglcea  that  form  on  the 
surface  of  the  water.  To  prevent  this,  the  water  must  be  supplied 
with  oxygen  by  growing  in  it  some  good  aerating  plants  like 
Myiiophyllum,  Cabomba,  Ranunculus,  water  mosses,  etc.  Algae 
like  Vaucheria,  Spirogyra,  Cliara,  Nitella,  Coleochaeta,  Oedogonium, 
will  thrive  and  fruit  provided  that  the  conditions  are  suitable. 
Where  the  aerating  plants  themselves  do  not  thrive  algae  may  be 
successfully  cultivated,  provided  that  means  be  adopted  to  protect 
the  surface  of  the  water  so  as  to  exclude  dust,  but  permit  free  access 
of  air.  If  the  aquaria  are  small,  this  may  be  readily  effected  by 
covering  them  T\ith  loose  glass  covers  ;  but,  where  they  are  large, 
a  better  method  is  to  encourage  the  growth  of  the  floating  plant 
Salvinia  nutans,  which  propagates  rapidly  and  protects  the  surface 
from  the  accumulation  of  bacterial  zooglosa.  Plants  such  as 
Azolla  or  Lemna  would  perform  the  same  functions,  but  both  of 
these  have  their  periods  of  decay  when  they  disappear  altogether, 
while  the  Salvinia  is  in  evidence  all  .the  year  round. 

A  supply  of  fruiting  Vaucheria  may  be  obtained  at  any  time  of 
the  year  by  carefully  removing  the  mats  from  pots  in  greenhouses, 
and  throwing  them  into  a  jar  half  full  of  water.  The  jar  should 
be  placed  in  .strong  sunlight,  and  in  five  or  six  weeks  the  material 
may  show  both  methods  of  reproduction  and  will  be  practically  free 
from  dirt  and  other  algte. 

Fresh  water  rhizopods  are  more  common  in  the  ordinary  col- 
lections of  the  microscopists  than  is  generally  supposed,  but  since 
they  are  seldom  looked  for  they  are  often  passed  bj'  unnoticed.  In 
systematic  collections  the  superficial  ooze  at  the  bottom  of  still 
water  should  be  examined,  after  it  has  been  allowed  to  settle  for 
some  time  in  a  suitable  vessel.  Rhizopods  are  common  in  the  sUme 
of  submerged  rocks,  stems,  and  leaves,  especially  so  in  moist 
Sphagnum  ;  they  are  to  be  found  almost  everywhere  in  moist 
situations  not  too  much  shaded,  among  decaying  logs,  mosses, 
lichens,  and  on  the  bark  of  trees. 

The  motion  of  camphor  in  water  is  well  known.  A  German 
chemist,  K.  Schaum,  has  taken  such  readily  soluble  substances  as 
potassium  cyanide,  potassium  nitrate,  silver  nitrate,  calcium 
chloride,  and  sugar,  and  has  studied  their  travels  in  dissolving  with 
the  aid  of  the  microscope  by  dropping  single  crystals  upon  mercury 
covered  by  water  or  dilute  acid.  The  movements — greater  in  dilute 
acid  than  water — are  very  ch.-racteristic.  The  crystal  first  takes 
a  zigzag  course,  then  changes  to  a  circular  path,  and  finally  turns 
rapidly  on  its  axis.  The  rate  of  motion  varies  with  the  rate  ot 
solution  and  the  surface  tension  of  the  mercury. 


OCTOBKK    1.  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


239 


Particles  of  sand  and  crravel  in  the  alimentary  canal  of  earth- 
worms that  are  beini;  prepared  for  sectioninj;.  and  that  may  injure 
the  edi;e  of  the  microtome  knife,  can  be  removed  by  feeding  the 
worms  on  bits  of  tilter  paper  before  killing;  them. 

Mioroscopists  will  be  inteiested  to  know  that  certain  kinds  •  f 
glass  appear  to  be  so  soluble  in  water  that  moisture  quickly  etches 
the  surface  and  destroys  the  transparency.  Mr.  E.  F.  Mciudj',  of 
Decca  CoUeire.  East  Beuijal,  reports  having  noticed  the  dull  mutt 
apfiearance  of  a  cut  wineglass  and  of  finger  bowls  in  which  water 
had  been  allowed  to  stand;  also  the  spotting  of  two  decanters 
which  had  been  dried  after  partial  draining.  These  etVects  were  all 
due  to  water-etching.  This  explains  the  rapid  deterioration  of 
optic^jl  apparatus  in  the  moist  climate  of  India.  Proof  that  the 
fault  is  in  the  kind  of  glass  used  is  furnished  by  the  object  glass 
of  a  3i  inch  teIescoi>e,  the  inner  surface  of  the  convex  lens  being 
badly  corroded  whilst  the  adjacent  face  of  the  concave  lens  was 
quite  clear. 

To  avoid  many  of  the  failures  that  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  photo 
miorographer.  the  details  of  each  experiment  that  is  made  should 
be  systematically  recorded  so  that  tlie  operator  may  have  a  gui  le 
on  other  occasion?  when  the  conditions  are  similar.  For  this 
purpose  a  book  should  be  kept  containing  spacings  for  detiiils 
regarding  the  objective,  light,  distance  of  light  from  object  and 
plate,  colour  of  object,  plates,  screens  and  time  of  exposure. 

(ireat  care  and  cle.inliness  are  necessary  in  all  microscopical 
work,  but  particularly  in  the  study  of  powdered  substances.  Dust 
and  all  other  foreign  m.atter  must  be  carefully  removed  from  slides 
and  covers.  Great  caution  must  be  observeil  so  as  not  to  get 
different  powders  mixed.  The  s;ime  slide  should  never  be  used 
for  different  powders  unless  special  care  has  been  observed  in  clean- 
ing them.  If  several  slides  are  being  prepared  for  examination  be 
sure  to  label  them,  otherwise  confusion  is  sure  to  follow. 

Of  all  the  media  employed  for  the  mounting  and  preservation  of 
objects  Canada  balsam  is  the  most  generally  useful,  and  it  is 
probable  that  more  objects  are  mounted  in  this  material  than  m 
all  others  put  togetlier.  It  is  perfect  as  a  preservative,  and  its 
action  in  rendering  many  objects  transparent  is  often  of  great  value. 
Much  of  the  Canada  balsam  that  is  sold  is  made  of  cheap  resins 
dissolved  in  impure  turpentine,  and  this  explains  many  of  the 
diflSculties  and  failures  that  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  microscojiist.  To 
be  good  Canada  balsam  shoidd  be  of  thick  consistence,  nearly 
coloTirless,  and  thoroughly  transparent. 

In  mounting;  objects  in  balsam  the  great  difficulty  to  be  en- 
countered is  the  presence  of  air  bubbles.  Judicious  management, 
however,  enables  one  to  avoid  them.  In  the  first  place  all  Ijubbles 
should  be  removed  from  the  bals.nm  on  the  slide.  This  is  more 
easily  done  before  immersing  the  object  in  the  balsam  than  after- 
wards. Xext  see  that  the  air  is  expelled  from  the  object ;  and 
lastly,  that  no  air  enters  with  the  cover.  To  do  this  the  cover 
should  be  made  hot,  and  then  slowly  lowered  on  tlie  balsam  from 
one  side. 

Dr.  E.  J.  Spitta  finds  that,  when  taking  photographs  of  living 
bacteria  such  as  the  clumping  of  the  typhoid  germs  in  Widal's 
method  of  diagnosis,  it  is  best  to  take  advantage  of  diffraction 
effects  and  to  close  the  iris  to  what  would  otherwise  be  ((msidered 
an  undue  amount.  By  this  means  a  faint  ".standing  out"  effect  is 
produced  which  enables  the  bacteria  to  show  sufficiently  for  the 
purpose,  provided  the  exposure  be  short  enough  to  prevent  choking 
effects,  and  yet  long  enough  to  give  a  sufficiently  dense  background. 
He  finds  that  ten  seconds  is  sufficient  with  a  subdued  light,  and 
using  a  one-sixth  apochromatic  objective.  A  vertical  apparatus 
must  be  used. 

To  mount  the  antenn;e  of  flies,  wasps,  and  bees,  it  is  necessary 
to  soak  the  objects  in  chlorate  of  potash,  with  a  few  drops  of 
hydrochloric  acid,  until  they  are  colourless,  and  then  mount 
in  Canada  balsam  and  benzole.  The  points  requiring  attention  are 
these  :  soaking  just  the  right  length  of  time  in  the'  i)otash,  for  if 
the  object  remains  too  long  in  the  liquid  it  will  be  destroyed  ;  and 
manipulating  it  when  mounting  so  as  not  to  destroy  the  character- 
istic features. 

[All  communicationn  in  reference,  (o  this  Column  xhonld  le 
addressed  to  ifr.  J.  U.  Cooke  at  tlie  Office  of  Knowledge.] 


THE  FACE  OF  THE  SKY  FOR  OCTOBER. 

By  A.  Fowler,  f.r.a.s. 

The  Sun. — On  the  1st  the  sun  rises  at  6.2  and  sets  at 
5.38;    on  the  31st  lie  rises  at  6.53  and  sets  at  4.35. 

The  Moon. — The  moon  will  enter  first  quarter  on  the 
1st  at  9.11  P.M. ;  will  be  full  on  the  8that  1.18  p.ii  ;  will 
enter  last  quarter  on  the  1.5th  at  9.51  a.m.;  will  be  new 
on  the  23rd  at  1.27  p.m.;    and  enter  first  quarter  again 


oil  llu-  :Ust  at  8.18  A.M.     The  following  are  among  the 
principal  occultations  visible  during  the  month:  — 


S 


S  o 
S>5 


a 


a 


a 
Is 

1^ 


l1ct.     1 


H.  A.  c.  (avi 

li.  A.  C,  (.710 
K  Pisciuni 
uj  ^  Tanri 
V  Geuiinonuu 
5  Sagittnvii 


6-0 
liO 
5-0 

■10 
ID 


8..')2  P.M. 

lO.S     P.M. 

l.:^5  A.M. 

8.-tr  P.M. 
:i.o  .».M. 
8.27  P.M. 


S-i 
:U 
:is 

■to 


9.41  P.M. 
10..5S  P.M. 

2.ai  A.M. 

!l.'_^^  P.M. 
;i.i;!  .\.M. 

8.11)  P.M. 


o 

o 

249 

217 

2911 

2.%  I 

272 

2.'I6 

:»).'•) 

:)4I1 

:i:i:! 

;!.M! 

.■i2.-, 

292 

dTll. 

7  2.'-. 

8  2rt 

y.i    n 

17  25 
20  7 
6     8 


TiiK  Pl.^nets. — Mercury  is  an  evening  star  throughout 
tlie  mouth,  at  greatest  eastern  elongation  of  ncai'ly  24° 
on  the  30th,  but  is  too  far  south  to  be  easily  observed 
ill  our  latitudes. 

Venus  remains  a  morning  star,  rising  on  tlio  l.=;t  about 
1.15  A.M.,  and  on  the  31st  about  2.50  a.m.  The  planet 
is  in  Leo  until  the  28tli,  and  will  bo  less  than  a  degree 
south  of  Regulus  on  the  7th.  At  the  middle  of  the 
month  the  diameter  of  the  planet  will  be  18". 4,  a  little 
more  than  si.x-tentlis  of  the  disc  being  then  iliuminatod. 

Mars  rises  a  little  before  midnight  throughout  the 
month,  and  is  gradually  becoming  more  favourably 
placed  for  observation.  The  planet  has  an  easterly 
motion,  passing  from  Cancer  into  Leo  about  the  25th. 
On  the  15th,  the  apparent  diameter  of  the  planet  is 
5". 8,  and  the  illuminated  part  0.902;  the  distance  of 
the  jjlanet  from  the  earth  at  this  time  is  nearly  140 
millions  of  miles. 

Jupiter  is  still  an  evening  star,  in  Scorpio,  but  too 
close  to  the  sun  for  observation,  except  under  very 
favourable  circumstances.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
month  the  planet  sets  before  eight  o'clock,  and  at  the 
end  of  the  month  soon  after  six. 

Saturn  remains  an  evening  star,  in  Sagittarius,  setting 
soon  after  9  p.m.  on  the  1st,  and  about  half-past  seven 
on  the  31st. 

Uranus  is  an  evening  star,  but  so  near  the  sun,  and 
so  low,  that  it  may  be  considered  not  observable. 

Neptune  rises  soon  after  9  p.m.  on  the  1st,  and  soon 
after  7  p.m.  on  the  31st.  He  is  stationary  on  the  2nd, 
and  afterwards  describes  aj  short  westerly  path  in 
Taurus,  almost  midway  between  132  Tauri  .^nd  Eta 
Geminorum. 

The  Stars. — About  9  p.m.  at  the  middle  of  the  month, 
Auriga  and  Perseus  will  be  in  the  north-east;  Taurus 
low  down  in  the  east;  Aries,  Pisces,  and  Cetus  in  the 
south-east;  Andromeda  and  Cassiopeia  high  up  and  a 
little  south  of  east ;  Pegasus  and  Aquarius  in  the 
south;  Cygnus  high  up  to  the  south-west;  Aquila  a 
little  lower  in  the  south-west;  Lyra  and  Hercules  to- 
wards the  west;  Corona  towards  the  north-west;  and 
Ursa  Major  in  the  north. 

Minima  of  Algol  will  occur  on  the  9th  at  10  40  p.m., 
and  on  the  12th  at  7.29  p.m. 


(JE!)css  CToIttmn. 

By    C.    D.    LococK,    b.a. 

♦ 

Communications  for  this  column  should  be  addressed 
to  C.  D.  LococK,  Netherfield,  Camberley,  and  be  posted 
by  the  10th  of  each  month. 

Solutions  of  September  Problems. 
No.  1. 
(N.    M.    Gibbins.) 
1.  Kt  to  Kt3,  and  mates  next  move. 


240 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[October  1,  1900. 


No.  2. 

(C.   D.   Locock.) 

1.  P  to  Kt5,  and  mates  next  move. 

Correct  Solutions  of  both  problems  received   from 

Alpha,  H.  S.  Brandreth,  G.  A.  Forde  (Capt.),  W.  de  P. 

Crousaz,  G.  W.  Middleton,  C.  F.  Pilchcr,  K.  W. 

Of  No.  2  only,  from  H.  Lc  Jcuue. 

P.  G.  L.  F.  and  W.  Ge.vhy.— Many  thanks  for  the 
problems. 

H.  Le  Jeune.— If  1.  Q  to  R3,  B  x  Kt,  and  there  is 
no  mate. 

P.  Val  Bl.\gy. — There  is  no  solution  competition  in 
progress,  though  1  hope  to  be  able  to  arrange  one 
shortly.  In  the  mean  time  I  venture  to  reply  that  the 
reason  why  solvers  send  in  their  solutions  lies  in  their 
desire  to  show  that  they  take  an  interest  in  the  problem 
department  of  this  page.  Your  solutions  are  incorrect. 
In  No.  1  the  Knight  cannot  mate  at  Q6  on  account 
of  the  Black  Pawn"  standing  at  QB2.  In  No.  2,  after 
1.  B  to  Kt2ch,  Kt  X  B,  the  White  Queen,  being  pinned, 
cannot  mate  at  Q3.  This  pinning  of  the  Queen,  w^hen- 
ev^r  the  Black  Knight  next  to  it  moves,  being  indeed 
the  main  point  of  the  problem. 

C.  F.  PiLCHER. — You  will  sec  that  both  your  first 
attempts  have  proved  correct. 


PROBLEMS. 

By  W.  Geary. 

No.    1. 

Black    (fi). 


■^m       ^       HP       « 

.  »„„,„„  ^     ^i  ,„„„  W 


'^      ^      W4      M 
mm.      mm.      f^      m 


f      WMi 


CHESS  INTELLIGENCE. 


W  B ITV      .T ) . 

White  mates  in  two  moves. 
No.  2. 

BLArK    (0). 


///////,'_  ''''''^^''^''  y,,,,,'''^'^^'      y,,,,,,^' 


m 


^S®         vlf/M,         Wmf, 

I    mMm    m 


m    m    mWm 


White  (5) 

White  mates  in  three  moves. 


The  Amateur  Tournament  of  the  Southern  Counties' 
Chess  Union,  which  carries  with  it  the  Newnes  Challenge 
Cup  and  the  Amateur  Championship,  began  at  Bath 
on  September  3.  There  were  15  entries  in  the  chief 
event,  and  Mr.  H.  E.  Atkins  again  carried  off  the  first 
prize  without  losing  a  game,  scoring  12^  out  of  a  possible 
14.  Mr.  Herbert  Jacobs  was  a  good  second  with  IH, 
and  Mr.  Jones  Bateman  third  with  10.  The  other 
competitors  were  Messrs.  H.  H.  Cole,  W.  Ward,  F.  J.  H. 
Elwell,  B.  D.  Wilmot,  A.  Rumboll,  E.  B.  Schwann, 
J.  F.  Allcock,  P.  R.  Gibbs,  J.  E.  Parry,  A.  L.  Stevenson, 
C.  J.  Lambert,  and  F.  Brown. 

It  is  with  great  regret  that  we  announce  the  death 
of  Sheriff  Spens,  of  Glasgow,  for  many  years  one  ol 
the  leading  players  in  Scotland,  deservedly  also  one 
of  the  most  popular.  He  was  for  many  years  chess 
editor  of  the  GJaagoio  Weekly  Herald,  and  the  founder 
of  the  Scottish  Association  in  1884.  He  was  distinguished 
also  in  literature  as  in  chess. 

The  death  of  William  Steinitz  removes  the  most 
notable  player  of  the  past  generation.  He  won  the 
Chess  Championship  by  his  victory  over  Andei-ssen  in 
1866,  and  held  it  against  all  comers  till  his  defeat  at 
the  hands  of  E.  Lasker  in  1894.  During  this  long 
period  he  engaged  in  a  very  large  number  of  matches, 
his  most  noteworthy  opponents  being  Zukertort,  Black- 
burne,  Mackenzie,  and  Tchigorin.  In  all  of  these  he 
was  uniformly  successful,  generally  by  decisive  majori- 
ties. In  fact  it  was  specially  as  a  match  player  that 
Steinitz  was  supreme.  A  long  series  of  games  gave  him 
time  to  recover  from  a  bad  start  generally  due  to  rash 
experiments  in  the  openings.  It  was  characteristic  of 
the  man  that  he  would  stick  to  these  unsound  ventures 
long  after  all  experts  had  demonstrated  their  unsound- 
ness. But  for  this  he  would  have  been  an  even  more 
successful  tournament  player  than  he  was,  though  in 
this  branch  of  play  he  was  certainly  one  of  the  best. 
The  Steinitz  Gambit  cost  him  many  games,  as  did 
strange  defences  to  the  Ruy  Lopez,  and  attacks  against 
the  French  Defence.  This  put  him  at  a  great  dis- 
advantage with  all  his  fellow  competitors.  Every  one 
knew  what  defence  or  attack  Steinitz  would  play  in 
any  particular  opening,  and  the  weaker  players  were 
coached  by  the  stronger  to  rob  him  of  many  a  game. 
No  one  could  be  more  brilliant  than  Steinitz  when  he 
chose  (witness  the  often  quoted  game  against  Bardeleben 
at  Hastings),  but  he  preferred  to  win  his  games  by  the 
logical  scientific  method  of  which  he  was  the  inventor, 
christened  by  him  "  the  accumulation  of  minute  advan- 
tages." He  did  not  care  to  slay  his  antagonist  suddenly 
but  preferred  the  method  of  slow  strangulation.  As  a 
writer  on  the  game  he  was  painstaking  and  suggestive, 
if  not  always  reliable,  unrivalled  too  as  an  annotator 
of  games.  No  player  since  Paul  Morphy  has  had  a 
greater  or  better  influence  on  the  game. 


For  Contents  of  the  Two  last  Numbers  of  "  Knowledge,"  see 
Advertisement  pages. 

Tte  yearly  bound  volnmes  of  Knowledge  cloth  gilt,  Ss.  6d.,  post  free. 
Bindine  Cases,  la.  6d.  each  ;  post  free,  Is.  9d. 

Subscribers'  numbers  bound  (iucludine  case  and  Index),  2s.  6d.  each  volume. 
Index  of  Articles  and  Dlustrations  for  1891,  1892,  1894,  1895,  1896,  1897,  and 
1898  can  be  supplied  for  3d.  each. 
All  remittances  should  be  made  payable  to  the  Publisher  of  '•  KNOwLinoK," 


"  Knowledge "    Annual    Subscription,   thronghont   the    world, 
7s.  6d.,  post  tree. 

Communications  for  the  Editors  and  Books  for  Review  should  be  addressed 
Editors,  "  Knowledge,"  .S2ti,  Hi^h  Holbom,  London,  W.C. 


NOVKMBEK    1,   1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


211 


y^  IllUSTRATED  MAG.\ZINE    <f 

^^MiEN€E^LlTERATURL4MT/ 

Founded  by  RICHARD    A.    PROCTOR. 


by  the  upper  soil.  After  heavy  storms  of  rain, 
which  are  usually  accompanied  by  thunder  and  light- 
ning, this  upper  soil  being  washed  away,  the  stouu 
implements  are  found  lying  on  the  ground,  and  so  seem 
to  have  fallen  from  the  sky." 

Sir  Richard  Burton  mentions  that  he  was  told  how 
Winwood  Readc  had  found  fine  specimens  of  hatchets, 
with  holes  pierced  for  hafts,  but  that  neither  he  nor 
Captain  Cameron  had  found  any  on  the  Gulf  of  Guinea. 

The  stone  implements  that  were  found  at  Christians- 


LONDOS :    yoiEMBEU   1,   I9uO. 

CONTENTS. 

stone  Implements  on  the  Gold  Coast.     By  Lindsay  AV. 
Bristowe  iiiul   H.  P.    FitzGkraid   Makhiott,  f.b.o.s. 

{Illustrated)      

Plants  and  their  Food.— VI.  By  H.  H.  W.  Peabson,  m.a. 
The    Great    Telescope    of    Paris,    1900.     By    Eugbke 

.V>TONIADr.  F.B.A.^.     (Illustralecl)    ... 
The  Great  Siderostat  of  the"  Paris  Telescope.     (Plufe.) 
Astronomy   without   a    Telescope.     X. — The  Meteors 
of  November      By  E.  Waitee  Mauxdbb.  p.b.a.s.     ... 
Letters  : 

A  New  Form  of  Acheomatic  Telescope.     By   W.  B. 

Mussojf.     (lUustrafed) 

Artificial   FACUi.t:,  Spots,  and  PnoTospnERic  Eeti- 
crLATiox.      By  .Vi.bkrt    Alfrkd   Buss.      Notes  by 

Arthur  East  and  E.  Waltkr  Maunder 

The  Nature  of  Suxspots.     By  Bakon  X.  Kaulbars    ... 
AViEBLEss  Telegraphy    and    Hertzian   Waves.      By 

S.  BOTTOXE  

High-Speed   Telbgeaphy.      By  Baeox  N.  Kaclbaes. 

Note  by  C.  H.  Gabland  

Asibology.      By    Alan    Leo.      Note    by   E.    Walter 

Maunder  

Ancient   Hindu   Astrology   oe  Astronomy  and  tub 
Nine  Planets.    By  Charles  Gt.  Stuaet-Menteath. 

Note  by  E.   Walter  Maunder  

Clay-Stones.    By  S.  H.  Weight.    Note  by  G.  .V.  . I.  Cole 

Lunar   Rainbow.     By  .John  Macintosh        

British  Ornithological   Notes.     Conducted  by  Harbv  F. 

WiTHBEBY,   P.Z.S.,    U.B.O.U 

Notices  of  Books  

Books  Eecbited        

The  Pygmies  of  the  Great  Forest.     Bv  R.   Ltdekkee. 

(Illuttrated)      ' 

Microscopy.     By  John  H.  Cookb,  f.l.s.,  p.o.s 

Notes  on  Comets  and  Meteors.  By  W.  F.  Denning,  f.e.a.8. 
The   Face   of  the  Sky  for  November.     By  A.  Fowlee, 

P.B.A.S 

Chess  Column.    By  C.  D.  Locoes,  b.a,       


2^1 
244 


246 


2.^1 


2.52 

2.54 

254 
2.54 
2.55 

255 
255 

255 

25f> 

259 

2.5!  t 
202 
2iJ2 

2n:i 

263 


STONE  IMPLEMENTS  ON  THE  GOLD  COAST. 

By   Lindsay   W.   Bristowe,    Gold   Coast   District    Com- 
missiowr,  and  H.  P.  FitzGerald  Marriott,  f.r.g.s 

Comparatively  little  is  known  of  pre-historic  stone  im- 
plements from  Western  Africa.  A  fresh  collection  that 
we  have  recently  gathered  presents  some  interesting 
points,  and  induces  us  to  give  a  general  review  of  the 
subject,  with  the  native  legends  concerning  these 
objects.  Winwood  Reade,  to  whom  the  British  Museum 
is  indebted  for  a  number  of  specimens,  does  not  throw 
much  light  on  them,  but  says  at  pages  2-4  in  "  The 
Story  of  the  Ashanteo  Campaign": — "Not  only  are 
these  stone  implements  dug  up  all  over  the  world,  but 
all  over  the  world  they  are  supposed  by  the  common 
people  to  be  thunder-bolts.  As  regards  Western  Africa, 
this  belief  is  easily  explained.  The  Stone  Age  is  there 
comparatively  recent,  and  many  axes  are  merely  covered 


borg,  Akronpong,  and  Aburi,  are  now  in  the  Copen- 
hagen Museum,  which  is  unrivalled  for  its  relics  of  the 
Stono  Age.  Some  have  also  been  found  at  Amoaful, 
and  are  in  Sir  John  Lubbock's  collection,  whilst  others, 
found  at  Akwapim,  are  in  Sir  John  Evans's  collection. 
The  specimens  deposited  in  the  British  Museum  differ 
both  in  shape  and  material  from  those  we  have  recently 
procured  from  Chama  and  Secondi,  on  the  Gold  Coast 

Before  describing  them,  however,  wo  will  quote  what 
has  been  incidentally  written  on  the  subject  of  their 
presence  in  West  Africa.  Winwood  Reade  says :  — 
"  The  next  time  I  saw  a  stone  implement  was  in  the 
tent  of  Mr.  Kiihne.  at  Prahsu.  He  had  found  it  on  an 
Ashauti  altar,  or  shrine,  a.s  he  was  on  his  way  from 
Coomassie  (Kumassi)  to  the  camp.  I  asked  my  inter- 
preter if  he  had  ever  seen  one  before;  ho  replied  tha'^i 
they  were  '  found  everywhere,'  and  I  made  a  small 
collection  during  the  march  through  Ashanti.  When 
the  troops  took  a  village,  I  always  hunted  for  this  kind 
of  plunder.  Sometimes  I  found  the  stone  hanging  before 
doorways  at  the  end  of  a  string,  like  a  plummet,  and 
often  it  would  be  daubed  over  with  chalk.  The  natives 
regard  these  stones  with  superstitious  reverence,  and 
call  them  god-axes;  and  believing  that  all  things  sacred 
are  medicinal,  grind  from  them  a  powder  which  thej 
use  for  rheumatism  and  other  complaints.'  We,  how- 
ever, rather  doubt  whether  the  stone  implements  are 
always  daubed  with  chalk.  It  certainly  is  not  the  case 
nearer  the  sea^coast,  though  it  may  be  in  Ashanti,  but 
more  probably  only  on  special  occasions  when  the  peopb 
themselves  paint  their  own  bodies  white.  It  is  probable 
that  Winwood  Reade  saw  these  chalk-daubed  stones 
only  on  his  way  down,  when  the  natives  were  rejoicing 
at  Wolseley's  success,  for  it  must  be  remembered  that 
he  was  only  a  hurried  passer  through  as  correspondent 
to  The  Times. 

Burton  and  Cameron  describe  all  the  specimens  they  ■ 
came  across  as   neolithic — that  is   to   say,   of  the   typ3 
produced  by  gi-inding.        They   found   none   that   were 
paleolithic,  or  chipped.       Arrow-heads  and  spear-heads 
are  apparently  unknown. 

A  native  factotum  for  one  of  the  local  firms  at  Axini 
brought  Sir  Richard  Burton  some  specimens,  and  told 
him  that  "  the  stones  are  picked  up  at  the  mouth  of 
streams  that  have  washed  them  down  after  heavy  rains. 
But  the  people  here,  as  elsewhere,  call  them  '  Sraman-bo,' 
or  thunder-stones.  These  Kcraunia  are  supposed  to  fall 
with  the  '  bolt,'  to  sink  into  the  earth  and  rise  to  the 
surface  in  the  process  of  years.  Hence  the  people; 
search  for  them  where  the  '  thunder  has  fallen.'  "  "  The 
stones  are  used  as  medicine,  and  those  of  black  colour 
have  generally  been  boiled  in  oil  to  presei-ve  their 
qualities.  After  this  process  they  resemble  the  Basanos 
(Biio-avos)  of  Lydiuii  Tmolus.  On  the  Gold  Coast, 
however,  the  touchstone  is  mostly  a  dark  jasper  im- 
ported from  Europe.  "  "  They  are  mostly  of  fine  close 
felsite  or  the  greenstone  trap  (dioritc),  found  every- 
where   along    the    coast.        I    heard,    however,    that    at 


242 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[NOVEMBEB    1,   1900. 


Abusi,  beyond  Anamabo,  and  other  places  furtber 
east,  specimens  of  a  lightish  slaty  hue  are  common. 
Captain  Cameron,  whose  fine  collection  is  described 
elsewhere,  brought  home  one  that  felt  and  looked  like 
a  soapstone  coloured  cafc-au-lait." 

He  suggests  that  Asim  was  a  great  centre  of  stone 
manufacture,  evidently  because  he  observed  a  number 
of  curiously  marked  boulders  of  greenstone,  whinstone, 
ironstone,  or  diorite.  He  describes  them  as  having 
their  upper  surfaces  "  scored  and  striped  with  leaf- 
shaped  grooves,  some  of  them  three  feet  long  by  three 
inches  wide  and  two  deep.'  He  thought  it  probable 
that  chippings  of  the  same  rock  were  here  ground  to 
the  required  size  and  shape.  Of  course  those  geologists 
who  know  little  of  stone  implerhents,  Australian  stone 
totems,  etc.,  would  naturally  at  once  say  on  hearing  of 
these  grooves,  that  they  had  .been  caused  in  boulder 
drift.  But  we  must  remember  that  often  the  same 
result  may  be  produced  in  two  or  more  different  ways, 
and  that  therefore  Burton  may  be  right. 

In  connection  with  this,  it  would  be  interesting  to 
investigate  the  large  boulder  of  granite,  called  Olumo, 
on  the  summit  of  a  hill  near  Abeokuta  in  the  Yoruba 
country,  Lagos ;  for  this  boulder  is  sacred  to  Oro,  and 
no  one  may  ascend  it.  Oro  means  fierceness  or  tempest , 
it  is  also  a  society,  probably  manipulated  by  the  Ogboni 
tribal  society  in  the  Yoruba  districts.  The  word  is 
specially  applied  to  the  spirit  whose  voice  is  heai'd,  the 
voice  being  produced,  as  elsewhere  in  Africa,  Australia,, 
and  America,  by  the  bull-roarer,  or  thin  strip  of  wood, 
some  two  and  a  half  inches  broad,  and  a  foot  long, 
tapering  at  both  ends,  and  fastened  to  a  stick  by  a 
long  string.  But  since  in  Australia  a  similar  form  has 
been  found  in  stone  as  well  as  in  wood,  pierced  by  a 
hole  at  one  end,  and  as  the  latter  (of  wood)  are  used 
as  bull-roarers,  the  resemblance  between  Australian 
totems  {churinija  in  the  Central  Australian  dialect) 
and  sacred  stones  in  West  Africa  is  striking,  and  may 
lead  to  some  further  discovery  if  carefully  followed  up 
near  Abeokuta.  Indeed,  as  the  Olumo  stone  is  sacrei 
to  Oro  (the  voice  caused  by  the  bull-roarer),  it  is  pos- 
sible that  stones  shaped  like  bull-roarers  may  be  found 
to  be  amongst  the  secrets  kept  by  the  Oro  Society,  who 
certainly  keep  their  wooden  bull-roarers  carefidly  out 
of  sight  of  women  and  the  profane.  The  Olumo"  may 
be  the  rock  from  which  were  cut  stone  bull-roarers,  as 
well  as  working  implements.  An  examination  of  its 
surface  would  help  to  decide  the  'prus  and  cons  of  this 
suggestion. 

In  "  Notes  on  Y'oruba  and  the  Colony  and  Protecto- 
rate of  Lagos,"  a  paper  read  before  the  Royal  Geo- 
graphical Society  by  Sir  Alfred  Moloney,  k.c.m.g.,  there 
is  the  following: — "Nor  is  Y^oruba"  excluded  from 
the  widespread  belief  that  stone  implements  are  thunder- 
bolts. Some  rude  celts,  shaped  as  axes  and  chisels, 
I  have  collected;  they  are  called  ara*  oko.  The  second 
great  Orisa,  or  subject  of  worship,  intermediate  between 
man  and  god  (olorun)  is  Sango,  the  thunder-god,  a 
name  sometimes  applied  to  the  stone  implements,  which 
are  believed  to  be  the  bolts  of  Sango,  who  is  also  named 
Dzakuta,  the  stone-thrower.  The  greatest  reverence  is 
ext-ended  to  these  stones,  which  are  used  as  family 
fetiches  when  they  are  found  by  ordinary  persons." 
"  Dr.  John  Evans  has  remarked  upon  the  strong  general 

*  I  rather  suspect  that  this  word  is  the  same  as  Oro,  for  the  annual 
fi'itiral  of  Oro  at  Ondo,  in  the  Yoruba  country,  is  called  Oro  T)oko, 
for  even  natives  pronounce  identical  words  very  differently  — 
H.  P.  FG.  M.  ' 


resemblance  between  West  African  stone  implements  and 
those  found  in  Greece  and  Asia  Minor.  In  their 
practice,  when  engaged  sacrificially,  of  daubing  these 
stones  with  blood,  palm  oil,  etc.,  the  West  Africans 
resemble  the  Indians.' 

The  collection  in  the  writ-ers'  possession,  which  con- 
tains twenty-four  specimens,  are  all,  with  the  exception 
of  one,  neolithic,  and  although  diligent  search  was  made, 
no  chipped  specimens  could  be  procured ;  as  Burton 
remarks,  they  are  apparently  unknown.  Man,  though 
very  ancient  in  other  tropicalf  or  sub-tropical  parts  of 
Africa,  in  these  districts  of  the  West  Coast  probably 
appeared  at  a  later  period  owing  to  the  swampy  vege- 
tation, disagreea.ble  climate,  and  presumable  volcanic 
state  of  other  portions.  Moreover,  here  mankind  does 
not  seem  to  have  developed  a  want  for  stone  implements, 
whilst  in  other  parts  of  the  world  he  had  long  ago 
passed  the  palfeolithic  stage,  for  all  those  celts  as  yet 
found  are  highly  finished,  and  there  are  none  there 
that  show  a  preparatory  period  of  evolution.  The 
perfection  of  these  instniments  goes  far  to  prove  that 
they  were  imported  by  migrating  or  concjuering  races, 
and  that  the  ancient  possessors  of  the  low-lying  forest 
coasts  of  West  Africa,  if  they  ever  existed,  had  never 
even  arrived  at  a  Stone  Age  of  any  sort,  being  content 
to  subsist  on  what  could  be  obtained  by  wooden  instru- 
ments, and  on  fruit  and  roots,  torn  by  the  hands  from 
their  place  of  growth. 

The  majority  of  the  twenty-four  specimens  are  of 
felspathic  rock,  some  light  in  colour  and  othei-s  dark 
whilst  real  lidites  and  igneous  rock  are  the  materials 
from  which  the  balance  have  been  made.  There  is  one 
formed  from  augitic  lava,  and  another  consists  of  a 
kind  of  augite  and  felspar.  The  exception  already 
referred  to  is  a  touchstone,  which  has  been  in  use  among 
a  family  of  native  jewellers  for  the  past  century.  It  is 
of  black  limestone.  As  will  be  seen  from  the  photographs 
of  these  celts,  specimens  Nos.  4,  14,  17,  and  19,  are  par- 
ticularly good  in  shape  and  size.  No.  21,  the 
darkest  and  smoothest  of  the  light  gi-een  (fel- 
tpathic  rock)  axe-heads,  is  like  in  colour,  and 
probably  in  material  (but  not  in  shape),  to  some  in  the 
Japanese  section  of  stone  implements  in  the  British 
Museum,  marked  Hakodate.  Those  axe-heads  or  wedges 
in  the  British  JMuseum,  presented  by  Mr.  Andrew 
Swanzy,  and  collected  by  Mr.  Winwood  Eeadc  at 
Odumassie,  near  the  Volta,  and  in  the  province  of 
Akwapim,  Gold  Coast,  are  none  as  broad  at  the  edge 
a*  those  of  the  present  collection,  only  a  solitai-y  small 
one  approaching  the  same  shape,  but  thei'e  appear  to  be 
none  like  No.  1  in  either  form  or  material. 

The  Gold  Coast  is  rich  in  these  interesting  pre-historic 
remains.  From  one  extreme  of  the  colony  to  the  other, 
specimens  are  to  be  found,  and  we  venture  to  think 
the  present  collection  a  valuable  addition  to  those  al- 
ready unearthed.  We  studied  the  subject,  however, 
more  from  an  ethnological  standpoint  than  any  other. 

The  similarity  of  ideas  that  prevails  in  the  super- 
stitious beliefs  of  the  human  race  on  the  subject  of 
neolithic  celts  is  well  worthy  of  study,  not  so  much  on 
account  of  the  main  idea  that  they  are  thunderbolts, 
as  for  the  almost  identical  beliefs  obtaining  as  to  the 
wonderful  projierties  possessed  by  these  stones.  There 
is  universal  belief  in  their  being  sovereign  protectors 
against  lightning.     The  Norse  peasants  hung   them  in 

t"Appleton'3  Science  Monthly"  (London  and  New  York),  Nov., 
1895,  p.  25,  etc.,  of  "  Primigenial  Skeletons,  the  Flood  and  the  Glacial 
Period,"  by  H.  P.  FitzGerald  Marriott. 


N0\-BMBER    1,    1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


243 


vats  to  insiire  good  brews;  the  West  African  in  his 
drinking  water  to  render  it  pure  and  cool ;  the  Indian 
of  Ceuti-al  America  does  the  same  thing.  Fishcnncn 
and  huntei-s,  both  in  the  Old  and  New  Worlds,  use 
them  to  bring  good  luck.  There  is  the  widespread 
belief  that  these  stones  possess  extraordinary  curative 
virtues  for  severe  abdominal  pains,  either  in  fever  or 
child-birth ;  for  chai-ms  against  snake-bites  they  ai'c  a 
specific. 

So  far,  however,  as  the  West  African  negro  is  con- 
cerned, an  interesting  question  arises.  Does  ho  regard 
these  stones  as  sacred  objects,  as  objects  of  devotion,  and 
have  they  a  place  in  their  complex  religious  beliefs  ? 

To  attempt  to  understand  the  native  mind,  and  ob- 
tain a  grasp  of  their  fundanrental  ideas  of  religion  and 
morality,  requires  not  only  years  of  patient  investiga- 
tion, untaintied  by  racial  prejudice,  but  it  involves  a 
sympathetic  interest  in  all  his  petty  disputes  and 
troubles — none  the  less  real  and  important  to  him — 
and  the  utmost  assistance  is  to  be  derived  by  the  study 
of  his  folk-lore,  as  elucidating  his  mode  of  thought  and 
the  motives  that  actuate  his  conduct  and  actions.  A 
depth  of  hidden  meaning  lies  buried  beneath  their  simple 
stories,  which  have  been  handed  down  to  them  from 
remote  antiquity,  in  some  cases,  whilst  othei-s  are  of 
quite  recent  date,  and  tend  to  show  that  he  is,  in 
thought  and  ideas,  still  where  he  was  centuiies  ago. 

It  is  to  the  anthropologist  that  we  must  look  to 
elucidate  the  conflicting  opinions  prevalent  on  this  in- 
teresting branch  of  the  human  race.  In  his  search  after 
truth,  he  will  gratefully  accept  the  aid  of  the  folk- 
lorist,  who,  gathering  his  knowledge  from  all  sources, 
will  discover  that  thunder-bolts  lie  scattered  through 
his  domain. 

The  West  African,  however,  is  by  nature  suspicious. 
He  is  perpetually  haunted  by  the  idea  that  some  deep 
motive  underlies  your  questions,  and  until  he  gets  to 
know  and  trust  you,  takes  a  particular  delight  in  leading 
you  astray.  Even  Cruikshank,  who  lived  among  them 
for  fifteen  years,  and  was  much  respected,  found  the 
subjects  of  their  religious  beliefs  "  beset  with  difficul- 
ties." As  a  contribution  to  this  study,  we  have 
searched  the  Coast  for  these  implements  and  carefully 
collected  legends  connected  with  them,  some  examples  of 
which  we  give.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  all  of  them, 
with  the  exception  of  the  introductory  legend,  are  con- 
nected with  the  celts  in  our  possession,  and  are  num- 
bered accordingly.  The  legends  themselves  have  not 
been  repeated  by  "  scholars,"  or  the  semi-educated 
natives,  but  by  most  respectable  chiefs,  who  spoke  in 
their  own  language. 

The  wicked  and  malignant  fairy  of  the  West  African 
negro  is  the  Anansi  or  spider,  hence  their  Anansi  asems, 
or  Anansi  stories.  He  it  was  who  originally  brought 
disaster  on  the  world,  by  stealing  the  first  thuiider-bolt 
from  Oyankapon  (the  god  of  the  Ashantis  and  allied 
tribes).  The  stoiy  is  briefly  as  follows  :  — "  A  very  good 
man,  but  sorely  afilicted,  went  to  lay  his  troubles  at  the 
feet  of  Oyankapon,  and  Anansi  detemiined  to  accompany 
him  and  learn  what  he  could  of  the  secrets  of  heaven. 
Secreting  himself  in  the  woolly  head  of  the  negro,  he 
listened  attentively  to  the  conversation  between  Oyan- 
kapon and  the  suppliant.  Whilst  doing  so  he  saw  a 
curious  stone  lying  on  the  floor  of  heaven,  and  with  his 
usual  inquisitiveness  wanted  to  know  what  it  was  for. 
In  a  second  he  had  stolen  it  and  hid  it  in  his  wallet, 
little  imagining  Oyankapon  had  seen  him.  No  sooner 
had  they  returned  to  the  earth  than  Oyankapon  made 


a  terrible  thunderstm m  mn't  sliot  thousands  of  these 
stones  down  from  heaven,  with  the  object  of  killing 
Anansi  for  his  inquisitiveness  in  searching  into  matters 
that  did  not  concern  him.  His  agility  was  so  great, 
however,  that  he  was  able  to  dodge  the  stones  as  they 
fell  round  him,  and  escaped  unhurt,  perhaps  because 
he  would  not  part  with  the  tliunder-bolt ;  but  many 
innocent  people  were  killed.  Hence  it  is  that  the 
innocent  suffer  for  the  misdeeds  of  others."  The  African 
tale  invariably  carries  a  moral,  and  as  the  people  listen, 
they  cry  "  Oyea  "  (very  true). 

Specimen  No.  4. — "When  I  was  a  young  man,"  said 
the  old  chief  Ekoom,  "  I  farmed  this  hill  on  which  the 
Commissioner's  bungalow  now  stands.  One  day,  after 
a  very  bad  thunderstorm,  I  went  to  my  farm,  and  to 


i 


Stuuo   Tnipleiuents   I'l-oiu   West  .Vfrica. 

my  surprise  saw  that  a  very  old  tree,  which  stood  in  the 
centre  of  my  farm,  had  been  struck  by  a  thuudcr-bolt, 
and  was  all  burnt  and  chaired.  This  was  a  bad  sign, 
Oyankapon  had  killed  the  tree  with  his  stone  from 
heaven,  as  a  sign  that  I  should  work  there  no  more; 
but,  as  I  looked  at  the  tree,  I  saw  embedded  in  it  the 
stone,  and  my  heart  felt  good,  for  I  knew  that  good 
luck  always  attends  the  person  who  finds  a  thunder- 
bolt. And  so  it  proved,  my  farm  became  wonderfully 
productive  and  I  prospered." 

Specimen  No.  8. — "  If  you  tie  a  piece  of  thread  round 


244 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[November  1,  1900. 


this  stone,"  said  the  aged  chief  Dontoh  (affectionately 
called  by  his  people  Pappa  Dontoh),  "  and  place  it  in 
a  bowl  of  boiling  water,  it  will  foretell,  in  a  wonderful 
manner,  whether  a  woman  in  travail  will  be  safely 
delivered  or  not.  If  not,  the  thread  will  become  loosened 
and  slip  off  the  stone,  if  she  will,  it  will  remain  intact." 
Whether  this  property  was  inherent  in  all  thunder- 
bolts he  seemed  doubtful.  Each  had  its  own  peculiari- 
ties. He  smiled  at  the  suggestion  that  these  thunder- 
bolts were  the  work  of  man.  "  Did  I  not  see  it  fall 
with  my  own  eyes  from  heaven?  ' 

Specimen  No.  24. — "  It  is  not  for  me  to  inquire  into 
the  ways  of  Oyankapon."  said  the  chief  of  Tacorady, 
"  but  anyone  who  says  that  these  stones  do  not  possess 
wonderful  power  is  a  fool.  Xow  look  at  this  one.  I 
found  it  and  I  know  what  it  is  good  for.  When  I  was 
a  young  man  I  used  to  be  a  hunter.  One  day,  when  I 
ha-d  been  veiy  unsuccessful,  and  was  resting  under  a 
tree,  a  heavy  thunderstorm  came  on,  and  I  saw  the  fire 
(lightning)  strike  the  ground  and  dig  it  up.  I  went 
and  searched  the  place  and  found  this  stone.  After 
the  rain  was  over  I  continued  searching  after  game,  and 
shot  many.  Ever  since,  when  I  have  taken  out  this 
stone  in  my  shot^bag,  I  have  been  successful.  Now 
does  this  not  clearly  prove  that  this  stone's  particular 
virtue  lies  in  discovering  game." 

Specimen  No.  18. — "  My  daughter  is  a  grown  woman 
now,"  said  chief  Etrue,  ''  but  when  she  was  a  little  girl 
this  stone  saved  her  life.  She  accompanied  her  mother 
who  had  gone  into  the  Denkera  country  to  sell  cloths. 
Before  entering  the  principal  town  she  discovered  a 
thunder-bolt  lying  on  the  ground,  and  picked  it  up, 
as  a  child  always  does,  to  make  a  plaything  of.  Her 
mother  was  murdered  in  that  country,  but  the  child 
escaped  in  a  miraculous  manner  to  tell  the  tale." 

Specimen  No.  14. — "  This  stone  has  been  in  my 
family  for  a  long  time,  and  has  cured  us  of  many  com- 
plaints," said  another  chief.  "  Once  my  little  son  was 
suffering  from  weakness,  and  our  native  doctors  couH 
do  nothing  for  him.  Then  an  old  woman  told  us  to 
soak  the  stone  in  water,  and  make  the  child  drink  the 
water.  In  no  time  the  little  fellow  regained  his 
strength." 

From  a  veiy  brief  account  here  given  of  the  superstitions 
attached  to  these  stones,  one  would  be  led  to  believe 
that  the  West  African  regards  them  as  "  fetich,"  as 
objects  of  reverential  awe — the  conclusion  Sir  Alfred 
Moloney  came  to — but  such  is  not  the  case.  Anyone 
who  has  lived  among  the  negroes  of  Central  America 
and  the  West  Indies  (who  are  the  descendants  of  slaves 
exported  from  West  Africa),  know  the  ideas  prevalent 
on  the  subject,  viz.,  that  they  are  lucky  objects  and 
nothing  more.  In  exactly  similar  a  manner  are  they 
regarded  by  West  Africans. 

As  a  curious  illustration  relative  to  the  subject,  we 
find  that  the  name  of  the  tutelary  god  of  a  large  section 
of  the  Gold  Coast  people,  Busum,  is  aiiplied  to  anv 
small  object  that  takes  their  fancy,  such  as  a  particular 
shaped  cowrie,  a  pebble,  a  bean.  This  is  carried  about 
by  the  individual,  for  luck,  and  in  gambling  he  will 
say.  laying  down  his  Busum  before  him,  "  Now  I  am 
bound  to  win  for  there  is  my  Busum."  In  the  island  of 
Jamaica,  the  descendants  of  these  same  people  have 
cornipted  the  word  into  Buzo,  and  the  Central  American 
negroes  into  Guzo.  Now  here  is  the  name  of  their 
sacred  god,  the  god  whose  name  they  invoke  when 
taking  a  solemn  oath,  used  for  the  idle  pui-pose  of  a 
charm.     On  investigation  it  will  be  found  that,  at  all 


events  amongst  the  Gold  Coast  natives,  thunder-bolts 
are  similarly  regarded  as  lucky  objects,  and  nothing 
more.  This  may  be  considered  a  fine  distinction,  but  it 
is  the  neglect  to  study  these  apparently  unimportant 
differences  that  so  often  causes  us  to  run  away  with 
absolutely  wrong  ideas  of  native  thought  and  feeling ; 
complex  and  involved  as  it  is,  we  only  make  the  task 
more  difficult. 

In  conclusion,  we  will  quote  the  words  of  an  aged 
chief,  which  conveys  in  no  doubtful  language  the  position 
thunder-bolts  play  in  their  religious  beliefs.  He  was 
asked  to  explain  why,  if  they  believed  these  stones  con- 
tained miraculous  properties,  they  parted  with  them. 
"  You  may  appreciate  a  thing  very  highly,  yet,  when 
your  friend  asks  it  of  you,  you  freely  give  it,  with  luck 
you  can  get  another.  '  But,  who  in  his  senses  would  part 
•frith  his  Souman  (the  household  deity  of  the  individual)? 
The  former  anyone,  with  luck,  can  procure ;  the  latter, 
never." 


PLANTS    AND    THEIR    FOOD.-VI. 

By  H.  H.  W.  Pearsox,  m.a. 

The  remarkable  association  for  mutual  benefit  which 
exists  between  the  root-organisms  of  leguminous  plants 
and  the  hosts  whose  roots  they  inhabit  is  not  the  omy 
one  of  the  kind  which  must  be  noticed  in  connection 
with  the  food-supply.  As  was  pointed  out  in  the  pre- 
ceding article,  our  knowledge  of  the  benefits  accruing 
to  either  member  of  the  firm  as  a  result  of  this  partner- 
ship is  incomplete.  This  is  also  tnie  of  another  associa- 
tion between  fungi  and  the  roots  of  flowering  plants, 
which  in  this  case  do  not  belong  to  the  family 
Leguminosse. 

Many  plants,  including  a  large  number  of  Orchids, 
the  Heaths  which  constitute  the  larger  mass  of  the  plants 
population  of  our  moors,  as  well  as  many  familiar 
British  trees,  possess  few  root-hairs  or  none  at  all,  their 
place  being  supplied  by  the  fine  thread-like  filaments 
of  the  fungus.  This  so-called  "  mycorhiza  '  or  "  fungus- 
root  "  is  of  two  kinds.  In  many  ground  orchids  and  in 
the  members  of  the  Heath  family  the  fungus  establishes 
itself  in  the  external  cells  of  the  root  whence  it  sends 
out  into  the  soil  free  filaments  which  sei-ve  the  purpose 
of  root-hairs.  In  the  Beech  and  related  trees  the  con 
uection  between  the  fungus  and  the  root  is  less  intimate. 
Here  the  filaments  do  not  penetrate  the  outer  cells  of  the 
I'oot,  but,  instead,  become  closelj'  interwoven  forming 
a  mantle  over  the  end  of  the  root,  investing  it  as  the 
finger  of  a  glove  invests  its  occupant.  From  this  mantle 
proceed  numerous  filaments  which  force  themselves 
among  the  soil-pai-ticles  after  the  manner  of  root-hairs. 
In  most  cases  little  is  known  of  the  fungi  which  enter 
into  such  unions  with  the  roots  of  higher  plants.  In 
some,  notably  in  that  of  the  Pine,  the  mycorhizal 
filaments  belong  to  the  fungus  whose  fi-uits  are  so 
well  known  under  the  name  of  "  truffles."  In  this 
association  of  fungi  with  the  roots  of  higher  plants  the 
benefit  is  mutual.  When  the  filaments  penetrate  the 
living  cjlls  of  the  roots  they  undoubtedly  receive  there- 
from organic  substances  which  the  fungiis,  being  desti- 
tute of  chlorophyll,  is  unable  to  build  up  for  itself.* 
In  return,  it  to  some  extent  saves  its  host  the  necessity 
of  forming  root-haii-s  whose  duties  are  performed  by  its 
loose    ends.        Whether    the    mycorhiza    which    simply 

*  Kn'OWJ.eioe,  Mai'tli,  1900,  pp.  55  and  57. 


NOVKJIBER    1,    1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


245 


invests  the  root  of  its  hasfc  without  poiietr.'vting  it-s  cclln 
is  of  simihu-  service  is  not  certain. 

The  myoorhiza  is  found  especially  upon  roots  which 
grow  in  soils  rich  in  decaying  humus.  It  is  also  in- 
variably present  in  the  roots  of  plant*;  growing  in  sucii 
soil  which  possess  little  or  no  chlorophyll  in  their  stems 
and  leaves,  such.  e.fl..  as  the  ground  oixhids.  It  is  there- 
fore probahlc  that  it  is  in  some  way  serviceable  in 
supplying  its  host  with  such  organic  substances  as  arc 
formed  during  the  decay  of  plant  (/(7>r('<.f  These 
may  be  merely  conveyed  by  the  fungus  in  an  unaltered 
condition  into  the  tissues  of  its  host;  on  the  other 
hand  it  may  be  that  they  undcrgft  within  the  cells  of 
the  fungus  such  changes  as  render  them  more  easily 
absorbed  and  assimilated  by  the  green  plant.  It  has 
also  been  suggested  that  another,  perhaps  the  chief, 
duty  of  the  fungus  element  of  the  mycorhizal  partner- 
ship is,  in  some  cases,  connected  with  the  supply  of 
suitable  compounds  of  Nitrogen  to  the  more  prominent 
partner.  Fungi  absorb  certain  compound.^  of  ammonia 
— such  as  are  found  in  the  soil — and,  by  the  activity  of 
their  protoplasm,  build  thenr  up  into  more  conijjlcx 
organic  compounds.  It  is  at  lea.st  possible  that  this  may 
be  the  nature  of  the  contribution  whicli  the  fungus 
makes  to  the  plant  in  or  upon  whose  roots  it  lives.  But 
to  what  extent  any  or  all  of  these  relationships  exist 
between  the  flowering  plant  and  its  mycorhiza  can  only 
be  detennined  by  future  reseai'ch.  At  present  we  must 
conclude  that  the  tmc  significance  of  this  form  of  asso- 
ciation between  green  plants  and  the  more  lowly  organ- 
ised fungi  requires  further  elucidation  ;  there  is, 
however,  no  doubt  that  it  is  of  considerable  importance 
in  the  economy  of  nature. 

We  have  now  considered  the  pnncipal  sources  of  the 
food-supply  of  green  plants  and  the  channels  by  which 
it  reaches  the  tissue  of  the  plant  whore  it  undergoes 
chemical  alteration  into  compounds  suitable  to  build  up 
and  repair  the  waste  of  the  vegetable  organism.  Into 
the  nature  of  these  most  interesting  changes,  as  yet  but 
incompletely  mastered  by  scientific  investigators,  limit 
of  space  forbids  us  to  enquire  further. 

The  salient  feature  of  our  present  topic  is  the  relation 
between  the  green  plant  and  its  carbon-supply.  As  we 
have  seen,  it  is  enabled  by  means  of  the  chlorophyll 
present  in  the  protoplasm  of  certain  of  its  cells  to  obtain 
all  that  it  needs  of  that  most  essential  constituent  of  its 
food  from  the  Carbon  dioxide  of  the  atmosphere.  This 
jx)wer  is  unique,  being  possessed  by  no  living  organisms 
except  such  as  contain  chlorophyll.  In  the  cells  of  the 
green  plant,  as  a  result  of  the  vital  activity  of  proto- 
plasm in  the  presence  of  chlorophyll  are  produced  organic 
compounds  (proteids)  containing  Carbon  and  Nitrogen 
in  such  a  form  that  they  are  available  as  food  *o 
organisms — plant  and  animal — destitute  of  chlorophyll. 
Among  the  lower  members  of  the  animal  kingdom 
there  are  numerous  in.stanccs  of  organisms  possessing 
chlorophyll,  which  therefore  subsist  partly  as  plants  in 
that  they  assimilate  Carbon  dioxide.  As  an  example 
may  be  mentioned  the  fresh  water  polype,  Ift/dra 
viridix,  familiar  to  microscopists  ;  in  the  cells  of  whose 
endoderm  are  found  granules  of  chlorophyH  similar  to 
those  of  the  plant>cell.  On  the  other  hand,  numerous 
members  of  the  upper  classes  of  the  vegetable  kingdom 
have  to  some  extent  thrown  off  their  plant  nature  and 
have  become  partly  animal  in  their  tastes  and  habits. 
Some  of  them  almost  entirely,  others  to  a  less  extent 
have  lost  the  character  which   is  most  pronounced  in 

t  Knowxedoe,  March,  1900,  p.  5S. 


their  nearest  allies,  and  havo  become  destroyers  instead 
of  builders  up  of  organic  Carbon  compounds.  These 
(legrotlcd  members  of  plant  society  obtain  their  supplies 
of  organic  Carbon  from  animals  or  from  other  plants, 
living  or  dead.  Of  saprophytes  (plants  which  live  upon 
dead  organic  matter)  wc  have  already  said  something; 
it  is  probable  that  all  plants  which  flourish  in  rich 
humus  soils  are  to  somo  extent  saprophytic.  It  would 
take  us  far  beyond  our  prescribed  limits  to  enter  here 
upon  a  discussion  of  the  interesting  features  of  the  life 
of  a  vegetable  parasite.  It  must  suflico  to  mention  one 
well-known  example — the  "  Dodder,"  of  which  there  are 
three  species  in  Britain;  the  "  Clover  Dodder  "  {(Uixcuta 
e pithy iinim.  Murr.)  is  perhaps  the  best  known  of  these. 
Its  thin  wiry  leafless  stems  are  destitute  of  chlorophyll, 
and  are  therefore  of  a  dirty  yellowish-brown  colour.  They 
send  short  root-like  projections  into  the  green  juicy 
stems  of  the  clover  from  which  they  derive  their  entire| 
nutrinieni,.  In  clover-fields  the  nearly  circular  and  ever- 
increasing  brown  pat<'hcs  caused  by  the  prevalence  of 
this  pest  over  the  h\gitimato  crop  are,  in  some  seasons, 
but  too  familiar.  There  are  degrees  of  parasitism 
among  plants  as  elsewhere  in  the  organic  world.  The 
Dodder  is  an  example  of  an  advanced  typo  in  which  the 
parasite  is  all  but  reduced  to  a  condition  of  absolute 
dependence.  The  British  Flora  contains  many  plants 
which  rob  their  fellows  of  valuable  nourishment,  but 
whoso  parasitism  is  less  pronounced  than  that  of  the 
Dodder. §  Among  saprophytic  green  plants  there  is  a 
group  in  which  the  method  of  obtaining  organic  nutri- 
ment has  led  to  the  development  of  some  of  the  most 
remarkable  forms  in  the  plant  world.  There  are 
numerous  species  of  carnivorous  plants  of  which  a  few 
are  represented  in  our  own  Flora.  Insects  are  their 
chief  natm-al  prey  ;  and  numerous  are  the  devices  for 
capturing  them  which  plants  in  the  course  of  evolution 
have  adopted.  These  may  bo  roughly  considered  in  two 
divisions. 

A  large  section  of  the  vegetable  carnivora  arc 
provided  with  chambers  or  traps  into  which  the 
animal  is  allured,  and  from  which  it  finds  escape  im- 
possible. Most  interesting  examples  are  seen  in  two  or 
three  species  which  inhabit  the  marshes  and  pools  of  thij 
country.  The  Bladderworts  {Utrkularia  vulgaris  and 
U.  minor)  are  small  rootless  plants  floating  freely  in 
stagnant  water.  The  ordinary  leaves  are  much  divided 
into  green  thread-like  segments.  In  many  places  instead 
of  leaves  are  borne  pale-green  nearly  transparent  ellip- 
soid bladders,  which  vary  in  different  species  from  y^ 
to  I  inch  in  diameter.  The  entrance  to  the  bladder  is 
closed  by  a  valve  opening  inwards,  and  is  protected  on 
the  outside  by  a  tuft  of  stiff  hairs.  Only  a  very  small 
creature  such  as  can  crawl  in  among  the  tuft  of  hairs 
and,  pushing  in  the  valve,  can  pass  through  a  very 
small  orifice,  is  able  to  enter.  Once  inside  there  is  no 
escape,  for  the  valve  fits  close  and  only  opens  inwards. 
The  bladders  which  to  minute  crustaceans,  larvae  of 
gnats,  and  other  insects,  small  worms  and  other  inhabi- 
tants of  stagnant  fresh  water,  possibly  suggest  refuge, 
or  even  food,  become  chambers  of  death  to  those  which 
makr-  trial  of  them.  The  prisoner  is  not  killed  at  once, 
may  even  live  for  as  long  as  six  days  after  its  capture ; 
after  death  the  products  of  its  decay  arc  absorbed  by 
the  plant  by  means  of  short  cells  somewhat  resembling 
root-hairs  which  project  into  the  chamber  from  its  walls. 


X  In  thp  Tcrj-  .young  condition   the  Poddcr   is  not   parasitic,  but 
quickly  perishes"  if  it  fails  to  find  a  suitable  host. 
§   Kkowledgb,  Mareli,  1900,  p.  58. 


246 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[November  1,  1900. 


There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  small  animals  thus 
captured  are  an  important  part  of  the  food-supply  of  the 
Bladderwort;  remains  of  as  many  as  twenty-four  cnista- 
ceans  have  been  found  in  a  single  bladder  at  one  time. 
Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  of  the  carnivorous  plants 
which  capture  their  prey  in  this  manner  are  the  pitcher- 
plants.  In  some  of  these  the  whole  leaf  assumes  the 
extraordinary  pitcher-like  form  from  which  the  plants 
get  their  popular  name ;  in  others,  as  in  Nepenthes 
itself,  the  pitcher  is  produced  by  a  metamorphosis  of  the 
leaf-stalk,  the  blade  of  the  leaf  being  represented  only 
by  a  small  lid  which  more  or  less  covers  the  jjitcher- 
mouth.  There  are  about  fifty  species  of  these  extra- 
ordinary plants  widely  distributed  in  the  warmer  regions 
of  the  eai-th.  Of  these  about  forty  belong  to  the  genus 
Nepenthes,  whose  home  is  in  the  East  Indian  Archi- 
pelago and  the  adjacent  mainland ;  there  are  also  a  few 
species  in  Madagascar  -  and  trojoical  Australia.  A 
sjDlendid  collection  of  living  plants  is  to  be  seen  in  the 
new  Nepenthes  House  at  Kew.  Other  genera  are 
represented  in  N.  America  (Sarracenia,  Darlingtonia), 
British  Guiana  (Hclianiphora),  and  Australia  (Cephalo- 
tus).  The  pitchers  contain  a  fluid  which  in  some  cases 
{e.g.,  Nepenthes)  is  poured  into  them  from  special  secre- 
ting cells  in  their  walls;  in  others  {e.g.,  Sarracenia)  it  is 
partly  if  not  entirely  collected  rain-water.  They  are 
rendered  attractive  to  insects,  in  some  species,  by  a 
honey  secretion,  and  in  most  by  a  lurid  veining  of  the 
sides  and  top  which  is  distinctly  suggestive  of  animal 
flesh.  An  insect  once  inside  is  prevented  by  various 
devices  from  escaping,  and  death  by  drowning  in  the 
fluid  contents  of  the  pitcher  is  therefore  its  fate.  Its 
remains  simjjly  rot  in  the  fluid  which  is  absorbed  by 
the  plant,  or  in  the  case  of  some  species  of  Nepenthes 
their  decomposition  is  hastened  by  an  acid  constituent 
of  the  fluid  produced  by  the  ijlant  itself  and  secreted  into 
the  pitcher.  Organic  compounds  derived  from  the  bodies 
of  the  animal  prey  are  thus  set  free  and  are  absorbed 
into  the  plant  and  constitute  an  important  element  of  its 
food-sujjply. 

A  second  class  of  insectivorous  plants  is  exemplified 
by  another  well-known  British  plant,  the  beautiful  little 
Sundew,  of  which  three  species  inhabit  bogs  and  wet 
places.  These  and  several  others  to  which  we  arc  unable  to 
refer  here  exhibit  movements  of  various  kinds  in  the  cap- 
ture and  '■  digestion  "  of  their  insect  prey.  In  the  common 
Sundew  {Drosera  rotuvdifolia,  Linn.),  a  small  plant  with 
a  rosette  of  leaves  growing  close  to  the  sui-face  of  the 
ground,  the  leaves  are  circular,  from  \  inch  to  A  inch  in 
diameter  and  attached  to  the  plant  by  long  stalks.  The 
upper  surface  of  the  leaf  is  thickly  beset  by  curious  little 
tentacles  terminating  in  swollen  reddish  heads,  which 
secrete  a  colourless  sticky  fluid.  This  fluid,  glistening 
like  dew  in  the  sunlight,  gives  to  the  plant  its  popular 
name.  A  small  insect,  attracted  doubtless  by  the  appear- 
ance of  honey,  alights  upon  the  leaf  and  "is  unable  to 
extricate  itself  from  the  sticky  exudation.  Now  occurs  a 
wonderful  series  of  movements. ||  The  tentacle  or 
tentacles  touched  by  the  insect  slowly  curve  over  until 
the  victim  is  thi-ust  down  between  tliem  upon  the  flat 
surface  of  the  leaf.  At  the  same  time  all  the  tentacles 
in  the  neighbourhood  begin  to  curve  and  converge  to- 
wards the  same  point.  The  smothering  of  the  prey  is 
thus  complete,  and  its  body  is  quickly  decomposed  bv  the 


II  In  Brosophylbim  hi.n/anicum, Link, a  native  of  the  PcninsuLi  and 
Morocco,  the  process  of  capture  is  the  same  as  that  dcscribcil  frjr 
Drosera,  except  tliat  the  stalked  ghinds  (tentaeU's)  arc  incapable  of 
movement. 


acid  secretion  poured  upon  it  from  the  cells  of  the 
tentacle  heads.  Its  proteids  are  thus  rendered  soluble 
and  are  absorbed  by  the  leaf.  In  the  case  of  Drosera 
it  has  been  experimentally  proved  that  the  plant  thrives 
better  when  it  is  able  to  obtain  animal  food  than  under 
other  conditions.^  These  examjsles  of  the  better  known 
carnivorous  plants  must  suffice.  They  are  so  remarkable 
that  it  is  not  unlikely  that  too  much  importance  may 
be  ascribed  to  this  curious  habit.  It  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  although  some  plants  have  adopted  these 
practices  they  represent  but  a  very  small  jjart  of  the 
immense  group  of  green  plants.  This  method  of  obtain- 
ing Carbon  and  Nitrogen  from  the  animal  body  is  an 
abnormal  development  which  is  of  compai'atively  little 
importance  in  the  jalant-world  as  a  whole. 


THE  GREAT  TELESCOPE  OF  PARIS,  1900. 

By  Eugene  Antoniadi,  f.e.a.s. 

It  was  at  the  initiative  of  M.  Francois  Deloncle,  plenipo- 
tentiary minister,  that  a  group  of  amateur  astronomers 
decided  upon  devising  for  the  Paris  Exhibition  an 
instrument  of  exceptional  size,  far  transcending  anything 
that  had  been  before  achieved  in  that  line.  With  this 
end  in  view,  it  was  agreed  to  give  to  the  object  glass  a 
diameter  of  49.2  inches,  that  is  9.2  clear  inches  more 
than  the  Yerkes  glass  at  Williams  Bay,  Wisconsin,  and 
13.2  inches  more  than  the  Lick  refractor.  Meantime, 
in  order  to  check,  as  far  as  possible,  the  defects 
of  spherical  and  chromatic  aberration,  it  was  resolved 
to  give  the  lens  the  immense  focal  length  of  nearly  200 
feet. 

To  mount  such  a  leviathan  on  an  equatorial  foot  would 
practically  be  an  impossibility.  For  to  say  nothing 
of  the  tremendous  weight  of  the  tube,  and  the  consequent 
instability  and  flexures  to  which  it  would  be  exposed, 
the  protecting  dome  ought  to  have  a  diameter  of  at  least 
210  feet,  thus  surpassing  by  72  the  cupola  of  St.  Peter's, 
in  Rome,  and  by  103  feet  the  dome  of  St.  Sophia,  Con- 
stantinople. Owing,  moreover,  to  the  apparent  diurnal 
swing  of  the  heavens  round  the  Pole  Star,  the  dome 
ought,  during  observation,  to  be  in  constant  motion,  so 
as  to  keep  its  opening  constantly  in  front  of  the  object 
glass,  speeding  with  a  velocity  of  some  50  feet  an  hour ; 
the  eye-piece,  too,  would  have  to  fly  at  a  comparable 


/    // 


FlO.  1. — Principle  of  the  Sidcrostat. 

pace,  and  it  is  needless  to  point  to  the  inconvenience 
to  which  the  velocity  of  such  motion  would  subject  the 
observer. 


^  F.  Darwin.    Journal  of  the  Linnean  Sociefi/,  Vol.  XVII    pp  ''S 
andSOy. 


OVKMBEK    1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


247 


In  order  to  surmount  these  vai-ious  obstacles  it  was 
wisely  decided  that  the  mounting  be  that  of  the  sidtrostat, 
such  as  perfected  by  Lt?ou  Foueault.  a  man  of  remark- 
able mechanical  ingenuity.  The  siderostat  is  an  old 
invention.  During  the  eighteenth  century,  Parrault  had 
already  construct.ed  a  mechanism  based  on  the  same 
principle,  while  "  in  1790,  '  says  Lalande,*  "  an  able 
London  optician,  named  Brown,  made  a  telescope  whose 
tube  is  always  horizontal,  and  in  which  a  plane  mirror 
reflects  the  image  of  the  object  into  the  eye-piece." 

The  siderostat  thus  consists  of  a  plane  mirror,  M 
(Fig.  1),  moved  by  a  clockwork  motion  communicated 
to  the  axis  PQ,  parallel  to  the  axis  of  the  earth,  and 


two  axes,  a  horizontal  axis,  at  right  angles  to  the  [)a[)i'i- 
at  O,  and  a  vertical  axis  OO'.  At  the  back  and  centre 
of  the  mirror's  cell  is  fixed  a  rod,  ON,  on  which  glides 
a  muff,  N,  hold  by  a  fork,  PN,  attached  to  the  polar 
axis.  The  length  of  the  fork,  PN,  being  equal  to  the 
distance  OP,  the  triangle  NOP  is,  in  all  positions  of  the 
mirror,  isosceles,  and  /  "  —  /  ''■  ''''it  /  <'  =  /  n  =  /  m, 
the  angles  of  refleition  and  iiuiiii'iice.  Henci^  /  in  ■=.  /h, 
and  thus  the  direction  of  the  fork  PN  is  always  parallel 
to  the  incident  ray. 

Now,  in  virtue  of  the  problem  of  revolving  mirrors, 
the  angular  velocitv  of  tlie  mirror  is  one-half  that  of 
the  celestial  sphere.     This  is  obtained  by  imparting  to 


Fig.  2. — The  Great  Siderostat  of  Paris,  1900.  .\,  Riglit  ascension  axis;  ]{,  Riyht  ascension  circle;  C,  Ueclinafcion  axis; 
D,  Declination  semi-circle;  E,  Fork  attached  to  the  declination  axis;  F,  Muff  held  by  the  fork  ;  G-,  l!rass  rod  fixed  nonniill^  to  tlie 
mirror's  cell;  H,  Cell  of  the  mirror;  1,. Silver  on  glass  mirror  of  the  siderostat ;  K,  Screw  allowing;  of  tlie  mirror  being  laken  out  of  the  cell  ; 
L,  Counterpoises  equilibrating  the  mirror  ;  M,  Great  forked  support  of  the  mirror ;  N,  Cylinder  containing  mercury,  enabling  the  floating 
of  the  mass  M;  O,  Telescope  for  reading  the  divisions  of  the  riglit  ascension  circle;  U',  Telescope  for  the  <lecli  nation  circle:  ]',,  Dandle 
for  slow  horary  movements  ;  P„,  Handle  for  rapid  movements  in  right  ascension  ;  P,,  Handle  for  motion  in  declination  ;  1*,,  Handle  tor 
winding  the  clock  ;    Q,,  Strings  for  clamping  and  unclamping  in  right  ascension  ;    R,  Clockwork  motion  ;    .S,  Weight  of  tlie  clock. 


sending  the  reflected  beam  along  the  optical  axis  of  a 
fixed  telescope,  AB.f       The  mirror  is  moveable  round 

*  Quoted  by  Delaunay,  Court  EUmentaire  cCAstronomie,  7e  cd., 
p.  174. 

t  For  clearness's  sake,  the  refractor  has  been  monstrously  shortened 
on  the  above  diagram. 


the  axis  PQ  a  double  velocity,  so  as  to  make  it  rotate 
once  in  24h.  Inasmuch  as  the  centre  of  rotation  of  the 
mirror  is  at  O,  and  not  on  the  middle  of  NO,  its  rotation 
is  twice  slower  than  that  of  the  axis,  being  effected  once 
in  48h.,  since  an  angle  at  the  circumference  of  a  circle 
is  one-half  the  angle  at  the  centre. 


218 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[No^■EMBER  1,  1900. 


The  Paris  siderostat  is  shown  on  Fig.  2,  which  was 
specially  drawn  for  the  readers  of  Knowledge.  Its 
total  length  is  27  feet  and  such  is  its  height  also.  It 
weighs,  moreover,  some  45  tons.  The  glass  mirror  itself, 
whose  diameter  measures  78|  inches,  or  more  than 
6i  feet,  and  whose  thickness  is  11  inches,  weighs 
3|  tons.  It  is  held  in  equilibrium  by  a  system  of  levers 
and  counterpoises,  and  rolls  in  a  cylindrical  well  con- 
taining 22  gallons  of  mercury.  The  volume  of  the  sub- 
merged part  was  so  calculated  that  the  weight  borne  by 
the  mercury  is  nine-tenths  of  the  joint  weight  of  the 
mirror  and  its  support,  that  is,  nearly  13  tons. 

This  description  of  the  mechanism  will  be  rendered 
clearer  by  an  inspection  of  Figs.  3  and  4,  showing  the 
axes,  circles,  forks,  and  mirror  of  the  siderostat,  while 
the  Plate  gives  a  general  frontal  view  of  the  instrument. 


Fig.  3.- 


-Right  Ascension  and  Declination  Axes  and  Circles  of  the 
Great  Siderostat. 


The  mirror  was  cast  by  M.  Despret,  in  June,  1895, 
at  the  glass  works  of  Jeumont.  The  object  glass  was 
cast  by  M.  Mantois,  while  all  the  mechanical  part  of  the 
apparatus,  including  the  figuring  of  the  optical  surfaces, 
was  made  by  M.  P.  Gautier,  optician  to  the  Paris  Obser- 
vatory, whose  plans  were  carried  out  thoroughly  bv 
M.  G.  Allix,  a  workman  of  great  skill. 

It  was  no  easy  task  to  polish  the  surfaces  of  the 
colossal  mirror  and  of  the  lenses  of  the  object  glass.  For 
this,  M.  Gautier  had  to  devise  a  new  method.  The 
grinding  action  of  two  flat  metallic  sliders  gave  to  the 
mirror  its  flat  surface,  while  the  same  process  was  used 
in  figuring  the  object  glass;  owing,  however,  to  the 
slight  curves  to  be  given  to  the  surfaces,  the  slides, 
instead  of  being  straight,  presented  the  cui-vature  of  the 
disks.  The  rectilinear  motion  of  the  system  thus 
developed  gave  rise  to  a  cylindrical  section,  which,  how- 


ever, in  virtue  of  the  rotation  of  the  lenses  round  their 
axes  was  transforaied  into  a  spherical  surface. 

In  testing  the  mirror,  M.  Gautier  followed  Foucault's 
process,  which  consists  in  examining  telescopically  the 


Fig.  4. — Xhe  Great  Mirror,  79  inches  across. 
{Photographed  i'l/  M.  G.  Mathifu.) 

image  of  a  point  of  light  reflected  from  the  mirror.  If 
the  surface  be  quite  plane  the  image  reduces  itself  to  a 
small  luminous  circle  surrounded  by  concentric  dif- 
fraction rings.  If  the  portion  of  the  surface  under 
scrutiny  is  slightly  concave,  there  will  be  a  flattening 
of  the  image  in  the  vertical  direction,  when  pushing  the 
eye-piece  in,  and  it  will  be  elongated  in  the  same 
direction  when  drawing  the  eye-piece  out.  Should  the 
surface  be  slightly  convex,  the  reverse  would  take  place. 
While  making  these  experiments,  M.  Gautier  noticed 
that   the  mirror's   sensibility   was   such    that  bv   merely 


Fig.  5.— The  Object  Glass  of  4'J-2  inches. 

{I'hvloiirtij'ht't  I'll  M.  Cj[.  Maihikc.) 

touching  the  surface  with  the  hand  he  produced  a  pro- 
tuberance deforming  the  telescopic  image  at  that  point, 
and  which,  measured  with  the  spherometer,  attained 
YTooo  of  an  inch.  The  spherometer,  meantime,  enabled 
the  detection  of  irregularities  in  the  plane  surface,  not 
exceeding  ^suWu  of  ^^  inch. 


Knotrt,-i1iif. 


THE     GREAT     SIDEROSTAT     OF     THE     PARIS     TELESCOPE. 


No\-KMBKR    1,   1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


219 


The  cvliudricitv  of  the  axes  and  rollers  of  the  siderostat 
was  verified  with  an  accuracy  of  ^TTihnj  *'f  "■°  inch. 

The  diameter  of  the  object  glass,  which  is  a  photo- 
graphic one,  measures,  as  above  stilted,  49.2  inches, 
and  its  weight  is  794  lbs.  But  the  clear  aperture  is 
47.2  inches,  and  the  focal  length  some  187  feet.  Hence 
the  photogi'aphic  images  of  the  sun  or  moon  in  the 
primaiy  focus  measure  from  21  to  22  inches  across. 

The  tube  of  the  telescope  is  180  feet  long,  and  59 
inches  broad.  It  is  of  steel,  rather  less  than  jV,  inch 
thick,  and  weighs  21  tons.  The  total  weight  of  the 
instrument,  including  the  siderostat,  thus  falls  but  little 
short  of   70  tons.        The   tube  rests   on  five   cast  iron 


movements  of  the  siderostat,  250  feet  off,  with  whom, 
however,  he  can  communicate  telephonically. 

Compared  to  the  Yerkes  telescope,  the  light-grasping 
power  of  the  Paris  refractor  is  as  about  2r^  is  to  2,  in 
favour  of  Pai'is,  due  allowance  being  made  for  the  loss 
of  light  (8  per  cent.)  by  reflection  ou  the  silvered  mirror. 
The  stellar  penetration  of  the  siderostat  ought,  therefore, 
to  i-each  the  ISth  magnitude. 

It  was  through  M.  Flammarion's  kiiuhiess  that  the 
writer  was  enabled  to  utilize  the  Paris  siderostat. 

The  planets  Jupiter  and  Saturn  were  unfortunately 
out  of  reach  beyond  20°  of  south  declination,  inasmuch 
as  it  was  not  thous;;ht  safe   In'  the   maker  to   allow   tlio 


FlQ.  6. — Gentral  A'iew,  ihowicg  the  cyL-cnc',  of  tlie  Great  Tclespopr,  as  nioiinliil  in  tlie  Palais  de  rO]iliiiiU'  at  tiif  Paris  Exliiliition. 


supports,  besides  the  two  other  supports,  one  at  each 
end. 

A  short  tube,  of  the  same  breadth  as  that  of  the 
telescope,  but  resting  on  four  wheels,  forms  the  eye  end. 
The  wheels  can  glide  along  a  railway,  so  as  to  facilitate 
the  focussing  of  the  plate  or  eyepiece,  which  would 
otherwise  be  extremely  inconvenient,  seeing  that  the 
weight  of  this  eye  end  is  also  counted  in  tons. 

Fig.  6  gives  a  general  view  of  the  telescope  with 
the  eye  end,  as  mounted  in  the  Palais  de  I'Optique, 
Champ  de  Mars,  at  the  Exhibition. 

All  heavenly  bodies  have  to  be  found  by  their  right 
ascension  and  declination.  There  is  no  possibility  of 
directing  the  mirror's  motion  from  the  eye  end.  Hence 
the  helpless  observer  at  the  eyepiece  is  to  some  extent 
"  at  the  mercy "  of  the  astronomer   in  charge   of   the 


mirror    to   make   a   smaller    angle   than    12'^    with    the 
vertical. 

Venus,  however,  was  well  situated  during  the  summer, 
and  the  writer  was  enabled  to  secure  a  considerable 
number  of  drawings  of  her  at  daytime.  The  great 
telescope  showed  the  planet  utterly  destitute  of  detail 
(Fig.  7). I  Its  appearance  was  that  of  a  pale  yellow 
crescent  or  half-moon,  with  a  brighter  limb,  projected  on 
the  dark  azure  of  the  sky.  Hence  the  inanity  of  all 
rotation  periods  based  on  tiic  observation  of  subjective 
spots,  and  fixed  sometimes  (as  in  the  case  of  M.  Brenner) 
with  the  accuracy  of  one  ten-thousandth  of  a  second  I 

X  It  will  be  noticed  tliat  owing  to  tlie  mirror'ii  reflection,  the  images 
are  inverted  east  and  west.  The  focus,  nioi-eover,  for  Venus  in  the 
great  refractor  was  some  ten  or  fifteen  inches  fartlier  out  than  that  of 
stars  or  nehuhe. 


250 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[NOMSMBER    1,   1900. 


The  great  light-grasping  power  of  the  Paris  refractor 
next  proved,  as  was  natui-ally  to  be  anticipated,  wonder- 
fully efficient  on  nebulae.     Though  these  delicate  objects 


^w 


Fia. 


7. — The  Planet  Venus,  as  seen  in  the  Great  Siderostat  on  1900, 
September,  15(1.  llh.  40m,  G.C.M.T. 


require,  in  order  to  be  advantageously  scrutinized,  (a) 
a  minimum  of  luminous  absoqjtion  on  the  pai-t  of  the 
refracting  medium,  (b)  a  maximum  of  darkness  of  the 
sky,  and  (c)  a  good  definition ;  and  though,  on  account 
of  the  dust,  smoke,  illumination,  and  perpetual  mixture 
of  air  masses  of  different  dersities,  none  of  these  con 


Tia.  8.— Annular  Xebula  y  IV.  13  Cygni,  lf««),  Julv  17. 

ditions  was  fulfilled  at  the  Exhibiticn,  the  results  already 
secured  in  this  line  are  very  satisfactory  indeed. 

Thus  in  the  annular  nebula  W  lY.  13  Cygni  the  sidero- 
stat showed,  probably  for  the  first  time  visital/y,  the  faint 
central  condensation  visible  on  Dr.  Isaac  Roberts'  bea^i- 
tiful  negatives,  and  which  is  not  shown  on  the  drawing 
published  by  Lord  Rosse  II.  in  his  "  Observations  of 
Nebulas  and  Clusters  of  Stars  made  with  the  6  foot  and 
3  foot  Reflectors  at  Birr  Castle,  from  1848  to  187S," 
Part  III.,'  Plate  V.  The  annulus  is,  moreover,  distinctly 
elliptical  from  north-east  to  south-west,  and  not  round 
as  has  been  shown  heretofore.  A  faint  haziness  fills  the 
interior  of  the  ring  (Fig.  8). 

The  spiral  structure  of  I^  TV.  16  Sagittce  was  easily 
detected  with  the  siderostat,  though  it  was  rather  hard 
to  say  whether  the  object  was  a  right  or  left-handed 
spiral  (Fig.  9). 


No  less  interesting  was  the  appearance  of  the  Saturn- 
like planetary  nebula  Ijl  IV.  1  Aquarii  (Fig.  10).  In  a 
paper  read  before  the  Royal  Society  on  June  20,  1850, 
Lord  Rosse  I.  described  this  object  thus  : — "  It  has  ansae, 
which  probably  indicate   a  suiTOunding  nebulous  ring 


Fig.  9.— ^Jpiral  \ebula  ^  IV.  16  Sagittse,  1900,  Julv  26. 

seen  edgeways. "§  His  drawing  of  ^  TV.  I  is  very- 
remarkable,  as  showing  the  nebula  in  the  form  of  the 
planet  Saturn,  flatt-ened  at  the  poles  and  with  a  scarcely 
opened  ring — which  is  aho  its  appearance  in  the  Paris 
refractor.  But  the  rows  of  dots  shown  by  Lord  Rosse 
in  the  body  of  the  nebula,  and  the  rays  shooting  from 
it  are  invisible  in  the  siderostat,  and  the  writer  fears 
that  these  details  are  not  of  an  objective  character. 

We  append,  in  conclusion,  a  drawing  of  the  central 
regions   of   the   Andromeda   nebula,    as   seen    with   the 


Fig.  10.— Planetary  Nebula  y  IV.  1  Aquarii,  1900,  July. 

siderostat  on  September  1  last  (Fig.  11),  and  in  which 
flashed  in  1885  the  well-known  bright  temporary  star. 
It  will  be  seen  that  the  nucleus  is  nebulous  at  present, 
and  that  there  is  not  the  slightest  indication  here  of  a 
stellar  condensation.  It  is,  moreover,  strongly  elliptical 
and  not  circular,  following  in  this  the  form  of  the  great 
nebula  itself. 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  results  obtained  with  the  new 
siderostat  in  the  midst  of  Paris  in  1900.  But  it  is  not 
in  the  dust  and  smoke  of  gi-eat  cities  that  large  telescopes 
show  their  full  power,  so  that  the  day  when  we  hear  that 
the  huge  refractor  has  been  remounted,  fully  prepared 

§  Philosophical  Transactions,  MDCCCL.,  p.  507. 


No\-EMBER    1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


231 


aud     equipped,    on    some    well-solocU'd     eminence,  far 
from  industrial  centres,  then   may  we   look  forward  to 


FlS.  11.— The  Nucleus  ol'  tl,<-  linat  .\<l.ulu  in  Andromeda  (M  31), 
Tiewed  with  the  Great  Telescope  on  1900,  September  1.  (Field 
of  i'.) 

having  probably  more  cogent  proofs  of  its  superiority 
over  the  telescopes  made  to  the  present  time. 


ASTRONOMY   WITHOUT   A  TELESCOPE. 

By   E.   Walter  Maundee,  f.e.a.s. 

X.— THE    METEORS    OF    NOVEMBER. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  appropriate  subject 
to  which  to  call  the  attention  of  the  "  a.stronomer  with- 
out a  telescope"  in  this  present  month.  Two  great 
periodical  meteor  showers  come  to  their  node  at  this 
time,  and  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case  should  com- 
bine to  attract  the  attention  of  the  observer.  The 
possibility  that  we  may  have  a  display  which  by  its  mere 
magnificence  would  most  fully  reward  the  watcher,  will 
perhaps  be  the  point  which  appeals  to  the  gi'eatest 
niunber.  A  far  higher  claim  is  to  be  found  in  the 
number  of  impoi-tant  questions  connected  with  the  two 
showers,  and  especially  with  that  of  the  Leonids,  which 
still  wait  further  observation  for  their  settlement. 

So  much  has  been  written  the  last  year  or  two  about 
the  great  Leonid  shower  that  there  is  little  need  to  go 
much  into  detail.  The  history  of  the  shower  goes  back 
1000  years  to  October  12,  902  a.d.,  a  sufficient  number 
of  records  being  extant  between  this  date  and  November 

11,  1799,  to  show  that  the  shower  came  in  gieat  force  on 
an  average  three  times  in  a  centuiy,  and  that  the  day 
of  the  shower  was  moving  slowly  onwards  in  the  year. 
The  astonishing  display  which  took  place  on  November 

12,  1833,  which  from  the  accounts  preserved  would  seem 
to  have  been  the  most  impressive  astronomical  spectacle 
ever  witnessed,  proved  the  birth  of  meteoric  astronomy, 
and  the  labours  of  Prof.  Newton  and  Prof.  Adams  estab- 
lished the  fact  that  the  shower  was  duo  to  an  immense 
swarm  of  meteors  travelling  in  an  elliptic  orbit  round 
the  sun  in  a  period  of  33|  years;  while  Prof.  Schia- 
parelli  showed  that  Tempel's  Comet,  1866,  I.,  moved  in 
practically  the  same  path. 

The  great  shower  of  November  13,  1866,  added  much 
to  our  knowledge,  and  important  but  less  abundant  dis- 
plays were  seen  in  the  two  following  years.     After  1869, 


conspicuous  showei-s  from  tho  radiant  in  Leo  ceased, 
but  trained  meteor  observers  liave  hardly  ever  failed  to 
notice  a  few  characteristic  mcteoi-s  from  this  point  of 
tho  heavens  on  November  11,  or  tho  nights  imuudiatcly 
preceding  aud  following. 

As  there  appeared  to  be  a  slight  increase  in  tho 
number  of  mcteoi-s  as  early  as  1896,  public  expectation 
of  a  i-epetition  of  the  grand  spectacles  of  1833  and  1866 
began  to  be  excited  in  November,  1898,  and  the  interest 
w;is  increased  the  following  year.  It  is  matter  of 
history  that  on  neither  occasion  was  there  anything  to 
answer  expectation  ;  a  few  Leonids  indeed  were  seen,  but 
nothing  which  by  the  utmost  stretch  of  language  could 
bo  described  as  a  great  shower.  The  reason  of  the 
failure  is  matter  rather  of  conjecture  than  of  knowledge. 
Dr.  Johnstone  Stoney  and  Dr.  Downing  consider 
that  the  orbit  of  the  meteors  has  been  so  far  per- 
turbed that  the  main  stream  now  passes  clear  or  nearly 
clear  of  tho  earth's  orbit,  and  that  our  chance  of 
seeing  a  tine  shower  from  Leo  this  year  is  less  even 
than  it  was  last.  Our  knowledge,  however,  of  tho 
condition  of  the  meteor  stream  is  so  slight  that  we  aro 
scarcely  justified  in  hazarding  any  prophecy.  We  have 
gauged  the  stream  at  various  intervals  in  its  enormous 
length,  but  inasmuch  as  we  have  never  succeeded  in 
seeing  the  stream  in  the  open  sky,  wo  know  nothing 
of  it  except  from  the  members  of  the  swarm  which  we 
actually  eucoiinter.  In  other  words,  we  know  nothing 
of  tho  stream  except  of  such  portions  of  it  as  the  earth 
has  already  destroyed.  We  have,  therefore,  no  right  to 
give  up  hope  of  the  retui'n  of  the  shower  until  the 
fateful  days  arc  come  and  gone. 

Should  the  Leonids  revisit  us  in  force  either  this  year 
or  in  1901,  the  simplest,  and  for  the  inexperienced 
observer,  the  most  useful  observation  to  make,  will  be 
that  of  counting.  Counts  may  be  made  in  two  ways. 
A  watch  may  be  kept  for  a  definite  time — five  minutes, 
ten  minutes,  or  a  quarter  of  an  hour — and  the  number 
of  meteors  seen  in  that  time  noted ;  or  starting  from  a 
chosen  instant,  a  watch  may  be  kept  till  ten,  twenty,  or 
thirty  meteors  have  been  observed,  and  then  the  time 
taken  again.  The  result  of  the  observation  in  either 
case  should  be  given  at  the  rate  of  so  many  meteors  an 
hour.  The  observer  will  find  it  well  to  select  a  definite 
portion  of  the  sky  for  his  work,  carefully  recording  tho 
boundaries  which  he  assigns  to  himself;  bright  and  well 
known  stais  should  bo  chosen  to  mark  the  limits  of 
tho  field  he  is  scrutinizing.  If  three  or  four  observers 
can  work  together,  the  entire  sky  should  be  divided 
between  them. 

The  special  object  of  these  counts  in  the  case  of  a 
great  Leonid  shower  would  be  to  determine  whether  the 
stream  still  appeared,  as  on  several  iormor  occasions, 
to  be  divided  into  three  distinct  sections,  tho  middle  or 
principal  section  being  separated  from  those  preceding 
and  following  by  a  nearly  quiescent  interval  of  about 
six  hours.  Tho  counts  would  sufiice  to  show  whether 
the  stream  was  still  divided  into  the  same  throe  sections, 
or  whether  it  had  become  still  more  complex  in  char- 
acter, and  it  would  also  furnish  an  index  of  tho  relative 
richness  of  the  different  portions. 

For  those  who  have  some  experience  in  meteoric  work 
the  most  important  duty  would  be  the  noting  of  meteoric 
paths.  This  work  should  bo  carried  on  over  as  long  an 
interval  as  possible,  the  object  being  to  get  good  and 
sharp  determinations  of  tho  r;wliant  at  successive  hours 
during  the  night  in  order  that  if  possible  the  effect  upon 
tho  apparent  radiant  point  of  the  rotation  of  the  earth 
may  be  made  clear.     This  work  had,  however,  be  best 


252 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[November  1,  1900. 


left  to  those  'who  have  already  gained  some  exijerience 
iu  this  branch  of  observation,  the  Leonid  meteors  being 
amongst  the  swiftest  that  we  encounter,  since  they  come 
to  meet  the  earth,  their  relative  velocity  being  some 
forty-four  miles  per  second,  the  sum,  that  is,  of  the 
actual  orbital  speed  of  the  meteors,  twenty-six  miles, 
and  of  the  eai'th  some  eighteen  miles.  The  phos- 
phorescent sti-eaks,  due  no  doubt  to  this  swiftness  of 
motion,  which  they  leave  behind  them  in  their  path, 
are.  however,  a  great  assistance  to  the  beginner. 

The  moon;  which  reaches  its  last  quarter  in  the  early 
morning  of  the  I4tli  instant,  will,"" therefore,  interfere 
very  little  with  the  effect  of  the  Leonid  shower  should 
we  be  favoured  with  a  fine  one  this  yeai',  and  it  will 
have  passed  to  conjunction  with  the  sun  before  the 
second  great  shower  of  the  month,  the  Andromedes, 
reach  their  node.  They  furnish  in  all  respects  a  great 
contrast  to  the  Leonids.  The  Leonid  radiant  does  not 
rise  on  November  14  until  10.30  in  the  evening;  the 
Andromede  radiant  is  up  the  entire  night,  being  nearly 
in  the  zenith  when  the  Leonid  i-adiant  is  rising.  The 
Leonid  meteors  are  extremely  swift;  the  Andromedes 
are  very  slow.  The  Leonids  are  distinguished  by  their 
green  colour,  suggesting  the  presence  of  magnesium;  the 
Andromedes  are  rather  yellow,  as  if  sodium  were  their 
chief  constituent. 

The  history  of  the  Andromedes  is  as  well  known  as 
that  of  the  Leonids.  Whilst  the  latter  approach  the 
sun  as  nearly  as  the  earth's  orbit  at  their  perihelion, 
and  recede  somewhat  bej'oud  the  orbit  of  Uranus  at 
aphelion,  the  Andromedes  only  recede  about  half-way 
between  the  orbits  of  Jupiter  and  Saturn.  Their  period 
therefore  is  one  of  6h  years  as  compai-ed  with  the  33|: 
of  the  Leonids,  and  the  greatest  showers  that  we  have 
had  from  them  in  recent  years  have  been  iu  1872,  1885, 
and  1892.  The  shower  of  November  27,  1872,  was  one 
of  peculiar  interest,  inasmuch  as  it  was  then  clearly 
recognised  that  the  swarm  was  moving  along  the  saane 
orbit  which  had  been  travelled  by  the  lost  comet  of 
Biela,  the  comet  ■which  divided  into  two  portions  in 
December,  1846,  and  which  has  never  been  seen  since 
its  return,  still  in  two  portions,  in  1852. 

Whilst  the  Leonid  shower  has  been  falling  gi-adually 
later  and  later  in  the  year,  so  that  November  15  is  now 
its  date  of  maximum,  the  Andromedes,  or  Bielids  as 
they  are  indifferently  called,  have  moved  from  November 
27  to  November  23.  This  present  year  is  not  one  m 
which  we  have  reason  to  look  for  the  full  force  of  the 
Andromede  shower,  but  it  may  well  give  good  practice 
to  the  beginner  in  meteoric  observation.  The  observer 
should  by  all  means  try  to  record  as  many  paths  as 
possible,  the  radiant  on  former  occasions  having  appeared 
to  be  rather  an  elliptic  area  than  as  a  definite  i^oint. 


%ttttvs. 


[The  Editors  do  not  hold  themselves  responsible  for  the  opinions 
or  statements  of  correspondents.] 


A  NEW  FORM  OF  ACHROMATIC  TELESCOPE. 

TO     THE     EDITOES     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — A  new  and  original  method  of  correcting  cliro- 
niatism  in  the  combination  of  lenses  suitable  for  telescope 
objectives,  etc.,  and  for  materially  reducing  the  length  of 
such  instruments,  has  been  devised  and  successfully 
demonstrated  by  two  of  the  members  of  the  Toronto 
Astronomical  Society ;    the  Messrs.  Collins. 

The    method    consists    essentially    of    interposing    a 


small  concavo-convex  lens,  silvered  on  the  back,  in  the 
patli  of  the  converging  cone  of  light  that  has  passed 
through  a  large  single  convex  object  glass,  preferably 
midway  down  the  cone,  both  lenses  being  of  the  same 
medium  of  the  same  refractive  index,  the  small  concavo- 
ccinvex  lens  having  the  requisite  curvatures  to  give  an 
equal  amount  of  dispersion  in  the  opposite  direction 
to  that  produced  by  the  single  object  glass.  After  pene- 
trating the  correcting  lens  the  otherwise  scattered  points 
of  light  are  reflected  back  from  the  silvered  surface, 
and  brought  to  a  focus  at  a  point  slightly  in  advance 
of  the  object  glass.  A  total-reflection  prism  or  a  flat 
intercejjts  the  converging  cone  before  it  reaches  this 
point,  as  in  a  Newtonian  reflector,  and  throws  it  to  one 
side,  where  the  image  may  be  examined  by  an  eye-piece, 
received  on  a  j^hotograjjhic  plate,  or  projected  on  a 
screen. 

As  the  positive  dispersion  of  the  object  glass  and  the 
negative  disper.sion  of  the  corrector  are  of  equal  and 
opposite  amount,  the  dispersive  effect  entirely  disappears 
and  an  absolutely  achromatic  image  is  formed.  Spherical 
abeiTation  is  controlled  by  the  curvatures  of  the  first 
objective,  and  the  dimension  of  field  by  the  size  of  the 
prism.  A  total-reflection  prism-lens,  of  the  same  re- 
fractive index  as  the  others,  may  be  substituted  for  the 
flat  prism,  and  thereby  amplify  the  focus  to  any  extent 
that  may  be  required ;  the  curvatures  of  the  small 
corrector  may  be  changed  to  correct  for  the  prism-lens, 
and  the  latter  in  tui-n  be  made  to  correct  for  uniformity 
of  dimensions  of  all  the  component  colour  images,  thus 
delivering  to  the  eye-piece  an  image  focussed  entirely  on 
a  single  plane  with  component  colour  images  of  precisely 
uniform  dimensions  on  a  comparatively  wide  field. 

The  shadow  of  the  flat  or  prism  falls  on  the  concave 
first  surface  of  the  corrector,  is  reflected  back,  opens  out 
and  covers  itself,  thus  preventing  reflections  from  this 
surface  entering  the  eye-piece  to  flare  the  field. 

Tlie  present  field  -with  a  4  in.  objective  is  4  in.  diameter. 
8    „  „  5    „ 

Diameter  of  prism  with  a  4    „  „  |    „  ,, 

„         8    „  „  1    „  „ 

Glass  of  different  i-efractive  indexes  may  be  used,  but 
when  one  kind  of  glass  only  is  employed,  the  secondary 
sjjectrum  entirely  disappears. 


■  \--~Z  ^~ 


Collins'   Monoplane  Achromatic  Telescope. 

A  sketch  of  the  optical  pai-t  of  the  experimental  in- 
strument that  has  been  made  is  attached  herewith. 
W.  B.  MussoN, 
Secretary,  Toronto  Astronomical  Society. 


ARTIFICIAL    FACUL^,    SPOTS,    AND    PHOTO- 
SPHERIC  RETICULATION. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — If  in  this  letter  I  take  the  liberty  to  address 
you  at  some  length  on  the  above  subject,  my  one  plea 
must  be  the  articles  contributed  to  your  valuable  journal 
at  various  times  by  the  Rev.  A.  East.  These  ai-ticles 
involve  issues  which  it  is  impossible  to  compress  into 
the  ordinary  sjiace  of  a  letter. 


No\-BMBER    1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


253 


I  cannot  help  recurring  to  the  foot-note  which  Mr. 
Maunder  appended  to  Mr.  East's  article  ou  artificial 
suuspot.s  in  the  December  (1S97)  issue  of  Knowledge. 
Undoubt<>dly  instructive  as  Mr.  East's  experiments  are, 
he  allows  himself  to  be  carried  too  far  in  drawing  con- 
clusions and  pointing  to  analogies  between  solar 
"  phenomena  and  a  peaceful  domestic  experiment.  It 
seems  to  me  nothing  short  of  extraordinary  on  the 
strength  of  this  latter  to  even  doubt  the  convertibility 
of  maximum  sun-spoltedness  and  maximum  solar 
activity.  To  be  thus,  after  many  years  of  independent 
study  with  telescope  and  spectroscope,  confronted  with 
the  proposition  that  maximum  spottedness  is  syn- 
chronous with  solar  quiescence  is  upsetting  accepted 
theories  with  a  vengeance. 

I  have  no  desire  to  be  flippant,  having  the  subject 
too  seriously  at  heart,  but  to  come  now,  in  the  face  of 
all  the  information  gained  as  to  coincidence  of  spots, 
prominences,  faculse,  aurora>,  and  magnetic  storms,  vivid 
reversals  of  spectral  lines  and  distortions,  and  upset  all 
this  because  of  heating  some  stuff  in  a  boiling  pan,  is 
going  too  far.  Certainly  may  we  believe  that  solar 
phenomena  arc  different  tii  their. known  terrestrial  con- 
freres in  their  intensity  only,  but  where  are  in  Mr.  East's 
experiments  the  stujjendous  potentials  of  temijeraturo, 
pressure,  chemical  affinities,  tremendous  velocities,  and 
the  host  of  incidental  physical  conditions  of  which  we 
have  hardly  a  proper  conception  ?  These  solar  conditions 
possibly  involving  natural  laws,  which  are  for  ever 
hidden  from  human  knowledge.  But  to  touch  directly 
on  the  matter  under  discussion. 

I  do  not  believe  for  one  moment  that  the  actual  or 
visual  appearance  of  the  photosphere  influences  spot 
formation,  but,  if  anything,  that  spots  about  to  form 
influence  the  appearance  of  the  photosphere  locally. 
Mr.  East  mentions  that  compactness  of  the  pliotospherio 
material  favours  spot  appearance,  and  yet  again  says, 
that  the  solar  poles  will  never  show  spots  "  for  there  the 
photospheric  matter  will  always  be  too  closely  packed.  " 
What  are  we  to  make  out  of  such  inconsistent  argu- 
ments? Incidentally  I  may  mention  that  Mons.  Jaussen 
is  more  reserved  as  to  a  different  construction  of  the 
reticulation  of  the  photosphere  in  the  polar  regions  as 
compared  with  that  in  the  lower  latitudes.  He  says 
on  page  113  of  his  excellent  work :  — 

"  Nous  n'avons  pu,  jusqu'ici,  trouver  de  differences 
appreciables  entrc  les  regions  qui,  sur  ces  images, 
environment  le  pole  et  celles  des  regions  equatoriales.  ' 

"  II  parait  done,  jusqu  ici,  que  le  phenoniene  de  la 
granulation  est  un  phenomene  general  a  la  surface  de 
la  photosphere,  ct  qu'il  nest  pas  en  dependence  imme- 
diate avec  celui  des  taches." 

No  doubt,  as  Mr.  East  says,  the  photosphere  is  torn 
and  churned  and  dispersed,  but  by  what?  I  venture 
to  say  by  spots,  and  all  the  other  eruptive  phenomena 
connected  with  them,  and  that  therefore  the  maximum 
disturbance  of  the  photosphere  is  reached  practically 
at  the  same  time  as  the  spot,  faculse,  and  prominence 
cycle  reaches  also  its  maximum.  Certainly  the  sea  may 
be  violently  disturbed  also  after  the  stoi-m  has  passed, 
but  still  it  is  not  conceivable  that  the  disturbance 
reaches  its  maximum  much  after  the  storm  is  at  its 
climax.  The  passage  from  solar  maximum  activity  to 
minimum  is  a  very  jerky  process,  and  the  present 
minimum  is  a  strong  case  in  point,  inasmuch  long  after 
maximum  spot  activity,  that  is,  after  the  photosphere 
is  so  unfavourable  to  spot  formation,  we  have  had  spots 
of  extraordinary  size  and  ditto  prominences  accompanied 


by  auroral  displays  as  late  as  September,  1898.  In 
short,  to  my  lay  mind,  it  is  impossible  to  imagine  that  at 
«.  time  of  maximum  solar  activity  I  should  for  consecu- 
tive days  direct  the  telespectroscope  towards  the  sun, 
sec  no  spots  and  facula;,  and  find  the  edge  of  the  disc 
as  smooth  almost  as  on  a  turned  flywheel. 

The  argument  Mr.  East  uses  to  supjiort  liis  view, 
viz.,  the  coincidence  of  the  spot  and  prominence 
maxima,  is  also  open  to  objection.  Mr.  East/  argues  that 
"  when  the  photosphere  is  diffuse,  the  solar  flames  will 
have  but  little  altitude,  when  compact  all  the  force  is 
concentrated  at  the  openings  of  the  spots  and  vast  jets 
of  flame  are  expelled."  First  let  me  .say  that  promi- 
nences, as  a  inilc,  do  not  issue  out  of  the  spot  cavity, as  this 
sentence  would  lead  the  reader  to  assume.  Furthermore, 
according  to  this  thesis,  one  must  expect  to  sec  the  tallest 
prominences  in  the  polar  regions,  as  there  the  jslioto- 
sphere  is  closely  packed,  as  he  states  elsewhere.  My 
own  observations  confirm  what  Prof.  Young  states, 
namely,  that  eruptive  prominences  appear  in  the  imme- 
diate neighbourhood  of  spots  and  never  near  the  poles. 

When  I  look  over  Mr.  East's  article  in  general,  I 
must  confess  I  am  unable  to  sec  what  he  is  desirous 
to  establish  or  driving  at,  and  his  conclusions  drawn 
from  his  experiments  are  far  from  convincing.  Again, 
Mr.  East's  conception  of  the  origin  of  prominences, 
which  he  illustrates  by  another  experiment,  puts  a 
limit  to  the  appearance  of  these  eruptions  which  is  out 
of  all  agreement  with  actual  observation.  His  pro- 
minences must  all  be  of  one  ''  style  "  and  almost 
tediously  alike,  and  only  different  in  height  at  various 
periods. 

There  is  one  point  in  Mr.  East's  studies  the  value  of 
which  I  set  far  above  his  comparisons  and  conclusions, 
and  that  is  that  he  keeps  along  a  line  which  centres  in 
the  assumption  that  the  causes  of  solar  evolution  are  to  be 
found  on  the  sun  itself. 

As  to  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  periodicity  of 
spots,  etc.,  no  satisfactory  solution  has  come  up  yet,  nor, 
I  venture  to  say,  ever  will,  making  respectfully  all  allow- 
ance for  future  progress  of  science.  We  have  had  the 
influence  of  the  planets  or  the  periodic  return  of  a 
large  aggregation  of  meteorites  close  to  the  sun  as  special 
favourites,  but  all  these  propositions  carry  with  them 
a  great  deal  of  doubt  and  little  conviction.  As  we  see 
the  periodicity  to  be  variable  to  an  average  extent  of 
two  years  for  successive  minima  and  maxima,  it  is  only 
likely  that  these  two  theoiies  will  break  sadly  down. 
Since  to  my  mind  the  cause  of  the  cycle  is  to  be  found 
on  the  sun  itself,  and  is  to  my  conviction  contained  in  the 
solar  contraction  and  the  contending  forces  set  up  by  it, 
it  is  not  difficult  for  me  to  conceive  that  successive 
pulsations  cannot  be  at  exact  intervals  of  time,  and,  as 
Mr.  East  says,  each  successive  disturbance  is  influenced 
by  the  gi'eater  or  lesser  intensity  of  the  preceding  one. 
The  very  magnitude  of  the  sun's  proportions  seems  to 
imply  a  rhythm  of  pulsation  appropriate,  and  if  11.11 
years  have  been  found  to  represent  the  average  of  these 
periods,  it  is  quite  reasonable,  if  perhaps  not  very  scien- 
tific, to  simply  accept  this  fact.  We  never  seem  to 
trouble  our  heads  much  about  finding  out  how  it  is  that 
the  earth  takes  about  365  days  for  completing  her  orbit, 
or  why  the  sun  rotates  once  in  about  2.5  days,  and 
similar  unsolvabic  problems. 

Albert  Alfred  Buss, 

9,  Grosvcnor  Square,  Ashton-on-Mersey, 

[May  I  point  out  that  there  is  no  inconsistency  of 
argument  as  to  the  absence  of  spots  at  the  solar  poles. 


254 


KNOWLEDGE 


[November  1,  1900. 


the  contention  being  that  a  certain  compactness  of  the 
photosjahere  is  necessai'y  for  the  formation  of  the  spots, 
and  that  if  this  condition  of  the  photosjihere  is  wanting, 
either  from  excess  or  defect  of  compactness,  no  spots 
■will  fonn  :  at  the  poles,  it  is  suggested,  there  is  excess 
of  compactness.  But  lot  me  hasten  to  mollify  your 
correspondent  by  assuring  him  that  I  have  no  theory  of 
solar  physics  which  I  wish  to  prove  by  boiling  stuff  in 
a  pan,  he  would  be  a  bold  ma.n  who  would  venture  upon 
such  a  coui'se.  It  is  quite  the  "  other  way  about,"  and 
even  a  peaceful  domestic  experiment  may  suggest  lines 
of  research,  and  point  to  conclusions  to  be  reached  by 
very  different  methods.— Arthur  East.] 

[It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  Mr.  East's  experi- 
ments are  practically  experiments  upon  the  behaviour 
of  convection  currents  under  certain  conditions.  We 
have  every  reason  to  believe  that  convection  currents 
play  a  primary  part  in  the  maintenance  of  the  present 
condition  of  the  sun,  and  in  causing  many  of  the  phe- 
nomena which  we  obsei"ve  upon  it.  To  this  extent 
Mr.  East's  experiments  can  teach  us  a  good  deal.  By 
watching  the  behaviour  of  convection  currents  on  a 
small  scale,  at  feeble  temperatures,  and  in  a  simple 
liquid,  we  can  form  a  more  vivid  idea  of  the  behaviour 
of  convection  cuiTents  on  a  cosmical  scale,  at  transcen- 
dental temperatures,  and  in  gases  in  which  the  most 
diverse  elements  are  mixed  or  combined  together  in  the 
most  complicated  manner.  The  experiments  are  most 
instructive  when  their  necessary  limitations  are  kept 
in  view,  nor  does  it  seem  to  me  that  Mr.  East  has  for- 
gotten these. 

I  should  like  to  add  my  accord  with  Mr.  Buss's 
assumption,  "  that  the  causes  of  solar  evolution  are  to 
be  found  on  the  sun  itself."  The  eleven-year  cycle  is, 
to  my  view,  essentially  solar  in  its  causes ;  not  planetary, 
nor  meteoritic.  Yet  I  do  think  there  is  evidence  of 
a  slight  modifying  effect  of  planetary  position  on  sun- 
spot  behaviour ;  the  spots  do  not,  in  my  opinion,  owe 
their  formation  to  any  planetary  action;  but  their 
growth  and  decay  may  be  affected  to  some  degree. 

[E.  Walter  Maunder.] 


THE  NATURE  OF  SUN-SPOTS. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — With  reference  to  a  long  series  of  articles 
published  in  Knowledge  about  different  observations 
of  the  sun,  I  wish  to  draw  the  attention  of  your  readers 
to  a  question  concerning  the  sun  which,  as  far  as  I 
remember,  has  not  been  recently  touched  upon,  i.e.,  the 
nature  of  solar  spots. 

This  was  the  subject  of  a  communication  which  I 
made  last  year  to  our  Russian  Astronomical  Society, 
in  consequence  of  my  having  made  observations  of  sun- 
spots  for  a  series  of  years. 

The  observations  of  the  spots  show  us  without  any 
doubt  that  they  are  excavations  in  f/ie  Solar  Photosphere, 
produced  by  some  yet  unknown  process.  This  is  pro- 
bably caused  by  and  consists  in  enormous  gas-eruptions, 
which  after  having  torn  through  the  photosphere  of  the 
sun  rise  up  into  the  higher  parts  of  its  atmosphere  and 
become  apparent  to  us,  as  protuberances,  if  projected 
into  the  space,  on  the  sun's  border,  and  as  facul»,  if 
projected  on  the  sun's  body. 

There  is  certainly  not  the  least  doubt  that  the  sun's 
temperature  is  rising  from  its  surface  to  its  centre,  and 
that  the  layers  below  the  photosphere  become  gradually 
the  hotter  the  deeper  they  are  placed.     This  considera- 


tion gives  us  the  right  to  suppose  that  the  sun's  deeper 

layers,  which  we  see  through  the  openings  of  the  spots, 

must  be  much  hotter  than  the  photosphere,  and  as  such 

their  immense  temperatui-e  produces  vibrations  of  the 

ether,   of  so  great  a  rapidity   and  such   minuteness  of 

wave  length  that  they  are  out  of  the  range  of  sensibility 

of  our  optic  nerves,  and  are  therefore  unable  to  affect 

our  sight.     The  consequence  of  this  is,  that  we  see  them 

black,    because    every    ether-vibration    of    a   very    high 

range — such  as  the  ultrarviolet  and  the  Rontgen-vibra- 

tions — are  quite  inappreciable  by  our  eyes. 

If  this  supposition  be  proved  con-ect  it  will  be  of  great 

value,  and  will  not  remain  without  its  influence  on  our 

consideration    of    the    whole    universe    surrounding   us, 

and  we  shall  have  the  right  to  put  the  question :    Can 

we  see  all  the  heavenly  bodies  which  surround  us,  or 

can   there   be   some   of  so  high   temjjerature   that  they 

are  black,  because  quite  invisible  to  our  eyes? 

Baron   N.  Kaulbars. 

Perki-Torwi,  Villa  Zewoshko,  5. 
— ►.*-. — 

WIRELESS     TELEGRAPHY      AND      HERTZIAN 
WAVES. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — I  am  extremely  pleased  and  flattered  by  the 
kindly  critique  of  my  little  book,  furnished  by  your 
reviewer  in  the  September  number  of  Knowledge.  Pre- 
cisely because  the  reviewer  is  so  generally  just  I  beg 
to  point  out  that  one  or  two  inaccuracies  have  found  a 
place  in  the  critique,  probably  owing  to  hurried  reading. 
In  the  first  place,  I  say  at  p.  1,  §  2,  "  Electricity  appears 
to  be  a  vibratory  motion  in  the  ultimate  molecules  of 
bodies,"  and  not  "  an  electrically  charged  body  consists 
in  rapid  vibratoi-y  motions,"  as  stated  in  your  review. 
At  p.  3  it  is  distinctly  stated  that  "  conductors  offer 
little  resistance  to  the  passage  of  electricity  " ;  but  in 
no  part  of  the  book  have  I  stated  that  non-conductors 
cannot  enter  into  that  vibratoiy  motion  which  constitutes 
our  electrified  condition  :  on  the  contrary,  at  p.  10  it 
is  clearly  stated  that  the  insulator  lying  between  the 
excited  body,  and  the  induced,  is  primarily  put  into 
the  vibratory  state,  hence  polarised,  and  capable  there- 
fore of  setting  up  a  like  condition  in  the  suiTounding 
bodies,  which  if  conductors  cannot  retain  this  strained 
condition,  hence  cannot  transmit  the  inductive  effect, 
unless  themselves  insulated.  S.  Bottone. 

September  5th,  1900. 


HIGH-SPEED    TELEGRAPHY. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — No  doubt  once  a  paper  ribbon  is  ready  the 
high  speed  telegraph  will  woi-k,  but  nothing  is  said  of 
how  a  ribbon  with  its  two  rows  of  perforations  is 
prepai'ed.  This  operation  must,  I  presume,  occupy 
enormous  time,  and  require  a  large  amount  of  work. 
Baron  N.  Kaulbars  (Lt.-Gen.). 

St.  Petersburg. 

[The  perforating  of  the  ribbons  is  done  by  a  modified 
Wheatstone  perfoi'ator,  and  the  speed  is  the  same  as 
the  speed  of  Wheatstone  perforating.  I  have  seen  men 
prepare  ribbons  for  the  Wheatstone  at  a  speed  of  45 
to  50  words  per  minute.  If  we  say  25  words  per  minute 
we  shall  get  a  speed  easily  maintained  for  long  periods. 

One  man  can  thus  prepare  25x60 — 1500  words  per 
hour.  The  Pollak-Virag  apparatus,  described  in  Know- 
ledge for  September,  will  send  more  than  that  number 
in  one  minute.     So  it  would  require  over  60  men  to 


NOVKMBEB   1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


255 


prepare  the  ribbons  to  feed  the  appai-atus.  Tho  sanio 
uiimber  of  men  would  be  required  to  transcribe  tho  work 
at  the  receiving  cud.  Thus  we  have  120  men  fully 
occupied  with  the  work  of  one  wire.  Suppose  a  speech 
of  6000  words  were  handed  in  to  a  telegraph  office.  It 
would  under  our  poskd  system  be  cut  up  into  pages  of 
100  words  each.  One  page  would  be  given  to  each  of 
the  60  men  who  would  prepare  it  in  -1  minutes.  The 
wire  would  be  occupied  not  quite  4  minutes  in  sending 
it,  and  the  60  men  at  the  receiving  end  would  transcribe 
it  in  4  minutes.  Thus  the  whole  would  bo  received 
and  in  writing  in  less  than  12  minutes,  or  allowing  for 
delays,  say  in  a  quai-t3r  of  an  hour.  This  would  be 
done  witli  only  one  wire,  a  rosidt  imjwssiblo  of  achieve- 
ment by  any  othei"  systom. 

There  is  no  possibility  of  getting  the  whole  of  the 
work  done  automatically,  although  the  latest  develop- 
ments of  the  system  (which  have  taken  place  since  I 
wrote  my  ai-ticle)  promise  a  step  even  in  that  direction. 
The  chief  gain  is  tho  increased  carrying  capacity  given 
to  the  expensive  trunk  lines,  and  the  great  usefulness 
when  a  breakdown  or  other  circumstances  limit  the 
number  of  such  lines. — C.  H.  Garland.] 


ASTROLOGY. 

TO    THE    EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — It  is  not  my  intention  to  enter  into  an  argu- 
ment concerning  the  truth,  or  falsity,  of  astrology  with 
anyone  who  i-efuses  to  examine  the  subject  for  himself, 
but  I  wish  to  point  out  that  I  did  not  suggest  that  the 
five  sense  evidence  should  bo  left  behind.  Astrology 
is  not  a  physical  science,  it  is  essentially  meta-physical, 
and  as  such,  it  cannot  appeal  to  the  ordinary  man  of 
science  who  has  not  the  intuition,  the  sixth  sense,  which 
is  yet  to  be  evolved  by  the  majority. 

If  Mr.  Maunder  will  change  the  word  paganism  into 
pantheism,  he  will  be  right  in  stating  that  ;ustrology  is  a 
survival  of  the  latter.  Alan  Leo, 

Editor  of  Modern  Astrulogy. 

9,  Lyncroft  Gardens, 

West  Hampstead,  London,  N.W. 

[Mr.  Chatley  writes  again  at  some  length,  but  in  view 
of  Mr.  Leo's  letter,  it  seems  unnecessai-y  to  do  more  than 
quote  from  his  opening  sentence: — "I  am  desirous  of 
approaching  astrology,  not  as  a  metarpliysical  abstraction, 
but  as  a  material  and  mathematical  science."  If  astro- 
logy were  a  physical  science,  there  would  be  good  cause 
for  our  enquiring  into  it,  though  Mr.  Chatley  is 
evidently  a  stranger  to  the  methods  and  principles  of 
physical  research.  But  when  after  a  history  of  some 
thousands  of  years  wo  find  its  adherents  differing  on 
this  fundamental  point;  the  one  declaring  it  is  not  a 
physical  science  but  essentially  metarphysical,  tho  other, 
that  it  is  not  a  meta-physical  abstraction  but  a  material 
and  mathematical  science,  what  conclusion  can  we  come 
to  but  that  it  has  no  real  basis  at  all  ?  At  any  rate  the 
astrologers  must  settle  its  standpoint  amongst  them- 
selves first.  If  it  be  a  physical  science  then  we  can 
apply  physical  and  numerical  tests  to  it.  If  not,  it 
lies  outside  the  scope  of  Knowledge,  and  we  must  de- 
cline further  discussion  upon  it. 

Whilst  regretting  the  necessity  of  thus  declining 
several  lengthy  communications  that  have  reached  us 
upon  the  subject,  we  would  desire  to  acknowledge  the 
courteoiis  tone  in  which  all  our  correspondents  have 
written. — E.  Walter  Maunder] 


ANCIENT  HINDU  ASTROLOGY  OR  ASTRONOMY 
AND  THE  NINE  PLANETS. 

TO     THE     EDnoKS     OF     KNOVVl,K.I)Gi;. 

Sirs, — The  discovery  of  the  planetary  nature  of 
Uranus  and  Neptune  has,  indeed,  not  been  fortunate 
for  the  pretensions  of  astrology,  nor  yet  for  cheiromancy 
and  nu'toposcopy,  it  is,  however,  fair  to  mention  passages 
from  Edward  b'pham's  "  History  and  Doctrine  of  Uud- 
hism  .  .  .  with  Notices  of  tho  Bali  or  Planetary  Incan- 
tations," 1829,  pp.  87  and  94-5  :— "  The  Birnians  mention 
eight  planets,  namely  tho  Sun,  the  Moon,  Mercury, 
Venus,  Mars,  Jupiter,  Saturn,  and  another  named  Rahu, 
which  is  invisibh'."  (italics  mine).  "The  nine  planets" 
in  four  astronomical  works  from  the  country  of  Dand);i/- 
dewa;  expressly  calculated  for  the  Bali.  Rahu  and 
Kohettu  are  of  the  male  sex,  and  had  phnicls.  It  is  true 
that  Upham  thinks  Rahu  was  an  astrologictd  sign  rather 
than  an  anticipation  of  Hcrschel's  discovery. 

Charles  G.   Stuakt-Menteath. 

23,  Upper  Bedford  Place,  W.C. 

[Rahu  was  not,  strictly  speaking,  a  planet,  but  was  the 
mysterious  body,  tho  "  dragon,"  or  "  dog,"  which 
occasioned  an  eclipse. — E.  Walter  Maunder.] 

I  — -.- — 

CLAY-STONES. 

to   the    editors    of    knowledge. 

Sirs, — In  digging  a  drain  for  my  house,  the  workmen 
found  three  stones  in  the  stiff  clay;  the  largest  about 
a  foot  in  length,  about  as  hard  and  heavy  as  iron.  They 
are  occasionally  found,  and  are  called  "  clay-stones  "  by 
the  workmen.  They  appear  to  be  of  the  nature  of  trap 
rock,  and  were  with  difficulty  broken,  in  order  to  get 
them  out.  They  were  seven  feet  below  the  surface. 
How  did  they  come  into  the  clay?  S.  H.  Wright. 

3,  Cator  Road,  Sydenham,  S.E. 

[I  may  refer  Mr.  Wright  to  Mr.  H.  Woodward's  ac- 
count of  the  London  Clay,  in  his  "  Geology  of  England 
and  Wales,"  2nd  edition,  p.  436. 

These  concretions  are  common  in  the  London  clay  and 
often  include  fossils.  They  result  from  the  gradual 
accumulation  of  calcium  carbonate  or  iron  carbonate, 
or  both,  about  some  centre.  Similar  masses  form  the 
famous  "  black  band  "  ironstones,  worked  for  iron  in  our 
shaly  coal-measures.  The  contrast  of  such  nodules  with 
the  soft  clay  from  which  they  have  slowly  concreted 
underground  is  commonly  of  a  striking  character. — 
G.  A.  J.  Cole.] 


LUNAR  RAINBOW. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — A  remarkably  well-defined  lunar  rainhniu  was 
seen  here  on  Wednesday  evening,  the  3rd  of  October.  It 
was  first  ob.served  by  the  writer  about  half-past  eight, 
and  continued  brightly  visible  till  about  ten  o'clock, 
when  it  melted  away  in  tho  surrounding  darkness.  The 
arc  seemed  from  rough  calculation  to  have  a  diameter 
about  fifteen  times  that  of  the  moon,  and  on  its  upper 
rim  a  bright  star  rested,  forming  an  interesting  feature 
of  tho  phenomenon.  From  a  point  near  this  star  a 
very  brilliant  blue  coloured  meteor  darted  away  to  the 
right  of  the  observer  in  a  south-westerly  direction.  The 
rainbow  was  cut  off  on  the  lower  quadrant  by  a  layer  of 
black  clouds.  John  Macintosh. 

Strath  Cottage,  Galston. 


256 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[NoMiMBER    1,  1900. 


Conducted  hy  Haery  F.  Witherby,  f.z.s.,  m.b.o.u. 

Nutcracker  in  Lincolnshire. — Mr.  F.  M.  Burton 
describes  (see  Nat/iralist,  October,  1900,  pp.  319-20)  how 
he  saw  and  heard  a  Nutcracker  (Niicifraga  caryocatacfes), 
on  August  14th,  in  a  wood  near  Scotton  Common,  Lin- 
colnshire. The  Nutcracker  is  of  very  irregular  occurrence 
in  Great  Britain.  There  are  several  forms  of  the  Nut- 
cracker. One  inhabits  Scandinavia.  West  Russia,  East 
Prussia,  and  the  Alps,  and  another  inhabits  Asiatic 
Siberia.  It  is  the  Eastern  Siberian  form  that  is  the  chief 
visitor  to  Western  Europe.  This  bird  periodically  wanders 
westward  in  autumn,  sometimes  in  large  numbers.  Such 
a  migration  has  oceui-red  this  autumn  in  Scandinavia, 
where,  for  the  last  few  months  the  Siberian  form  of  the 
Nutcracker  has  been  very  common.  The  last  "  invasion  " 
occurred,  I  believe,  in  1887.  The  reason  for  these 
irregular  migrations  westward  of  this  bird  is  considered 
by  good  authorities  to  be  the  failure  in  Siberia  of  the  crop 
of  pine-cones,  the  seeds  of  which  are  the  Nutcracker's 
favourite  food.  Mr.  Burton  suggests  that  the  bird  he 
saw  had  bred  here  in  England,  but  taking  the  above  facts 
into  consideration,  this  is  most  unlikely,  and  Mr.  Burton's 
bird  was  most  prol lably  one  of  these  wanderers  from  Silieria 
which  are  now  visiting  Norway  and  Sweden. — H.  F.  W. 

T!ie  Greylags  of  Slair  Drummond.  By  Lt.-Col.  Dutliie,  m.b.o.u. 
{Annals  of  Sco//ish  Nat.  Mist.,  October,"  1900,  pp.  193-G.)  Under 
this  title,  Col.  Duthie  gives  some  interestinf;  particulars  of  a  flock  of 
semi-domesticated  Greylag  Geese  at  Blair  Drummond,  in  Perthshire. 
These  birds  have  originated  from  a  pair  brought  over  from  North 
Uist  some  twelve  years  ago.  Since  tlieii  they  have  reached  a  niaximiim 
of  some  fifty  birds,  but  are  now  beginning  to  decrease.  The  reason 
for  this  seems  to  lie  a  want  of  new  blood.  Although  these  birds 
behave  mucli  as  wild  ones,  feeding  cautiously  in  the  stubbles,  some- 
times even  in  the  same  field  as  wild  birds  of  their  own  species,  and 
leaving  their  home  lake  in  liard  weather  sometimes  for  as  long  as 
three  months,  tlu^y  never  associate  with  the  wild  birds,  and  neither 
go  away  with  them  nor  bring  a  stranger  Imck  to  their  "'  home." 

Red-crested  Pochard  in  Yorkshire.  (The  Naturalist,  October, 
190U,  p.  304.)  A  specimen  of  this  somewhat  rare  duck  is  reported  by 
Mr.  T.  II.  Nelson  as  having  been  obtained  at  Redear  on  January 
2uth,  1900.  On  the  same  page  of  the  same  journal,  Mr.  J.  W. 
Fawcett  repttrts  that  a  specimen  of  the  Red-crested  Pochard  was 
obtained  at  Kedcar  on  February  lOth,  190O.  It  may  be  that  these 
two  records  both  refer  to  the  same  specimen. 

All  contributions  to  the  column,  either  in  the  way  of  notes 
or  photoi/rdphs,  should  be  forwarJitI  to  Harry  F.  Witherby, 
at  1,  Eliot  Place,  Blacklieath,  Kent. 


i^otifts  of  Boofes. 

— • — 

"  An  Atl-4S  of  Representative  Stellar  Spectr.\."  By  Sir 
William  Huggins,  K.C.B.,  and  Lady  Huggins.  (William  Wesley  & 
Son.)  An  ob.servatory  report  in  an  edition  de  lu.\e  is  apt  to  strike 
one  as  something  incongruous.  And  yet,  in  the  book  before  us.  we 
find  the  sumptuous  form  is  truly  fitted  to  the  results  therein  ex- 


pressed. The  iirst  volume  of  the  publications  of  Sir  William 
Huggins'  Observatory  is  certainly  unique  in  its  appearance.  It  is 
not  less  so  in  its  contents.  It  is  a  beautiful  book,  and  its  beauty  is 
but  an  inde.x  of  its  scientific  importance.  Its  chief  purpose  as  its 
title  implies  is  to  supply  an  Atlas  of  Representative  Stellar  Spectra, 
so  reproduced  and  arranged  as  to  place  the  student  as  nearly  as 
possible  in  the  position  of  the  original  observers  with  resj^ect  to 
the  liglit  which  those  spectra  can  supply  on  the  subject  of  Stellar 
lite-history. 

As  this  is  the  first  volume  of  the  publications  of  the  observatory 
the  earlier  chapters  naturally  give  an  account  of  the  history  of 
the  observatory,  and  descriptions  of  its  instruments,  chapter  I. 
being  in  the  main  a  re])roduction  of  an  article  ajjpfaring  in  the 
"Nineteenth  Century"  for  June,  1897.  It  is  an  account  whioh, 
though  written  with  much  self-restraint,  it  is  impossible  for  any 
scientific  reader  to  peruse  without  a  thrill  of  intensist  interest.  It 
is  the  story  of  tlie  first  e.xplorer  of  unknown  realms.  "  The  time 
was  indeed  one  of  strained  expectation  and  of  scientific  exaltation 
for  the  astronomer  almost  without  parallel;  for  nearly  every 
observation  revealed  a  new  fact,  and  nearly  eveiy  night  was  red- 
lettered  by  some  discovery."  In  all  the  histoiy  of  the  science 
there  must  have  been  few  experiences  indeed  to  parallel  those  which 
fell  to  Sir  William  Huggins'  lot  on  August  29th,  1864,  v,  hen  he  first 
turned  the  spectroscope  on  a  planetaiy  nebula,  and  again  on 
May  18.  1866,  when  the  Nova  T  Coronse  was  first  examined. 

Chapter  II.  with  its  significant  initial  of  the  bee-hive  with  the 
motto  "  nil  nisi  laliori "  is  simply  a  catalogue  of  papers  published 
on  the  work  done  in  the  obsei-vatoiy.  These  are  over  eighty  in 
number,  and  almost  eveiy  one  was  the  breaking  up  of  new  ground. 

The  three  following  chajiters  are  concerned  with  the  description 
of  observational  and  instrumental  details,  and  chapter  VII.  contains 
a  description  of  Plate  II.,  which  is  devoted  to  fifteen  "historical 
Sjiectra  "  ;  some  of  the  most  interesting  pioneer  jjhotographs  ob- 
tained at  the  Tulse  Hill  observatory.  The  chief  importance  of  the 
hook,  however,  rests  in  Plates  III.  to  XII.,  and  chapters  YI 
and  VIII..  the  latter  being-  the  detailed  description  of  the  jilates, 
with  a  preliminary  discussion  of  them.  Of  these  Plates  XI.  and 
XII.  are  of  quite  exceptional  importance,  containing  as  they  do  the 
separate  spectra  of  the  components  of  six  double  stars,  the  be- 
ginning of  an  entirely  new  subdivision  of  stellar  spectroscopy  and 
one  which  pi'omises  sjjecially  important  results. 

Chapter  VI.  gives  a  "discussion  of  the  evolutional  order  of  the 
stars,"  and  is  the  principal  portion  of  the  text.  Next  to  the  great 
jjroblem  of  the  structure  of  the  heavens,  which  Sir  William  Herschel 
attacked  with  such  Titanic  energy,  ranks  this  question  of  stellar 
evolution  ;  indeed  the  two  are  intimately  connected.  Ever  since 
the  spectroscope  enabled  us  to  differentiate  between  the  radiations 
of  .star  and  star  it  has  been  under  discussion,  and  especially  so  within 
the  last  decade.  Sir  William  Huggins's  treatment  of  it  is  character- 
istic in  its  clearness,  caution,  and  restraint,  and  brings  out  some 
new  points  of  great  importance.  Proceeding  from  the  definition 
that  "in  a  classification  of  stars,  that  type  of  star  must  come  first 
which  we  have  reason  to  believe  to  be  the  most  difi'use,  or  in  other 
words  in  the  stage  in  which  condensation  is  least  advanced,"  he 
insists  strongly  on  the  almost  forgotten  or  neglected  influence 
which  the  change  of  surface  gravitation  would  exert  as  condensation 
proceeded.  Adopting  Lane's  results.  Sir  William  gives  great  pro- 
minence to  the  fact  that  the  temperature  of  a  star  must  increase 
with  its  condensation,  so  long  as  it  is  jnirely  gaseous.  The 
"youngest,"  i.e.,  the  least  condensed  stars,  though  the  richest  '.n 
potential  energy,  are  therefore  not  the  hottest.  In  comiection  with 
this  point  he  aives  the  deduction  from  his  own  stellar  photographs 
that  the  "solar"  or  "metallic"  stars, — obviously  more  condensed 
than  the  "  hydrogen  "  or  "  white  "  stars — yet  have  their  continuous 
spectra  between  the  absorption  lines  relatively  more  brilliant  in 
the  ultra-violet.  This  is  a  point  of  the  first  im])ortance  and  is 
an  obvious  challenge  to  the  extremely  detailed  scheme  of  stellar 
temperatures  recently  ]jublished  by  Sir  Norman  Lockyer.  The 
statement  will  no  doubt  be  carefully  examined  by  other  competent 
w-orkers,  but  in  the  meantime  the  extreme  care,  patience  and  caution 
which  always  chanu'tcrize  Sir  William  and  Lady  Huggins'  work, 
and  the  nature  of  their  equipment,  enabling  them  to  secure  spectra 
well-defined  as  far  as  wave-length  3500,  give  it  a  commanding 
weight. 

The  quantity  of  work  which  Sir  William  and  Lady  Huggins  have 
accomplished  is  remarkable,  but  its  quality  is  more  striking  still. 
Their  researches  on  the  s]iectrum  on  the  great  nebula  in  Andro- 
meda afford  perhaps  the  best  illustration  of  the  tireless  patience 
and  delicate  skill  with  which_^they  have  followed  up  an  object  of 
so  much  difficulty. 

The  present  volume  though  so  important  is  evidently  not  intended 
by  its  authors  to  stand  as  a  complete  setting  forth  of  their  work. 
It  is  Volume  I.,  and  all  astronomers  will  look  with  eager  anticipa- 
tion for  Volume  II.,  which  we  would  hope  may  contain  the  authors' 


November  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


257 


researches  on  the  Wolf-Rayet  Stars,  the  study  of  whicli  they  have 
followed  with  such  consincuous  thoroughness. 

"  iNTRonriTiox  TO  Zoology.  A  Guide  to  the  Study  of 
Animals,  for  the  use  of  Secondary  Schools."  By  (".  B.  and 
G.  C.  Davfnport.  (The  JJacmillan  Comiiany.)  Illustrated. 
Price  (js.  Unlike  naany  works  in  popular  natur.al  history,  in 
this  excelKnt  little  volume  the  greater  I'ortion  of  the  text  is 
devoted  to  the  invertel  rates,  the  vertebrates  receivin;;;  only 
that  amount  of  space  to  which  they  are  entitled  by  "  propor- 
tionate representation."  The  contents  of  the  second  chapter 
(.taken  at  haphazard),  which  treats  of  the  butterfly  and  its  allies, 
will  serve  as  an  example  of  the  mtihod  followed  in  other 
groups.  Firstly,  we  have  the  systematic  position  and 
characteristics  "of  these  insects  concisely  but  adequately 
explained.  This  is  followed  by  an  account  of  their  liabits, 
which  is  in  turn  succeeded  by  a  di!-cour.«c  on  the  different 
sexual  features  and  the  phenouieuon  of  polymorphism.  Next 
we  find  a  capital  dissertation  on  mimicry  and  protective 
resemblances,  followed  by  a  brief  account  of  the  different 
families  of  butterflies  and  moths.  This  naturally  leads  on  to 
the  consideration  of  the  other  great  order  of  four-winged  insects 
—  the  HjTnenoptera — and  the  chapter  closes  with  a  cleverly 
drawn-up  "key  '  to  the  identification  of  the  various  families  of 
the  two  orders  in  question.  Where  we  have  tested  these 
■'  keys,"  as  we  have  done  in  the  case  of  the  vertebrates,  we  find 
them  in  the  main  very  s-atisf-actory,  although  we  must  protest 
against  the  definition '' without  hands"  which  is. used  in  the 
case  of  the  carnivora  and  rodents,  for  surely  the  fore-paws  of  a 
squirrel  subserve  almost  all  the  uses  of  those  appendages.  The 
style  in  which  the  work  is  written  is  as  attractive  as  the  brevitj' 
of  treatment  admits,  and  we  are  glad  to  note  that  economic 
zoology  comes  in  for  a  fair  share  of  attention.  Neither  are 
extinct  forms  altogether  omitted,  mention  being  made,  as 
occasion  requires,  of  some  of  the  more  important  groups.  It 
scarcely,  however,  gives  a  true  conception  of  the  fact  to  allude 
to  the  various  orders  of  extinct  reptiles  as  if  they  were  merely 
families  of  the  Lacertilia.  AU  the  illustrations  are  good,  and 
many  of  them  excellent  ;  the  reproductions  from  photographs 
of  living  fish  by  Dr.  Shufeldt  being  a  new  feature  worthy  the 
best  attention  of  all  naturalists.  The  artistic  grouping  of 
animals  in  fac-similes  of  their  natural  environment,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  black  -Uaskan  sheep,  is  also  to  be  commended.  When  it  is 
added  that  laboratory  work  forms  an  important  item  in  the 
contents  of  this  admirable  little  volume,  we  think  we  have  said 
enough  to  commend  it  to  the  best  attention  of  our  readers, 
whether  juvenile  or  otherwise. 

"The  Letters  of  Jijss  Jakob  Berzelius  .wd  CHRISTI.^^■ 
Friedrich  SliimNEeix,  1830-1847."  Edited  by  Georg  W.  A. 
Kahlbaum.  Translated  by  F.  V.  Darbishire  and  N.  V. 
Sidgwick.  (Williams  and  Xorgate.)  3s.  We  have  already 
called  attention  this  year  to  the  letters  of  Faraday  and 
Schonbein,  which  were  published  under  the  same  able  editorship 
as  those  now  before  us.  Schr.nbein,  as  early  as  1827,  had 
spoken  of  Berzelius  as  one  of  the  leading  lights  of  the  age 
among  chemists.  He  had,  indeed,  made  unsuccessful  efforts 
with  London  publishers  to  arrange  to  translate  Berzelius' 
Ldrhoh  i  Kem  icn  into  English,  a  disap])ointment  which  prevented 
Schonbein,  as  he  said,  not  only  from  benefiting  British  chemists, 
but  also  from  raising  sufficient  money  to  take  him  to  Stockholm 
to  cf)nclude  his  studies  under  "  the  consummate  master  of 
chemical  science."  In  1828,  Schimbein  was  appointed  to  his 
professorship  at  Bale,  from  which  place  eight  years  later  he 
began  his  correspondence  with  Berzelius.  The  first  of  the 
fourteen  letters  of  Schonbein's  included  in  this  volume  was 
despatched  from  Bale  on  the  22nd  April,  183G,  and  contains  an 
account  of  his  experiments  on  the  action  of  nitric  acid  on  iron  ; 
but  no  answer  was  received  from  Berzelius  until  4th  May,  18.j7, 
when  he  wrote  giving  his  views  on  the  "  passive  "  state  of  iron, 
and  expressing  the  hope  that  the  search  would  be  continued. 
SchMnbein's  last  letter  to  Stockholm  is  dated  29th  March,  1847, 
so  that  intervals  of  about  twelve  months  elapsed  between  the 
different  letters.  The  characteristics  to  which  we  directed 
attention  when  dealing  with  the  correspondence  of  the  Bale 
professor  with  Faraday  are  here  also  very  noticeable.  SchiJnbein 
was  always  anxious  to  obtain  the  0])iuions  of  contemporary  men 
of  science  upon  the  conclusions  he  drew  from  his  researches, 
and  ever  willing,  if  he  saw  sufficient  reaiion,  to  modify  his  views. 


There  is,  however,  an  absence  of  those  expressions  of  cordial 
friendliness  which  were  so  marked  and  pleasing  an  accompani- 
ment to  the  strictly  professional  interest  of  the  letters  whicli 
passed  between  Schnnbcin  and  Faraday.  But,  tr.acing  as  tlicy 
do,  the  steps  which  led  to  the  discovery  and  isolation  of  czone, 
the  letters  before  us  are  sure  to  prove  of  great  interest  to 
students  of  chemistry. 

"  P.M'KRS    ON    MkCH.VMCAI.    .Wli    I'llVSirAI,    SUB.IEf'TS.''      By 

Osborne  Reynolds,  k.r.s.,  mkm.inst.c.i-..,  ll.d.  Volume  1. 
180',)-1882.  (Cambridge  University  Press.)  15s.net.  Professor 
Reynolds  has  availed  himself  of  the  liberality  of  the  Syndics  of 
the  Cambridge  University  Press,  and  has  had  the  papers  con- 
tributed by  him  to  the  'Vran^itcOonx  of  various  learned  societies 
and  other  journals  reprinted  in  a  collected  form.  The 
present  volume  is  the  first  of  two,  and  contains  the  work 
of  tho  years  18(10-1882  ;  the  remaining  part,  which  is  not 
yet  ready,  will  include  ])apers  down  to  the  present  year.  Tho 
chronological  order  of  the  essays  reveals  an  interesting 
peculiarity  in  the  work  of  most  men  of  science.  There  is  but 
little  continuity  in  the  subjects  dealt  with  year  by  year.  One 
piece  of  work  sometimes  leads  to  a  second  of  a  completely 
different  character,  and  much  time  may  elapse  before  tho 
original  research  is  carried  forward  toward  completion.  To 
obviate  this  difficulty  tlie  student  consulting  the  book  is 
provided  with  two  sets  of  references.  When  reading  earlier 
papers  he  is  referred  forward  to  succeeding  pages  on  the  subjict, 
and  in  studying  later  papers  there  arc  back  references  given. 
It  will  serve  to  give  some  idea  of  tho  range  of  subjects 
included  in  Professor  Reynolds's  researches  when  it  is  said  that 
the  present  volume  includes,  among  many  others,  papers  treating 
of  the  tails  of  comets,  the  phenomena  of  thunderstorms,  the 
action  of  rain  to  calm  the  sea,  the  steering  of  screw  steamers, 
and  the  bursting  of  guns.  The  steering  of  ships  has  been  a 
favourite  investigation  with  Professor  Reynolds.  Pajicrs  13, 
19,  21,  2(3,  28,  .'ij,  and  37  are  all  concerned  with  different  phases 
of  the  all-import;uit  question.  A  second  extensive  research 
worked  at  during  these  years  was  that  on  the  dimensional 
])roperties  of  matter  in  the  gaseous  state,  the  account  here  given 
of  this  work  runs  to  130  large  pages.  We  hope  this  handsome 
book  will  be  added  to  the  library  of  every  college  where 
mechanics  and  physics  are  taught,  and  to  the  reference  depart- 
ment of  all  large  libraries.  It  is  but  rarely  that  a  profes.sor  of 
engineering  makes  such  valuable  additions  to  scientific  know- 
ledge outside  his  own  department  as  are  contained  in  the  papers 
in  the  present  volume. 

"Electric  LlinrriNn."  By  A.  C.  Swinton.  (London: 
Crosby  Lockwood  it  Son.)  4tli  Edition.  Illustrated.  Is.  (rI. 
That  this  little  book  should  have  attained  its  fourth  edition  is 
to  some  extent  remarkable,  for  (since  it  only  deals  in  generali- 
sations concerning  the  elements  of  the  subject)  one  might  be 
pardoned  for  thinking  that  the  public  appealed  to  had  been 
already  more  than  satisfied.  However,  so  far  as  the  work 
before  us  goes,  it  has  the  very  solid  merit  of  being  accurate, 
technically,  though  there  are  some  ])assages  wherein  looseness 
of  expression  is  to  be  found.  For  example,  at  p.  l.!>,  one  may 
read  ;  ''A  standard  candle  is  the  amount  of  light  derived  from 
a  candle  ....  etc."  Now,  clearly,  if  candles  can  bo  derived 
from  the  burning  of  candles,  there  is  very  little  sense  in  the 
burning  of  any  other  fuel  !  !  But  this,  in  itself,  is  a  trivial 
matter,  though,  unfortunately,  such  verbal  slips  meet  us  more 
than  once.  Still,  be  all  this  as  it  may,  technically  the  work  is 
accurate,  yet,  as  already  suggested,  it  does  not  go  far.  We  find, 
for  instance,  "  Motor  generators  "  discussed  and  dismissed  in 
the  space  of  those  eight  lines  which  come  last !  We  would 
suggest  both  an  enlargement  and  an  editor. 

"A  Te\t-Biiiik  of  Zoiii.i)i;v,  ■i'kic.\ti:d  i-rom  .\  Biulooicul 
St.\nii1'()INT.''  By  Dr.  O.  Schmeil.  Translated  by  R.  Rosentock, 
and  edited  by  .1.  T.  Cunningham.  Parts  T.  and  II.  (A.  &  C. 
Black.)  Illustrated.  The  dominant  idea  in  this  book  is  the 
structural  adaptation  of  animals  to  their  inanimate  sur- 
roundings ;  and  therefore,  instead  of  being  a  series  of  dry 
descriptions  of  details  of  anatomy,  form,  and  colouring,  it 
treats  of  animals  as  living  machines  suited  to  perform  particular 
kinds  of  work.  At  least  this  is  stated  by  the  editor  to  have 
been  the  aim  of  the  author  ;  and,  on  tho  whole,  the  intention 
has  been  fairly  well  carried  out.  Tho  work  is  intended  for 
schools  and  colleges  ;   and  if  young  students  become  imbued 


258 


KNOWLEDGE 


[NOVEJIBER    1,   1900. 


with  its  spirit,  they  will  be  in  a  fair  way  to  giin  a  practical 
acquaintance  with  natural  history  from  its  best  and  most 
attractive  side. 

Of  the  two  parts  before  us,  the  first  deals  with  mammals, 
while  the  second  is  devoted  to  birds,  reptiles  (including  am- 
phibians', and  ti?hes.  A  third  part  will  complete  the  work, 
which  is  published  at  the  verj'  low  price  of  :-!s.  (id.  per  part. 
The  mode  of  treatment  is  to  take  a  certain  number  of  typical 
animals,  and  to  draw  attention  chieflj-  to  those  structural 
peculiarities  specially  connected  with  its  mode  of  life;  notes  on 
its  relatives  being  added  as  occasion  seems  to  require. 

To  an  English  reader  the  work  suffers  to  a  certain  extent 
from  having  been  "made  in  Germany.'  Kot  only  is  this 
apparent  in  the  cast  of  thought,  but  frequentlj-  in  the 
selection  of  species  as  familiar  examples  which  although 
common  on  the  Continent  are  unknown  in  the  wild  state 
in  Britain.  As  an  example  of  this  treatment  from 
a  German  point  of  view,  we  may  quote  the  concluding 
sentence  from  the  account  of  the  fox,  which  runs  as  follows  : — 
"  The  sportsman,  however,  pursues  it  inces.santly.  and  regards  its 
fur  as  a  small  repayment  for  the  mauj'  depredations  it  commits 
among  the  game."  8nrely  it  was  within  the  province  of  the 
editor  to  excise  or  modify  such  a  very  un  English  statement. 
But,  quite  apart  from  certain  minor  mis-statements  of  fact, 
there  are  points  where,  in  our  opinion,  editorial  supervision  is 
conspicuous  by  its  absence.  For  example,  the  author  has 
omitted  all  mention  of  such  important  groups  as  the  Sirenians 
among  mammals,  and  the  Rhynchocephalian  lizard  among 
reptiles,  while  the  classification  adopted  for  the  birds  is  hope- 
lesslj-  antiquated  and  discredited.  The  illustrations,  which  are 
numerous,  are  by  no  means  of  equal  merit,  a  few  being  excellent, 
while  for  others  scarcely  any  words  of  coudem  nation  are 
adequate.  Being  apparently  culled  from  several  sources,  they 
do  not  by  any  means  indicate  the  relative  sizes  of  the  animals 
depicted  ;  the  badger,  for  example,  being  drawn  of  considerably 
larger  size  than  the  Indian  rhinoceros.  On  the  whole,  while 
there  is  undoubtedly  much  to  commend,  we  think  that  the 
publishers  would  have  been  better  advised  had  they  made 
arrangements  with  a  competent  English  naturalist  to  write  an 
entirely  new  work. 

"ORKilN    AXD    CHAP,.\fTi:R    OF    THE    BRITISH     PEOPLE.''      By 

Nottidge  C.  Macnamara.  (Smith,  Elder  &  Co.)  6s.  The  most 
casual  observer  cannot  but  have  been  impressed  by  the  pro- 
nounced differences  in  the  types  of  men  found  in  different 
parts  of  the  British  Isles.  The  characteristic  Welshman  is 
manifestly  a  different  kind  of  man  from  the  average  Englishman, 
and  nobody  would  mistake  a  native  from  south-west  Ireland  for 
a  lowland  Scotchman.  The  object  of  Mr.  Macnamara's  little 
book  is  to  account  for  these  differences,  and  to  trace  their 
causes.  He  believes  that  the  present  peoples  of  Great  Britain 
are  derived  from  an  original  Iberian  stock,  or  to  use  his  own 
words  "the  Iberians  formed  the  primary  stock  from  which  the 
existing  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain,  and  the  West  of  Europe 

are  derived it   was  this  race,  and  only  this  race,  who 

inhabited  our  islands  at  the  close  of  the  palajolithic  period." 
These  Iberians  were  a  short,  small-boned  people,  having  long 
skull.s  and  comelj'  features.  The  next  addition  to  the  inhabi- 
tants of  onr  islands -was  from  Western  Asia,  in  the  early 
neolithic  period,  of  a  branch  of  the  old  Aryan  race.  These  tall 
strangers  were  an  energetic  war-like  people,  who  formed  the 
Cro-Magnon  race.  Then  came  the  dolman-building  people. 
After  tracing  in  this  way  the  origin  of  the  peoples  of  the 
British  Isles  the  author  takes  the  constituent  countries  in 
succession,  beginning  with  England,  and  discusses  the  racial 
effects  of  immigrations  which  have  occurred  in  historical  times. 
He  concludes  with  a  consideration  of  the  development  of  man's 
intellectual  faculties  and  the  effect  of  residence  in  cities  on  the 
racial  qualities  of  individuals.  The  book  contains  thirty-three 
illustrations,  and  provides  a  clear  account  of  a  very  interesting 
subject. 

"  El.KMENT.AP.Y    LeS.so.>;S    IN    El-ECTRICITV    .\ND   MaHNETISM." 

By  S.l'.  Thompson,  K.R.s.,  etc.  (Macmillan.)  Illustrated.  4.s.  6d. 
The  bibliograiiliieal  note  attached  to  this  work  will  doubtless 
exercise  much  influence,  running  back  as  it  does  to  the  year 
l>>8!,and  mentioning  no  less  than  three  reprints  in  many  of 
the  years  which  have  elapsed  since  that  date.  The  preface,  too, 
is  well  worth  attention,  and  we  note  that  Professor  Thompson 
takes  an  early  opportunity  of  complaining   of   ''The  piracy, 


covert  as  well  as  open,  to  which,  since  its  appearance  in  18S1, 
the  book  has  been  subjected.  "  In  this  section  of  the  work  we 
find,  too,  an  accuratelj'  terse  synopsis  of  the  progress  made  in 
matters  electrical  and  magnetic  during  the  past  thirty  j-ears. 
The  first  chapter  deals  with  frictional  electricity,  and  here  we 
are  bound  to  say  that  we  can  find  nothing  new,  while  many  of 
the  illu.strations  and  diagrams  are  antique.  In  ('hapter  2, 
Section  154 — on  magnetic  maps— strikes  us  as  being  the  most 
useful  ;  wliile  Section  159 — magnetic  storms — is  disappointing. 
A  detailed  description  of  all  well-known  primary  batteries 
follows.  This  portion  of  the  book,  by  the  way,  contains  a  state- 
ment of  Ohm's  law,  an  interpolation  which  seems  quaint.  The 
latter  part  of  Chapter  3,  dealing  with  "  Physical  and  Physio- 
logical Effects  of  the  Current,'' may  be  highly  commended  (even 
to  the  notice  of  students  of  a  larger  growth,  though  the  book  is 
termed  "  Elementary ''),  for  it  is  not,  we  believe,  many  who 
could  define  such  terms  as  ''  electric  osmose."  The  collection 
of  notes  upon  the  electrical  properties  of  flame  and  hot  air  is 
interesting,  as  also  those  relating  to  thunderstorms  and  similar 
phenomena.  On  pp.  .3.')4-5  we  note  that  the  definition  of  per- 
meability is  somewhat  lengthy.     Indeed,  it  take.s  our  author 

some  time  to  explain  M  jj  Finally  (since  this  work  deals 
very  thoroughly  with  the  elements  of  electricity  and  magnetism), 
it  follows  that  it  contains  much  which  has  been  written  again 
and  again.  The  problems  and  exercises  with  which  the  work 
concludes  are  particularly  comprehensive,  and  should  be  helpful 
alike  to  teacher  and  pupil.     The  index,  too,  is  good. 

"  The  Story  of  Bird-Life.''  By  W.  P.  Pycraft.  ("Xewnes' 
Library  of  L'seful  Stories.)  Illustrated.  Is.  Mr.  Pycraft  is 
to  be  congratulated  in  having  compressed  into  the  very  small 
compass  of  this  little  book  a  very  fair  general  notion  of  the 
main  features  of  bird-life.  Considerable  discrimination  is 
shown  in  the  selection  of  material,  the  author  having  chosen 
good  subjects,  and  interesting  and,  for  the  most  part,  well- 
established  facts.  Moreover,  Jlr.  Pycraft  writes  in  a  simple 
and  attractive  way,  so  that  the  book  is  very  readable  and  inte- 
resting, and  contains  a  deal  of  instruction  in  an  unobtrusive 
form. 

"IX     BiRD-LAXD      ■WITH     FlELD-OLASS     AND     CAMERA."       By 

Oliver  G.  Pike.  (Fisher  Unwin.)  (is.  Illustrated.  This  is  a 
pleasant  little  book  describing  simple  country  sights  within  the 
province  of  all  who  have  learnt  to  use  their  eyes.  The  author 
treats  chiefly  of  birds,  and  his  scenes  and  anecdotes  are  mo.stly 
derived  from  the  country  about  the  north  of  London,  although 
a  few  chapters  are  devoted  to  the  Norfolk  Broads.  Mr.  Pike  is 
an  ardent  bird  photograjiher,  and  many  of  his  photographs 
reproduced  in  the  book  are  excellent.  Some  of  them,  however, 
are  rather  in  the  nature  of  puzzle  ])ictures,  and  it  is  questionable 
if  everyone  will  eventually  find  the  bird.  Photographs  of  wild 
birds  or  nests  are  certainly  of  little  use  for  purposes  of  identi- 
fication, but  a  method  of  showing  at  a  glance  the  correct  pro- 
portions would  be  a  distinct  gain.  Turn,  for  instance,  to  the 
photographs  on  pages  24.5  and  2(35  of  the  present  book.  The 
one  is  of  a  sedge  warbler's  nest,  the  other  of  a  nest  of  ^Montague's 
harrier,  but  who  can  tell  by  an  examination  of  these  photo- 
graphs that  the  egg  of  the  harrier  is  some  two-and  a-half  times 
the  size  of  that  of  the  sedge  warbler  ?  (.)n  the  other  hand,  in 
the  beautiful  photograph,  forming  the  frontispiece  to  the  volume, 
of  a  garden  warbler  on  its  nest,  we  get  a  very  good  idea  of  the 
relative  size  of  the  bird.  This  is  evidently  because  some 
gooseberr}'  leaves  are  shown  in  line  with  the  bird,  and  everyone 
I  knows  approximately  the  size  of  a  gooseberry  leaf,  and  so  can 
gauge  the  size  of  the  bird.  But  it  is  not  often  possible  in  a 
photogi'aph  from  life  to  show  side  by  side  with  the  bird  or  egg 
so  well  known  an  object  as  a  gooseberry  leaf.  However,  with  so 
many  enthusiasts  now  working  at  bird  photograjihy,  we  do  not 
despair  of  a  solution  to  this  difficulty  of  proportions.  ^Mr.  Pike's 
grammar  is  not  always  of  the  best,  and  his  rather  bald  literary 
style  denotes  a  young  writer,  but  he  leads  us  in  the  open,  and 
evidently  tells  us  exactly  what  he  has  seen  himself  :  which, 
after  all,  is  more  valuable  in  a  book  of  this  character  than 
flowing  phrases  and  polished  periods.  The  author  was  fortunate 
in  finding  in  Norfolk  a  number  of  bearded  tits  to  shoot  at  with 
his  camera,  and  we  are  glad  indeed  to  have  this  further  evidence 
of  the  jiresence  of  this  rare  bird  in  the  country.  Ornithologists 
will  also  be  interested  in  what  Mr.  Pike  has  to  say  about  the 
habits  of  the  moorhen. 


November  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


259 


BOOKS    RECEIVED. 

The  SuidU  of  the  Unioerse.  By  Krnst  Haeokcl.  (Watts  &  Co.) 
6s.  net. 

Tht  Royal  Obserratoiy,  Greenwich  :  Its  Histori/  and  Work-. 
By  E.  Waiter  Mauiuler,  f!b  A.s.  (Rolisjious  Tiiict  Sooicty.)  Illus- 
trated.    5s. 

The  sine  Atlas.  6th  Eilition.  l?y  Major-Gcnenil  Sif  C.  W. 
Wilson.     (S.  P.  C.  K.)     lOs.  0.(1. 

Inorflanic  Chfinisiry.  By  Prof,  ileldola.  5th  Edition.  (SI\irhy.\ 
2s. 

A  German  Commercial  Reader.    By  S.  E.  Hally.    (Molluion.')    2s. 

Design  in  yaiiire's  Slon/.     By  Wallov  KiiUl.      (Nisbot.)     3s.  fid. 

Elements  of  Hydrostatics.  By  S.  L.  Loiiey,  m.a.  (Canib.  t'niv. 
Press.)     4s.  6<1. 

Seliyion  ami  Life.     By  R.  Russell.     (Lnnynmns.)     2s.  6d.  net. 

The  Orii/in  of  Species.  (Popular  Edition).  By  CImrles  Darwin. 
(Murray.)  '  2s.  6d.  net. 

The  Temples  and  Ritual  of  Asklepios.  By  Ricliard  C'afoii. 
(Cauib.  Univ.  Press.)     33.  net. 

Astral  Gravitation.    By  Wni.  Lei^hton  Jordan.    (LouKinans.)    '.i>. 

Annals  of  the  Lowell  Obsercatori/.    \A.  11.    (Catnb.  Univ.  Vnss.) 

The  Jieliijuart/  and  Illustrated  ArchmologlH.  Vol.  lor  IDilll. 
(Bomrose.)     12s.  net. 

Agricultural  Zoology.    By  Dr.  Rit/onia  Bos.    (irctliucn.)     ;!s.  (M. 

Elements  of  Geology — Skerichli/'s.  Revised  by  James  Moucknian. 
(Murby.)     Is.  6d. 

Animated  Picture  Specialities.    Catalogue.  (Warwick  Trading  Co.) 

Elements  of  Mineralogy.     By  F.  Rutley.     (Murby.)     23. 

One  Thousand  Oh/ects  for  the  Microscope.  By  M.  C.  Cooke. 
(Warne)      Illustrated.     2s.  6d. 

An  Ingenious  Method  of  French  Conjugations.  Paris  I.,  II.,  III. 
By  Leopold  Courtial.     (Firth  College,  Slietlicld.)     Is.  (iil.  each. 

Masterpiece  Portfolios  of  Art.  >'o.  3.  {Ri-riew  of  Heriews 
Ollice.)     l3.  3d.  post  free. 


THE    PYGMIES   OF   THE   GREAT   FOREST. 

By  R.  Lydekker. 
In  the  preceding  ai-ticle  of  the  present  series  the 
attention  of  the  reader  was  directed  to  the  dwarf  black 
races  of  the  tropical  forests  of  Luzon  and  the  coral 
shores  of  the  Andamans.  He  has  now  to  transport  him- 
self in  imagination  to  the  great  forest  of  the  Upper 
Congo  and  the  watershed  between  the  basin  of  that 
mighty  river  and  the  Nile  in  the  Niam-Niam  country. 
So  vast  is  this  forest,  as  we  learn  from  the  accounts  of 
Sir  H.  M.  Stanley  and  other  explorei-s,  that  the  traveller 
may  march  through  it  for  weeks  or  even  months  without 
finding  a  break  in  the  wilderress  of  stems,  while  so 
dense  is  the  canopy  of  branches  and  leaves  overhead 
that  even  at  midday,  when  the  sun  is  shining  in  its 
full  strength  above,  the  light  is  toned  down  to  a  grey 
gloom,  and  the  shades  of  night  fall  long  before  the  sun 
has  touched  the  horizon.  In  this  peiijotual  gloom  live 
the  Pygmies,  the  most  diminutive  of  the  human  inhabi- 
tants of  the  globe,  of  whose  existence  there  have  been 
more  or  less  authentic  rumours  since  the  time  of  Hero- 
dotus and  Aristotle,  but  whose  true  characteristics  and 
mode  of  life  it  has  been  reserved  for  recent  times  to 
disclose.  To  the  ancient  Egyptians  the  Pygmies  were 
well  known,  under  the  name  of  Danga,  and  there  are 
definite  records  of  individuals  being  from  time  to  time 
brought  from  the  region  of  the  White  Nile  to  the  court 
of  the  Pharaohs  as  captives,  where  they  were  depicted 
in  the  frescoes  under  the  name  of  Akka.  The  accounts 
given  by  the  ancient  classical  writers  of  these  diminutive 
people,  which  were  not  improbably  derived  from  the 
Egyptian  captives,  are,  however,  so  vague  and  so  mingled 
with  the  fabulous  that  they  are  of  little  or  no  value  to 
the  anthropologist.  But  in  the  early  part  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  the  English  sailor,  Andrew  Battell, 
who  had  been  in  captivity  among  the  Portuguese  from 


15S9  to  1607,  gave  an  excellent  although  brief  account 
of  the  Pygmies,  whom  he  calls  Matimbas,  and  compares 
in  point  of  size  to  European  children  of  twelve.  Ho 
s])eaks  of  them  as  fleeing  from  contact  with  the  Negroes 
of  Loango,  and  slaying  with  their  bows  and  arrows 
(which  wero  carried  by  both  sexes)  the  great  apes  called 
Pongo ;  the  latter  term  being,  by  the  way,  the  jjropcr 
name  of  the  species  we  now  designate  gorilla.  Again, 
in  1686,  the  Dutch  writer  Dapper  speaks  of  the  dwarfs 
of  the  sa.mo  district  under  the  names  of  Mimos'  and 
Bakke-bakke  ;  but  from  that  date  nothing  seems  to  liavc 
been  heard  of  these  people  till  Iho  sixties  and  seventies  of 
the  present  century. 

In  1861  Dr.  Touchard  records  the  destruction  of  a 
tribe  of  dwarfs,  whom  ho  calls  Akoa,  in  tho  interior 
of  the  Gabun;  and  states  that  an  adult  who  had  been 
captured  mea.surcd  only  4i^  feet  in  height,  and 
had  a  comparatively  short  and  rounded  head. 
Yet  anoUier  tribe  inhabiting  tho  interior  of  the 
Gabun,  known  as  the  M'Boulous,  wore  described 
about  tho  same  date,  and  stated  to  be  not 
more  than  three  thousand  in  number.  Somewhat  later 
the  Baboiikos,  or  Pyginies  of  Chinchoxo,  were  described 
by  a  German  writer,  who  comments  on  their  relatively 
large  a.nd  rounded  heads  and  small  stature;  a  man 
supposed  to  be  about  forty  years  of  age  measuring  rather 
less  than  4  feet  6  inches.  Paul  du  Chaillu  likewise 
encountered  Pygmy  Negroes  in  Ashangoland,  and  saw 
one  man  of  tlto  stature  just  mentioned,  altliough  he 
gives  the  average  height  of  the  women  at  4  feet 
8  inches. 

In  still  more  modern  times,  when  tho  interior  of  tho 
Dark  Continent  was  being  gradually  opened  up,  Stanley 
heard  of  Pygmies,  whom  he  calls  Watwas,  in  the  country 
within  the  great  bend  of  tho  Congo,  who  hunted  the 
lordly  elephant  to  death  with  poisoned  arrows,  and 
whom  he  describes  as  of  a  chocolate-brown  colour.  And 
a  Dr.  Wolff  refers  to  the  members  of  the  same  or  an 
allied  tribe  as  never  exceeding  4  feet  7  inches,  and 
averaging  four  inches  less  in  height.  But  to  the  cele- 
brated German  traveller,  Dr.  Schweinfurth,  was  reserved 
the  honour  of  first  making  known  to  European  science 
the  Akkas  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  whom  he  first  met 
with  at  the  court  of  the  ruler  of  Mambettu  (Monbuttu), 
but  whose  home  is  on  the  Aruwimi,  a  tributary  of  the 
Upper  Congo  in  about  lat.  3°  N.  and  long.  25°  E.  As 
we  learn  from  Major  Casati's  "  Ten  Years  in  Equatoria," 
the  author  of  which  accompanied  Stanley  in  his  famous 
expedition  to  relieve  Emin  Pasha,  the  name  Akka 
means  pigmy  or  dwarf ;  being  also  applied  by  the 
natives  of  the  Aruwimi  country  to  a' breed  of  diminutive 
fowls.  By  themselves  the  Akka  are  called  Efe.  Akka  is 
their  Mambettu  name,  while  in  Sandeh  they  are  tenned 
Tiki-tiki.  The  latter  name,  according  to  the  traveller 
last  mentioned,  is,  however,  occasionally  heard  in  Mam- 
bettu, and  is  not,  as  has  been  supposed,  synonomous  with 
Akka.  Properly  speaking,  says  Major  Casati,  Akka 
is  applicable  to  one  very  small  active  race,  whose  skin  is  of 
a  reddish  brown  colour  and  thickly  covered  with  hair, 
while  Tiki-tiki  denotes  a  taller  and  stouter-built  race, 
with  a  darker  and  less  hairy  skin,  who  frequent  tho 
more  open  mountainous  regions.  The  two  arc  said  to 
be  irnfriendly  and  frequently  at  war  with  each  other. 
The  Akkas  seen  by  Dr.  Schweinfurth  were  in  the 
military  service  of  the  ruler  of  Mambettu ;  one  of 
them,  who  unfortunately  died  at  the  end  of  tho  journey 
down  country,  was  procured  for  the  purpose  of  being 
taken  to  Europe.  More  fortunate  in  this  respect  was 
tlie  Italian  traveller  Miani,  who,  although  himself  falling 


260 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[November  1,  1900. 


a  victim  to  the  climate  and  the  hardships  of  travel,  was 
tlic  means  of  procuring  two  Akkas,  who  arrived  safely, 
first  at  Cairo,  and  subsequently  in  Italy  ;  one  of  them 
dying  at  Verona  in  the  winter  of  1883.  An  Akka 
girl  was  also  brought  by  another  Italian  traveller  to 
Trieste.  Later  Emin  Pasha  transmitted  to  the  Natural 
History  Branch  of  the  British  Museum  the  skeletons 
of  a  male  and  female  Akka;  the  latter,  which  Major 
Casati  says  was  obtained  by  himself  and  presented  to 
Emin,  being  nearly  complete,  and  now  mounted  in  the 
exhibition  series.  Making  due  allowance  for  a  few 
missing  vertebrse,  and  likewi.^e  for  the  soft  tissues,  this 


An  Akka  Woiii;iii.     (Fivmi  Mlijoi-  Casati's  ''Tfii  Yrars  in  Eqnatoria." 
W'anu'  &  Co.) 

skeleton,  in  the  opinion  of  the  late  Sir  W.  H.  Flower, 
indicates  a  woman  of  exactly  four  feet  in  height,  who 
was  evidently  fully  adult.  Emiu  states,  however,  that  a 
living  woman  whom  he  measured  barely  reached  3  feet 
10  inches;  being  therefore  greatly  inferior  in  point  of 
size  both  to  the  Pygmies  of  Asia  and  also  to  the  Bush- 
men of  South  Africa.  Nevertheless,  as  may  be  seen 
in  the  aforesaid  skeleton,  and  also  in  the  numerous 
portraits  of  these  little  people  which  have  been  pub- 
lished of  late  years,  the  Negrillos  (as  the  African  Pyg- 
mies are  technically  called)  are  in  all  respects  well 
formed  and  well  proportioned. 

Descriptions  of  the  Akkas  and  other  tribes  of  Pygmies 
have  also  been  published  by  Major  Casati,  as  well  as  by 


several  other  later  African  travellers ;  and  we  now 
possess  a  very  large  amount  of  information  not  only  with 
regard  to  their  physical  characteristics  and  their  mode 
of  life,  but  also  in  respect  to  their  geographical  distri- 
bution. It  is  now  ascertained,  for  instance,  that  the 
range  of  these  dwarfs  originally  extended  from'  near  the 
Atlantic  sea-board  in  the  Gabun  district  as  far  easf> 
wards  as  the  confines  of  Lake  Tangai:yika;  and  from 
N.  latitude  3°  on  the  Aruwimi  river  to  about  latitude 
7°  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Lakes  Stephanie  and 
Rudolf,  where  they  were  recently  encountered  by  the 
American  traveller  Dr.  Donaldson  Smith.  In  the  Lake 
Rudolf  district,  where  they  are  known  by  the  name  of 
Dume,  these  people  depart,  however,  so  widely  from 
the  diminutive  stature  of  the  Akkas  of  the  Aruwimi 
that  they  can  scarcely  be  called  Pygmies  at  all  in  the 
literal  sense  of  that  term;  Dr.  Donaldson  Smith  giving 
their  average  height  as  about  4  feet  11  inches.  Never- 
theless, as  this  tribe  seems  to  agree  with  the  more 
tvpical  Pygmies  in  general  physical  character,  its  mem- 
bers must  be  included  among  the  Negrillos.  Not 
improbably  their  superior  statui-e  may  be  attributed 
to  climatic  influences,  and  perhaps  also  in  some  degree 
to  crossing  with  the  Negro  tribes  among  whom  thcv 
dwell.  That  such  crossings  do  take  place  seems  to  be 
evidenced  by  certain  tribes  living  on  the  upper  Ituri, 
who  are  believed  to  trace  their  oi-igin  to  inter-breeding 
between  pure-blooded  Negrillos  on  the  one  hand  and 
Bantu  or  other  negroes  on  the  other. 

Exclusive  of  these  aben-ant  frontier  tribes,  Sir  William 
Flower  estimated  the  average  height  of  the  African 
Pygmies  at  about  4  feet  7  inches  for  the  men,  and 
4  feet  3  inches  for  the  women ;  this  estimate  according 
fairly  well  with  that  of  Major  Casati,  who  says  that  most 
Akkas  do  not  exceed  4^  feet.  As  has  been  already 
stated,  in  the  rounded  and  broad  form  of  their  heads, 
these  people  differ  markedly  from  the  long-headed 
Negroes  among  whom  they  dwell ;  although  this 
character  is  not  so  pi-onounced  as  was  at  first  considered 
to  be  the  case  by  some  obsei-vers.  Chocolate-brown 
has  been  mentioned  above  as  the  colour-  of  the  skin  of 
the  Pygmies,  and  it  has  been  compared  to  ordinary 
tablet  chocolate  or  to  slightly  roasted  coffee-berries. 
In  this  respect,  therefore,  these  people  differ  markedly 
from  their  southern  cousins  the  Bushmen,  in  which  it 
is  leather-yellow.  Moreover  these  people  lack  the 
prominent  cheek-bones  and  lozenge-shaped  face  of  the 
last^mentioned  race ;  while  the  women  seldom  exhibit 
in  any  marked  degree  a  peculiarity  of  figure  character- 
istic of  the  "  Hottentot  Venus  "  and  other  Bushmen 
females.  Then,  again,  although  the  scalp-hair  in  all 
these  African  races  is  of  the  frizzly,  or  mis-called  woolly, 
type,  that  of  a  Pj'gmy  does  not  grew  in  tufts  like  the 
black  locks  of  a  Bushman,  but  is  described  as  being  of  a 
more  fleece-like  chai'acter,  and  is  frequently  of  a  more 
or  less  light  shade  of  brown.  But  the  most  remai-kable 
capillarv  peculiainty  of  the  Akkas  is  the  presence  of 
a  fine  down  over  the  whole  skin ;  Emin  Pasha  stating 
that  in  the  individuals  examined  by  him  this  took  the 
form  of  thick,  stiff  hair,  almost  like  felt ;  this  hair,  accord- 
ing to  the  observations  of  Major  Casati  already  referred 
to,  being  more  developed  in  the  typical  Akkas  than  in 
the  TLki-tiki.  Adult  men  have  a  certain  amount  of  hair 
on  the  cheeks  and  chin.  In  connection  with  the  down 
on  the  bodv,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  a  very  similar 
hairy  covering  is  found  on  the  children  of  the  higher 
races  of  mankind  some  time  previous  to  birth.  As 
regards  their  general  cast  of  features,  Akkas  display 
a  somewhat  ultra  development  of  the  ordinary  Negro 


NOVEMBBB    1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


261 


type,  this  being  specially  mai-ked  in  the  projection 
of  the  jaws,  the  eversiou  of  the  lips,  and  the  width  and 
flatness  of  the  nose.  In  a  convexity  of  the  prolilc 
below  the  nose  Akkas  display  a  chai-acter  often  met  with 
among  Bnshmen. 

From  the  vai-ious  accounts  that  have  been  given 
of  their  mode  of  life,  it  appeal's  that  Akkas,  like  other 
African  rac«s  of  Pygmies,  live  chiefly  by  the  chase, 
using  bows,  arrows,  and  lances  with  great  dexterity, 
and  slaying  such  large  animals  as  elephants,  buffaloes, 
and  chimpanzees  with  compai-ative  ease.  On  account  of 
this  dexterity  in  the  use  of  weapons,  as  well  as  from 
their  skill  in  hunting,  their  great  bodily  activity, 
and  their  pereonal  courage,  they  ai-e  much  esteemed 
as  soldiers  by  the  Negro  ti-ibes  among  whom  they  dwell, 
and  whom  they  frequently  serve  as  mercenai-ics.  In 
other  respects  they  appeal",  however,  to  avoid  their 
neighbours,  living  in  communities  by  themselves  in 
tribal  divisions,  each  of  which  has  its  own  chief  or  king. 
No  protection  against  cold  being  neccssai^y  in  the 
tropical  climate  of  equatorial  Africa,  raost  of  them  go 
about  completely  naked,  those  men  who  wear  any  cover- 
ing at  all  being  generally  content  with  a  piece  of  beaten 
bark  suspended  I'ound  ■  the  waist,  while  the  women 
have  only  two  or  three  leaves.  No  ornaments  of  any 
kind  are  worn  by  the  former,  while  the  latter  do  not 
pierce  their  ears.  Although  they  are  superior  to  the 
Australians  in  being  acquainted  with  the  mode  of 
obtaining  fire,  yet  they  are  by  no  means  skilful  in 
this  operation,  and  they  are  accordingly  in  the  habit 
of  keeping  trunks  of  fallen  timber  smouldering  in 
certain  suitable  situations  to  which  the  members  of 
the  tribe  can  repair  when  they  require  a  light.  Each 
family  manages  its  own  affairs,  and  wives  are  purchased 
from  their  fathei^s  for  the  consideration  of  a  certain 
number  of  arrows.  Unlike  Negroes,  these  people  are 
entirely  free  from  superstitions  of  every  kind,  so  that 
there  are  no  witch  doctors  nor  sorcerers  among  them ; 
even  the  widely  spread  dread  of  the  "  evil  eye  '  being, 
according  to  Major  Casati,  unknown  among  them. 
Judging  from  the  circumstance  that  they  bury  their  dead 
on  the  spot  where  they  expire,  without  any  ceremony 
and  with  no  monument,  it  would  seem,  too,  that  they 
have  little  if  any  conception  of  a  future  existence  or 
of  a  divine  ruler  of  the  world. 

Many  of  the  Akkas  live  entirely  without  shelter, 
save  such  as  is  afforded  by  the  forest  thickets  or  the 
overhanging  banks  of  streams.  Others,  however,  erect 
hemispherical  huts,  thatched  with  broad  leaves,  and 
having  a  diameter  of  about  6i,  with  a  height  in  the 
centre  of  somewhat  less  than  5  feet.  Generally  these 
primitive  erections  are  scattered  about  at  random  in 
the  forest  or  on  the  hills,  although  in  rare  instances 
they  are  aggregated  into  villages.  These  people  are  in 
the  habit  of  exchanging  the  products  of  the  chase  with 
their  Negro  neighbours  for  arrows  and  lances,  but  use 
no  other  implements,  a  sharp  arrow  fulfilling  the  purpose 
of  a  knife;  they  possess  no  vessels  of  any  description, 
drinking  water  from  the  streams  in  the  hollow  of  the 
hand.  Although  they  will  eat  almost  any  animal  sub- 
stance, inclusive  of  locusts  and  white  ants,  they  have 
the  saving  virtue  that  they  are  not  cannibals ;  and  they 
never  use  salt.  Neither  do  they  keep  poultry  or  other 
domesticated  animals;  and  the  arts  of  agriculture  and 
horticulture  are  unknown  among  them.  After  a  success- 
ful hunt,  they  are  stated  by  Major  Casati  (from  whose 
account  we  are  laxgely  quoting)  to  visit  the  banana 
plantations  of  their  neighbours,  where  for  every  bunch  of 
fruit  that  they  sell  a  piece  of  meat  is  substituted.  When, 


however,  they  have  nothing  to  oiler  by  way  of  exchange, 
they  are  not  above  acquiring  a  bunch  of  bananas  by 
the  simple  expedient  of  stealing  it;  and  they  not  un- 
frequently  make  raids  upon  their  taller  but  less  wai"likc 
neighbour's  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  off  those  and 
such  other  vegetable  products  as  they  can  lay  hands 
upon.  They  are,  indeed,  pjissionately  fond  of  vegetable 
food,  of  which  they  will  devour  almost  incredible  quan- 
tities when  opportunity  occui-s,  being  at  all  times  en- 
dowed with  a  marvellous  capacity  for  food. 

In  addition  to  their  bows,  arrows,  and  small  lances, 
in  the  use  of  which  they  display  remarkable  skill,  the 
Akkas  carry  small  shields,  of  about  20  inches  in  length 
by  12  in  width,  which  they  manufacture  themselves 
by  plaiting  strips  of  balk.  In  elephant  and  buff;ilo 
hunting  they  resort  to  the  cruel  method  of  first  blinding 
the  unfortunate  animal  with  ai'rows  and  then  hai'i-ying 
it  to  death  witli  their  lances.  The  use  of  nooses  and 
nets,  either  on  land  or  in  the  water  is  (juite  unknown 
among  these  primitive  little  peojjlc,  who  arc  likewise 
unacquainted  with  angling.  Consequently,  their  only 
method  of  capturing  fish  is  by  damming  off  some  portion 
of  a  stream  or  pool,  and  then  laboriously  baling  out  the 
water  until  its  denizens  ai'e  left  in  the  mud. 

Turning  to  the  consideration  of  the  affinities  of  the 
Akkas  and  their  kin,  we  are  confronted  with  a  problem 
of  great  difficulty,  and  one  to  which  oui"  present  means 
of  information  do  not  admit  of  giving  a  decisive  solution. 
It  has  been  suggested  by  a  Swiss  anthropologist  that 
certain  prehistoric  human  remains  discovered  at  Schaff- 
hausen  indicate  the  occurrence  of  Negrillo  Pygmies 
in  Europe;  but  this  hypothesis,  to  say  the  least,  seems 
to  stand  in  need  of  confirmation.  Putting  this  aside, 
almost  the  only  safe  statement  that  can  be  made  is 
that  Negrillos  form  a  branch  of  the  great  Negroid  stock. 
Before  their  chai-acteristics  were  as  well  known  as  at 
present  (and  there  is  still  room  for  much  advance  in 
this  respect)  they  were  considered  to  be  neai'  allies  of 
the  Bushmen;  but,  as  Dr.  Deniker  well  observes, 
there  is  little  or  no  foundation  for  this  idea,  as  there  are 
few  features  common  to  the  two  races,  while  the  dis- 
similarities are  many  and  strongly  marked.  Neither 
have  we  any  decisive  evidence  of  a  close  relationship 
between  the  Pygmies  of  Asia  on  the  one  hand  and 
those  of  Africa  on  the  other,  although  both  are  included 
by  Mr.  A.  H.  Keane  under  the  title  of  Negrito. 

But  the  whole  question  of  the  origin  and  relation- 
ships of  the  Negroid  stock  is  still  involved  in  such  a 
maze  of  confusion  and  uncertainty  that  it  is  very  diffi- 
cult to  find  even  a  single  firm  starting  point  upon  whicn 
to  base  further  inductions.  According,  however,  to  the 
best  of  authorities,  it  seems  probable  that  the  Bushmen 
indicate  the  most  primitive  and  generalised  represen- 
tatives of  this  stock  with  which  we  are  acquainted. 
And  if  this  be  so,  it  follows  that  the  black  skin  of  the 
true  Negroes  and  of  the  Pygmies  is  an  acquired  and 
not  a  primitive  feature;  support  to  this  theory  being 
afforded  by  the  fact  that  Negro  infants  ai-e  much  lighter 
coloured  than  their  parents.  Possibly  then,  both  Bantu 
Negroes  and  the  Akka  Pygmies  are  diverging  branches 
from  a  stock  related  to'  the  modem  Bushmen.  But 
whether  we  are  to  look  upon  the  Asiatic  Pygmies  as 
more  closely  allied  to  the  Akkas  than  to  any  other 
Negro  races  may  for  the  present  bo  left  an  open  question. 

It  may  be  added  that  if  the  light-coloured  Bushmen 
be  really  the  most  primitive  type  of  the  Negroid  stock, 
a  death  blow  is  delivered  to  the  theory  of  a  specially 
near  relationship  between  the  latter  and  the  black- 
skinned  Anthropoid  Apes  of  Equatorial  Africa. 


262 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[No%-EMBER    1,  1900. 


By  John   H.  Cooke,  f.l.s.,  f.g.s. 

It  frequently  happens  that  the  objects  for  which  the  micro- 
scopist  is  searching  are  mixed  with  coarser  materials,  from  which 
it  is  necessary  to  separate  them.  As  a  rule  judicious  washing 
will  effect  the  purpose,  but  sometimes  it  is  necessary  to  resort 
to  burning  or  to  the  action  of  chemical  reagents.  Guano  and 
various  organic  matters  are  cases  in  point  which  yield  interesting 
residues  after  everjthing  soluble  has  been  washed  away,  and 
everything  combustible  has  been  burnt  either  with  fire  or  with 
nitric  acid.  The  siliceous  cuticles  of  plants,  too,  may  be  pro- 
cured by  destroying  all  the  other  parts  by  chemical  means. 
An  effective  way  is  to  heat  the  specimens  in  nitric  acid,  and 
add  slowly  and  very  cautiously  a  small  quantity  of  powdered 
chlorate  of  potash.  This  operation  needs  great  care,  and  the 
face  and  hands  should  be  protected  from  the  spluttering  of 
the  boiling  acid. 

Considerable  confusion  exists  as  to  the  proper  nomenclature 
of  photograyjhy  with  the  microscope.  In  Germany  and  France 
the  term  micro-photography  is  very  common,  while  in  English 
photo-micrography  and  micro-photography  mean  very  diSerent 
thing.s.  Thus  :  a  pJioto-mici-' ir/ n/j/h  is  a  photograph  of  a  small 
or  microscopic  object,  usually  made  with  a  microscope  and  of 
sufficient  size  for  observation  with  the  unaided  eye  :  whUe  a 
iD/cro-i^hotograjili  is  a  small  or  microscopic  photograph  of  an 
object,  tisually  a  large  object,  like  a  man  or  a  building,  and  is 
designed  to  be  looked  at  with  a  microscope. 

Collodion  stained  with  aurantia  makes  a  useful  colour  screen. 
Dr.  Learning,  when  preparing  the  negatives  for  the  plates  of 
AVilson  and  Starr's  atlases,  made  his  colour  screens  by  staining 
a  lantern  plate,  from  which  all  the  silver  salts  had  been  removed, 
with  an  alcoholic  solution  of  tropseolin.  and  then,  after  drying, 
Canada  balsam  and  a  cover-glats  were  applied. 

When  a  carmine  stain  is  to  be  used  the  restilts  may  be 
obtained  quicker  by  heating  the  stain.  Place  the  watch-glass 
containing  the  stain  on  a  wire  netting  over  the  opening  of 
a  water  bath.  As  the  water  boils  the  heat  of  the  steam  wUl 
cause  the  stain  to  penetrate  more  rapidly,  with  the  result  that 
the  details  of  the  specimen  are  brought  out  more  sharply. 
These  results  may  be  obtained  only  with  tissue  which  has  been 
previously  hardened.  Those  hardened  in  a  solution  of  chromate 
of  potash  to  which  a  few  drops  of  chromic  acid  have  been  added 
give  the  best  results. 

Of  the  many  mounting  mediums  miscible  in  water  which  are 
used  by  the  microscopist  the  most  generally  useful  is  glycerine. 
It  is  necessary  that  it  should  be  pure,  and  to  be  quite  sure  that 
aU  foreign  matters  such  as  dust  particles  are  eliminated,  it 
should  be  filtered  through  filter  paper  or  absorbent  cotton  before 
being  used.  For  preparing  objects  for  final  mounting,  glycerine 
and  svater  mixed  in  equal  quantities  forms  a  good  mixture.  For 
many  ])nrposes  the  final  mounting  in  glycerine  is  made  in  an 
acid  medium,  viz.,  glycerine  09  c.c,  glacial  acetic  acid  1  c.c.  By 
extreme  care  in  mounting,  and  by  occasionally  adding  a  fresh 
coat  to  the  sealing  of  the  cover-glass,  glycerine  preparations  last 
a  long  time.  They  are  liaVjle  to  be  very  disappointing,  however. 
In  mounting  in  glycerine  care  should  be  taken  to  avoid  air- 
bubbles,  as  they  are  difficult  to  get  rid  of.  A  specimen  need 
not  be  discarded,  however,  unless  the  air-bubbles  are  large  and 
numerous. 

We  have  pleastire  in  calling  the  attention  of  microscopical 
societies  to  the  list  of  lectures  which  has  been  arranged  for 
delivery  by  members  of  the  Extension  section  of  the  Manchester 
Microscopical  Society  during  the  coming  winter.  The  lectures 
and  demonstrations  treat  of  every  jihase  of  microscojjy,  and  are 
given  gratuitously  to  any  society  that  may-  care  to  apply  for 
them.  Applications  may  be  made  to  the  Hon.  Secretary, 
S*!,  Brookland  Street,  Eccles  New  Boad,  Manchester. 

Ink  for  writing  on  glass  may  be  prepared  bj-  dissolving  20 
grains  of  brown  shellac  in  l.'j'i  c.c.  of  alcohol  iu  the  cold,  then 
adding,  a  drop  at  a  time,  a  solution  consisting  of  'do  grains  of 
brjrax  dissolved  in  2,vit  c.c.  of  distilled  water.  If  this  precipitates 
the  shellac  add  more  .-xlcohol.  allowing  the  excess  to  evaporate 
afterwards,  or  warm  the  solution  until  the  precipitate  disappears. 
One  gramme  of  methylene  blue  may  be  used  to  colour  the  ink. 


The  following  easy  and  efficient  method  of  preparing  nucleated 
blood  for  class  use  has  been  adopted  in  the  histological  labora- 
tory at  Cornell  University.  A  few  drojis  of  the  fresh  blood  of 
a  necturus  are  put  in  a  solution  of  osmic  acid  (1  per  cent.)  and 
allowed  to  stand  for  fifteen  minutes.  The  corpuscles  by  this 
time  are  fixed  and  have  settled  to  the  bottom,  and  the  fixer  can 
now  be  decanted  ofE.  After  washing  in  water  the  blood  is 
carried  on  through  the  various  grades  of  alcohol,  stained  with 
paracarmine,  dehydrated,  cleared,  and,  as  a  final  step,  Canada 
balsam  is  added  sufficient  to  procure  the  proper  dilution  of  the 
cori)uscles.  A  drop  of  the  balsam  is  then  put  on  a  slide,  covered 
with  a  cover-glass,  and  is  then  ready  for  use. 

Mr.  E.  L.  Fullmer,  of  Ohio  State  University,  has  had  consider- 
able experience  in  mounting  small  Coleoptera  and  other  small 
insects,  and  in  the  ]jages  of  the  Journal  of  Applied  Microscopy 
he  briefly  describes  the  more  successful  of  his  methods.  That 
which  gives  the  best  results  for  general  work  is  as  follows  :  drop 
the  specimens  into  absolute  alcohol,  and  leave  for  an  hour  or 
more  to  dehydrate,  transfer  to  xylol  for  a  few  minutes  to  clear, 
and  mount  in  balsam.  To  make  opaque  objects  transparent, 
boil  in  caustic  pota.sh  for  a  moment,  and  then  treat  as  above 
described.  In  working  with  scale  insects,  the  insects  are  first 
picked  out  of  the  scales  and  placed  upon  a  slide  where  it  is 
desired  to  mount  them.  A  few  drops  of  a  five  per  cent,  solution 
of  caustic  potash  are  applied,  and  the  specimens  boiled  in  this 
for  two  or  three  minutes  by  holding  them  over  a  bunsen  flame, 
after  which  proceed  as  above. 

\^All  communications  in  reference  to  this  Column  should  be 
addressed  to  Mr.  J.  H.  Cooke  at  the  Office  of  Knowledge.] 


NOTES   ON   COMETS   AND    METEORS. 

By  W.  F.  Denxixg,  f.r.a.s. 

Bobbellt-Bbooks's  Comet. — This  comet  is  now  exceedingly  faint, 
the  brightness  on  Iiovember  Ist  being  only  03,  as  compared  with  1 
at  the  time  of  discovi'ry.  Its  position  is  0  degrees  east  of  x  Draeonis 
at  the  beginning  of  November,  and  the  comet  is  travelling  very  slowly 
in  an  easterly  direction. 

Pebiodical  Comets. — Barnard's  Comet  (1884  II.)  and  De  Tico- 
E.  Swift's  Comet  (1844-1894)  are  possibly  visible  in  very  powerful 
telescopes,  but  the  conditions  are  not  favourable.  Xo  announcement 
has  been  made  at  the  time  of  writing  that  either  of  these  objects  has 
been  redetected  iu  the  large  instruments  which  are  doubtless  being 
employed  for  the  purpose.  Amateurs  provided  with  ordinary 
telescopes  must  wait  for  future  returns  when  these  comets  v\iU  be 
better  presented.  In  Ast.  Nach.,  3664,  Mr.  F.  H.  Seares  gives  a 
continuation  of  his  finding  ephemeris  for  De  Vico-Swift's  Comet, 
and  from  this  we  extract  the  following  : — 

Distance  in 
Date.  E.A.  Dec.  Millions  of 

H.      M.       s.  o        ■  Miles, 

^'ovember  16     ...     18     44     b7     ...     25     48  S.     ...     2;^4 
28     .  .     19     16     12     ...     24     54  S.     ...     227 
December  14     ...     19     59     39     ...     23       2  S.     ...     231 
The  perihelion  passage  will   take  place  on  February  13th,  1901,  but 
the  comet  will  be  too  near  the  sun  for  it  to  be  observed. 

FiBEEAXi  OF  September  2,  6n.  54m. —  About  35  accounts  of  this 
brilliant  object  were  received,  but  they  were  not  very  definite  as  regards 
the  particulars  of  the  phenomenon.  Some  of  the  descriptions  have, 
however,  afforded  a  satisfactory  means  of  comparison.  Adopting  the 
^  Cepheid  radiant  at  334°  +  57°  as  best  representing  the  observations, 
it  appears  that  the  meteor  became  visible  at  a  height  of  85  miles  over 
Richmond,  Yorts.,  and  ended  at  a  height  of  20  miles  over  a  point 
near  Fleetwood,  Lancashire.  Its  length  of  observed  course  was  84 
mUes.  It  was  certainly  one  of  the  largest  and  most  brtUiant  meteors 
seen  during  the  year.  Its  sun-lit  streak  remained  visible  for  more 
than  half-an-hour,  and  formed  one  of  the  most  striking  features  of  the 
event.  It  is  remarkable  to  find  that  the  discordances  among  the 
various  observers  are  very  great  in  regard  to  many  of  the  details. 
Three  of  the  observers  give  the  time  as  about  6  p.m.,  while  another 
mentions  6.15  p.m.  Five  others  give  the  foUowing  times,  7h.  Cm., 
7b.  15m.,  7h.  20m.,  7h  30m.,  7h.  30m.  Yet  it  is  certain  from  the 
rough  descriptions  of  the  path  that  only  one  meteor  was  observed  and 
that  the  correct  time  was  as  nearly  as  possible  6h.  o4m.  With  regard 
to  the  streak  or  train  left  in  the  meteor's  wake,  several  correspondents 
say  there  was  none  whatever  visible.  Three  state  that  there  was  a 
tail  which  ri'niained  in  sight  about  5  miniUes,  several  give  the  time 
of  its  dui-dtion  as  10  minutes,  two  others  watched  it  for  .30  minutes, 
while  at  Wetherby  it  remained  in  view  imtU  7h.  30m.,  or  36  minutes 
after  the  meteor  flashed  across  the  skv.     Some  of  the  observers  were 


NOVBMBBR    1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


263 


much  struck  witli  the  apparent  proximity  of  tlio  firoball  ami  tliou^Ut 
that  it  must  have  fallen  within  two  or  throe  Inquired  yawls  of  the 
spi^t  where  they  stood.  People  in  Yorkshire.  Lancashire,  Scotland, 
and  AViltshire  'were  similarly  impressed.  In  Wiltshire,  a  i>arly  of 
observers  thought  the  lireball  must  have  alighted  in  n  lield  about  a 
mile  off.  while  at  St.  .Vndrews,  Scotland,  it  seemed  to  fall  into  a  lidd 
of  turnips  close  to  the  observers.  The  descriptions  vary  so  miuh  as 
reganls  the  time  and  jxisition  of  the  object  that  several  large  fireballs 
would,  on  first  consideration,  appear  to  have  appeared  on  the  evening 
in  question.  There  is  no  doubt,  however,  that  there  was  really  only 
one,  but  that  some  of  the  accounts  are  inexact,  and  this  we  might 
miturally  expect,  as  most  of  the  observers  were  inexperienced  and 
must  have  been  taken  by  surprise  at  the  suddenness  and  brilliancy  of 
the  apparition. 

FiBKBALL  OF  Sepiembeb  16,  Sh.  44m. — A  fine  nictoor,  brighter 
than  Venus,  was  seen  at  this  time  by  Mr.  W.  K.  Bcsley,  of  Lonilon, 
Mr.  J.  Gilbert  Wiblin.  of  Oxfoixl.  Mr.  Chas.  I'arker,  of"  Handsworlh, 
near  Binniugham,and  Mr.  T.  Harries,  of  Llanelly.  The  observations 
are  in  satisfactory  accordance,  and  show  that  the  radiant  was  in 
324" -25°  between  Capricornus  and  Piscis  Australis.  The  meteor 
fell  from  a  height  of  about  50  miles  above  Hcwdley,  to  'A'2  miles  above 
Wigan,  and  had  a  visible  path,  as  observed,  of  about  8<)  miles.  But 
it  is  probable  that  the  real  length  of  path  was  greater  than  this,  for 
the  observers  did  not  see  the  meteor  until  it  had  traversed  a  section 
of  its  course. 

Obsebtatioxs  of  SnooTixa  Stars  in  Seftembee.  —  The 
month  was  highly  favourable  for  astronomical  observations.  At 
Bru-tol,  127  meteors  were  seen  during  17  lioui-s  of  watching  distri- 
buted over  10  nights.  Both  at  the  opening  and  closing  of  the  month 
there  were  active  radiants  at  SSi*^"  +  Sti",  71+65°,  and  17+4:*'. 
During  the  last  week  in  September  showers  were  seen  from  6'  +  11  , 
23 '  +  57°,  27"  +  3  ,  and  76"  -I-  32'. 

The  XovEStBEB  Meteors  (Leonids). — Observei-s  should  look  out 
on  the  mornings  of  the  14th,  1 5th,  and  16th,  as  it  is  quite  possible, 
notwithstanding  the  failures  in  preceding  years,  that  a  fine  display 
may  be  presented.  We  are  not  yet  sufficiently  aciiuainted  witli  the 
stream  in  its  past  vicissitudes,  or  present  and  future  developments,  to 
speak  positively  as  to  whether  the  shower  wdl  or  will  not  return  in 
great  brilliancy  this  year.  Nor  is,  it  possible  tj  say  exactly  when  or 
where  the  display  will  be  visible  to  the  best  advantage  should  ii 
return.  But  the  morning  hours  of  November  15  appear  to  be  the 
most  promising,  and  will  be  likely  to  furnish  a  rich  shower,  if  not  a 
really  grand  display,  though  the  moon  wdl  be  visible  in  the  same 
region  of  the  sky  as  the  radiant  point.  She  will,  however,  be  in  her 
last  quarter,  and  ought  not  to  seriously  interfere  with  successful 
observation. 


THE    FACE   OF    THE   SKY    FOR    NOVEMBER. 

By    A.    FOWLEK,    l.K.A.S. 

The  Sun. — On  the  1st  the  suu  rises  at  (J. 5-5  and  sets  at 
4.33 ;  on  the  30th  he  rises  at  7.44  and  sets  at  3.51.  There 
will  be  an  annular  eclipse  on  the  22nd,  invisible  at  Green- 
wich, the  line  of  central  eclipse  passing  across  South 
Africa,  the  Southern  Indian  Ocean,  and  Western  Australia. 
At  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  a  partial  eclipse,  magnitude 
0.492,  will  be  visible,  and  at  Natal  a  partial  eclijise  of 
magnitude  U.717. 

Sunspots  are  not  likely  to  be  either  large  or  numerous. 

The  Moon.— The  moon  will  be  full  on  the  (Jth  at 
11.0  P.M.,  wiU  enter  last  quarter  on  the  14th  at  2.38  a  .m., 
will  be  new  on  the  22nd  at  7.17  a.m.,  and  will  enter  first 
quarter  on  the  29th  at  5.35  p.m.  The  principal  occulta- 
tions  visible  at  Greenwich  are  as  follows : — 


1 

1    o 

3 

^ 

H 

g 

So 

2  J 

£? 

i-j 

ij 

1  ^ 

M    2 

.23 

5  t 

-> 

1= 

P 

il 

!  ^ 

« 

•^ 

< 

K 

•!! 

< 

Not.  6 
..   12 

.,   '■"> 


7  Arietis 
A'  Cancri 
K  Piscium 
16  Pisfium 


0-6 

SO 
5-6 


9  .5*  P.M. 
11.51  P.M. 

6.11  P.M. 
U.2.J  P.M. 


o 

o 

o 

o 

49 

7.1 

10.58 

274 

286  ■ 

100 

l:» 

12.58 

aw 

■■as 

1     ai 

28 

/./ 

2),1 

2V7 

[96 

59 

12.14 

220 

181 

d.  h. 

14  9 

20  11 

8  12 

8  17 


The  Pl.vnets. — Mercury  will  be  in  inferior  conjunction 
with  the  Sun  on  the  iUth,  and  will  be  a  morning  star 
throughout  the  remainder  of  the  mouth.     He  is,  however, 


15 

8 

5 

1 

:,i 

51 

45 

!) 

:«; 

54 

;ii» 

4S 

27 

30 

rue  Decliniitiou 

o 

' 

+  53 

51  1 

54 

17-5 

54 

18-9 

58 

54 '5 

53 

5-2 

51 

.53  7 

50 

23-8 

not  very  favourably  situated  for  observation  in  our 
latittidt.'S. 

Venus  is  a  moniiiig  star,  rising  .shortly  before  3  a.m.  at 
the  beginning  of  the  uiontli,  and  aliout  4.15  a.m.  at  the 
end.  On  the  loth,  throe-i|uartiTs  of  the  disk  will  be 
illuminated.  The  path  of  tlif  planet  is  from  near 
/J  Virginis  to  k  Virgiuis,  passing  a  point  about  4^  north 
of  Spiea  on  the  21st. 

Eros  traverses  a  retrograde  path  througli  the  nortlicru 
part  of  Perseus  into  Cassiopeia^  and  is  visible  througliout 
the  night.  Tlie  following  ephemeris,  for  Berlin  midnight, 
may  be  useful : — 

True  Kij,'ht  Ascension. 

H^        M.       8. 

November  1 

'i 

„         U 

,.         1« 

„        21 

2i.i 

Doroniber   1 

At  the  beginning  of  the  month  this  planet  will  be  aliout 
equal  to  a  star  of  magnitude  95. 

Mars  is  beeoining  better  situatc^d  for  observation  at 
convenient  hours,  rising  on  the  1st  just  before  half-past 
eleven,  and  on  the  30th  shortly  after  half-past  ten.  The 
path  of  the  planet  is  easterly  through  Leo,  and  on  the 
ISth  the  planet  will  be  H  degrees  north  of  Kegulus.  On 
the  15th,  the  illuminated  portion  of  the  disk  will  bcO-SOO, 
and  the  planet  will  be  125  millions  of  miles  from  the  earth. 

Jupiteris  rapidly  approaching  conjunction  with  the  Sun, 
and  can  only  be  observed  under  very  favourable  circum- 
stances. On  the  1st  he  sets  about  6  p.m.,  and  on  the  15th 
at  5.23  P.M. 

Saturn  may  still  be  observed  for  a  short  time  in  the  early 
evening.  During  the  month  the  planet  traverses  a  short 
easterly  path  in  Sagittarius,  nearly  between  the  stars 
X  and  (J..  On  the  1st  he  sets  at  7.2 1,  and  on  the  30th  at 
5.40  P.M. 

Uranus  is  too  near  the  Sun  to  be  observed. 

Neptime,  in  Taurus,  is  visible  throughout  the  greater 
part  of  the  night,  rising  on  the  1st  shortly  after  7  p.m., 
and  on  the  SOth  soon  after  5  p.m  The  path  of  the  planet 
is  a  short  westerly  one.  nearly  midway  between  132  Tauri 
and  Eta  Geminorum. 

The  Stars. — About  9  p.m.  at  the  middle  of  the  month, 
Gemini  will  be  low  in  the  north-east ;  Auriga  and  Perseus 
high  up  in  the  east ;  Taurus  between  east  and  south-east, 
with  Orion  below  ;  Aries  nearly  south-east ;  Cetus  nearly 
south  ;  Andromeda  and  Pi.sces  in  the  south  ;  Cassiopeia 
almost  overhead ;  Pegasus  and  Aquarius  towards  the 
south-west;  Cygnusand  A<iuila  in  the  west;  Lyra  a  little 
north  of  west;  Corona  setting  in  the  north-west;  ami 
Ursa  Major  below  the  pole. 

Minima  of  Algol  occur  at  convenient  times  on  the  1st 
at  9. LI  P.M.,  on  the  4th  at  G.O  p.m.,  on  the  21st  at  10.53 
p.m.,  and  on  the  24tli  at  7.42  p.m. 


C^tss  (ZEolumu. 

By    C.    D.    LococK,    b.a. 

-^ 

Communications  for  this  column  shoidd  be  addressed 
to  C.  D.  LococK,  Netherfield,  Camberley,  and  be  posted 
by  the  10th  of  each  month. 

Sjlutioiis  of  October  Problems. 

(VV.  Geary.) 

No.  1. 

1.  Kt  to  B5,  and  mates  next  move. 


264 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[No\'EMBER    1,   1900. 


No.  2. 

If  1. 
1. 
1. 
1. 

Key  move — 1.  K  to  Ksq. 

.  .  .  B  to  B5,        2.  Kt  to  Kt4 

.  .  .  P  to  B3,       2.  Q  io  QBcli 

.  .  .  P  to  K6,       2.  Q  to  Bficli 

.  .  Any  other,    2.  P  to  K3. 

[This  problem  has  been  much  and  deservedly  admired.'] 

CoKEFCT  SoLrTiONS  of  both  problems  received  from 
W.  de  P.  Crousaz,  H.  S.  Brandreth,  Alpha,  G.  A.  Forde 
(Capt.),  H.  Le  Jeune. 

Of  No.  1  only  from  J.  T.  W.  Claridge,  H  Boyes,  Major 
Nangle. 

H.  Bones. — In  reply  to  1.  K  to  B2,  Black  has  a  valid 
defence  in  I  ...  B  to  B5.  If  then  2.  P  to  K3,  BtoKt-1 ; 
or  if  2.  Kt  to  Kt4,  P  to  K6ch.     It  is  a  very  good  "  try." 

P.  A.  Cobbold  (Ontario). — Your  solutions  of  the  Sep- 
tember j^roblems  are  quite  correct.  Yes,  most  experienced 
solvers  make  use  of  the  diagram  only,  at  any  rate  for  two 
movers.  "Wlien  White  has  a  choice  of  moves  at  any  stage 
after  the  first  move  the  result  is  a  dual,  e.q.,  in  the  Sep- 
tember problem  (No.  2),  after  I.  P  to  Kt.5,  Kt  (K8) 
moves,  there  would  be  dual  mates  in  answer  to  four 
different  moves  of  the  Knight  if  the  Black  Rook  at  R8 
were  removed.  That  is,  there  would  be  four  duals.  A 
dual  on  the  first  move  is  generally  known  as  a  "  cook," 
and  of  course  ruins  the  j^roblem. 

Major  Nangle. — See  reply  to  H.  Boyes.  Many  thanks 
for  the  problem,  which  shall  be  examined  and  published 
if  sound. 

/.  J.  Allen. — Problem  received  with  thanks.  You  are 
jjerfectly  correct  with  regard  to  Mr.  Guudry's  problem  in 
the  June  number.  How  the  flaw  came  to  be  overlooked 
is  difficult  to  say. 

After  an  interval  of  thi'ee  or  four  months,  it  has  remained 
for  Mr.  J.  J.  Allen,  of  Calcutta,  to  point  out  a  flaw  in  Mr. 
W.  H.  Gundrv's  problem,  published  in  the  June  number. 
In  reply  to  l"  KtKt3,  Black  can  play  Q  to  QKtSch.  and 
there  is  no  mate.  It  is  very  strange  that  this  should  have 
escajied  the  notice  of  not  only  the  composer,  but  the  band 
of  regular  solvers,  to  say  nothing  of  the  Chess  editor.  As 
Mr.  Allen  suggests,  the  problem  may  be  rendered  sound 
by  placing  the  White  King  at  Kt2  instead  of  Ktsq, 


PROBLEMS. 
By  P.  G.  L.  F. 

No.  I. 

Black   (6). 


■     ■ 


tsi 


,//^''"      BSJ      "//''/'^ 


V/. 


V^/M^^ 


^ 


White  (7). 

White  mates  iu  two  moves. 


No.  2. 

Black  (9). 


m      ^m,„    ^m, mm. 


P 

■■'////■■  '\ 

i        v..      ^ 


m.      wma      WM      wm 

■      ®  5    I  ^ 
kk 


White  (4). 

White  mates  iu  three  moves. 


CHESS   INTELLIGENCE. 


I  omitted  to  state  last  mouth  the  result  of  the  tie 
for  the  first  three  prizes  in  the  Munich  Tournament. 
Maroczy,  after  losing  one  game,  retired  owing  to  ill-liealth, 
and  had  to  be  content  with  the  third  prize.  This  left 
Pillsbury  and  Schlechter  equal  first  and  second,  and  the 
tie-match  between  them  resulted  in  a  win  for  each,  and 
two  games  drawn  They  accordingly  divided  the  first  and 
second  ])rizes.  This  is  certainly  Herr  Schlechter's  finest 
performance  in  tournament  play.  He  seems  to  have  over- 
come to  a  great  extent  the  tendency  to  draw,  which  at  one 
time  earned  him  the  well-kno\v]i  title  of  the  "  drawing 
master,"  a  title  which,  by  the  way,  was  originally  held  by 
his  fellow-townsman,  Herr  Englisch. 

A  copy  of  the  third  edition  of  Mr.  Tames  Mason's 
"  Principles  of  Chess "  (Hoi-ace  Cox )  lias  been  sent  for 
review.  The  merits  of  the  book,  and  the  greater  portion 
of  its  contents,  are,  or  ought  to  be,  so  well  known  that 
little  more  than  the  fact  of  tlie  appearance  of  this  the 
latest  edition  need  be  mentioned.  It  has  been  revised 
and  enlarged  to  the  extent  of  327  pages-  The  appendix 
contains  some  interesting  exercises  on  stalemate,  the  fifty- 
moves  rule,  and  a  scheme  for  calculating  the  value  of 
drawn  games  in  tournaments.  Mr.  Mason's  plan  is  well 
known  to  readers  of  the  British  Chess  Magazine.  It  is 
based  on  the  jirinciple  that  won  games  should  count  1, 
drawn  games  0,  and  lost  games  —  ^.  This  would  to  a 
great  extent  abolish  the  nuisance  of  the  "accommodation  " 
draw,  for  a  drawn  game  would  api>roa.ch  iu  value  nearer 
to  that  of  a  lost  game  than  that  of  a  game  won.  Mr. 
Mason  has  advocated  this  reform  for  tlie  past  seven  years, 
so  far  without  success.  The  book  retains  its  former 
excellent  binding,  and  still  costs  only  half- a- crown. 
Evidently  it  will  never  become  out  of  date. 


For  Contents  of  the  Two  last  Numbers  of  "Knowledge,"  see 
Advertisement  pages. 


The  yearly  bound  volumes  of  Kkowledqe,  cloth  gilt,  8b,  6d.,  post  free. 
Binding  Cases,  Is.  6d.  each  ;  post  free.  Is.  9d. 

Subscribers'  numbers  bound  (including  case  and  Index),  23.  6d.  each  volume. 
Index  of  Articles  and  Dlustrations  for  1S91,  1892,  1894,  1895,  1896,  1897,  and 
1898  can  be  supplied  for  3d.  each. 
All  remittances  should  be  made  payable  to  the  Pubhsher  of  '*  Knowlupge." 


"Knowledge"   Annual    SabscFiption,  throaghout   the    world, 
7b.  6d.,  post  free. 

Commuuicatious  for  the  Editors  :nid  Books  tor  Review  should  be  addi'essed 
Editors,  "  Knowledge,"  326,  High  Holborn,  London,  W.C. 


Deiembkr  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


2()5 


ILLUSTRATED  MAGAZINE 

Founded  by  RICHARD    A.    PROCTOR. 


T.nXVON :    DECEMBER  1,   1900. 


CONTENTS. 

Editorial        

The  Karkinokosm,  or  World  of  Crustacea,-^ 
Crustacean  Nurseries.  By  the  Rev.  Thomas  R.  R. 
StBBBISO,  m.  v.,  F.H.S.,  P.L.S.,  F.Z.S.     (Illustrated) 

The  Evolution  of  Simple  Societies.  -  VI.— The  Revo- 
lution Effected  by  Corn.  By  Prof.  Aivked  C.  Hahdon, 
M..V.,  SC.D  .  r.R  s. 

The   Heart   ofDauphine.       By  Geenvii.lb   A.  J.   Cole, 

M.R.I. .4.,  F..i.?i.  ...  

The  Milky  Way  in  Cygnus.  Bv  Mi*.  Walter  MArNDKK 
(Illustrated)       "        

The  IVlilky  Way  in  Cygnus.     (Plate.) 

Letters : 

The   "CoLiiss'   Monoplane   Telescopk."      By  Kdwin 

Holmes.     Note  by  E  Walter  Maindeu     

The  Phase  OF  Vescs  seen  with  tuk  Naked  Eve. 

AVlLLIAM  Goddex  

"Dark  Markings  in  the  Solar  Corona."     liy  II 

Ji'ott;  by  E.  Walter  Maunder 
Rainbow  Phenomena.     By  S.  R.  Stawell  Brown 
LrNAB  Raisi'.ow.     By  Charles  L.  Buook 

British  Opnithological   Notes.     Conducted  by  Harrv  F 

WiTHBBBT,   F.Z.S.,    M.B.O.U.    ... 

Notices  of  Books  

Books  Ebceited        

Thomas  Henry  Huxley 

Wireless  Telegraphy. — V.     Practical  Work.     By 
I)E  TuNZELSIANN.  II. sc.     (Ilhislrater/) 

Microscopy.     By  John  H.  Cooke,  f.l.s.,  v.a.s. 

Notes  on  Comets  and  Meteors.  By  W.  F.  Denning,  f.b  a.s 
(Illr.itrateit)       

The  Face  of  the  Sky  for  December.  By  A.  Fowlee, 
F.S.A.8.      i  filti.itrate'l] 

Chess  Column.    By  C.  D.  Locock,  b.a 


PAOR 


2fil) 
L'6'.l 

J71 


liy 

w 

275 

275 
27(i 
276 

F. 

276 

277 

279 

279 

W. 

2S1 

2.S1. 

2Hr, 

286 
287 


EDITORIAL. 
Standing  on  the  threshold  of  a  new  century,  whose 
secrets  in  the  advance  of  science  have  yet  to  be  un- 
folded, the  humblest  worker  in  the  illimitable  field 
may  well  look  back  on  the  achievements  of  the 
nineteenth  century  with  admiration — perhaps  with 
awe — as  he  turns  his  face  hopefully  to  the  work  of  the 
twentieth  century.  A  hope  that,  as  in  past  so  in 
future  decades,  the  arm  of  science  may  be  lengthened 
by  the  force  of  master  intellects,  will  ur<^e  forward, 
and  not  deter,  the  humble  toiler  in  his  labours. 

One  of  the  pleasing  duties  attaching  to  our  position 
in  the  ranks  of  strenuous  enquirers  after  truth  is  that 
of  expressing  our  thanks  to  the  many  friends — ^readers 
and  writers  alike — who  have  aided  us  in  our  work 
during  the  past  year. 

In  making  our  customary  announcement  of  some 
of  our  projects  for  the  new  year,  it  is  with  pleasure 
that     we     note    an     increasing    popular    interest    in 


Astronomy.  In  this  connection  Mr.  .Maunder  jno- 
poses  to  continue  his  interesting  series  of  articles 
(in  '  Astronomy  without  a  Telescope  "  under  the 
title  of  "  Constellation  Studies."  These  articles 
will  be  illustrated  by  a  set  of  star  cluirts  and 
maps,  which  arc  being  special!)-  prepared  for 
Knowledge.  Arrangements  have  also  been  com- 
pleted with  some  writers  new  to  our  images,  who  will 
contribute  to  the  Astronomical  work  of  the  year. 
Among  these,  Prof  D.  P.  Todd,  Director  of  Amherst 
College  Observatory,  Massachu.setts.will  write  on  "The 
Construction  and  Working  of  a  Special  Instrument 
for  Eclipse  Photogra[)hy  "  ;  the  Rev.  A.  1..  Cortie, 
S.J.,  F.R.A..'^.,  on  Sunspots  ;  Prof  A.  W.  Hickerton,  of 
New  Zealand  Univcrsit)',  on  "  The  P^olution  of  the 
Solar  System  "  and  on  "  The  Evolution  of  the 
Gala.xy";  and  Mr,  Robert  Brown,  Jun.,  i.s.A.,  on 
"The  Constellation  P^igures  in  Greek  Coin  'P\  pes." 

We  hope  ta  publish  early  in  the  year  the  first  of  a 
short  series  of  illustrated  articles  on  "Waves,"  by  Mr. 
Vaughan  Cornish,  descriptive  of  his  investigations 
(luring  the  past  si.x  years  on  the  Chesil  Reach,  the 
Sand  Dunes  in  Egypt,  the  Goodwin  Sands,  and 
other  places.  These  articles  will  be  in  continuation 
cf  the  writer's  former  series  of  j^apcrs  on  "Waves," 
which  appeared  in  our  columns  some  years  since. 

Arrangements  have  also  been  completed  for  a 
series  of  six  articles  on  the  Insects  of  the  Sea,  by 
Mr.  G.  II.  Carpenter,  i'...sc.,  and  a  series  of  six  popular 
papers  on  P'lowering  Plants,  by  Mr.  R.  Lloyrl  Pracgcr, 
who  will  take  for  his  subjects  the  struggle  for  existence, 
])lant  dispersal,  and  the  flora  of  Ireland.  Mr.  R. 
L)(lekker,  F.  U.S.,  will  contribute  to  the  J  anuar)'  number 
an  illustrated  article  on  Monkey  Hand-prints,  to  be 
followed  by  a  paper  from  the  same  pen  on  the 
Identification  of  Individuals  by  means  of  Einger  Prints. 
The  Rev.  T.  R.  R.  .Stebbing,  F.R.S.,  has  promised 
to  write  on  some  singular  groups  of  Aiikropoda ; 
the  Rev.  J.  M.  Bacon,  M.A.,  F.R.A.s.,  on  "Storms  and 
.Storm  Clouds  as  Observed  from  a  Balloon,"  and 
"Bells  and  their  Value  as  Warning  Signals";  and 
Mr.  Plarry  V.  Witherby  will  recount  some  oi  his 
e.xperiences  in  a  recent  ornithological  expedition  to 
the  White  Xile. 

Contributions  in  Astronomy  are  also  jironn'scd  by 
Mr.  .A.  C.  D.  Cronmielin,  Mr.  John  Kvershed,  Mr.  A'. 
Prowler,  Mr.  J.  E.  Gore,  and  Prof  E.  C.  Pickering  ; 
and  on  Colour  Photography,  by  Mr.  II.  .Snowden 
Ward  ;  on  Rockall,  by  the  i-iev.  W.  .S.  (-ireen  ;  on 
Standard  Silver,  by  Mr.  iM'ncst  Smith  ;  and  in 
Geol(3g>-,  by  Prof  G.  A.  J.  Cole.  Mr.  W  V.  Denning 
continues  his  interesting  c(jlumn  on  "  Comets  and 
Meteors."  and  Mr.  Prowler  will  foretell,  as  heretofore, 
"The  Face  of  the  Sk)-"  month  by  month. 

p'ollowing  the  announcement  in  our  Chess  Column 
in  the  p'-e.sent  number,  Mr.  C.  P)  Locock  will  com- 
mence a  .Solution  Tourney  in  the  January  issue,  and 
we  hope  to  publish  original  articles  on  the  game  from 
the  pens  of  some  leading  players  during  the  year. 

We  have  also  arranged  with  Mr.  M.  [.  Cross,  the 
joint  author  with  Mr.  Martin  J.  Cole  of  the  well- 
known  "  Plandbook  of  Modern  Microscopy,"  to 
conduct  the  column  on  Practical  Microscopy  during 
the  year. 


266 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[Decembee  1,  1900. 


THE    KARKINOKOSM,    OR    WORLD    OF 
CRUSTACEA. 

By  tlie  Rev.  Thomas  R.  R.  Stebbing,  m.a.,  f.k.s.,  f.l.s., 
F.Z.S.,  Avthor  of  "  A  History  of  Cruatacea,"  "  The 
Naturalist  of  Cumhrae,"  "  JRepnrt  on  the  Aniphipoda 
collected  by  H.M.S.  '  Challenger,'  "  etc. 

CRUSTACEAN   NURSERIES. 

To  be  rocked  in  (lie  cradle  of  the  deep  is  tlie  lot  of 
many  juvenile  crustaceans,  and,  however  forlorn  it  may 
sound,  it  exactly  suits  their  constitution.  So  long  as 
the  brood  remain  attached  to  the  mother's  body,  on 
ti-unk  or  pleon,  on  back  or  front,  in  pouches  or  free,  in 
irregular  masses  or  shapely  packets  or  long  pendant 
strings,  varying  an-angements  of  the  maternal  organism 
or  mode  of  life  provide  for  their  health  and  welfare. 
But  upon  detachment,  whether  before  or  after  hatching, 
the  young  pass  out  of  the  mother's  care.  Sometimes 
the  separation  takes  place  under  such  circumstances 
that  the  mother  is  sure  to  be  dead  before  the  birthday 
of  her  offspring  arrives.  Obviously  in  the  intemiediate 
period  they  cannot  maintain  any  active  struggle  for 
existence.  Many  no  doubt  succumb,  without  ever  a 
chance   of   climbing  up   the   climbing   wave,   but   quite 


diately  closes."  Since  the  mother  herself  is  only  a 
sixtieth  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  how  powerful  a  micro- 
scope must  Pritchard  have  used  that  could  not  only  see 
into  the  maternal  consciousness,  but  could  also  discern 
that  the  infants  were  "  playing,"  that  they  had  a  sense  of 
approaching  peril,  and  that  they  knew  where  to  flee 
for  refuge  !  It  is  odd  that  the  reciprocal  affection  thus 
pleasingly  described  should  find  no  authentic  counter- 
part in  the  highest  ranks  of  the  Crustacea,  in  which  they 
might  have  been  perceived  with  some  less  exceptional 
instniment.  The  West  Indian  land-crabs  must  be  far 
above  any  entomostraca  in  intellectual  development,  and 
they  lay  their  eggs  in  the  sea,  thus  leaving  their  young 
ones  in  a  very  literal  sense  to  fish  for  themselves. 

We  speak  of  children  as  little  men  and  women,  and 
of  men  and  women  as  children  of  a  larger  growth. 
Between  cats  and  kittens  there  is  a  very  close  resem- 
blance. People  have  been  known  to  eat  lamb  niistaJfing 
it  for  mutton.  Therefore,  when  an  amphipod  comes  out 
of  the  egg  a  meek  and  miniature  copy  of  its  mother, 
that  seems  to  be  an  ordinai-y  and  regular  sort  of  per- 
formance. When  a  young  woodlouse  is  born,  a  casual 
observer  might  think  it  a  little  off  colour,  but  would 
probably  deem  it  much  like  its  parents  in  isopodan  shape 
and  structure,  overlooking  the  absence  of  its  last  pair  of 


A.  B.  c. 

Qnaihia  inaxillaris  (^iloniagw).    From  Sars.     A,  Male  ;  B,  Larva-    C  Female. 


enough  survive,  sheltered  in  safe  inglorious  mud,  to 
become  portions  and  parcels  of  the  fateful  future. 
Sometimes  the  young  have  habits  quite  different  from 
those  of  their  parents  and  of  necessity  live  apart.  Even 
where  the  display  of  maternal  care  and  affection  is 
not  physically  impossible,  it  can  be  little  needed  in  this 
extremely  prolific  class  of  animals,  and  the  records  of 
it,  which  are  partly  discredited  by  their  rarity,  cannot 
be  accepted  without  corroboration.  There  is  the  little 
globular  entomostracan  Chydorus  sphaericus  (Miiller), 
of  which  Dr.  Baird  says,  "  According  to  Pritchard,  the 
young  play  near  their  parent,  and  at  the  approach  of 
danger  swim  for  protection  within  the  shell  of  the 
mother,  which  she,  conscious  of  their  feebleness,  imme- 


legs  or  reckoning  the  want  of  two  legs  out  of  fourteen 
a  trivial  aritlnnetical  detail.  Nevertheless  between  the 
young  and  adult  of  a  crustacean  species  there  is  some- 
times so  gi-eat  a  difference  that  science  has  long  stumbled 
and  stammered  before  recognising  the  relationship.  To 
rear  a  species  from  the  egg  to  maturity,  under  obser- 
vation in  an  aquarium,  may  seem  a  facile  method  ior 
dealing  with  any  such  questions  of  affiliation.  The  mis- 
fortune is  that  the  foundlings  to  be  operated  on  are 
in  their  early  youth  often  of  a  very  delicate  constitution. 
Each  moulting  which  leads  them  out  of  one  shape 
into  another  is  a  crisis  in  their  existence.  Those  who 
bring  them  up  by  hand  must  find  out  what  temperature 
of  the  water  they   require,  what  amount  of  movement 


Decembss  1,  lUOO.j 


KNOWLEDGE. 


207 


in  it,  what  degree  of  saliuity,  how  much  light  or  shade 
they  need,  aud  what  sort  of  food  is  suitable  to  them 
ht  each  successive  stage.  They  must  be  isolated,  to 
prevent  confusion  with  other  species,  and  to  protect  them 
from  possible  enemies.  If  a,ll  the  varjMng  conditions 
of  their  existence  were  known  beforehand,  it  might  still 
be  impossible  to  reproduce  those  conditions,  but  fre- 
quently they  cannot  be  known  until  the  problem  de- 
manding solution  has  been  already  solved. 

Though  the  isopods  are  in  general  at  birth  nearly 
like  their  pai-ents,  there  is  a  remar-kable  exception 
supplied  by  the  family  of  the  Gnathiidas.  This  was  for 
a  long  time  split  up  into  two  families,  until  an  ingenious 
French  observer.  JI.  Eugene  Hesse,  at  last  convinced 
the  world,  including  even  his  opponents,  that  the  mother 
and  children  which  had  been  called  Praniza  were  verily 
wife  and  offspring  of  a  husband  and  father  called 
Gnathia.  Sometimes  the  young  of  this  genus  remain 
parasitic  on  fishes,  gorging  themselves,  until  the  time 
comes  for  the  greater  self-restraint  attending  the  remark- 
able structural  changes  which  discriminate  them  as 
males  and  females.  The  Cymothoida;  also  differ,  though 
less  strikingly,  in  the  virgin  and  mature  state. 

In  other  orders  many  genera  have  been  founded  on 
forms  now  clearly  undei-stood  to  be  immature.  Some 
crustaceans  pass  through  so  many  distinct  stages  that 
a  single  individual  may  belong  in  turn  to  several  of 
these  infantile  genera  before  it  becomes  a  veteran.  A 
crab,  for  example,  will  often  be  a  Zoea  and  then  a 
Megalopa  before  assuming  the  features  of  a  Cancer  or  a 
Carcinus,  or  whatever  its  full  grown  title  may  chance 
to  be.  In  the  luminous  Eupliauxia  seven  larval  stages 
demand  their  several  names  from  Xauplius  to  Cyrtopia. 
The  slender  shrimps  of  the  genus  Sergesies  have  had 
many  an  alias,  as  Acanthosoma,  Elaphocdris,  Sciacdris, 
Mastigopus,  which  remain  as  a  testimony  to  the  trouble 
they  have  given  zoologists  by  their  fickleness  of  form 
before  reaching  adult  life.  In  this  particular  genus 
Dr.  H.  J.  Hansen  has  by  cai'eful  examination  of  a 
very  large  collection  arrived  at  a  useful  result.  He 
finds  that  in  the  larvse  the  eye-stalks  are  almost  always 
long,  the  eyes  rather  or  very  large,  pallid  or  but 
partially  black,  and  more  or  less  fungiform  in  shape, 
whereas  in  the  adults  the  eye-stalks  are  rather  short, 
the  eyes  smaller  and  more  globular,  and  totally  black. 
The  young  have  dorsal  spines,  which  disappear, 
sometimes  indeed  from  the  older  larva;,  but  always  from 
the  adults.  Other  characters  are  available  for  connect- 
ing the  young  of  different  stages  and  different  species 
with  their  proper  brothers  and  sisters  and  parents. 

The  great  commercial  value  of  the  lobster  and  the 
obliging  affability  with  which  it  so  constantly  visits  the 
Scandinavian  and  Anglo-Saxon  varieties  of  mankind 
have  made  its  life-history  a  subject  of  successful  study. 
Quite  recently  (1898)  Mr.  J.  T.  Cunningham  has  pre- 
sented a  very  instructive  report  to  the  County  Council 
of  Cornwall  on  the  methods  and  difficulties  of  lobster- 
rearing.  Dr.  Herrick  in  his  valuable  book  on  the 
.^Vmerican  lobster  (1895)  explains  that  in  the  first  larval 
stage,  when  the  animal  just  escaped  from  the  egg- 
capsule  is  only  about  a  third  of  an  inch  long,  "  the 
body  is  segmented  as  in  the  adult  form,  the  most 
striking  characteristics  being  the  enormous  compound 
eyes,  the  conspicuous  rostral  spine,  the  spatulate  telson, 
and  the  biramous  swimming  appendages,  which,  from 
their  resemblance  to  the  permanent  swimming  organs 
of  the  Schizopods,  have  given  to  this  and  the  two  suc- 
ceeding forms  the  name  of  '  schizopod  larvse.'  "  There 
is   food   for   thought,   then,    in   a   baby   lobster.        For 


whereas  it  is  in  its  earliest  life  a  schizopod,  Euphausia, 
which  is  still  a  schizopod  when  adult,  passes  as  above 
mentioned  through  seven  simpler  stages  before  reaching 
maturity.  The  cnonnous  compound  eyes  are  precisely 
the  feature  in  the  juvenile  stage  of  crabs  on  which  the 
supposed  genus  Megalopa  was  founded  and  named.  The 
spatulate  telson  occurs  also  in  the  larval  shrimps.  The 
conspicuous  rostral  spine  is  not  confined  to  young 
lobsters,  but  is  a  character  which  numbers  of  young 
malacostracans  delight  to  display.  This  is  very  strik- 
ingly seen  in  the  zoea  of  our  common  ForccUana  longi- 


Zoea  longispina,  Dana.     Porcellaiiid  larva.     From  Dana. 

cornia  (Linn.),  and  equally  so  in  Dana's  Zoea  Inngii^pina 
from  the  Sooloo  Sea.  Dana  thought  that  his  species 
might  be  the  young  of  an  Erichthus,  it  not  being  known 
at  that  period  that  Erichthiia  is  itself  one  of  the  genera 
founded  on  the  young  of  the  Squillid;e.  It  seems 
probable  that  the  spikes  with  which  larval  crustaceans 
are  so  abundantly  furnished  form  a  defensive  armour 
against  foes  of  approximately  their  own  size.  The  glassy 
transparence  which  many  of  them  share  with  other 
animals  that  frequent  the  surface  of  the  sea  is  also 
likely  to  be  in  some  measure  protective.  Whether 
their  large  eyes  are,  as  the  wolf  said  to  little  Red 
Ridinghood,  "  the  better  to  see  you  with,  my  dear," 
seems  a  little  uncertain.  Either  for  escaping  enemies 
or  for  capturing  food  the  small  size  of  these  larval  forms 
and  their  limited  powers  of  locomotion  must  put  most 
of  them  much  at  the  mercy  of  chance,  making  it  rather 
disagreeable  than  otherwise  for  them  to  have  a  good  look 
at  the  unattainable  or  the  inevitable.  Perhaps  their 
eyes,  by  the  impression  they  receive  of  light  and  dark- 
ness, are  chiefly  adapted  to  warn  them  of  the  depth  of 
water  safest  for  occupation  at  different  parts  of  tho 
day.  But,  however  particular  points  of  structure  may 
be  explained,  the  predominant  interest  lies  in  the  dif- 
fusion of  the  same  structures  among  the  young  of  animals 
which  at  a  later  age  are  almost  violently  distinguished 
in  size  and  shape  and  habits  of  life.  Convergence  of 
characters  and  the  influence  of  environment  seem  in- 
adequate to  explain  these  phenomena,  if  we  exclude 
the  hypothesis  that  the  Crustacea  which  exhibit  them 
have  had  a  common  origin  and  a  slow  evolution  along 
many  divergent  lines  from  ancestors  of  very  simple 
structure. 

What  is  now  common  knowledge  as  to  the  meta^ 
morphoses  of  Crustacea,  at  an  earlier  part  of  this 
nineteenth  century  was  disputed  by  naturalists  of  re- 
markable eminence.  As  now  and  then  happens  in 
controversy,  those  who  opposed  the  truth  did  so  nob 
out  of  sheer  perversity  or  narrow-mindedness,  but  on 
the  facts  of  observation — only  not  enough  facts.  We 
have  noticed  that  a  lobster  leaves  its  egg-shell  as  a 
schizopod,  and  that  a  schizopod  proper  goes  through 
many  preliminary  stages  which  are  dispensed  with  in 
the  hatched  lobster.  It  is  conceivable,  therefore,  that 
larval  stages  which  are  conspicuous  in  one  set  of  crusta- 
ceans may  be  entirely  dispensed  with  in  another  set. 
This  is  what  really  occurs  in  some  of  the  land  crabs  and 
river  crayfishes,  and  it  was  from  these  exceptional 
forms    that    the    early   opponents    of   crustacean    meta- 


26S 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[December  1,  1900. 


morphosis  drew  their  conclusions.  The  sea  being 
the  natural  and  accustomed  nursery  of  the  lai-val  fomis, 
it  has  no  doubt  become  expedient  for  some  of  the 
colonists  of  land  and  fresh  water  to  have  young  ones 
which  needed  such  a  nursery  as  little  as  possible,  and 
which  in  some  way  got  over  their  critical  transfoniiations 
while  still  in  the  ovum.  The  latter  process  must  have 
its  merits,  since  it  is  adopted  bv  the  prosperous  order 


]£slheria  packardi,  Brady.     Naniiliu*. 

of  Amphipoda  wherever  they  happen  to  be  born,  which 
is  generally  in  the  sea. 

The  rearing  of  entomostraca  from  dried  mud  has 
enabled  Professor  Sars  to  trace  very  surely  the  develop- 
ment of  several  interesting  forms.  His  figures  here  re- 
produced of  the  first  larval  form  or  Nauplius  and  the 
fully-grown   female  of  Esflieria  packardi,   Brady,   from 


Esiheria  jjickardi,  Brady.      FuUy-growu  Female. 

Australia,  are  worth  compai-ing  with  those  of  his  own 
Brarichipodopiis  Jiodf/soiii  from  South  Africa.  The  two 
stages  being  the  same,  it  will  be  easily  seen  how  nearly 
alike      are     the     little     nauplii,     and     how      strangely 


Branchipodopsis  hod(i^om.  Sar.-.     Ovigerous  Fomalo. 

different   are   the   adult   females   of   these    Phyllopoda. 
The  term   nauplius.   now  so  extensively   applied   in   tiie 


class  Crustacea,  has  itself  an  interesting  history.  It 
was  originally  the  name  of  a  genus  invented  by  the 
illustrious  O.  F.  Miiller  for  some  tiny  Copepoda.  These 
were  really  the  young  of  Ci/rJii/m,  and  their  larval  char- 
acter had  been  already  pointed  out  by  Leeuwenhoek 
and  de  Geer.  But  they  were  so  unlike  their  parents 
that  Miiller,  so  far  from  believing  in  any  personal 
identity  of  the  young  and  adult  fonns,  would  not  allow 
Ihem  to  belong  to  the  same  genus.  It  has  been  .ex- 
plained on  an  earlier  occasion  how  the  connection  of 
the  cirripedes  with  other  groups  of  Crustacea  was  at 
length    established    bv    observation    of    the    young,    the 


Bi-anchipodopsis  hodt/soni,  Sars.     Nauplius. 

parents  having  carried  out  such  extensive  and  eccentric 
transmutations  that  for  ages  they  forfeited  the  honour 
of  belonging  to  the  karkiuokosm. 

There  is  still  one  group  of  juvenile  forms  which  must 
not  be  passed  over  in  silence.  With  it  we  may  fitly 
conclude  our  discursive  story  of  the  class  Crustacea. 
The  group  in  question  goes  for  the  present  under  the 
designation  of  PhyUosoma,  a  generic  name  meaning 
leaf-body.  But  these  laminar  organisms  doubtless 
belong  not  to  a  single  genus,  but  are  the  young  of 
many  species  distributed  over  several  genera  in  more 
than   one  family.     They   have   even   to   our   own   day   a 


X      \ 


Phi/lJosoma  laficorne.  Leach.  Giaut  Scjllarid  larva  from  New 
Guinea,  with  limbs  more  than  five  inehes  long.  Reduced  from 
(iuerin's  figure  in  the  Crustacea  of  the  voyage  of  ''  La  Coquille.' 

charm  of  mystery  clinging  around  them,  in  that  we  do 
not  too  well  know  their  parents,  only  we  know  that 
their  parentage  is  noble.  They  are  not  the  young  of 
insignificant  creatures,  but  of  macnirans  built  in  the 
grand  style,  the  giant  crawfishes  and  the  mother-lobsters, 
in  other  words,  of  the  Paliuuridte  and  the  Scyllaridie. 
To  be  sure,  in  these  at  maturity,  and  in  the  latter 
family  especially,  there  is  more  size  and  substance  than 
attractive  elegance  of  form.  But  the  difference  between 
crabbed  age  and  youth,  acting  as  a  fo'il,  by  contrast 
serves  to  enhance  the  delicate  bcautv  of  the  Phvllo- 
soma.     Although    not   gorgeous    in    colouring,    and    uot 


Dkcember  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


209 


tricked  out  in  wondrous  plumes,  the  Phyllosoma  group 
may  challenge  all  the  Crustacea  of  the  world  to  surpass 
them  iu  their  virgin  grace,  and  defy  the  glassworkers 
of  Venice  and  Muraiio  to  emulate  the  engaging  tender- 
ness of  their  exquisite  fabric. 


THE    EVOLUTION    OF    SIMPLE    SOCIETIES. 

By  Professor  Alfred  C.  Haudon,  m.a.,  sc.d.,  f.k.s. 

VI.— THE  REVOLUTION   EFFECTED    BY   CORN. 

In  a  straight  line  from  Acre,  after  passing  the  Jordan, 
and  the  two  ranges  of  mountains  that  enclose  it,  tiic 
traveller  enters  upon  an  immense  plain,  which  extends 
to  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris.  Only  that  portion  of  this 
plain  that  is  nearest  to  the  Jordan  is  cultivated,  this  is 
the  counti-y  of  the  Hauran ;  beyond  this  and  as  far  as 
the  Euphrates  it  is  merely  a  vast  steppe. 

The  country  of  the  Hauran,  being  immediately  con- 
tiguous to  the  steppe,  its  population,  like  the  B;ishkirs, 
are  peasants  evolved  from  p;ustors,  and  it  h;is  from  time 
immemorial  been  influenced  by  the  great  current  of 
pastors  traversing  the  steppes  of  Syria  and  Arabia. 

This  country  is  not  easily  cultivated,  for  it  is  not  easily 
irrigable.  Syria  and  the  neighbourng  districts  ai'e  sub- 
ject to  a  continuous  dryness,  owing  to  the  prevalent 
winds  blowing  from  the  deserts  of  Sahara  on  the  one 
hand,  and  those  of  Central  Asia  on  the  other.  During 
the  whole  of  the  summer  the  sky  is  cloudless.  Asia  Minor, 
with  an  area  five  times  that  of  France,  has  a  volume  of 
river-water  scaixely  exceeding  that  of  France.  No 
mountains  ai'e  raised  above  the  snow  limit;  scarcely  has 
snow  fallen  than  it  is  evaporated  in  the  pure  air  or 
melting  it  gives  rise  to  devastating  torrents.  The  suow, 
unlike  that  of  the  Alps  or  Pyrenees,  is  not  locked  up 
to  be  slowly  melted  for  the  irrigation  of  the  low-lj-ing 
lands  in  spring  and  summei-,  but  it  is  completely  lost  for 
cultivation. 

How  is  it  that  under  such  unfavourable  conditions 
these  people  have  been  constrained  to  transform  them- 
selves into  agriculturists? 

This  region  was  formerly  the  sole  route  between  the 
extreme  East  and  the  Mediterranean.  All  the  merchan- 
dise exchanged  between  China,  India,  Persia,  Assyria, 
and  Arabia  on  the  one  side,  and  the  peoples  of  the  basin 
of  the  Mediterranean  on  the  other,  had  to  pass  by  here — 
it  was  a  very  cross-roads  of  peoples.  Very  numerous  towns 
arose  not  only  on  the  banks  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates, 
like  Babylon  and  Ninevah,  but  throughout  Syria  and 
Phttnicia,  like  Tyre  and  Sidon,  and  even  in  the  middle 
of  the  desert,  like  Palmyra.  For  commei'ce  can  only 
be  carried  on  in  urban  centres. 

The  development  of  towns  by  the  agglomeration  of 
the  population  necessitated  a  more  intense  production 
than  that  of  the  steppe.  This  was  the  constraint,  the 
irresistible  interest,  which  forced  these  people  to  agri- 
culture. They  were  able  to  accomplish  this  evolution 
despite  the  obstacle  of  the  dryness  of  the  climate,  thanks 
to  the  financial  resources  supplied  by  commerce.  A 
very  costly  system  of  irrigation  was  created  to  supply 
the  natural  deficiency  of  water;  the  extent  of  the  ruins 
of  these  aqueducts  to-day  astonish  travellers.  When 
commerce  declined  in  this  part  of  the  world,  or  rather 
when  it  took  another  direction,  there  were  no  longer 
the  necessary  means  for  keeping  up  this  complicated 
system  of  irrigation,  and  the  town  and  fields  were  ruined, 
and  the  steppe  recovered  the  greater  part  of  the  soil. 
In  regions   where  irrigation  was  more  easy  cultivation 


was  maintained,  but  with  great  difficulty  and  in  a  pre- 
carious manner,  by  utilizing  the  ancient  canals.  Such 
was  the  case  of  the  Jlaurau. 

The  chief  town  of  the  Hauran  is  Busra  or  Bosira, 
the  Bosra  of  the  Bible ;  as  the  capital  of  Roman  Arabia 
it  acquired  great  importance  in  the  Grreeo-Roman  period. 
The  decadence  of  its  commerce  coiumenccd  with  the 
Musulman  invasion  of  Syria.  Still  nourishing  at  the 
time  of  the  Khalifs,  it  was  successively  ruined  in  the 
112th  century  by  a  volcanic  outburst,  in  the  1-1  Ih  centui*y 
by  the  conquerors  who  ravaged  Asia,  and  later  by 
periodic  incursions  of  nomad  Arabs.  To-day  tho  ruins 
of  Busra  occupy  an  extent  of  123.^  acres,  and  supjiort 
a  population  of  300  Musulman  inhabitants. 

The  cultivation  of  corn  results  in  a  social  revolution. 
Corn,  next  to  milk,  is  the  most  perfect  food-stuH,  but  the 
nutriment  is  contained  in  a  smaller  volume.  This 
concentration  of  nutriment  permits  of  great  accumular 
tions  of  people,  as  it  gives  in  a  small  space  tho  means 
of  feeding  a  considerable  population,  whilst  men  nour- 
ished on  milk  arc  obliged  to  disperse  themselves  over 
vast  spaces. 

Two  very  important  characteristics  of  corn  arc  that 
it  allows — (1)  Great  fac-ility  for  storage.  There  is  no  com- 
parison between  the  preservation  of  corn  and  that  of 
milk,  fish,  or  game.  Thus  the  pastor,  the  fisher,  and 
the  hunter  have  by  no  means  the  same  facility  for 
creating  riches  and  for  accumulating  tho  proceeds  of 
their  special  industry.  No  food  is  so  readily  stored 
as  com,  witness  the  famous  granaries  of  Egypt,  China, 
Italy,  etc.  This  facility  for  accumulation  permits  jarovi- 
dcut  people  to  possess  themselves  of  considerable  re- 
sources, since  they  are  not  obliged  to  consume  their 
harvest  within  a  short  period.  They  can  thus  capitalise 
their  pi'oducts.  (2)  Great  facility  for  exchange.  Com 
not  only  preserves  easily,  but  it  is  infinitely  divisible 
and  travels  well.  The  provident  can  utilise  it  for 
exchange,  and  by  commerce  can  become  rich.  It  is  worth 
while  to  consider  the  immense  effect  of  corn  in  history, 
Egypt  having  regular  harvests,  though  situated  between 
(wo  deserts.  The  growing  power  of  Russia  and  the 
Odessa  com  market,  and  the  enormous  cornfields  of 
North  America. 

The  cultivation  of  corn  necessitates  a  much  longer 
and  more  difficult  labour  than  that  of  garden  produce. 
Wheat  and  maize  especially  require  good  soil  and 
manure;  care  must  be  taken  to  select  the  best  time  for 
harvesting,  lest  the  corn  should  get  too  ripe,  and  the 
weather  must  be  carefully  watched.  The  harvest  must 
be  got  in  rapidly,  consequently  outside  help  must  be 
called  in.  AH  these  difficulties  and  complications 
necessitate  foresight,  skill,  and  promptitude. 

Corn  also  develops  and  complicates  methods  of  fabri- 
cation and  transport.  The  product,  like  rice,  is  not 
usually  consumed  in  the  state  in  which  it  is  gathered. 
First  the  grain  has  to  be  winnowed.  This  is  not  a 
matter  of  small  importance,  and  according  as  it  is  well 
or  badly  done  so  will  be  a  corresponding  difference  in 
tlie  return:  It  is  a  very  laborious  process.  The  four 
chief  methods  are:— (1)  Threshing  with  a  flail;  (2) 
trampling  by  horses;  (3)  husking  by  pressure  of  a  wheel 
drawn  by  cattle  or  horses;  (4)  the  threshing  machine. 
The  third  is  the  system  employed  by  the  Hauran.  The 
family  described  by  Le  Play  employed  not  less  than  ten 
pairs  of  oxen,  as  much  for  threshing  as  for  plougliing; 
1192  days'  work  of  men  and  animals  were  occui)ied  in 
ploughing,  and  .552  in  threshing. 

Com  has  to  be  ground  to  flour.  The  heavy  labour  of 
the  hand-mill    everywhere   falls   naturally   to   the   lot  of 


270 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[December  1,  1900. 


women.  As  flour  does  not  keep  so  well  as  com  it  is 
better  to  grind  it  when  it  is  required.  In  the  household 
of  Odysseus  "  at  these  hand-mills  twelve  women  in  all 
were  wont  to  bestir  themselves  making  meal  of  barley 
and  of  wheat,  the  marrow  of  men,"  and  we  find  it  termed 
"  cruel  toil  to  grind  the  barley-meal."  Le  Play  cites  a 
family  of  Russian  peasants,  composed  of  twelve  persons, 
where  the  young  women  are  obliged,  in  order  to  satisfy 
the  needs  of  the  community,  to  devote  each  year  100 
days  of  labour  at  grinding  cereals. 

The  flour  has  to  be  kneaded  and  then  cooked,  also 
heavy  work  that  has  to  be  done  by  the  women,  for  it  is 
only  when  there  is  an  agglomeration  of  people  that  it 
becomes  a  distinct  industry  practised  by  men.  Tinily  is 
bread  gained  by  the  sweat  of  the  brow.  No  wonder 
that  constraint  is  necessary  to  make  pastoi'al  peoples 
devote  themselves  to  agriculture. 

Agriculture  requires  numerous  buildings  and  new 
implements.  The  fixed  house,  hay-loft,  stable,  cattle- 
sheds,  which  horticulture  impose,  no  longer  suffice.  There 
is  now  required  a  bai-n,  threshing-floor,  hand-,  water-,  or 
wind-mills,  kneading  trough,  oven,  vehicles,  and  grana.- 
ries.  Compare  the  vast  extent  of  prairies  and  small 
amount  of  gear  requisite  for  a  pastoral  people,  or  the 
large  acreage  and  small  population  required  by  a 
grazing  farm  with  the  buildings  and  equipment  of  an 
agricultural  farm. 

The  cultivation  of  corn  leads  to  an  important  develop- 
ment of  transport.  To  make  the  most  of  every  precious 
minute  at  harvesting  there  should  be  good  roads ;  but 
the  maintenance  of  roads  is  always  a  difficulty,  thus  in 
the  Hauran  corn  is  usually  transported  on  the  backs 
of  animals  in  sacks  made  by  the  Beduin  women  of  wool 
and  goats'  hair.  A  family  that  hai'vests  ten  tons  of 
corn  employs  in  order  to  transport  it  120  days'  work 
of  men  and  1640  days'  work  of  beasts.  The  corn  has 
to  be  carried  from  the  fields  to  the  granaries,  and  thence 
to  the  markets  of  Damascus  or  Acre. 

This  mode  of  life  forces  the  families  to  be  completely 
sedentai-y.  The  peasants  of  the  Hauran  still  have 
numerous  flocks,  as  they  are  on  the  confines  of  the 
steppes ;  but  they  do  not  gi-aze  them  themselves,  they 
confide  them  to  the  neighboui-ing  Arabs,  who  still  remain 
nomads.  It  is  not  without  regret  that  they  definitely 
renounce  the  pastoral  life.  The  great  Arab  families 
settled  on  their  lands  or  on  Syrian  towns  glory  in  their 
descent  from  tribes  still  nomadic.  They  send  their  adult 
sons  to  pass  several  years  with  these  tribes,  in  order  to 
gain  prestige. 

Property  in  land  tends  to  become  more  and  more 
permanent  as  cultivation  increases.  As  the  available 
land  is  so  extensive  the  family  from  year  to  year  can 
put  new  land  under  cultivation.  Tacitus  tells  us  that 
the  ancient  Germans  were  in  precisely  the  same  con- 
dition. 

The  traditions  of  the  former  nomad  life  are  very 
noticeable  in  the  character  and  limitation  of  the  house- 
hold utensils.  The  furniture  of  the  rooms  is  confined  to 
some  boxes  and  chests  in  which  are  the  valuables  and 
the  mattresses  and  nigs.  The  hearth  is  small  and 
portable ;  butter,  milk,  and  water  ai'e  kcjat  in  goat- 
skinii. 

The  cultivation  of  coni  tends  to  limit  the  number  of 
proprietors.  Agriculture  by  becoming  prolonged,  more 
complicated,  and  more  expensive,  requires  more  ex- 
ceptional capacities.  In  these  societies,  where  external 
government  rarely  intei-venes  to  protect  the  peojole 
against  the  attacks  to  which  they  ai-e  exposed  on  the 
part  of  their   nomadic  neighbours,   it   is   to   everyone's 


interest  to  form  part  of  the  community.  Hence  the  in- 
capable are  absorbed  by  the  capable — they  enter  into 
their  families.  These  new  members  are  not  servants, 
they  are  associates,  and  form  part  of  the  community. 
They  are  treated  as  members  of  the  family,  and  may 
maiTy  a  daughter  of  the  house,  in  which  case  they  need 
not  pay  a  dowry. 

The  cultivation  of  com  does  not  necessarily  modify 
the  organisation  of  the  family,  it  remains  patriaixhal. 
The  gi'eatest  difficulty  that  can  arise  is  when  the  family 
grows  too  big  for  the  resources  of  the  land ;  but  this 
does  not  affect  the  peasants  of  the  Hauran. 

Trade  develops.  Corn  is  a  product  easy  to  accumulate 
and  exchange.  The  families  readily  acquire  the  habit 
of  selling  their  surplus  and  of  piuxhasing  food  and  other 
things.  Thus  the  families  of  the  Hauran  begin  to  buy 
at  Damascus  and  elsewhere,  rice,  which  they  eat  as  a 
treat,  olive  oil,  various  legumes  which  do  not  grow  in 
their  country,  spices,  sugar,  coffee,  etc.,  wooden  boxes, 
some  earthenwai'e  or  iron  pots,  various  household 
utensils,  a  few  books,  especially  copies  of  the  Koran, 
ink,  pens,  and  paper.  What  a  transformation  has 
occurred  from  the  pastoral  life.  The  families  content 
themselves  less  and  less  with  what  they  produce  them- 
selves ;  they  become  partly  dependent  upon  merchants, 
they  are  subject  to  the  fluctuations  of  the  market.  The 
buying  of  books  and  of  writing  materials  is  a  sign  of 
another  important  modification. 

Intellectual  studies  are  developing  and  the  teaching 
takes  place  more  and  more  outside  the  family.  Agri- 
cultural families  feel  the  need  of  certain  elementary 
knowledge  such  as  reading,  writing,  and  ai'ithmetic, 
especially  in  relation  with  their  trade.  How  for  want 
of  a  little  elementai-y  knowledge  the  Mongols  are  fleeced 
by  the  Chinese  traders  ! 

Among  the  Hauran,  unlike  the  Bashkirs,  the  functions 
of  the  schoolmaster  are  separated  from  those  of  the 
priest,  a  further  step  in  specialisation.  The  scholastic 
organisation  is  still  quite  rudimentary.  When,  in  a 
village  of  Hauran,  a  certain  number  of  young  men  wish 
to  learn  to  read  and  write,  a  teacher  is  procured  from 
Damascus.  Thus  in  each  community  there  is  usually 
at  least  one  person  who  can  read,  write,  and  cipher. 
The  peripatetic  instructor  of  the  Haui-an  and  the  settled 
teacher  of  the  Bashkirs  are  the  two  types  which  persist 
through  all  societies.  It  is  characteristic  that  they 
learn  to  read  the  Koran,  and  the  instruction  is  always 
exclusively  religious.  Where  the  idea  of  the  family  pre- 
dominates and  the  spirit  of  tradition  reigns,  instruction 
is  confined  to  domestic  and  traditional  religion.  They 
fortify  one  another. 

The  sedentary  life  brings  into  contact  families  pro- 
fessing different  religions.  In  the  Hauran,  Greek  and 
Roman  Christians  live  side  by  side  with  the  Musulmans 
who  form  the  bulk  of  the  population,  and  who  are 
tolerant  in  their  relations  with  Christians.  This 
tolerance  is  due  to  the  patriaixhal  habit.  Religion  is 
almost  solely  a  family  affair.  Public  religion  does  not 
exist,  there  are  no  Musulman  clergy.  The  sanctity  of 
each  family  is  respected. 

The  complications  of  neighboiu'hood  mainly  ar'ise  from 
antagonism  between  the  nomads  and  the  sedentary ; 
partly  a  question  of  superiority,  partly  duo  to  the  en- 
croachment of  cultivation  upon  the  steppe.  The  pastors 
make  raids  upon  reclaimed  land.  The  peasants  of  Busra 
are  obliged  each  evening  to  drive  their  cattle  into  an 
immense  fort,  built  at  the  time  of  the  Khalifs  for  this 
same  purpose. 

It   is   interesting   to   note   how   the   public   executive 


December  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


271 


ai-ise«  in  a  populatiou  which  the  Tm-kish  Goveriuuent 
is  powerless  to  protect.  The  defenders  of  the  public 
peace  are  the  very  people  who  mcuace  it.  Each  year 
every  sheik  has  to  make  treaties  with  the  various  nomad 
tribes  iu  his  vicinity,  and  engages  to  pay  a  lax  called 
el  i/nii,  "  the  brotherhood,"  the  tribe  thus  becomes  "  the 
sister,"  tl  uktii,  of  the  village.  The  sheik  of  the  tribe 
undertakes  to  respect  the  harvests,  flocks,  and  possessions 
of  the  peasants.  The  tax  varies  every  year.  The  in- 
habitants of  Busra  pay  about  £125  annually  to  seven 
tribes.  It  was  thus  the  Ivonians  acted  in  regard  to  the 
barbai'ians  when  they  could  not  repel  them ;  they 
assigned  territories  to  them  ujion  the  frontiers,  paid 
them  a  tax,  set  them  against  other  barbarians,  and  dis- 
guised this  impotence  by  describing  them  under  the 
pompous  title  of  "  Friends  and  Allies  of  the  Roniiui 
People." 

These  series  of  ai-ticles  may  be  concludeU  by  giving 
M.  E.  Demolins'  summary  of  the  social  revolution  accom- 
plished by  agricultm'e  :  — 

Corn  is  the  necessary  element  for  large  agglomerar 

tions  of  men,  for  complicated  societies. 
It  develops  commerce  and  riches. 
It    modifies    and    complicates    the    conditions    of 

cultivation. 
It  develops  manufactures  and  transport. 
It  imposes  on  women  their  hardest  work. 
It   transforms    horses    from    steeds    into    beasts    of 

burden  and  draught. 
It   brings    about    the    complete   substitution    of    a 

sedentary  life  for  a  nomad  existence. 
It  renders  the  appropriation  of  the  soil  more  per- 
manent. 
It   further   tends   to    restrict   the    number    of  pro- 
prietors. 
If  it  does   not   essentially   modify    the   patinarclial 
family  it  makes  its  working  more  difficult,  and 
leads     to    a     selection    among     the     heads    of 
families. 
It  causes  the   families  to  be   less   necessaxily   self- 
sufficing  and  to   be  more   dependent  on   com- 
merce. 
It  develops  intellectual  culture. 

It  brings  about  a  more  frequent  and  intimate  con- 
tact  between    families    belonging    to    different 
beliefs  and  admits  of  the  contact  of  dissidents. 
It  complicates  the  relations  of   neighbourhood   by 

bringing  residents  and  nomads  face  to  face. 
Lastly,    it    necessitates    a   greater    development   of 
government. 


THE    HEART    OF    DAUPHINE. 

By  Grenville  A.  J.  Cole,  m.r.i.a.,  f.g.s.,  Professor  of 
Geology  in  the  Royal  College  of  Science  for  Ireland. 

The  traveller  may  leave  the  busy  line  that  thunders 
with  the  trains  from  Paris  to  Tuiin,  may  step  into  the 
Piedmont  highlands  at  the  little  station  of  Oulx,  and 
there,  doubting  if  he  is  in  France  or  Italy,  may  walk 
up  ten  miles  to  the  col  at  Mont^Genevre.  The  road 
climbs  above  the  vegetation  of  the  valley,  high  upon 
the  talus  of  the  hills;  the  rocks  i-ise  in  crags  and 
pinnacles,  the  outposts  of  a  weird  and  broken  region  to 
the  south,  where  the  canons  lie  brown  and  bare  below 
him,  like  a  scene  in  rainless  Colorado.  But  at  the  pass 
he  finds  the  patch  of  Alpine  mejulows,  the  chalets  with 
their  overhanging  eaves,  and  the  little  inn  with  that 
hospitable  inscription,  a  true  motto  of  the  frontier,  "  Le 


soleil  luit  pour  louL  lo  uioudc."  Ou  his  left  stands 
Fort  Janus,  grim  u])on  its  limestone  crag;  but  his  eyes 
look  beyond  it,  to  where,  in  llie  west,  a  serrated  mass  of 
snow-peaks  towers  in  the  middle  air. 

The  stranger  thinks  of  his  map  of  Europe,  but  still 
;usks  himself,  "What  ai'e  these  T'  If  ho  is  one  of  the 
few  thousands  who  honestly  believe  Mont  Blanc  to  be 
in  Switzerland,  he  is  all  the  moro  surprised  and  fas- 
cinated. He  is  facing  France,  a  land  of  plains  and 
plateaux;  what  ai'o  these  giants  that  arise  autl  bar  his 
progress  ? 

We  ai'e,  in  fact,  nearing  the  granite  knot  of  Dauphine, 
that  self-contained  group  of  Alpine  summits  known  as 
the  massif  of  tlio  Pclvoux.  It  is  an  incident  on  the 
great  curve  of  the  Western  Alps,  which  runs  from  Nice 
to  Chamouix ;  the  Grandes  Mousses,  the  mountains 
of  Modanc,  the  Grande  Sassiere,  and  the  Ruitor,  all 
traversing  the  snow-line,  connect  the  Pelvoux  with  the 
massif  of  Mont  Blanc.  The  axis  of  the  range  then  bends 
eastward,  giving  us  the  Matlcrhorn  and  Monte  Rosa. 

The  summits  of  the  Pelvoux  are  by  no  means  to  be 
desjjised.  Some,  at  least,  of  our  own  climbers  have  made 
their  mark  upon  them,  and  the  fact  is  recorded  by  the 
"  abri  Tuckett "  and  the  "  Pic  Coolidge  "  on  the  maps 
of  the  French  Government.*  La  Barrc  des  Ecrins,  with 
its  4103  metres  (13,400  feet),  the  beautiful  peak  of  the 
Mcijet  (3987  metres),  the  Pelvoux  itself  (3954  metres), 
give  us  some  idea  of  the  dignity  of  the  mass.  Like  most 
of  the  giants  of  the  Alpine  chain,  tiicse  owe  their  pro- 
minence to  the  intrusive  granite  which  has  consolidated 
the  mountain  core,  binding  together  the  old  schists  into 
which  it  penetrates,  and  weathering  out  ultimately  into 
pink-brown  pinnacles  and  spires. 

Wo  see  something  of  the  inner  structure  of  the  massif, 
if,  approaching  it  from  the  west,  we  leave  the  stratified 
hillsides  of  Bourg-d'Oisans,  and  enter  the  first  gi-im 
ravine.  The  route  nationale  from  Grenoble  to  Briau9on 
here  attacks  the  mountains  by  the  deep  channel  of  the 
Romanche.  The  huge  jsrecipices  give  us  sections  that 
are  more  convincing  than  the  cleai'cst  diagrams  of  a 
lecture-room.  The  schists  and  gneisses  are  seen  to  be 
traversed  by  p;Uo  veins  of  granite  and  aplite.|  Many 
of  the  old  rocks  may  have  been  crystalline  at  the  time 
of  this  intrusion  ;  but  the  intimate  penetration  of  the 
granite  among  them  has  converted  many  of  the  milder 
types  also  into  gneiss.  The  white  veins  of  the  invader, 
conspicuous  on  the  cliff  that  rises  from  the  torrent,  form 
bands  many  feet  across;  the  fragments  that  may  be 
picked  up  from  the  surface  of  the  road  show  the  same 
features  in  miniature,  and  beai-  witness  to  the  complete- 
ness of  the  intermingling.  Wherever  the  schists  are 
thus  seamed  with  igneous  matter  rich  in  silica,  the  main 
mass  of  the  Pelvoux  granite  lies  at  no  great  distance 
from  us. 

We  look  up,  and  see  green  meadows,  and  the  remote 
hamlet  of  Auris,  occupying  the  very  summit  of  the  cliff. 
Here  the  Mesozoic  strata  lie  across  the  upturned  edges 
of  the  schists;  and  patches  and  infolds  of  them,  Trias 
and  Lias  for  the  most  part,  occm-  even  in  the  massif 
of  the  Pelvoux.     Though  attained  only  by  zig-zag  mule- 


*  CooliAge,  Alpine  Journal,  Vol.  V.,  p.  128;  Tol.  VII.,  p.  136; 
Vol.  IX.,  p.  121 ;  F.  Gardiner,  ibid.,  Vol.  VII.,  p.  80. 

+  First  climbed  by  M.  Castlonau  ;  see  Alpine  Journal,  Vol.  VIIT., 
p.  .328.  On  its  dillicidtios  and  general  cbaracter.s,  see  H.  0-.  Gotch, 
lAirf.,  Vol.  VIII.,  p.  177. 

X  Compare  W.  ICiliiui,  "  .41pei  dii  Dauphine  cfcMout  lilanc,"  p.  22, 
and  M.  P.  Tenniur,  "Massif  du  Pelvoux  et  Briancjonnais,  pp.  12,  21, 
&c.  (Livret-guido  des  excursions  en  France  du  viiie.  eongris  geol. 
internat,  1900). 


272 


KNOWLEDGE 


[December  1,  1900. 


tracks,  these  valued  relics  ai'e  eagerly  seized  ou  by  the 
peasantry.  It  must  be  a  source  of  much  amioyance  to 
know  that  the  great  suow-field  of  Mont-de-Lans  covers 
similar  stratified  rocks,  which  have  been  raised  too  high 
even  for  tire  industry  of  a  Frenchman. 

The  road  that  we  have  selected  climbs  onward  to 
La  Grave  in  a  valley  of  impressive  barrenness.  The 
gorge  of  Gondo  on  the  Simplon  Pass  possesses  many 
similar  features ;  but  here  the  continuous  rock,  the 
jutting  spurs  without  a  sign  of  vegetation,  the  huge 
fallen  rocks,  unsoftened  by  moss  and  even  unflecked  by 
lichens,  force  on  us  a  growing  sense  of  desolation. 
Nothing  now  remains,  as  we  leave  the  hamlet  of  Le 
Dauphin,  but  schist  and  granite,  the  mica  gleajiiing  on 
the  fractured  sur-faces,  the  white  veins,  cold  and  dead, 
making  streaks  upon  the  great  rock-walls.  High  up  on 
the  right,  three  or  four  little  tongues  of  ice  creep  over 
from  the  unseen  plateau;  in  front  of  us,  a  huge  bare 
crag  glows  crimson,  answering  the  sun  that  already  has 
set  beyond  Grenoble.  Then  the  darkness  grows ;  the 
cliffs  become  black,  save  for  the  foaming  bands  of  half- 
seen  water-slides  and  falls;  we  push  through  lengthy 
tunnels,  and  both  hear  and  feel  the  moisture  dripping 
through  the  clefts ;  then  we  emerge  again,  as  from  a 
tomb,  into  a  world  where  nothing  seems  alive. 

Suddenly  this  world  changes;  the  edges  of  the  ice 
above  us  become,  as  it  were,  translucent,  tinged  with  a 
green  light  from  behind;  ou  our  left,  the  upper  half 
of  the  precipices  stands  out,  evei-y  crag  and  scar 
revealed ;  while  across  our  path,  and  ou  the  nearer 
taluses,  the  blackness  seems  to  deepen,  for  we  are  still 
far  down  in  the  ravine,  lost  in  the  shadow  of  the 
Pelvoux.  But  the  moon  is  rising,  full  and  clear  across 
the  snows;  already  the  light^shafts  cross  the  valley, 
bor-ne  upon  the  tiny  globules  of  the  mist,  which  is  too 
thin  to  be  otherwise  apparent;  the  triangular  dark 
spaces  left  between  these  luminous  bars  are  the  air- 
shadows  of  the  unseen  crests. 

Mile  by  mile,  we  near  the  close  of  the  ravine,  where 
a  series  of  overfolded  and  repeated  Mesozoic  strata  forms 
a  grass-clad  region,  leading  away  to  the  Col  du  Lautaret, 
2075  metres  (6806  feet)  above  the  sea.  Near  the  hospit> 
able  village  of  La  Grave, §  the  peaks  of  the  granite  mass 
come  into  view  upon  the  right;  the  moon  seems  poised 
for  a  moment  on  the  very  summit  of  the  Meije,  her  disc 
intensely  brilliant  in  the  blue-black  of  an  Alpine  sky. 
The  great  snow-basins,  and  the  glaciers  oozing  from 
them,  form  mysterious  white  masses,  clinging  to  the 
highest  slopes.  The  long  Combe  de  Malaval  is  over, 
and  the  heart  of  Dauphine  is  gained. 

Next  morning,  in  the  cloudless  sunlight,  we  can 
appreciate  the  contrast  between  the  Jurassic  strata  of 
this  pastoral  upland  and  the  granite  mass  of  the  high 
Alps.  The  former  consist  largely  of  dai-k  and  shining 
shales,  with  intercalated  bauds  of  limestone;  where  thev 
are  squeezed  up  almost  to  the  snow-line,  they  appear 
coal-black  under  the  white  fields  and  the  translucent 
masses  of  tlie  ice.  The  storms  of  rain,  intense  at  these 
high  altitudes,  have  cai'ved  gullies  in  them,  irrespective 
of  their  bidding,  much  like  the  channels  cut  in  soft  clay 
at  ordinary  levels.  Above  them,  the  granite  forms  a 
number  ol  peaks,  w'hich  long  defied  the  climbers,  with 
flanking  riii/iii'ne>:,  such  as  one  sees  on  the  Diasxif  of 
Mont  Blanc. 

While  the  Mont  Blanc  range  is  an  elongated  mass  of 
granite,  penetrating  the  schists,  absorbing  and  including 
them,  and  exposed  over  a  distance  of  40  kilometres,  the 

§  Vorv  dillerent  from  the  La  GraTe  doscribecl  by  explorers  thirty 
years  ago. 


Pelvoux  mass  is  an  almost  circular  knot,  15  to  20 
kilometres  across,  and  perhaps  only  the  crest  of  a  far 
larger  subterranean  dome.  In  both  cases,  the  granite 
has  been  brought  to  light  by  the  movements  that  cul- 
minated in  Miocene  times,  while  Jurassic  strata  have 
been  caught  up  on  the  flanks  in  the  form  of  deep  or 
recumbent  synclinals,  formed  dimng  the  crumpling  of 
the  rocks  that  lay  below. || 

The  ascent  to  the  Col  du  Lautaret  from  La  Grave 
thus  shows  us,  far  below  upon  cm-  right,  a  valley  worn 
in  the  softer  rocks,  extending  far  into  the  massif,  and 
then  closed  abruptly  against  the  broad  Glacier  of  Arsine. 
A  stream,  the  upper  jjart  of  the  Romanche,  has  laid  hold 
of  this  weak  band  of  overfolded  strata,  and  has  produced 
a  valley  3000  feet  in  depth.  The  products  of  erosion 
are  thrown  out  in  a  pretty  delta  against  the  meadows 
of  Villar  d'Arene.  The  granite  on  the  east  side  of  this 
Mesozoic  infold  is  forced  up  by  the  earth-pressures  until 
it  overlies  the  Trias,  which  in  turn  rests  on  Liassic 
limestone ;  we  now  know  that  such  inversions  of  the 
natural  order  are  a  frequent  feature  of  mountain-chains. 
This  deep  synclinal  between  two  gi'anite  masses,  forming 
the  upper  valley  of  the  Romanche,  has  its  counterpai-t 
in  the  glorious  Allee  Blanche  luider  the  Italian  aiguilles 
of  Mont  Blanc. 

To  the  east  of  the  Col  du  Lautaret,  the  characters  of 
the  Alpine  foot-hills  reappear.  The  brown  limestone 
crag  of  the  Grand  Galibier  reminds  us  of  Tyrol ;  the 
mountains  about  the  foi-tress  of  Briaujon,  to  which  we 
now  descend,  have  their  counteiiDarts  in  the  southern 
Juras.  A  band  of  Coal-Measures  comes  up  in  their 
midst,  much  broken  and  displaced ;  it  is  the  same  as 
that  which  contains  beds  of  gi'ajjhite  on  the  Little  St. 
Bernard,  and  which  can  be  traced  north-eastward  right 
into  the  valley  of  the  Rhone. 

We  now  join  the  Durance,  one  of  the  most  vehement 
of  Alpine  streams.  The  whole  region  bears  witness 
to  disastrous  denudation.  A  few  wet  days  in  August 
of  the  present  year  converted  it  in  places  into  a  mere 
wilderness  of  stones.  Already,  as  we  come  down  from 
the  Lautaret,  we  find  one  of  the  long  tunnels  broken 
into  by  a  stream,  and  choked  with  debris  from  the  moun- 
tains. A  little  further  on,  when  we  have  traversed  the 
rough  track  constructed  on  the  outside  of  the  tunnel, 
we  find  huge  blocks  deposited  ou  the  crown  of  a  bridge, 
which  lia.s  naturally  given  way  beneath  them.  The 
former  stream-hollow  has,  however,  become  filled  by  a 
land-slide,  and  is  thus  not  difficult  to  cross.  Down  below 
Brian^on,  similar  havoc  has  been  wrought  on  the  surface 
of  the  broad  dctrital  cones,  which  everywhere  mark  the 
entry  of  the  lateral  streams  on  the  main  valley  of  the 
Durance.  The  villages,  like  those  of  Karinthia,  are 
commonly  built  on  the  summit  of  these  cones,  which 
spread  out,  in  huge  shifting  fans,  on  either  side  of  their 
main  axes.  Wooden  groins,  like  those  set  to  control  the 
movements  of  sea-beaches,  are  constructed  in  the  more 
dangerous  portions  of  the  cones ;  here  and  there,  the 
movement  of  the  surface  has  broken  them  across,  while 
the  pebbles  have  poured  through  and  over  them  like 
a  flood.  The  country  is  one  in  which  denudation  can 
be  felt;  the  very  fields  of  the  peasantry  way  disappear 
into  the  Durance,  or  may  be  buried  in  an  hour  beneath 
an  oozing  stream  of  stones. 

The  older  alluvium  of  the  valley,  in  which  ravines 
have  been  carved  by  the  modern  action  of  the  streams, 
still  projects  in  patches  from  the  mountain-walls ;  many 
of  these  masses  of  mud  and  gravel  are  the  relics  of 
ancient  and  majestic  land-slides.     The  road  has  to  be 

II  Termier,  op   cif.,  p.  20. 


Decembek  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


273 


cut  along  vertical  cliffs  of  what  seems  the  most 
tiTacherous  material,  xiutil  it  can  find  a  firmer  hold  ou 
the  Jurassic  or  Cretaceous  rock  beyond. 

Some  of  the  old  pebbly  alluvium,  however,  has  become 
consolidated  as  a  firm  couglomcrate,  browu  and  massive, 
breaking  now  into  huge  rectangular  blocks.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  believe  that  this  rock  is  of  about  the  same  age 
as  our  glaciaJ  gi'avcls  in  the  British  Isles.  It  forms 
solid  platlorms  in  the  valley,  on  one  of  which  the  town 
of  Embrun  stands ;  ou  another,  still  more  imposing, 
the  fortress  of  Mont  Dauphin  has  been  piled.  This 
conglomerate  has  its  analogue  in  the  beds  that  once 
choked  the  Alpine  streams,  as  tliey  emerged  on  Bavaria^I 
or  on  the  plain  of  Italy. 

The  decay  of  Dauphine  under  the  tremendous  battery 
of  its  storms  is  aided  by  the  nature  of  the  Mesozoic 
rocks  themselves.  All  down  the  valley  of  the  Durance, 
a  large  part  of  these  consist  of  black  shales,  nearly 
as  hard  as  slate,  which  yet  crumble  up  into  mere  flaky 
powder  when  exposed.  In  these  beds,  the  occasional 
thin  bands  of  yellowish  limestone  alone  mark  the  strati- 
fication. Being  much  contorted,  they  run  like  conven- 
tional streaks  of  lightning  across  the  uniform  blackness 
of  the  shales,  surprising  us  again  and  again  by  their 
evidence  of  the  original  structm'e  of  the  mass.  In 
between  them,  and  often  involving  them  in  decay,  the 
shale  weathers  down  like  a  mere  rubbish-heap  exjiosed 
to  the  wash  of  I'ain.  Characteristic  little  cirques  are 
worked  out,  by  the  union  of  the  rivulets  that  occur 
during  storms  and  rapidly  die  away  again.  Each  group 
of  these  rivulets  terminates  in  a  common  channel  below, 
and  the  rock-mass  between  two  adjacent  channels  in  time 
comes  to  stand  out  like  a  steep  conical  earth-pillar  or  bluff. 
Whole  hillsides  are  cut  up  into  these  pillars  or  earth- 
pyramids,  as  if  the  material  was  some  superficial 
moraine,  instead  of  the  rock  that  build.i  the  moun- 
tains. Probably,  the  alternations  of  storm  and  intense 
sunlight — for  we  are  here  on  the  latitude  of  Florence — 
have  much  to  do  with  the  rapidity  and  imiformity 
of  disintegration.  Compact  shales,  that  in  oiu-  insular 
climat«  might  weather  out  almost  like  the  slates  of 
Moelwyn,  are  here  doomed  to  destruction  before  oiu' 
eyes.  The  pyramidal  or  steepy  conical  forms  due  to 
denudation  become  fascinating,  and  at  the  same  time 
monotonous.  In  the  wild  ravine  from  Savines  down  to 
Espinasses,  we  lose  sight  of  them  with  pleasure ;  lime- 
stone here  predominates  in  the  Jurassic  series,  and 
sheer  rock-walls  and  terrace-structures  aix  the  result. 
But,  at  the  further  end,  the  fantastic  forms  return  t-o 
us  like  an  evil  dream ;  at  times  the  outer  sides  of  the 
bluffs  become  rounded,  resembling  badly  made  columns, 
or  the  swollen  trunks  of  trees.  A  vision  of  elephan- 
tiasis presents  itself ;  whole  mountains  appear  to  be 
abnormally  diseased.  The  rotten  condition  of  the  surface 
is  seen  when  one  of  the  larger  side-streams  cuts  its  way 
down  to  the  Durance ;  the  ravine  made  by  it  in  the 
black  strata  repeats  the  characters  of  those  carved  in 
loose  alluvium. 

This  valley  of  the  Durance  provides,  indeed,  an 
amazing  picture  of  destruction.  We  begin  to  ask  our- 
selves, what  is  solid,  what  is  proof  against  the  thunder- 
storm that  crashes  through  the  mountains,  or  against 
the  dry  heat,  the  glare  of  southern  sunlight,  that  strikes 
up  towards  us  from  Provence?  The  enormous  cliffs  of 
massive  limestone  that  at  last  rise  around  us,  pale  and 
ghostly  in  the  blackness  of  the  storm,  may  give  us  some 
assurance;  they  bring  south,  as  a  bulwark  to  Dauphine, 
the  finest  features  of  the  Juras.     But  our  impressions 

^  See  KKOwiEDaB,  Tol.  XXIII.,  p.  123. 


of  the  Durance,  down  to  the  dcltarformations  among 
the  almond-orchards  of  Manosque,  arc  those  of  a  stream 
pillaging  a  country.  The  dust  that  forms  on  the 
disintegrating  surfaces  in  days  of  burning  sunshine 
spreads  itself  to  the  leaves  of  the  vines  and  to  the  grass 
of  shadele-ss  fields.  Even  the  tiled  roofs  of  the  villages 
have  caught  the  prevailing  dust-colour,  a  uniform  tone 
of  yellow  earth.  The  bastidc  of  Montfort  is  yellow  on 
its  yellow  hill ;  the  hamlets  along  the  mountain-spurs 
conceal  themselves  successfully,  by  mimicry  of  the  stonc- 
hcaps  from  which  they  rose.  These  contrasts  between 
the  crumbling  foothills  and  the  old  Alpine  core  which 
has  become  pre-eminent  by  their  decay  are  nowhere  more 
brilliantly  revealed  than  here  on  the  outskirts  of  Pro- 
vence. For  always  behind  us  we  may  catch  some  glimpse 
of  the  granite  heart  of  Dauphine;  beyond  the  long 
valley,  and  the  ruin  of  its  walls,  lies  the  glory  of  the 
high  alp  and  the  snows. 

♦ 

THE   MILKY   WAY   IN   CYGNUS. 

By  Mrs.  W.\lter  Maunder. 

The  accompanying  photograph  was  taken  in  the  second 
week  of  August,  1S99,  during  the  progress  of  the  Perseid 
shower.  The  photographic  object  glass  used  was  a  Dall- 
meyer  stigmatic  lens  of  1^  inches  aperture  and  9  inches 
focal  length.  The  size  of  the  plate  is  that  standardized 
by  the  International  Astrographic  Chart,  namely,  16 
centimetres  square,  so  that  the  area  of  the  sky  covered 
is  about  1400°.  The  camera  was  mounted  on  an 
ecjuatorial  stand,  constructed  by  the  late  Mr.  Sydney 
Waters,  f.r.a.s.,  for  use  in  eclipse  observation,  and 
bequeathed  by  him  to  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society, 
by  whom  it  was  lent  to  my  husband.  It  was  housed  in 
a  small  wooden  observatory,  made  with  a  roof  that  could 
slide  quits  away  and  leave  as  much  sky  room  available 
as  the  other  conditions  of  the  situation  allowed.  This 
was  not  very  great,  as  the  garden  in  which  the  obser- 
vatory was  placed  was  small,  and  nuuh  surrounded  by 
houses,  which  not  only  limited  the  horizon,  but  abounded 
with  windows  that  were  unpleasantly  illuminated  at 
night. 

The  photograph  was  exposed  for  G|  hours,  but  the 
exposure  was  distributed  over  several  nights,  and  this 
for  various  reasons.  In  the  first  place,  the  equatorial 
was  of  the  "  German  "  form,  i.e.,  there  was  a  counter- 
poise to  balance  the  camera  at  the  other  end  of  the 
declination  axis.  Consequently  either  the  camera  or 
the  countei-poise  would  foul  the  stand  shortly  after 
passing  the  meridian,  and  the  instrument  would  havo 
to  be  '■  reversed  "  in  order  to  continue  to  follow  the  stars. 
This  would  also  mean  reversing  the  relative  jjositions  of 
the  stars  in  the  telescope,  which  in  visual  work  would  not 
matter,  since  the  eye  does  not  retain  on  the  retina  the 
first  positions  of  the  stars,  but  which  in  the  camera 
would  introduce  new  and  unknown  configurations  of  stars 
on  the  plate.  And  the  exposure  must  not  take  pla,ce 
whilst  the  guiding  star  is  very  far  distant  from  its 
meridian,  since  its  altitude  is  then  rapidly  changing, 
and  the  area  covered  by  the  plate  b;ing  very  considerable 
the  effect  of  refraction  would  vary  largely  over  the  plate, 
and  be,  moreover,  variable  in  its  change.  Thirdly,  and 
this  was  by  no  means  the  least  important  factor,  the 
strain  ou  the  observer  was  very  groat.  The  guiding 
telescope  was  a  Cooke  refractor  of  2A  inches  aperture, 
small  but  of  excellent  quality;  the  diffraction  rings 
round  the  brighter  stars  were  many  and  almost  perfect. 
There  were  absolutely  no  luxuries  in  the  shape  of 
illumination  of  field  or  wires,  not  to  speak  of  electric 
control   to  the   driving  clock;   the  observer  had   to   bo 


274 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[December  1,  1900. 


her  owu  automatic  control,  and  to  this  the  strain  of  long 
continued  observing  was  largely  due.  The  substitute 
for  field  illumination  was  simplicity  itself;  in  the  eye- 
piece were  four  crosswires,  and  the  brightest  star  avail- 
able in  the  region  was  selected  as  the  guiding  star.  The 
eyepiece  was  drawn  out  so  as  to  put  the  star  out  of  focus, 
and  the  spurious  disk  thus  fonned  was  quadrisocted  by 
the  crosswires — and  kept  quadrisected.  Of  course  this 
was  sujjposed  to  be  the  clock's  business,  but  here  lay  the 
great  source  of  disaster.  If  the  spurious  star  disk 
was  not  kept  quite  steadily  on  the  intersecting  wires, 
but  wandered  off  them,  then  the  black  wires  became 
invisible  against  the  black  sky,  and  all  sorts  of  hiero- 
glyphics might  be  drawn  on  the  plate  by  the  frantic 
star  before  the  intersection  was  found  again.  The 
driving  clock  is  a  very  valued  friend,  but  his  great  value 
and  assistance  cannot  blind  me  to  his  idiosyncrasies  and 
failings,  among  which  may  be  numbered  a  wearying 
in  well-doing  that  is  more  than  occasional.  He  was 
originally  built  to  run  for  the  short  period  that  totality 
lasts  in  a  total  eclipse  of  the  sun,  and  not  for  the 
hours  that  may  be  necessary  in  taking  a  star  photograph. 
When  he  had  been  running  for  some  time,  and  had  been 
wound  up  two  or  three  times,  and  was  in  a  very  good 
temper,  I  might  venture  to  leave  him  to  go  alone  for  a 
period  not  exceeding  60  seconds.  Twice,  indeed,  I  have  left 
him  to  his  own  devices  for  a  space  of  time  nearly  five 
times  that,  but  that  proved  to  be  a  very  rash  action. 

The  observer's  duty,  therefore,  was  to  sit  as  comforts 
ably  as  the  position  allowed  with  one  eye  glued  to  the 
eyepiece,  the  declination  slow-motion  rod  in  the  left  hand 
and  the  right  hand  touching  the  slow-motion  wheel  of 
the  right  ascension  circle.  The  best  results  were 
generally  obtained  when  a  direct  connection  seemed 
to  be  made  between  the  eye  and  hand,  and  the  con- 
nections between  these  and  the  brain  apparently 
switched  off.  Usually  it  was  fatal  if  I  thought  of  what 
I  was  doing;  it  was  much  better  to  think  of  something 
else — something  not  exciting. 

In  the  photograph  under  consideration  no  j^erceptible 
error  in  driving  is  to  be  seen;  the  guiding  "star  is  per- 
fectly round,  and  so  are  the  stars  situated  within  ten 
degrees  of  the  centre.  During  the  exposure  I  saw  many 
of  "  The  Teai-s  of  St.  Lawrence."  I  hoped  that  some 
would  pass  across  the  field  of  my  camera,  but  I  saw  none 
within  that  region,  and  none  have  been  impressed  on 
the  plate. 

The  photograph  was  taken  for  the  purpose  of  studying 
the  form  and  structure  of  the  Milky  Way,  which  may 
be  seen  crossing  the  plate  diagonally,  and  is  well  shown 
throughout  its  greatest  width.  Much  detail  is  seen  on 
the  original  negative  that  is  unavoidably  lost  in  a  process 
reproduction.  The  description  is  drawn  from  the  original 
negative,  and  therefore  some  of  the  structui-es  pointed 
out  may  not  be  recognisable  on  the  accompanying 
Plate. 

The  scale  of  the  original  negative  is  almost  exactly 
that  of  Cottam's  smaller  Star  Charts,  and  the  field 
photographed  corresponds  almost  precisely  to  Chart 
No.  22,  the  constellation  Cygnus. 

The  key-map,  showing  the  brighter  stars  in  the  central 
region,  is  traced  from  the  negative,  but  the  magnitudes 
assigned  are  those  of  Proctor.  As  it  will  be  at  once  seen 
these  arc  very  different  from  the  photographic  magni- 
tudes, as  might  indeed  be  expected  in  such  an  actinic 
region  as  the  Milky  Way. 

The  large  central  star,  which  was  used  as  a  guide,  is 
a  Cygui,  and  is  situated  in  a  t^aj).  .or  what  might 
by  courtesy  be  termed  a  gap,  in  the  Milky  Way.     The 


gi-eat  star  belt  itself  seems  to  be  divided  into  five  fairly 
distinct  regions.  The  preceding  one  of  these  is  roughly 
crescent-shaped,  with  33  Cygui  and  22  Cygni  in  the 
northern  and  southern  horns  respectively,  and  32,  8, 
y    and     a    Cygni     lying     ou     its     borders.       A     small 


« 

•      • 

m 

1 

• 

•       I 

1 

« 

•  I 

;       .-rr' 

• 

• 

• 

.^9            '       #32 

•       1  . 

'■■'"       \ 

•"       •. 

1 
•22        '\  • 

•                         • 

/ 

•t 

•7         / 

:.  ...^  •I 

•    . 

> 

i2     ' 

\ 

--!•/ 

The  Constellation  Cygnus.     Key-map  to  Plate. 

horn,  having  its  base  resting  on  the  stars  32  and 
i5  Cygni,  ap]*ears  to  point  in  a  north-westerly 
direction.  The  whole  of  this  region  appears  to  be 
covered  by  a  diffuse,  but  not  uniform,  faint  cloud,  which 
gives  the  appearance  of  nebulositj',  but  which  under  the 
microscope  is  seen  to  be.  not  nebulosity,  but  faint,  fairly 
well  defined  stars.  y  lies  on  the  western  border 
of  another  region,  smaller  but  more  striking,  since  not 
only  are  the  faint  stars  aggregated  so  as  to  suggest  a 
nebulous  bed,  but  brighter  stars  are  also  massed  together, 
giving  the  appearance  of  numerous  and  superimposed 
layers  of  stars  whose  brightness  diminishes  with  their 
distance  from  us.  More  to  the  east  again  there  is  a  huge 
region,  not  seeming  to  differ  in  its  composition  (as  far 
as  this  negative  can  tell)  from  the  two  regions  already 
mentioned,  except  in  the  greater  frequency  of  its  locfil 
aggregations  of  both  bright  and  faint  stars,  and  in  its 
more  numerous  channels  where  no  stai's  appeal-  or  only  a 
few  sporadic  ones.  Such  a  channel,  long  and  well- 
marked,  separates  this  region  (which  contains  the  stars 
tt'  and  tt-,  p,  v,  and  s  Cygni)  from  another,  a  fainter  one, 
and  parallel  to  the  first,  still  further  to  the  east. 

But  the  most  marked  and  interesting  region  of  all, 
is  a  small  one  on  whose  western  border  a  Cygni 
lies,  and  which  contains  the  stars  55,  56,  57,  59,  and  60. 
To  the  unassisted  eye  this  region  appears  on  the  negative 
to  consist  of  a  dense  nebulous  patch,  intersected  by  ex- 
tremely fine  streaks.  Under  the  magnifier,  the  nebu- 
losity to  some  extent  resolves  itself  into  faint  and  fainter 
streams  and  bands  of  stars,  these  being  again  bound 
together  by  still  fainter  bonds  which  ai'c  not  alwaya 
resolvable  into  discrete  stars.  The  streaks  are  some  of 
the  spaces  between  the  streams  and  uuresolvable  bands, 
where  no  star  nor  connecting  stuff  is  seen.  A  most 
beautiful  and  particular  instance  of  this  is  to  be  seen 
in  a  figiu'e  of  8,  formed  of  lines  of  stars  and  bands, 
immediately    following    60    Cygni,    and    which    seems 


KiiowleJ()f. 


NORTH 


I- 
< 


u 
S 


SOUTH. 


THE     MILKY     WAY     IN     CYGNUS. 

From  a  Photograph  taken  by  Mrs.  WALTER  MAUNDER.  August,    1899,  with  a  Dallmeyer  stigmatic  lens  of  i^  inches  aperture 

and  9  inches  focal  length. 


[Field  'Sh°  .side.  Kxpusiire  ()J   Hours.] 


Dkcembeb  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


275 


to  fonii  part  of  a  roniplicat-ed   but  well-dcfincd   whorl 
of  stars. 

It  seems  quite  clear  that  though  the  general  form 
and  stnieturo  of  the  Milky  Way  in  Cygnus  is  well  shown 
on  this  plate,  no  true  nebulosity  is  shown  by  it  over  its 
breadth,  but  only  apparent  nebulosity  due  to  the 
aggregation  of  small  discrete  stars  too  faint  to  be 
separately  perceived  by  the  unaided  eye.  It  is  possible 
that  true  nebulosity  is  photographed  in  the  region 
round  60  Cygni,  but  that  cannot  be  decided  from  this 
photogi-aph  alone.  Possibly  an  exposure  of  13  hours 
might  settle  the  question,  and  some  of  these  years  I 
shall  hope  to  tiy  it. — if  tlie  Clerk  of  the  Weather  will 
some  August  screw  the  hand  of  his  barometer  to  "  Set 
Fair,"  and  go  on  his  summer  holiday,  and  the  moon  is 
new  ;  and  my  neighbours  will  go  to  bed  early,  and  turn 
out  the  gas. 

♦ 

Hftrrrs. 

[The  Editors  do  not  hold  themselves  responsible  for  the  opinions 
or  statements  of  correspondents.] 

THE    'COLLINS    MOX'OPLANH    TELESCOPH." 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — The  "  Collins'  Monoplane  Telescope,"  described 
on  page  252,  appears  to  be  a  combination  of  a  poor 
Newtonian  reflector  with  a  poor  refractor.  The  only 
advantage?  claimed  over  the  ordinai-y  refractor  arc 
perfect  achromatism  and  shortness,  both  which  the 
Newtonian  already  possesses,  without  the  gi'oat  disadvan- 
tages of  the  Collins.  The  Newtonian  requires  two  pieces 
of  glass  of  ordinary  quality,  and  has  only  two  surfaces 
to  be  worked,  one  to  a  perfect  cui-ve,  the  other  to  a 
perf2ct  plene,  both  fairly  easy  to  test  for  figure,  and  the 
reflection  is  from  surfaces  of  silver  not  covered  with 
glass,  and  therefore  brighter  than  any  glass-covered 
surface,  and  there  is  no  absoi-ption  of  light  by  pa.ssing 
through  glass. 

The  Collins  requires  two  oj)tically  perfect  discs  of 
glass,  of  which  the  second  must  be  so  homogeneous  that 
I  fear  practically  they  would  be  difficult  to  produce 
and  exceedingly  costly.  If  used  with  a  silvered  flat  it 
has  four  glass  surfaces  at  which  light  is  lost,  two  lenses 
absorbing  light  in  their  substance,  one  of  which  it 
traverses  twice,  one  silvered  surface  less  reflective  than 
in  the  Newtonian,  and  another  under  similar  conditions 
as  in  the  Newtonian.  If  a  prism  is  used  instead  of  a 
flat,  there  are  six  glass  siu'faces  each  taking  a  percentage 
of  the  light  away,  and  the  equivalent  of  five  absorptioa-s 
in  the  thickness  of  the  glass.  The  glass  surfaces  have 
all  to  be  worked  perfect,  and  at  least  in  the  case  of 
the  correcting  lens-mirror  local  correction  appears  to 
me  impracticable.  With  ordinary  refractors  on  a  large 
scale,  local  correction  is,  I  believe,  a  vei-y  important 
matter,  and  it  is  only  on  a  large  scale  that  the  Collins' 
Monoplane's  advantage  of  shortness  would  be  of  value. 

I  doubt  if  a  good  telescope  of  any  large  size  could  be 
constructed  on  the  lines  given  ;  I  doubt  if  it  would  be 
perfectly  achromatic ;  and  I  am  sure  it  could  not  equal, 
much  less  surpass,  a  Newtonian  of  the  same  aperture. 
Why  then  go  to  so  much  expense  and  trouble  ? 

Edwin  Holmes. 

[Mr.  Holmes's  comdemnation  of  the  "  Monoplane  " 
principle  is  far  too  off-hand.  The  idea  is  being  made 
the  subject  of  the  most  careful  experiment  and  investi- 
gation, both  in  this  country  and  on  the  Continent;  and 
so  far  from  dismissing  it  in  Mr.  Holmes's  summai-y 
stvle,  one  of  the  highest  authorities  in  practical  optics 
in  Europe  is  now  having  a  large  telescope  constnicted 
upon  these  lines. — E.  W.alter  Mau.nder,] 


I'lli:     I'll  \SE    (1F    VENUS    SEEN     WITH     THE 
N.VKEO     EYE. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE, 

Sirs, — To  see  our  nei;j;hbour  Venus  in  brilliant  sunshine 
when  near  her  greatest  elongations  is,  I  am  quite  aware, 
nothing  remarkable  as  a  feal,  but  my  recent  experience  in 
this  connection  is  to  myself  quite  unique,  and  it.s  relation 
may  prove  not  uninteresting  to  your  readers.  Living  as 
I  have  for  years  jiast  in  north-west  Loudon,  I  have  perforce 
had  to  observe  sun,  moon,  and  planets,  as  through  the 
u]iper  rea;hes  of  the  dusty  air  of  the  mctrojiolis.  I  have 
often  noti<'ed  how  much  more  transparent  my  air  is  in  the 
month  of  October  than  it  is  generally  at  any  other  time  of 
the  year.  Several  tinii-s  during  the  last  fortnight  the 
morning  air  has  struck  me  as  exceptionally  clear,  so  much 
so  that  I  remembered  Venus,  whose  movements  I  had 
ceased  to  folk)W  since  her  last  inferior  conjunction,  and  I 
determined  to  look  her  up  in  bright  sunshine.  No  sooner 
resilved  upon  than  accomplished.  The  first  occasion  was 
on  the  5th  instant,  between  7  and  8  a.m.,  the  sun  low  but 
brilliant.  On  the  morning  of  the  14th  instant  I  saw  her 
again  in  bright  sunshine  at  Oh.  lum.,  or  soon  aft<'r  her 
meridian  passage.  At  these  times,  as  at  some  intermediate 
ones,  I  was  chiefly  interested  in  noting  her  lustre.  SIi<! 
did  not  appear  as  a  white  point  on  a  ilark  l)lue  sky,  Imt 
as  sparkling  against  a  rather  pale  blue  background.  Now 
this  morning  (October  Liith)  I  observed  her  several  times, 
the  last  occasion  being  as  late  as  !)h.  .50m.  As  before, 
sunshine  was  as  plentiful  as  one  could  desire.  On  no 
adventure  of  this  kind  have  I  employed  any  aid  to  find 
her— optical  or  mechanical.  I  have  simply  stood  in  the 
shade  of  the  meteorological  instruun'nt  scre<'u.  Very  well, 
then,  to-day  she  has  a]ii)eared  as  a  small  white  disc — 
spurious,  of  course.  Until  about  an  hour  ago  I  did  not 
know  thai  Venus  had  passed  her  greatest  western  elongation 
— in  fact  I  did  not  think  she  had  ;  hence  I  adjudged  her  a 
phase  about  equal  to  that  of  a  sis  days  old  moon.  But  I 
see  by  the  Nautical  Almanack  this  evening  that  on  this 
identical  day  0-(537  of  her  disc  is  illuminated,  and  this  is 
where  the  curiosity  enters.  Her  angular  diameter  is  about 
18  4",  and  her  distance  from  the  earth  this  morning  was 
something  like  84,8941)00  miles.  It  is  laid  down  as  a 
physiological  fact  that  the  smallest  object  to  which 
unassisted  human  vision  can  assign  a  definite  shape  must 
subtend  an  angle  of  about  one  minute  of  arc.  A  bright 
point  is  an  entirely  different  matter.  Now  I  know  my 
own  sight  is  by  no  means  marvellously  sharp,  so  that  I 
am  greatly  puzzled  to  know  how  the  illusion  of  the  disc 
originated  ;  because,  as  to  illumination — we  see  nothing  at 
all  if  there  is  no  light  to  see  it  by.  It  may  be  that  the 
s|)urious  disc  of  a  star  in  a  telescope  offers  an  exjilanation  ; 
in  fact,  I  was  satisfied  to  accept  that  as  such  before  I 
found  this  evening  that  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  planet's 
disc  was  illuminated  this  morning.  But  now  the  question 
arises  :  is  it  in  any  circumstances  possible  that  a  body 
subtending  so  small  an  angle  could  be  seen  to  possess  a 
definite  shape,  or  how  in  such  a  case  is  the  illusion — if 
such  it  l>e — caused  ?  I  may  add  my  eyes  seem  purely 
emmetropic,  and  whilst  on  the  one  hand  there  is  no 
suspicion  of  myojiia,  on  the  other  there  is  nothing 
miraculous  about  tiiem.  William  Godden. 

38,  Burrard  Road, 

West  Hampstead,  N.W., 
1.5th  October,  1900. 


'DARK    MARKINGS   IN   THE    SOLAR   COEONA." 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — lu    reading    Mr.    Wesley's  admirable  article  on 
the  "  Dark  Markings  in  the  Solar  Corona  "  (Kxowledoe, 


276 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[Decembek  1,  1900. 


OcfolxT,  1900),  it  occurred  to  me  that  tbese  markings  may 
be  due  to  tlie  presence  of  dense  swarms  of  meteoric  bodies 
near  the  sun.  The  markings  of  tbe  coronas  of  1871  and 
1!H)0  seem  to  me  to  favour  this  view.  The  passage  of  a 
dense  swarm  of  meteorites  between  us  and  the  corona 
would,  I  think,  show  us  a  dark  mark  ;  Imt  the  question 
is,  Would  the  markiua's  be  as  dense  as  those  described 
by  Mr.  Wesley?  '  H.  W. 

Middlesbrougli, 

October'^2'lth,  1900. 

[H.  W.'s  suggestion  is  an  obvious  one  ;  but  is  ojien  to 
the  objection  that,  in  that  case,  we  ought  sometimes  to 
see  dark  lines  due  to  meteor-swarms  projected  against 
the  disk  of  the  sun  ;  which  we  do  not. — E.  Walter 
Maundkb.] 

t  >  I 

RAINBOW    PPIENOMENA. 

TO     TUE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — On  the  evening  of  September  16th,  a  remark- 
ably vivid  double  rainbow  was  visible  at  Eastbourne 
from  5.30  till  after  6  o'clock,  and  its  magnificent  coloui'S 
must  have  attracted  the  attention  of  many  observers. 

A  curious  phenomena  was  consjjicuous  on  the  inner  or 
violet  edge  of  the  primary  bow. 

I  have  noticed  on  previous  occasions  that  in  the  case 
of  brilliant  rainbows  the  violet  rays  frequently  reappear 
as  a  distinct  band  within  the  primary  bjw,  an>4  separated 
from  it  by  a  moderately  wide  unilluminated  strip. 

But  in  the  case  under  notice  the  phenomenon  was 
intensified  to  a  remarkable  degree,  the  violet  band  being 
clearly  triple,  and  the  inner  edge  of  the  primary  bow 
exhibiting  the  following  series  of  colours  without  any 
aj^parcnt  break — viz.,  green,  blue,  violet,  gi-een,  blue, 
violet,  green,  blue,  violet.  Occasionally  there  appeared 
to  be  traces  of  even  a  fourth  (isolated)  band  of  violet; 
but  upon  this  point  I  could  not  be  absolutely  certain. 

The  general  effect  was  curiously  like  the  mouldings 
on  a  stone  archway,  the  inner  edge  of  the  bow  presenting 
the  appearance  of  concentric  ridges  of  green  separated 
by  violet  hollows. 

The  three  continuous  bands,  each  consisting  of  green, 
blue,  and  violet,  were  clearly  seen  by  two  others  whom 
I  questioned  on  the  subject. 

In  the  case  of  the  simple  repetition  of  the  violet  band, 
I  have  often  attributed  the  appearance  to  an  ojitical 
illusion,  or  even  to  some  modification  of  the  "  ultra- 
violet "  rays,  but  the  complicated  redu]5lication  of  the 
phenomenon  which  I  witne:sed  last  Sunday  has  re- 
awakened my  interest  in  the  subject,  and  I  should  be 
very  grateful  if  any  of  the  numerous  scientific  readers  of 
Knowledge,  to  whom  the  subject  may  be  of  interest, 
will  offer  some  explanation  of  the  phenomenon  which  I 
have  attempteii  to  describe.       S.  R.  Stawell  Brown. 

St.  John's  College,  Oxford, 
September  18,  1900. 


LUNAR   RAINBOW. 

TO     THE     EDITORS     OF     KNOWLEDGE. 

Sirs, — It  seems  pretty  evident  from  the  description 
given  by  Mr.  John  Macinto.sh  in  your  November  issue, 
that  ttliat  he  saw  was  not  a  lunar  raitihou'  at  all,  but 
what  IS  usually  called  a  corona.  The  phenomenally  long 
duration  (1^  hours),  the  smaller  diameter,  and  the  fact 
that  the  lower  portion  was  cut  off  by  clouds,  all  point  to 
this  conclusion;  the  diameter  of  a  lunar  (or  solai')  rain- 
bow is,  for  the  primary  bow,  always  about  82°,  the  lower 
part  is  always  cut  off  by  the  earth  (except  in  rare  cases 


when  the  observer  stands  on  the  top  of  a  mountain 
peak),  and  anyone  who  has  seen  a  bright  lunar  rainbow 
endure  for  more  than  twenty  minutes  or  so  is  fortunate 
indeed.  The  following  extract  from  my  register  may 
interest  your  coiTespondent. 

"  JanuaiT  31st,  1893,  9.1.5  p.m.  Beautiful  lunar 
corona,  the  inner  part  of  a  brownish  orange  colour,  and 
then  the  coloui's  of  the  spectrum  in  order  from  violet  t,o 
red,  most  clearly  defined  and  pure." 

These  coronse  ai'e  really  diffraction  rings,  and  accord- 
ing to  Kcemtz  (Conrs  de  Meteorolofjie,  page  424),  may 
have  a  diameter  of  from  two  to  eight  degrees,  thus 
agreeing  roughly  with  your  correspondent's  estimate. 

Harewood  Lodge,  Charles  L.  Brook. 

Meltham,  Huddersfield, 

November  6,  1900. 


The  Royal  Society's  Medals  have  this  year  been 
adjudicated  by  the  president  and  council  as  follows: — ■ 
The  Copley  Medal  to  Professor  Marcelliu  Berthelot, 
FOR.MEM.R.s.,  for  liis  brilliant  services  to  chemical 
science ;  the  Rumford  Medal  to  Professor  Antoine 
Henri  Becquerel,  for  his  discoveries  in  radiation  pro- 
ceeding from  uranium ;  a  Royal  medal  to  Major  Percy 
Alexander  MacMahon,  f.e.s.,  for  the  number  and  range 
of  his  contributions  to  mathematical  science;  a  Royal 
Medal  to  Professor  Alfred  Newton,  f.r.s.,  for  his 
eminent  contribution  to  the  science  of  ornithology  and 
the  geographical  distribution  of  animals;  the  Davy 
Medal  to  Professor  Guglielmo  Koerner,  for  his  brilliant 
investigations  on  the  position  theory  of  the  aromatic 
compounds;  and  the  Darwin  Medal  to  Professor  Ernst 
Haeckel,  for  his  long-continued  and  highly-important 
woi'k  in  zoology,  all  of  which  has  been  inspired  by  the 
spirit  of  Darwinism. 


■r^df^ 


ORNilHOLOGiCAlf 


^^:i 


% '  ■' 


NOTES . 


Conducted  hy  Harry  F.  Witheeby,  f.z.s.,  m.b.o.u. 

Nesting-Boxes  for  Wild  Birds.  —  Some  details 
respecting  the  nesting-boxes  which  I  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  providing  here  for  wild  birds  may  be  of  interest. 
The  boxes  are  of  two  kinds,  one  for  the  use  of  small  birds 
the  other  for  lai-ge  birds.  The  smaller  boxes  are  ten 
ini'bes  high  and  sis  inches  square,  made  of  well-seasoned 
oak.  A  hole,  about  one-and-a-half  inches  in  diameter,  is 
bored  in  the  front  of  the  box  for  ingress  and  egress.  The 
roof,  which  is  sloping,  is  provided  with  leatlier  hinges,  and 
thus  forms  a  lieavy  lid,  enabling  the  boxes  to  be  cleaned 
and  the  old  nests  taken  out  every  year.  A  few  small  holes 
are  jnerced  at  the  bottom  of  the  box  for  draining  purposes. 
These  boKes  last  for  many  years.  We  have  a  number  about 
that  have  been  up  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  years.     They 


December  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE 


277 


are  fixed  very  firmly  from  four  to  six  foot  iibovo  Iho  iirouiul 
airaiust  trees.  They  sliould  not  be  exposed  to  tlie  south- 
west, whioh  is  the  worst  quarter.  Fixed  thu?;  near  the 
ground  uud  away  from  houses  the  boxes  are  praetieally 
never  used  by  Sparrows.  All  four  Tits  nest  iu  them 
largely.  Great  Tits  and  Blue  Tits  jiredominating.  Soiiie 
years  nearly  all  the  Tits  using  the  boxes  are  Jilue  Tits, 
other  years  they  are  Great  Tits,  and  a  good  few  Cole  Tits 
use  them,  but  the  Mar.sh  Tits,  although  connnon 
liere,  very  rarely  do  so.  "Wrynecks  always  use  some, 
preferring  those  iu  open  situations.  They  will  fref|Uently 
destroy  a  number  of  Tits'  nests,  pulling  out  the  nests  ami 
eggs.  The  Tits  cover  up  their  eggs  in  the  boxes  until  they 
begin  to  sit.  Nuthatches  also  avail  themselves  of  the 
boxes,  mudciing  up  the  hole  to  .suit  their  si/e  and  also 
mudding  round  the  lid.  Some  years  they  use  many  boxes. 
This  year  seventeen  out  of  twenty  looked  at  were  oceupit>d 
by  Nuthatches.  Manj'  other  birds,  such  as  Robins  and 
Wagtails,  are  occasional  occupants,  es]iccially  if  the  boxes 
are  old  and  Tits  have  greatly  enlarged  the  holes  in  former 
years.  Similar  boxes,  but  twenty  inches  square  and  with 
double  span  roof  with  projecting  eaves,  are  provided  with 
a  hole,  four  by  four-and-a-half  inches.  Thesi'  larger  boxes 
are  firmly  fixed  on  horizontal  boughs  against  the  trunk, 
not  facing  south-west  unless  very  sheltered,  and  from 
twenty  to  thirty  feet  high.  They  are  used  by  Owls, 
Jackdaws,  Stock  Doves. Kestrels. Squirrels,  and  occasionally 
by  Stoats.  Nearly  all  the  Stock  Doves'  nests  are  destroyed 
early  in  the  year  by  Jackdaws,  etc.,  but  they  rear  numerous 
broods  in  late  summer  and  autumn.  Barn  Owls  have 
young  in  some  cases  up  to  November.  Jackdaws  are 
dreadful  nuisances,  as  they  fill  the  boxes  up  with  sticks. 
Where  the  boxes  are  placed  in  woods,  however,  fhe  Jack- 
daws are  not  much  trouble.  Barn  Owls  don't  care  fordeeji 
woods.  Kestrels  are  occasionally  very  numerous,  and 
several  pairs  will  breed  in  comparatively  close  proximity  ;  I 
have  seen  as  many  as  six  fighting  for  one  box  at  the  end 
of  March  when  they  first  arrive.  In  certain  years  scarcely 
a  Kestrel  will  nest  in  a  box,  and  very  few  iu  the  trees. 
Among  the  numbers  of  boxes  in  my  neighbourhood,  spread 
over  a  comparatively  large  area,  it  is  the  greatest  exception 
to  find  one  unoccui)ied,  although  natural  nesting  sites 
abound  everywhere. — E.  G.  B.  Meade- Waldo,  Stonewall 
Park,  Edeubridge,  Kent. 

The  Levantine  Shearwater  (Pujffinus  t/eHouanusJ  at  Scarborouif/i- 
{The  NaturalUt,  Novemter,  1900,  p.  "352.)  Mr.  E.  Fortiim^' of 
Harrogate,  records  that  a  bird  of  tlii.s  species,  now  in  liis  possession, 
Wiis  shot  at  Scarborough  on  September  IStli.  The  bird  is  an  im- 
mature female,  and  has  been  submitted  to  Mr.  Iloward  Saunilers  for 
identification.  The  Levantine  Shearwater  is  tlie  representative  in  the 
Mediterranean  of  our  Manx  Shearwater,  to  whie)i  it  is  very  closely 
allied.  It  has  once  before  been  obtained  in  Yorkshire,  and  on  four 
occasions  in  other  parts  of  England. 

Late  Brood  of  Wild  Pheasants.  At  the  meeting  of  the  British 
Ornithologists'  Club  held  on  October  17th,  190U,  Mr.  W.  13.  Tegetmeicr 
exhibited  a  nestling  Pheasant  only  a  few  days  old.  The  bird  had  been 
sent  to  liim  from  Mr.  .•Vlfred  Dunnage,  of  Dedluim,  Colchester.  It 
had  formed  one  of  a  brood  of  nine  or  ten  birds  hatched  out  in  a  hedge- 
row, far  from  any  covert. 

An  Observational  Diary  of  the  Ilabits  of  the  Oreat  Plorer 
COedicnemus  crepitans)  during  September  and  October.  Hy  Edmund 
SeJous.  (Zoologist,  1900,  April,  pp.  173-185,  June,  pp  270  277, 
October,  pp.  458-176.)  The  writer  of  this  diary  is  at  great  pains  to  tell 
us  precisely  and  minutely  what  liappened  at  every  moment  in  wliich  he 
watched  sjme  Stone  Curlews  througli  September  and  Octoljer  in 
Ea^l  Anglia  We  cannot  help  thinking  it  a  mistake  to  print  a  note 
book.  Mr.  .Selous  could  have  given  us  a  more  valuable  and  practicable 
contribution  by  extending  his  observations  of  the  Great  Plover  to 
other  months  and  other  localities,  and  then  writing  a  summary,  such 
as  he  gives  at  the  end  of  these  articles,  enlarged  and  with  a  few 
quotations  from  his  notebook.  Among  the  conclusions  arrived  at 
concerning  the  habits  of  the  Great  Plover  in  September  and  October 
by  Mr.  Selous,  we  may  mention  that  they  have  regular  places  of 


assembly  during  the  diiy.  .\s  evening  falls  they  indulge  in  oxcilod 
motions  which  may  be  railed  dances,  ace.om|janied  by  their  loud 
wailing  notes.  During  the  night  they  feed  over  the  general  surface 
of  the  country,  returning  to  their  plaees  of  ii«scn\bly  at  very  early 
dawn. 

All  contributions  to  the  rolunin,  either  in  the  irat/  of  jtotcs 
or  photoiirnjih.t,  shouhl  be  fornaninl  to  Harry  F.  Witiikrhv, 
at  I,  F.iiot  Pl,icr,  Blachheath,  Kent. 


jllottccs  of  Boofes. 

Tut:  Biiiiis  (U'  liir.i.wii.  I'.y  Richard  J.  l^sshor  ami  Robert 
Warren,  ((iiu'iicy  and  Jackson.)  Illustrated.  ;i(ls.  This  is  a 
book  for  which  British  oriiitliolot;isls  have  waited  long,  and 
their  patience  is  now  amply  rewarded  by  the  production  of  a 
work  of  a  thoroughness,  accuracy,  and  completeness  such  as 
could  oiil.v  have  been  arrived  at  by  many  years  of  Labour.  Tip 
to  now  Thomi)soii  has  been  the  only  author  to  treat  of  Irish 
ornithology  in  detail.  His  publication  appeared  fifty  years  ago, 
at  a  time  when  the  Natural  History  of  Ireland  was  .sadly 
neglected.  Of  late  years  Irishmen  have  paid  increasing 
attention  to  the  fauna  and  tlora  of  their  country  until  the  band 
of  workers  in  this  direction,  although  still  small,  is  now  one  of 
which  any  coimtry  might  be  proud.  Amongst  these  the  authors 
of  the  present  volume  must  by  no  means  be  counted  least.  They 
have  attacked  their  suliject  in  a  thoroughly  masterly  way,  and 
a  book  of  exceptional  excellence  is  the  result.  As  the  authors' 
object  was  to  compile  a  local  avifauna,  they  have  wisely  decided 
not  to  attempt  to  give  a  complete  account  of  any  species,  nor  to 
describe  the  birds  themselves.  The  distribution  of  each  species 
within  the  island  is  treated  as  the  point  of  primary  importance, 
and  no  ])airis  have  been  sp.ared  in  collecting,  and,  above  all,  in 
personally  verifying,  information  for  this  purpose.  The  niiiifra- 
tions  of  each  species,  as  far  as  Ireland  is  concerned,  is  adnuralily 
dealt  with,  and  in  this  the  authors  have  received  the  valuable 
aid  of  Mr.  R.  M.  Barrington,  who  has  lately  ])ublished  a  most 
exhaustive  work  on  the  subject.  A  list  of  Tri.sh  names,  a  well- 
arranged  table,  showing  the  distribution  of  the  birds  which 
have  bred  in  Ireland  in  the  nineteenth  century,  and  some 
excellent  maps,  are  further  good  features  in  the  work.  Owing 
to  its  geographical  position,  upon  which  depend  its  climate  and 
the  character  of  its  land  surface,  Indand  offers  a  marked  and 
interesting  difference  from  England  in  its  avifauna.  Many  birds 
common  in  England  are  either  cot  found,  or  arc  very  rare,  there, 
a  fact  which  is  especially  noticeable  in  many  of  our  summer 
migrants  which  do  not  travel  so  far  west,  and  in  such  birds  as 
woodpeckers  and  the  tawny  owl,  which  require  large  old  timber 
in  which  to  breed.  Thus  Ireland  is  not  so  rich  in  species  as 
(ireat  Britain,  but  it  is  nevertheless  rich  in  bird-life.  Its 
extensive  moors  and  lakes,  its  high  cliffs  and  numerous  estuaries 
are  populated  with  a  ho.«t  of  birds  many  of  which  are  unfamiliar 
to  most  Englishmen,  and  its  woods,  although  small  and  coni- 
]>aratively  young,  are  the  regular  nesting  haunts  of  such  birds 
as  siskins  and  cross-bills,  which  very  rarely  breed  in  England. 
Another  fact  of  great  interest  is  tlie  increa.se  of  late  years  in 
Ireland,  as  breeding  species,  of  such  birds  as  the  starling,  wood- 
cook,  magpie,  and  mistle  thrush.  All  these  points  receive 
special  attention  in  the  jn-esent  volume,  and  are  authoritatively 
dealt  with.  In  sincerely  congratulating  the  authors  upon  the 
universal  e.xcellerice  of  their  production,  it  is  oidy  fair  to  state 
that  the  greater  part  of  the  work  is  that  of  Mr.  Us.sher,  and 
therefore  to  him  is  due  the  larger  amount  of  praise,  but  in 
saying  this  we  do  not  for  a  moment  suggest  that  the  portions 
of  the  volume  for  which  ^fr.  Warren,  who  is  an  accomplished 
ornithologist,  is  res])onsible  fall  in  any  way  short  of  the  high 
standard  attained  in  the  rest  of  the  work. 

A  Tl'.KATisic  o.\  Zoology.  Edited  by  E.  Kay  Lankester. 
Part  II. — The  Porifera  and  Coelentera.  By  K.  A.  j\Iinchiii, 
C.  H.  Fowler,  and  G.  C.  Bourne,  with  an  Introduction  by  the 
Editor.  (A.  and  C.  Black.)  15s.  net.  The  second  instalment 
of  this  great  work,  which  in  serial  order  preced(;s  the  part  on 
the  Echinodernia,  issued  last  March,  and  already  noticed  in  this 
journal,  fully  maintains  the  high  standard  of  the  latter.  Like 
its  predece.ssor,  it  is  bristling  with  technicalities,  and  is  not  to 
be  regarded  as  a  book  on  popular  natural  history  which  can  be 
taken  up  and  read  during  any  spare  half-hour.     It  is  essentially 


278 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[December  1,  1900. 


a  work  for  the  serious  and  advanced  zoological  student  ;  and 
from  this  point  of  view  is  everything  that  can  be  desired. 
Without  for  one  moment  underrating  the  excellent,  systematic 
work  of  the  three  gentlemen  whose  names  ap])ear  on  the  title- 
page,  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  great  feature  of  the 
present  volume  is  the  exhaustive  essay  by  the  editor  on  the 
"  Cieloni."  Those  of  our  zoological  readers  who  have  reached 
middle  age  will  recollect  that  in  their  college  days  they  were 
taught  that  the  pleuroperifoueal  cavity  of  the  higher  animals 
was  formed  by  the  splitting  of  the  mesoblastic  layer  of  the 
eml^ryo,  so  that  the  cavity  in  question  was  in  no  sense  a 
morphological  unit.  Professor  Lankester  now  demonstrates  in 
the  clearest  manner  how  the  coelom  (as  the  pleuroperitoneal 
cavity  is  now  termed^  is  developed  as  a  i)air  of  buds  from  the 
primitive  intestinal  tract,  and  is  originally  a  receptacle  for  the 
internal  generative  organs.  It  is  therefore  essentially  a  mor- 
phological factor  of  prime  importance  in  the  animal  series,  and 
one  which  justifies  the  separation  of  animals  of  higher  grade 
than  the  sponges  into  two  divisions,  according  as  to  whether  the 
coilom  is  or  is  not  differentiated  as  a  distinct  cavity.  "Whether, 
however,  the  names  "  Enterocoela  "  and  "  Crolomocojla "  are 
the  happiest  that  could  have  been  selected  for  the  groups  in 
question  is  one  on  which  a  difference  of  opinion  may  be 
permissible.  To  follow  the  editor  through  his  account  of  the 
history  of  the  realisation  of  the  true  nature  of  the  crelom  (an 
investigation  in  which  he  himself  has  played  a  leading  part) 
would  manifestly  be  impossible  on  the  present  occasion.  But 
we  may  draw  the  reader's  attention  to  the  admiral)le  description 
of  the  diminution  of  the  size  of  this  cavity  in  the  Mollusca  and 
Arthropoda,  and  the  proportionately  large  development  of  the 
blood-vascular  system  at  its  expense.  And  mention  should 
likewise  be  made  of  the  remarkable  investigations  by  Mr. 
Goodrich  concerning  a  communication  between  thecadomioand 
blood-vascular  systems  in  the  leech.  Following  on  this  epoch- 
making  essay,  which  forms  Chapter  II.  of  the  entire  work, 
Mr.  Slinchin  describes  in  an  excellent  manner  the  sponges  : 
while  in  Chapters  IV.  and  Y.  Mr.  Herbert  Fowler  discusses 
those  polyps  which  used  to  be  called  Hydrozoa,  Jlr.  Bourne 
being  responsible  for  the  Sea-anemones,  Corals,  and  Ctenophora, 
to  which  the  two  final  chapters  of  the  volume  are  devoted.  A 
feature  of  the  volume  is  the  beauty  and  excellence  of  the 
illustrations,  which  have  for  the  most  part  been  prepared 
expressly  for  the  work,  and  all  of  which  are  admirable  examples 
of  the  manner  in  which  minute  structures  should  be  figured. 
In  only  one  case  (Fig.  11,  ]i.  20)  have  we  noticed  a  discrepancy 
between  the  lettering  of  the  figures  and  the  accompanying 
description,  and  there  it  is  but  slight.  Another  feature  is  the 
presence  of  a  separate  index  to  each  section  of  the  work.  To 
some  readers,  at  any  rate,  the  addition  of  a  glossary  would  be  a 
distinct  advantage  :  but  this  is  the  only  improvement  we  can 
suggest  on  what  is  in  every  way  an  admirably  conceived  and 
admirably  executed  undertaking. 

A  Romancer's  Local  Colour.  By  S.  E.  Crockett.  (Xew- 
man  and  Guardia.)  That  innumerable  host  of  very  amateur 
photographers  who  affect  to  find  pleasure  in  chasing,  and,  as 
they  express  it,  '"  snap-shotting  "  men  and  objects,  is  rapidly 
becoming  a  nuisance  to  the  more  retiring  and  modest  section  of 
the  community.  A  perusal  of  this  light  and  huniorous  pamphlet 
may,  perhaps,  infuse  some  purpose  into  the  methods  of  such 
photographers.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that,  unlike  the 
methods,  cameras  need  not  be  changed — for,  of  course,  the 
eminent  novelist  is,  in  his  own  words,  "no  special  pleader"  for 
the  wares  of  Messrs.  Xewman  and  Guardia. 

TiiK  Scientific  Foundations  of  Anai.ythal  Ciikmistry. 
2ud  Edition.  By  W.  Ostwald,  rii.D.  (Macmillan.)  Gs.  net. 
Prof.  Ostwald  is  well  known  as  author  of  several  valuable 
works  on  chemistry  and  chemical  philosophy,  and  as  a  proof  of 
his  popularity  among  advanced  students  it  is  only  necessary  to 
mention  that  the  first  edition  of  the  volume  under  notice  has 
been  translated  into  four  languages.  The  book  will  commend 
itself  to  all  who  wish  to  know  the  why  and  the  wherefore  of  the 
reactions  which  take  place  in  the  multifarious  operations  of  the 
chemical  laboratory.  Our  author  says  "a  scientific  foundation 
and  system  of  analytical  chemistry  have  hitherto  failed  us 
because  the  general  knowledge  and  laws  necessary  for  these  have 
not  been  at  the  disposal  of  scientific  chemistry  itself.  It  is  only 
within  the  last  few  years  that  it  ha.s  become  possible  to  elaborate 


a  theory  of  analytical  reactions.''  Prof.  Ostwald  is  to  be  con- 
gratulated on  the  production  of  tliis  book,  which  enables  the 
student  to  work  out  his  analyses,  not  by  rule-of-thumb,  but 
in  an  intellectual  manner.  The  book  does  not  pretend  to  be 
compreheu.sive,  and,  indeed,  there  is  plenty  of  scope  for  ampli- 
fication. The  subject  up  to  the  present  time  has  received  scant 
attention  at  the  hands  of  analytical  chemists.  Dr.  M'Gowan 
has  succeeded  in  suppl3'iDg  an  able  English  translation. 

A  Handi'.ook  of  PitoTOGRAPHy  IN  Colours.  By  Thomas 
Bolas,  Alex.  A.  K.  Tallent,  and  Edgar  Senior.  (Marion  &  Co.) 
Illustrated.  5s.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  firm  of 
Marion  &  Co.  were  the  first  to  publish  a  work  on  trichromatic 
photography.  At  that  time  (thirt3-one  years  ago)  the  process  was 
in  its  extreme  infancy,  but  now  photography  in  colours  may  be 
said  to  be  an  accom])lislied  fact.  A  perusal  of  the  volume  before 
us  convinces  us  that  an  exhaustive  treatise  on  this  late  develop- 
ment of  the  photographic  art  has  at  last  been  made  available  to 
the  public.  The  work  is  divided  into  three  sections,  one  of 
which  is  credited  to  eacli  of  the  three  authors  respectively.  In 
the  first  section  a  history  of  three-colour  work,  and  a  general 
survey  of  the  many  processes  of  colour  photograjihy,  is  presented, 
and  it  will  be  surprising  to  man}-  to  learn  that  the  art  of 
producing  photographs  in  colours  was  carried  out  in  a  very  crude 
fashion  long  before  ordinary  photography  came  into  general  use. 
In  the  next  section,  which  is  the  largest  in  the  book,  instructions 
are  given  for  carrying  out  experiments  in  colour  photography. 
They  were  compiled  from  lecture  notes  made  by  Mr.  Tallent 
for  use  in  the  Polytechnic  classes,  and  will  be  valuable  to  those 
who  wish  to  acquaint  themselves  with  the  practical  details  of 
the  art.  The  remainder  of  the  volume  is  occupied  with  a 
description  of  Lippman's  Process  of  Interference  Heliochromy. 
It  was  in  18',ll  that  Lippmann,  a  French  physicist,  announced 
that  he  had  been  able  to  take  direct  photographs  in  the  camera 
showing  the  spectrum  in  the  true  colours,  and  since  that  time 
rapid  progress  h.as  been  made. 

"  A.stronomical  and  Physical  Researches  made  at  Mr. 
AVilson's  Obskrvatoi'.y,  Daramona,  West-MEatm."  There  is 
one  type  of  observatory  which  seems  almost  peculiar  to  the 
British  Isles.  Private  observatories  there  are  in  ]ilenty  in  other 
countries,  well-equipped,  and  more  or  less  well-financed  by 
wealthy  men,  and  extremely  well  worked  by  able  astronomers, 
but  in  the  British  Isles  we  find,  over  and  over  again,  that  the 
amateur  astronomer  of  means  not  onl}'  equips  the  observatory 
and  provides  for  the  carrying  on  of  the  observations,  but  is  also 
himself  the  worker,  giving  his  brain,  and,  it  may  be,  his  all  too 
scanty  leisure  to  the  furtherance  of  his  science.  The  observations 
at  Daramona  have  been  carried  out  solely  by  'Sir.  "Wilson  and 
the  occasional  assistance  of  his  personal  friends,  Dr.  A.  A. 
Rambaut.  Prof.  Fitzgerald,  Prof.  G.  M.  Minchin.  and  Mr.  P.  L. 
Gray.  They  are  practical  researches  into  the  difficult  problems 
of  solar  physics  where  <(  priori  reasoning  becomes  worse  than 
useless,  since  it  is  impossible  to  realise  the  actual  conditions  in 
a  laboratory.  The  principal  instruments  used  were  a  24-inch 
silver-on-glass  mirror  of  10-S  feet  focus,  a  large  polar  heliostat 
having  a  plain  silvered  mirror  of  l.j  inches  diameter,  a 
modification  of  Prof.  Joly's  meldometer.  and  a  modification  of 
Prof.  Boys'  radio-micrometer.  Perhaps  the  most  important  and 
fundamental  series  of  researches  carried  out  were  those  on  "  the 
effective  temperature  of  the  sun."  Here  the  general  idea 
was  to  endeavour  to  huJance  the  heat  of  the  sun  by  means  of  an 
artificial  source  of  heat  at  a  high  known  temjierature,  and  the 
method  employed  w.as  jiurposely  simple.  Taking  Angstrom's 
estimate  of  the  loss  in  the  earth's  atmosphere,  and  the  probable 
loss  in  the  sun's  atmosphere,  as  found  in  the  paper  by  Mr. 
Wilson  and  Dr.  Rambaut,  on  "  The  Absorption  of  Heat  in  the 
Solar  Atmosphere,"  the  effective  temperature  of  the  sun  comes 
out  as  between  SOOO"  C.  and  lO.OUO"  C.  In  the  paper  by  Mr. 
AVil.son  and  Prof.  Fitzgerald  on  ''The  Effect  of  Pressure  on  the 
Temperature  of  the  Crater  of  an  Electric  Arc,"  a  suggestion  is 
made  which  bears,  perha]is,  on  the  cause  of  opacity  in  the  solar 
atmosphere.  The  arc  and  the  surrounding  atmosphere  were 
enclosed  in  a  steel  tube,  closed  at  its  end  by  a  lens,  and  when 
the  atmosphere  was  under  great  pi'essure,  powerful  convection 
currents  were  set  up,  and  these  currents  scattered  the  light  just 
as  snow  does,  or  any  finely-divided  transparent  body  immersed 
in  another  of  a  different  refractive  index.  Light  trying  to  get 
through  is  rettected  backwards  and  forwards  in  every  direction, 


December  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


'270 


until  most  of  it  gets  back  by  tbe  way  it  aime.  In  a  similar 
mauuer,  Mr.  Wilson  suggests."  it  may  be  that  any  part  of  tlio 
solar  atmosphere  which  Ts  at  high  pies^suro  and  where  eonvection 
currents,  or  currents  of  liitferent  kinds  of  n\aterials,  are  aetive, 
would  reflect  hick  to  the  sun  any  -.adiations  coming  front  below, 
and  reflect  to  us  only  the  feeble  radiation  coming  from  inter- 
planetary space.  This  may  serve  to  explain  the  darkness  of 
sunspots"  wholly  or  in  part,"  hut  it  also  serves  to  emphasize  our 
powerlessness  "to  conceive  the  conditions  existing  below  the 
sun's  photosphere  :  our  jioweilessness  to  conceive  why,  in  a 
gaseous  body,  practically  isolated  and  cut  olT  from  disturbance 
by  any  other,  there  should  he  local  beats  and  pressures,  quite 
temporary  in  their  character,  to  set  up  convection  streams  and 
currents."  As  an  appendix  to  his  most  valuable ' work,  Jlr. 
AVilson  has  added  a  few  specimens  of  the  stellar  and  nebular 
photographs  taken  with  his  'J-foot  reflector.  Thai  they  arc  very 
beautrful  it  is  almost  superfluous  to  say.  From  the  point  of 
view  of  beauty,  and  perhaps,  also,  from  the  point  of  view  of 
scientific  value,  we  prefer  the  uneulargod  photographs  to  the 
euliirged  ones.  As,  for  example,  in  the  two  photographs  of  the 
"duinb-beH"  nebula  in  Vulpecula — one  ten  times  the  scale  of 
the  other — the  larger  copy  loses  completely  the  faint  delicate 
nebulosity  that  fills  up  the  space  between  the  bounding  inter- 
secting circles,  and  thereby  changes  entirely  the  actual  form  and 
character  of  the  nebula. 

Oldest    Books    ix    thi:    Woki.d.      By    Isaac   Myer,   il.ii. 

Illustrated.     (Kegan  Paul.)     .HOs.  net.     The  title  page  of  this 

ponderous  volume   describes  the  contents  as  "  An  account  of 

the  religion,  wisdom,  philosophy,  ethics,  psychology,  manners, 

proverbs,  saj-ings,  refinement,  etc.,  of  the  ancient  Egyptians  :  as 

set   forth   and   inscribed   upon   some   of    the   oldest    existing 

monuments,  papyri,  and  other  records  of  that  people,  from  the 

earliest  historic  times  to  a.d.  (U  ;  together  with  facsimiles  and 

translations  of  some  of   the  oldest  books  in  the  world.     Also  a 

study  upon  the  origin,  antiquity,  and   elevated  ethics  of   the 

book  written  long  before  the  Hebrew  Exodus,  now  called  the 

CXXVth  chapter  of  the  Book  of  tlie  Dea:l,  with  an  analysis  of 

the  same  based  on  a  eomjiarison  of  numerous  papyri  copies  ; 

also  a  description  of  the  Psychostasia,  or  trial  of  the  conscience 

of  the  dead  ;  with  many  illustrations  of  the   same  from  the 

ancient  monuments  and  papyri."     The  scope  of  the  volume  is 

thus  snflSciently  defined,  and  the  main  object  seems  to  be  to  .show, 

by  extracts  from  archaic  Egyptian  writings,  that  the  maxims  and 

moral  code  of  the  ancient  people  of  Egypt  compare  favoui-ably 

with   doctrines   and   ideas    which    have   since    been    ado])ted. 

Thanks  to   the   enlightened  policy  of   the   authorities   of   tlie 

British  Museum,  many  people  are  now  familiar  with  the  chieC 

facts  of  Egyptology  and  the  chief  com|)ositions  of  the  various 

dynasties.     The  '•  Book  of  the  Dead  "  referred  to  above  is  a 

collection  of  chapters   or   separate   compositions   of   different 

lengths  found  in  Egypt  insciibed  upon  pyramids,  upon  the  walls 

of  tombs,  upon  sarcophagi,  and  coffins,  and  amulets  that  wei'c 

buried  with  the  dead,  and  also  found  written  upon  long  rolls  of 

papyri  which  were  placed  in  the  tomb  with   tbe  deceased.     In 

the  volume  before  us,  fifteen  writings  are  brought  together,  and 

different  renderings  are  given  of  the  original  text.    To  students 

of  religion,  philosophy,  ethics,  and  everyone  else  interested  in 

the  study  of  the  thoughts  and  customs  of  men,  the   book  is  a 

desirable  production,  if  only  as  an  analysis  of  early  beliefs  and 

a  reproduction  of  ancient  writings. 

We  have  received  from  Mr.  Murray  the  first  two  numbers  of 
the  "  Monthly  Review  "  (2s.  fid.),  and  we  are  pleased  to 
associate  ourselves  with  the  congratulatory  chorus  of  our 
contemporaries  in  welcoming  so  handsome  an  addition  to  the 
monthl}-  magazines.  The  turn-out  of  the  book  more  than 
realises  the  promises  of  its  prospectus,  and  fully  maintains  the 
high  traditions  of  the  Albemarle  Street  house :  while  its  Editor 
may  be  congratulated  on  the  varied  and  interesting  character  of 
its  contents.  So  high  a  standard  of  literary  excellence  will 
certainly  command  a  distinguished  future. 

The  advent  of  the  "Knowledge''  Di.\uy  and  Scientific 
Handbook  is  announced  in  our  advertisement  columns.  In 
view  of  the  ever  increasing  interest  taken  in  the  study  of 
Astronomy,  the  time  has  come  when  its  votaries  should  ])0ssess 
an  Annual  specially  devoted  to  their  needs  and  requirements, 
and  it  is  the  intention  of  this  new  venture  to  meet  that  want. 


BOOKS    RECEIVED. 

PiihUcations  of  the  Lick  OUenoloiy.     \ol.  IV.     I'.IOO. 

Reporl  of  the  Boanl  of  Edtini/ion,  l!^99-1900. 

A  Vear  ii-ilh  Nalure.  liy  \V.  I'orriviil  Westell.  (11.  J.  Dnino  : 
London.)     Illustrated.     10s."imI. 

I'rohlems  of  JCrolii/ioii.  B.v  F.  W.  lloaiUry.  (Diulvworlli.)  8s. 
net. 

T/ic  Child:  A  S/iidi/  ia  the  Efoi„lioii  of  3Iau.  By  Dr.  A.  F. 
Chamhovluin.     (Wnlter  8colt.)     fis. 

Binleria.     2iid  F.diliou.     Uy  George  Xewman,  r.n.s.     (M\irray.) 

Optical  Tallies  and  Data  for  Opticiniis.  By  Prof.  S.P.  Thompson. 
(Spoil.)     Gs.  net. 

ntiiian's  tShorthand    Year-Sooh  and  Dian/,  I'JOl.     Is. 

Mechanical    irorld  Pocket  JJian/,  1901.    '(iil. 

llandhook  for  Literari/  and  Behalinii  Societies.  (llodder  & 
Stouglitoii.)     Is.  Gd. 

A  Hero  of  Rumance.    By  Ricliard  Marsh.    (Ward,  LocU  &  Co.)   (is. 

Williams  4'  Norjate's  Book  Circular,  1899-1900. 

Studies :  Scientific  and  Social.  2  Vols,  By  A.  R.  Wallace. 
Maeiiiillaii.)     Illustrated.     18s. 

Contents — Suliject  Index  to  General  and  Periodical  Literature. 
By  A.  Cotgrtave.     (Kdiot  Stoc'<.)     7s.   6d. 

P/iofof/raphic  Optics.  By  Otio  Lunuiier.  Translated  by  rrof. 
S.  i'.  'J'lioiiipson.     (.Mac'Tiiillan.)     Cs.  net. 

Chemistry  for  ^Examinations.    By  11.  W.  Hill.    (Allmau.)    2s.  Cd. 

Sonijs  and  Li/rics.  By  Charles  WlulworUi  Wynne.  (Qraiil 
Eieliarils.)      ;Ss.  (id. 

The  Cape  as  I  found  it.    By  Beatrice  M.  Hicks.    (Elliot  Stock.)   Ss. 

A  Brief  HlHorii  of  Mai hemaiics.  By  Dr.  Karl  Fink.  Translated 
by  W.  \V.  Beman  and  D.  E.  Smith.     (Kegan  Paul.) 

The  Science  of  the  Emotions.  By  Bliagavan  Das,  MA.  (Tlieo. 
sopbieal  Publishing  Society.)     ISs.  6d.  net. 

The  Proce.is    Year-Book,  1900.     (Penrose.) 

Proceed i,>ir/s  of  the  Socictt/  for  Pst/chical  lie-search.  October,  lUOO. 
6s.         "        ' 

Philips'  London   School  Board  Atlas.     Is.  net. 

Living   llace.s  of  Mankind.     Part  III.     (LIuteliinsoii.)      7il.   net. 

Crowhurst's  ''Chess  Board"  Astigmatic  Test  Chart.  By  If.  A. 
Crowliurst  (of  Sanders  &  Crowhurst,  71,  Shaftesbury  Avenue).  1  s.  (jil. 
Published  by  Newbold  &  Bulford,  4(i,  tlosweU  Roa'd. 

The  Scie'nti/ic  Boll.  Bacteria.  \o\.  f.,  No.  1.  Coudueled  by 
Alexaiidei'  Ramsay.  Is.  (R.  L.  Sharland,  :«,  Churclifield  Eoad, 
.U-tou.) 


THOMAS    HENRY    HUXLEY.* 

A  THOUSAND  pages  of  biography  sounds  moiisfcrous  for  an 
individual  share  in  the  story  of  mankind.  But  every 
now  and  then  an  actor  passes  across  tlie  stage  of  human 
society  with  so  much  quicksilver  versatility,  responsive 
to  so  many  calls,  exciting  so  much  hostility  and  adniira.- 
tion,  taking  so  large  a  part  in  the  work,  and  tlie  thinking, 
and  the  lighting,  of  liis  time,  that  every  step  in  his 
career  enchains  the  interost  of  a  wide  circle  of  readers. 
When  humour  and  pathos,  courage  and  sagacity,  self- 
denying  industry  and  domestic  tenderness,  gradually 
become  conspicuous  as  characteristics  of  the  man  s 
sayings  and  doings,  the  long-drawn  history  of  his  pilgrim- 
age assumes  a  dramatic  fascination.  He  may  still  be, 
as  sketched  by  rumour  or  by  prejudice,  tho  intellectual 
prize-fighter,  the  overbearing  champion  of  revolutionary 
causes.  Only,  the  harsh  or  rugged  outlines  of  his 
temperament  "and  activity  arc  no  longer  repellent  in 
the  elaborated  portrait.  Premature  distaste  is  bound  to 
vanisli  b-jfore  the  presentment  of  a  man  bearing  himself 
with  uprightness,  fortitude,  and  delicate  sympa,thy  in 
the  everyday  romance  and  tho  ordinary  sufferings  of 
mortal  existence;  still  more,  when  it  is  found  that  his 
position  of  nutliority,  at  first  extorted  by  a  masterful 
intellect,  is  in  tho  "end  conceded  without  grudging  to 
a  stedfast  character;  and,  beyond  all  this,  that  his  whole 
course  was  encompassed  and  comforted  by  what  is  hard 

*  "  Life  and  Lettci's  of  Thomas  Henry  Huxley,"  by  his  son,  Leonard 
Huxley.  In  tiro  volumes.  (Loudon:  Maemillau  ci.  Co.,  Limitel.)  1900. 


280 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[December  1,  1900. 


for  an  eternally  combative  man  to  have,  and  impossible 
to  be  had  by  a  mean  man,  the  constancy  and  devotion 
of  an  incomparable  band  of  friends. 

The  foregoing  remarks  are  naturally  suggested  by  the 
''  Life  and  Letters  of  Thomas  Henry  Huxley,"  now- 
given  to  the  world  by  his  son.  The  volumes  might 
possibly  have  borne  a  little  compression,  a  little  re- 
arrangement, a  little  more  consideratcness  for  living 
relatives  of  his  dead  antagonists.  But  the  gaiety  of 
nations  will  in  no  way  be  eclipsed  by  many  of  the  out- 
spoken judgments,  and  the  cousins  of  Mr.  X.  or  Mr.  Y. 
may  console  themselves  by  observing  that  their  kins- 
man is  in  the  same  boat  with  Lord  Bacon.  All  these 
hundreds  of  pages  are  of  a  quality  to  be  read  with 
pleasure.  They  are  of  value  for  example  of  life  and 
instruction  of  manners,  including,  like  other  books  that 
have  been  so  described,  the  exemplum  ad  vitanclum 
along  with  things  meet  for  imitation.  There  are  many 
essential  lessons  involved,  which  haply  some  may  learn 
to  good  effect,  without  knowing  that  they  are  being 
taught. 

It  cannot  be  expected  that  Huxley,  followed  through 
the  i^ugnacity  of  a  lifetime,  will  satisfy  every  taste  or 
command  assent  to  every  opinion  in  the  records  of  this 
nan'ative.  That  is  a  fortunate  circumstance,  perhaps 
foreseen  and  rejoiced  in  by  his  clever  and  filial  bio- 
grapher. He  is  not  set  before  us  as  the  Admirable 
Crichtou  of  a  novel,  still  less  as  merely  "  prig,"  "  savant,'' 
or  "  Gelehrte,"  wittily  assumed  by  the  late  Henry 
Sidgwick  to  be  convertible  terms.  He  is  presented  to 
us  as  a  thoroughly  human  being,  fighting  at  school, 
joking  with  middies  on  board  the  "  Rattlesnake,"  fancy- 
ing as  a  young  man  (sublimely  innocent  creature)  that 
he  was  indifferent  to  money  and  fame,  owning  from  first 
to  last  that  he  loved  his  friends  and  hated  his  enemies. 
Beyond  a  doubt  the  high  lights  of  his  portrait  are 
relieved  by  occasional  shadows.  Of  Tennyson  he  became 
a  stalwart  ally  and  admirer,  but  at  twenty-seven,  just 
after  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  funeral,  he  wi'ites  to  his 
betrothed,  "  I  send  Tennyson's  ode  by  way  of  packing — 
it  is  not  worth  much  more,  the  only  decent  passages  t« 
my  mind  being  those  I  have  marked."  In  his  table- 
talk  he  quotes  with  evident  approval  a  saying  by  Sir 
Henry  Holland,  "  In  my  opinion  Plato  was  an  ass ! 
But  don't  tell  any  one  I  said  so!"  The  world  would 
have  suffered  no  substantial  loss  if  this  confidence  had 
not  b?en  broken.  Gladstone  on  Gadai'a  he  attacked  with 
much  controversial  success,  but  he  privately  owns  that 
his  assault  was  designed  to  weaken  Gladstone's  political 
position.  "  As  to  Gladstone  and  his  '  Impregnable  Rock,' 
it  wa?n't  worth  attacking  them  for  themselves,  but  it  was 
most  important  at  that  moment  to  shake  him  in  the  minds 
of  sensible  men."  That  way  of  indirectly  undermining 
an  opponent  may  or  may  not  be  decent  in  the  law-courts. 
It  is  scarcely  a  specimen  of  chivalrous,  of  Huxleyan, 
straightforwardness,  but  rather  on  a  par  with  the  con- 
troversial methods  of  a  journalist  who  vindicates  his 
own  judgment  on  military  tactics  or  the  chemistry  of  the 
sun  by  showing  that  the  other  man  is  weak  in  spelling 
or  faulty  in  syntax.  Huxley  was  an  eminent  apostle  of 
education  for  girls  as  well  as  boys,  for  women  as  well  as 
men,  for  teachers  as  well  as  the  taught,  and  yet  we  read 
(Vol.  I.,  p.  212),  of  his  preparing  his  "  claws  and  beak  " 
to  keep  women  out  of  scientific  societies,  almcst  as  if 
in  1860  he  prophetically  sympathized  with  the  Austrian 
medical  students  of  1900.  He  had  come  to  the  impolite, 
may  one  be  permitted  to  say  the  unworthy,  conclusion, 
that  five-sixths  of  womankind  would  never  be  anything 
but  "  intrigues  "  in  politics,  and  "  friponnes  "  in  science. 


But  perhaps  in  the  end  he  found  repentance  (see  Vol.  I., 
p.  417).  Wonderfully  diversified  as  his  knowledge 
was,  it  had  its  limits,  or  he  could  never  have  written  to 
Kiugslcy  that  the  Latin  affirmation  "  Cogito  "  was  pre- 
ferable to  the  English  "  I  think,"  "  because  the  latter 
asserts  the  existence  of  an  Ego — about  which  the  bundle 
of  phenomena  at  present  addressing  you  knows  nothing," 
though  obviously  the  Ego  is  just  as  completely  involved 
in  the  affix  of  Cogito  as  it  is  in  the  prefix  of  /  think.  He 
fancied  that  "  Newton  and  Cuvier  lowered  themselves 
when  the  one  accepted  an  idle  knighthood,  and  the  other 
became  a  baron  of  the  empire,"  not  considering  that 
the  jjride  of  a  cynic  may  sometimes  be  seen  through  the 
holes  of  his  mantle,  and  that  there  may  be  as  much 
vaingloriousness  in  refusing  a  title  as  in  wearing  one. 

The  story  of  what  may  be  called  the  Battle  of  Oxford, 
in  1860,  is  here,  as  it  was  bound  to  be,  told  once  more. 
It  is  told  from  the  mouth  of  many  witnesses.  They  are 
men  of  veracity  and  intelligence.  They  report  words 
publicly  spoken,  and  spoken  under  circumstances  of 
exceptionally  quickened  attention,  though  no  doubt  also 
under  circumstances  of  exceptional  excitement.  The 
extraordinary  upshot  is  that  no  one  can  now  be  sure  of 
what  was  really  said  either  by  Samuel  Wilberforce  or 
by  Thomas  Huxley.  All  evolutionists  are  agreed  that 
Huxley  won  on  that  occasion  a  striking  and  valuable 
triumph.  But  it  was  almost  certainly  a  triumph  of  his 
rhetoric,  not  his  logic,  of  audacity,  not  of  good  taste. 
The  Bishop  of  Oxford  indulged  in  what  he  and  his  party 
probably  deemed  innocent  and  amusing  banter.  In 
return  that  eminent  prelate,  in  the  centre  of  his  own 
diocese,  before  a  throng  of  those  who  revered  and  loved 
him,  was  upbraided,  according  to  one  unropudiated 
account,  as  a  man  "  who  prostituted  the  gifts  of  culture 
and  eloquence  to  the  service  of  prejudice  and  of  false- 
hood." The  absurdity  of  the  thing  is  transparent  when 
we  ask  ourselves  how  long  at  that  date  had  the  scientific 
world  itself  been  converted  to  the  doctrine  of  the  trans- 
mutation of  species,  how  much  of  it  was  still  uncon- 
verted, and  for  how  many  years  longer  did  leaders  of 
science  hold  out  against  it  in  France,  in  Germany, 
in  America,  no  less  than  in  England.  In  the  companion 
picture  of  1894,  again  at  Oxford,  again  before  the 
British  Association,  and  once  more  matched  in  a  con- 
flict of  wits  with  a  master  of  eloquence  and  sarcasm, 
Huxley  stands  forth,  as  some  will  think,  a  second  time 
victorious.  But  now  the  tiiumph  is  won  by  refinement 
of  taste,  not  by  bitterness  of  retort.  Put  forward  to 
second  the  vote  of  thanks  for  an  address,  in  which  the 
existing  state  of  biological  science  had  been  treated  with 
mockei-y,  Huxley  knew  how  to  applaud  what  was  laud- 
able in  the  discourse  without  approving  what  was  open 
to  debate,  and  some  will  remember  the  dignity  of  tone 
and  aspect,  with  which,  alluding  to  his  own  share  in  the 
long  Darwinian  campaign,  he  uttered  the  words,  "  We 
of  the  Old  Guard  stand  firm." 

What  these  volumes  tell  us  of  Huxley's  researches  and 
his  writings,  of  his  innumerable  lectures,  of  his  work  for 
societies,  associations,  congresses,  institutions,  royal  com- 
missions, and  popular  or  unpopular  causes,  will  make 
some  readers  wonder  how  a  lifetime  coidd  contain  it  all. 
No  doubt  he  crowded  into  his  days  more  than  his 
strength  could  bear,  and  had  in  consequence  many  penal- 
ties to  pay,  or,  to  use  more  strictly  philosophical  lan- 
guage, what  followed,  followed.  None  the  less  he  lived  the 
life  of  his  choice.  He  won  almost  every  sort  of  success 
that  is  open  to  such  a  career.  He  was  always  arguing, 
and  always  getting  the  better  or  the  best  of  the  ai-gument. 
He  called  himself,   it  is  true,   an   Agnostic,   or  Know- 


Deiembek  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


281 


nothing,  and  in  that  instance  for  a  wondor  he  was  foiled, 
for  he  never  could  persuade  the  world  at  large  to  believe 
in  his  tot-al  and  absolute  ignorance.  In  spite  of  the 
hard  names  by  which  he  was  fain  to  describe  his  attitude 
towards  all  theological  dogma,  we  must  remember  that 
be  was  continually  sti-iving  after  light  and  truth.  The 
kernel  of  his  religion  was  this,  that  men  arc  always 
working  out  their  own  salvation — or  the  other  thing ; 
that  we  are  all  hour  by  hour  receiving  the  rewiu-ds  and 
punishments  of  our  own  good  and  evil  doings. 

But  the  book  itself  must  be  read.  It  will  take  many 
behind  the  scenes  of  very  unfamiliar  playhouses,  allowing 
them  to  be  present  at  the  birth  and  obsequies  of  the  / 
Club,  to  take  part  in  starting  the  Metaphysical  Society, 
to  follow  the  thread  of  many  a  scientific  adventure,  and, 
before  thev  have  done,  they  will  have  realized,  if  they 
did  not  know  it  already,  that  Huxley  was  not  only  a 
peculiarly  distinguished  man  of  science,  but  also  a 
preacher  of  truth  and  righteousness,  and  not  a  preacher 
onlv. 


WIRELESS     TELEGRAPHY.     V. 

By     G.     W.     DE     TUNZELMANN,     B.SC. 

PRACTICAL  WORK. 

With  the  exception  of  the  unpublished  experiments 
of  Professor  Hughes  leferred  to  in  my  last  article, 
nothing  seems  to  have  been  done  in  the  way  of  utilising 
Hertzian  electric  waves  for  the  purposes  of  telegraphic 
communication  before  the  year  1895. 

In  April  of  that  year,  Professor  A.  Popoff,  of  the 
Cronstadt  Torpedo  School,  described  to  the  Russian 
Physical  Society  the  apparatus  shown  in  Fig.  1,  which 
he  employed  as  a  receiver  for  Hertzian  waves.     It  con- 


Tei-tixxzl 
JVire- 


-BcMcry 


Yin.   1. — Popoff's  Hertzian  Wave  Keceiver. 

sisted  of  a  tube  coherer  built  in  two  sections,  and  having 
one  of  its  terminals  connected  with  a  vertical  wire,  and 
the  other  with  the  earth.  When  a  wave  fell  upon  the 
coherer,  causing  its  resistance  to  fall  from  an  almost 
infinite  value  down  to  a  few  hundreds  of  ohms,  a  current 
from  the  battery  was  enabled  to  flow  through  the  circuit 
and  energise  the  electro-magnet  of  an  ordinary  Siemens 
telegraph  relay,  thereby  closing  a  circuit,  not  shown  in 
the  illustration,   containing  a  large  battery   and   a  tele- 


graphic recorder,  which  continued  in  action  as  long  as 
the  current  flowed  through  the  battery  in  the  coherer 
circuit.  As  soon,  however,  iis  coherence  was  set  up,  the 
electro-magnet  of  the  electric  bell  was  energised  simul- 
taneously with  that  of  the  relay,  and  the  bell-hammer 
striking  upon  the  central  plate  of  the  coherer  caused 
decohercnce,  so  that,  unless  the  waves  continued  and  re- 
established the  stat-c  of  cohesion,  the  recorder  was  thrown 
out  of  action. 

Using  a  Hertz  oscillator  with  30  centimetre  spheres, 
Popoff  was  able  to  send  signals  over  a  distance  of  a 
kilometre,  which  he  extended  to  five  kilometres,  by 
replacing  the  Hertz  oscillator  by  a  Bjcrknes  one  with 
spheres  90  centimetres  in  diameter. 

Very  shortly  afterwards  Captain  Jackson  made  some 
experiments  for  the  Admiralty  at  Devonport,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  sending  messages  from  one  ship  to  another. 
His  apparatus,  however,  and  the  results  obtained  with 
it,  were  treated  as  confidential  and  have  not  been 
published. 

In  June,  1896,  Guglielmo  Marconi,  a  young  Italian, 
and  a  pupil  of  Professor  Righi,  applied  for  provisional 
protection  for  "  Improvements  in  transmitting  Electrical 
Impulses  and  Signals  and  in  Apparatus  therefor,"  and 
filed  a  complete  specification  on  the  2nd  of  JVIarch,  1897. 
At  the  time  of  making  his  provisional  application 
Marconi's  apparatus  was  in  a  somewhat  crude  form, 
but  it  contained  important  improvements  in  details,  and 
in  July,  1896,  he  had  the  fortune  of  obtaining  the  assist- 
ance and  support  of  the  Postal-Telegraph  Department, 
through  the  good  offices  of  Sir  W.  H.  Preece,  who  was 
then  the  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Post  Office. 

With  this  powerful  co-operation,  combined  with  his 
own  indefatigable  industry  and  experimental  skill, 
Signor  Marconi  succeeded  in  overcoming  a  host  of  diffi- 
culties, and  in  developing  a  comnfcrcially  practical 
system  of  telegraphy  based  on  Hertzian  electric  waves. 
'  The  transmitting  apparatus  employed  for  long  dis- 
tances when  it  is  not  required  to  concentrate  the  waves 
in  a  definite  direction  is  shown  in  Fig.  2. 


Kio. 


-Lonir  Di-tMiire   \[ar(nrii  TninsiiiiHei-. 


The  small  spheres,  d,  d,  aie  connected   by  the  wires, 
c',  c',  with  the  secondary  termiii'.s.ls  of  an  induction  coil, 

c,  and  one  of  them  is  also  connected  with  the  vertical 
wire,  W,  while  the  other  is  earth-connected.  When  the 
Morse  key,  b,  is  depressed,  the  coil  is  energised  by  the 
battery,  a,  and  therefore,  as  long  as  it  is  kept  down,  a 
stream   of   sparks   is   maintained   between   the   spheres, 

d,  d. 

When   it  is  desired  to  send   a  btain   of   rays  in   some 


282 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[December  1,  1900. 


definite  direction,  the  transmitter  used  by  Marconi  is 
one  devised  by  Professor  Righi,  of  Bologna,  and  shown 
in  Fig.  3.  The  two  large  spheres,  e,  e,  are  1 1  centimetres 

A A 


Fig.  3.— Bighi  Oscillator  for  use  with  Eeflector. 

in  diameter,  and  are  separated  by  a  space  of  a  millimetre. 
In  order  to  concentrate  the  beam  of  rays  in  the  required 
direction  the  oscillator  is  placed  in  the  focal  line  of  a 
parabolic  cylindrical  reflector,  as  shown  in  Fig.  4. 

The  most  important  part  of  the  receiver  is  the  co- 
herer, which  consists  of  a  small  glass  tube  (Fig.  5), 
about  two  and  a  half  millimetres  in  internal  diameter 
and  some  four  centimetres  in  length.  Two  silver  pole 
pieces  are  lightly  fitted  into  this  tube,  separated  by  a 
gap  of  about  a  millimetre,  containing  a  mixture  of  96 


Fig.  4. — Marconi  Transmitter  witli  Parabolic  Reflector. 

parts  of  nickel  and  4  parts  of  silver,  not  too 
finely  granulated,  and  worked  up  with  the  merest 
trace  of  mercui-y.  This  powder  must  not  be 
packed  too  tight,  or  the  action  will  be  irregular 
and  over-sensitive  to  slight  outside  disturbances, 
while  if  too  loose  it  will  not  be  sufficiently  sensitive.     It 


Fig.  5. — Marconi  Coherer. 

is  found  that  the  best  adjustment  is  obtained  when  the 
coherer  works  well  under  the  actions  of  the  spaa'ks  from 
a  small  electric  trembler  placed  at  a  distance  of  about 
a  metre.  The  tube  is  then  exhausted  on  a  mercury  pump 
until  the  pressure  falls  to  about  a  millimetre,  when  the 
tubulure  left  for  exhausting  it  is  sealed  off.  The  tubes 
are  tested  over  a  distance  of  18  miles  before  being  put 
into  use,  and  when  all  the  requisite  precautions  are  ob- 
served, Signer  Marconi  finds  them  as  reliable  as  any  other 
telegraphic  instruments,  and  not  liable  to  get  out  of 
order  when  in  use.  His  experience  in  this  is  confinned 
by  that  of  Professor  Fleming.     If  the   tubes   aj-e   not 


exhausted  they  are  found  to  grow  gradually  less  sensi- 
tive, probably  from  slight  oxidation  going  on,  and  this 
of  coiu-se  would  not  be  permissible  in  commercial  in- 
struments. 

The  general  arrangement  of  the  receiving  apparatus 
for  long  distance  work  without  a  reflector  is  shown  in 
is  the  coherer  tube,  with  its  silver  pole 


h 

® 

3|0 

Fig.  6. — Marconi  Receiver  witli  Vertical  Wire  and  Earth  Connection. 

pieces,  j',  j-.  The  coherer  forms  part  of  a  circuit  con- 
taining a  local  cell,  g,  and  a  sensitive  telegraph  relay. 
When  electric  waves  impinge  upon  the  coherer 
its  resistance  falls  from  a  nearly  infinite  value  to 
something  between  500  and  100  ohms,  which  allows 
the  cell,  g,  to  energise  the  electro-magnet  of 
the  relay,  n,  and  close  a  circuit  containing  a 
larger  battei-y,  r,  together  with  a  Morse  recorder, 
h,  and  a  trembling  electric  bell,  p,  to  act  as 
decoherer.  The  hammer,  o,  of  the  bell  is  so  adjusted 
as  to  tap  the  coherer  tube  and  shake  the  filings  in  it. 
If  at  the  moment  in  which  these  actions  took  place  the 
electric  waves  in  the  resonator  had  died  away,  this  tap 
would  restore  the  coherer  to  its  normal  condition  of 
practically  infinite  resistance,  and  a  dot  only  would 
be  recorded  on  the  tape  of  the  Morse  machine.  If, 
however,  the  key  of  the  transmitter  were  kept  depressed, 
then  waves  would  succeed  each  other  at  very  short 
intervals,  so  that  the  acquired  conductivity  of  the  coherer 
would  only  be  momentarily  destd'oyed  by  the  tap  of  the 
bell-hammer,  and  immediately  re-established  by  the 
electric  waves.  Now  the  armature  of  the  Morse  recorder 
is  somewhat  heavy,  and  therefore  has  considerable 
inertia,  so  that  it  cannot  follow  the  very  rapid  vibrations 
of  the  tongue  of  the  relay.  The  practical  result,  there- 
fore, is  that  the  Morse  instrument  gives  an  exact  re- 
production of  the  dots  and  dashes  produced  by  the 
movements  of  the  key  at  the  transmitting  station, 
although  during  each  movement  of  the  key,  however 
short,  the  armatures  of  the  relay  and  of  the  tapper  go 
through  a  series  of  rapid  vibrations  dependent  on  each 
other. 

Small  choking  coils,  k',  k' — that  is  to  say,  coils  wound 
so  as  to  have  self-induction  or  electric  inertia — are  intro- 
duced between  the  coherer  and  the  relay,  their  effect 
being  to  compel  the  greater  part  of  the  oscillatory 
current  induced  in  the  circuit  by  the  electric  waves  to 
traverse  the  coherer,  instead  of  wasting  the  greater 
portion  of  its  energy  in  the  alternative  path  afforded  by 
the  relay.  If  these  coils  are  omitted,  other  circumstances 
remaining  the  same.  Signor  Marconi  finds  that  the  dis- 


Dfckmker  1  moo  1 


K  NOWLEDGE 


283 


tance  at  which  the  signals  can  be  distinguished  is  re- 
duced to  neaxlv  haJf  that  attained  when  they  ai'c 
employed. 

lu  order  to  screen  the  receiver  from  the  violent 
surgings  which  would  be  set  up  when  using  the  trans- 
mitters at  the  same  station,  he  enclosed  the  whole  of 
the  i-eceiviug  apparatus,  with  the  exception  of  the  re- 
corder, in  a  metallic  bos.  As  some  of  the  waves  picked 
up  bv  the  recorder  would,  by  travelling  along  the  leads 
into  the  receiver,  injure  the  coherer,  he  chokes  off  all 
such  effects  bv  interposing  suitable  choking  coils  between 
the  recorder  connections  and  the  terminals  of  the  re- 
ceiver. These  choking  coils  consist  of  a  few  turns  of 
instJated  wire  wound  in  layers,  each  layer  being 
separated  from  the  adjacent  ones  by  means  of  sheets 
of  tinfoil  in  metallic  connection  with  the  enclosing  box. 
This  earthed  tinfoil  prevents  the  waves  from  passing 
inductively  from  one  turn  of  the  choking  coil  to  the 
next.  The  earthed  terminal  of  the  receiver  is  connected 
to  the  box  and  need  never  be  touched.  Signor  Marconi 
also  found  that,  unless  provision  was  made  against  it, 
the  relay,  the  tapper,  and  the  recorder  all  produced 
disturbing  effects  on  the  receiver,  but  he  got  rid 
of  these  effects  by  introducing  suitable  non-inductive 
resistances,  q,  ])-,  and  s,  in  parallel  with  them,  or, 
as  telegraphists  say,  he  shunted  them  with  these  resist- 
ances. This  prevented  all  spaa'king  at  the  contacts,  and 
sudden  perturbations,  or  jerks,  due  to  the  local  battery 
current,  all  of  which  would  otherwise  produce  disturbing 
effects  on  the  coherer. 

When  it  is  desired  that  the  receiver  should  only  pick 
up  waves  coming  in  a  certain  definite  direction,  the 
arrangement  shown  in  Fig.  7  is  employed.     This  differs 


"^ — o^mm 


Fig.  7. — ilarconi  EeceiTer  with  Parabolic  Ecflector. 

from  that  shown  in  Fig.  6  only  in  the  vertical  wire  and 
earth  connection  being  done  away  with,  and  replaced  by 
the  two  copper  strips,  k,  k,  the  sizes  of  which  must  be 
carefully  adjusted  so  that  the  receiver  may  be  in  syntony 
with  the  transmitted  waves ;  and  in  a  parabolic  cylin- 
drical reflector  being  placed  so  that  the  coherer  tube 
lies  with  its  axis  in  its  focal  line. 

My  readers  will  observe  the  considerable  similarity 
between  Marconi's  apparatus  and  that  of  Popoff;  al- 
though I  believe  that,  when  Signor  Marconi  designed 
his  apparatus,  Popoff  s  results  were  unknown  to  him. 
Both  used  the  coherer  to  actuate  a  relay,  and  thereby 
bring  into  action  a  telegraph  recorder,  and  both  used 
a  tapper  to  cause  decoherence.  Popoff  also  anticipated 
Marconi  in  the  use  of  a  vertical  wire  and  earth  con- 


§)       I" 
A 

8> 


nection  on  his  receiving  instrument,  but  does  not  seem 
to  have  recognised  its  necessity  on  the  transmitter. 

The  use  of  the  tall  vertical  wire  on  both  transmitter 
and  receiver  forms  one  of  the  most  notable  of  Maixoni's 
improvements,  and  the  one  which  has  perhaps  played  the 
largest  pai't  in  his  successful  transmission  of  signals 
over  long  distances.  A  horizontal  wire  is  no  use,  even 
if  added  at  the  top  of  a  long  vertical  wii'e,  so  as  to  keep 
it  at  a  great  distance  from  the  earth.  The  effect  of 
the  long  wire  is  to  increase  the  length  of  the  waves 
generated  in  the  ether,  and,  therefore,  as  was  pointed 
out  in  my  first  article,  to  augment  their  power  of  pene- 
trating obstacles,  the  wave  length  being  about  four  times 
the  length  of  the  wire.  The  reason  that  it  acts  so 
much  better  in  a  vertical  position  than  in  any  other 
is  that  that  position  is  the  one  which  is  least  favourable 
to  the  production  of  induced  oscillating  currents  in  the 
earth,  which,  if  set  up,  must  dissipate  uselessly  the 
amount  of  energy  required  to  excite  them. 

Signor  Marconi  finds  that  a  conductor  with  consider- 
able capacity,  such  as  a  sheet  of  wire  net,  attached 
to  the  top  of  the  vertical  wire  by  means  of  an  insulating 
rod,  is  to  some  extent  equivalent  to  increasing  the  length 
of  the  wire.  He  found  experimentally  that,  if  the 
wires  at  the  two  stations  are  equal  in  height,  the  distance 
to  which  signals  could  be  transmitted  was  approximately 
proportional  to  the  squai-e  of  that  height,  the  actual 
maximum  distance  being  somewhat  in  excess  of  that 
calculated  from  this  assumption.  Professor  Ascoli  has 
confirmed  this  result  mathematically. 

One  of  the  Marconi  masts,  150  feet  high,  which  was 
erected  at  the  South  Foreland  last  year,  is  shown  in 
Fig.  8.  This  mast  is  now  of  historic  interest,  as  being 
the  one  which  was  used  for  the  first  transmission  of 
messages  by  the  new  system  of  telegraphy  between 
England  and  France,  the  French  station  being  at  the 
village  of  Wimereux,  near  Boulogne,  and  at  a  distance 
of  32  miles  from  the  South  Foreland.  In  place  of  using 
a  high  mast  the  vertical  wire  might,  where  the  oppor- 
tunity exists,  be  suspended  from  the  top  of  a  cliff  or  of 
a  lofty  building,  and  Mr.  Marconi  has  in  this  way  suc- 
cessfully transmitted  messages  between  Bournemouth 
and  Alum  Bay  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  a  distance  of  about 
14  miles.  No  mast  was  employed  at  the  latter  station, 
the  vertical  wire  being  allowed  to  hang  over  the  edge  of 
the  cliff,  the  instrument  and  earth  connections  being 
at  the  top,  while  the  lower  end  of  the  wire,  which  was 
about  100  feet  long,  hung  free  in  space,  the  wire  being 
kept  at  a  distance  of  about  30  feet  from  the  face  of  the 
cUff. 

I  am  not  aware  that  any  attempts  have  been  made  to 
employ  the  Marconi  apparatus  with  reflectors  for  greater 
distances  than  two  miles.  Hertz  found  that  to  obtain 
good  results  with  reflectors  they  must  be  large  compared 
with  the  wave  length,  and  the  distance  of  the  mirror 
from  the  oscillator  must  not  be  less  than  a  quarter  of 
the  wave  length,  as  clearly  follows  from  what  I  explained 
in  my  first  article,  that  the  emission  point  of  the  waves 
is  a  quarter  of  a  wave  length  from  the  vibrating  source. 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  it  would  hardly  be 
practicable  to  employ  reflectors  in  conjunction  with  high 
masts  for  transmitting  beams  of  rays  in  a  given  direction. 
For  example,  with  the  vertical  wire  150  feet  long,  such 
as  that  in  use  at  the  South  Foreland,  the  wave  length 
would  be  about  600  feet.  The  dimensions  of  the  mirror 
would  therefore  have  to  be  large  compared  with  this, 
and  placed  at  a  distance  not  less  than  150  feet  from 
the  oscillator. 

The  use  of  reflectors  is,  however,  of  considerable  value 


284 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[December  1,  1900. 


for  communicating  between  ships,  or  ships  and  the  shore, 
at  short  distances. 

By  the  use  of  reflectors  it  is  possible  to  project  the 
electric  waves  in  an  almost  parallel  beam,  which  will 
have  no  effect  upon  any  receiver  not  lying  in  its  course, 
whether  this  receiver  be  syntonic  with  the  waves  or  not. 
This,  as  Signor  Marconi  has  pointed  out.  would  enable 


Fia.  8 


Mast  at  tUe  Suiitli  Furelaud. 


several  forts,  hill-tops,  or  islands  to  communicate  with 
each  other  in  war  time,  without  any  fear  of  the  enemy 
tapping  or  interfering  with  the  signals,  for,  if  the  forts 
were  on  a  small  height,  the  beams  could  easily  be 
directed  so  as  to  pass  over  any  position  that  might 
possibly  be  occupied  by  the  enemy. 

In  some  experiments,  made  over  a  distance  of 
one  and  three-quarter  miles,  Signor  Marconi  ob- 
served that  quite  a  small  movement  of  the  reflector  of 
the  transmitting  instrument  was  siifficient  to  stop  the 
reception  of  the  signals  by  the  receiver.  The  zone, 
within  which  the  receiver  had  to  be  placed  for  a  given 
position  of  the  transmitting  reflector,  not  being  more 
than  about  100  feet  in  breadth. 

"  There  exists,"  says  Signor  Marconi,  in  his  paper  read 
in  March,  1899,  before  the  Institution  of  Electrical 
Engineers,  "  a  most  important  case  to  which  the  reflector 
system  is  applicable,  namely,  to  enable  ships  to  be  warned 
by  lighthouses,  light-vessels  or  other  ships,  not  only  of 
their  proximity  to  danger,  but  also  of  the  direction  from 


which  the  warning  comes.  If  we  imagine  that  A  is  a  light- 
house, provided  with  a  transmitter  of  electric  waves, 
constantly  giving  a  series  of  intermittent  impulses  or 
flashes,  and  B  a  ship  provided  with  a  receiving  apparatus 
placed  in  the  focal  line  of  a  reflector,  it  is  plain  th-it, 
when  the  receiver  is  within  range  of  the  oscillator,  the 
bell  will  be  rung  only  when  the  reflector  is  directed 
towards  the  transmitter,  and  will  not  ring  when  the 
reflector  is  not  directed  towards  it.  If  the  reflector  is 
caused  to  revolve  by  clockwork,  or  by  hand,  it  will 
therefore  give  warning  only  when  occupying  a  certain 
section  of  the  circle  in  which  it  revolves.  It  is  there- 
fore easy  for  a  ship  in  a  fog  to  make  out  the  exact 
direction  of  the  point  A,  whereby,  by  the  conventional 
number  of  taps  or  rings,  she  will  be  able  to  discern 
either  a  dangerous  point  to  be  avoided  or  the  port  or 
harbour  for  which  she  is  endeavouring  to  steer." 

Marconi's  apparatus  was  installed  la.st  month  on  board 
"  The  Princess  Clementine,"  one  of  the  Belgian  boats 
carrying  on  the  passenger  service  between  Dover  and 
Ostend.  It  is  stated  that  the  distances  covered  exceeded 
eighty  miles,  and  that  the  apparatus  is  shortly  to  be 
supplied  to  other  vessels  belonging  to  the  Belgian 
Company. 

There  is  a  difficulty  which  will  have  to  be  overcome  if 
the  system  is  to  come  into  extensive  use,  and  that  is 
the  interference  of  simultaneous  messages  coming  from 
different  stations,  all  of  which  would  affect  all  receivers 
within  range,  with  the  result  of  making  the  messages 
unintelligible. 

Professor  Lodge  hcis  devised  and  patented  some 
interesting  forms  of  syntonic  transmitters,  but,  as  far  as 
I  am  aware,  he  has  not  yet  succeeded  in  transmitting 
syntonic  messages  over  any  considerable  distances.  A 
syntonic  radiator  is  necessarily  one  which  produces  per- 
sistent oscillations  instead  of  having  them  damped  out 
almost  immediately.  Now  this  damping  out  means  that 
the  ether  rapidly  ta.kes  up  the  vibrations,  so  that  making 
a  radiator  syntonic  means  making  it  feebler. 

It  is  stated  that  Signor  Marconi  has  now  succeeded 
in  devising  apparatus  by  which  syntonic  messages  have 
been  successfully  transmitted  to  distances  of  over  30 
miles,  but  as  the  patents  are  not  yet  completed  I  am 
not  able  to  obtain  any  information  as  to  the  methods 
employed. 

If  he  can  do  this  it  will  prevent  the  interference 
above  referred  to,  as  the  receiver  at  any  station  will 
respond  only  to  the  messages  intended  for  it. 

Figures  2.   4,   6.    7,   and   8   are   reproduc'ed   by   kind 

permission  from  Signor  Marconi's  paper  in  the  "  Journal 

of  the  Institute  of  Electi-ical  Engineers,  '  Vol.  28,  1899. 

Eeeatum. — Article   IV.,    Knowledge,    October,    liluu,    p.   235 

column  2,  line  7,  for  "  10'7  centimetres,"  read  "  lU"'  cm." 


iilicrosropg. 


By  John  H.  Cooke,  f.l.s.,  f.g.s. 

A  convenient  means  for  testing  the  optical  qualities  of  objec- 
tives is  very  desirable.  It  is  essential  that  the  objects  used  for 
this  purpose  should  be  most  carefully  prepared  and  properly 
mounted.  For  low  powers  the  proboscis  of  the  blow-fly  is 
usually  recommended  :  also  the  scales  of  Initterflios.  These 
objects  should  appear  distinct  in  detail,  flat,  and  free  from 
marginal  colouring.  For  medium  powers  stained  micrococci, 
bacteria,  and  starch  giaiiis  are  useful.  For  high  powers, 
especially  immersion  objectives,  various  diatoms  are  used,  such 
as  Navii-ttUi  hji-a,  Pleurosigma  anguhitum  and  Aiuphipleura 
pellucida. 

Those  who  do  not  possess  a  turntable  will  find  a  slide  centerer 
au  excellent  substitute.  This  piece  of  ajiparatus  may  be  readily 
prepared  as  follows: — Rule  a  rectangle  the  size  of  an  ordinary 


December  1,  1900.] 


KNOWLEDGE. 


2^5 


glass  slip  on  a  piece  of  stout  cJinlboartl,  dniw  diagonal  lines  to 
locate  the  centre,  and  then  draw  a  series  of  squares  and  circles 
about  this  centre  ciinal  to  the  diameters  of  the  cover-glass  most 
used.  This  will  be  found  iinite  as  s;itisfactory  as  the  turn- 
table for  mounting  purposes. 

Jajxnuese  tissue  paper  used  by  dentists  is  excellent  for  wiping 
and  cleaning  lenses,  oculai-s,  and  objectives. 

To  examine  in  the  living  state  small  freshwater  alg;\;,  protozoa, 
small  crustaceans,  hydra,  small  worms,  and  other  minute  jilants 
and  animals,  they  must  be  mounted  in  some  inert  liquid,  as 
water  :  preferably  a  drop  of  the  litiuid  in  which  the  organisms 
live  and  grow.  Their  motion  may  be  reduced  by  mounting  in  a 
solution  (10  per  cent.)  of  gum  arabic. 

Jlinute  objects  like  diatoms  and  the  scales  of  insects  may  be 
arranged  in  geometrical  figures  or  in  some  fanciful  way,  either 
for  ornament  or  more  satisfactory  study.  To  do  this  the  cover- 
glass  is  placed  over  a  guide.  The  guide  for  geometrical  figures 
may  be  a  uet-mierometer,  or  a  series  of  concentric  circles.  In 
order  that  the  object^s  may  remain  in  place,  however,  they  must 
be  fastened  to  the  cover-glass.  As  an  adhesive  substance,  liquid 
gelatine  thinned  with  an  equal  volume  of  5i)  per  cent,  acetic 
acid  answers  well.  A  very  thin  coating  of  this  is  spread  on  the 
cover,  with  a  needle  or  in  some  other  way,  and  allowed  to  dry. 
The  objects  are  then  placed  on  the  gelatinized  side  of  the  cover 
and  carefully  got  into  position  with  a  mechanical  finger  made 
by  fastening  a  cat's  whisker  to  a  penholder.  After  the  objects 
are  arranged  the  operator  breathes  very  gently  on  the  cover- 
glass  to  soften  the  gelatine.  On  drying  the  objects  will  be 
firmly  anchored.  In  mounting,  one  may  use  Canada  balsam,  or 
mount  in  a  dry  cell. 

Shellac  cement  is  a  very  useful  medium  for  sealing  prepara- 
tions and  for  making  shellac  cells.  It  may  be  readily  prepared 
by  half  filling  a  bottle  with  scale  or  bleached  shellac,  and  adding 
thereto  sufficient  of  '.to  per  cent,  alcohol  to  fill  the  bottle.  The 
whole  should  be  sh.aken  occasionally,  and  allowed  to  stand  until 
a  clear  stratum  of  liquid  appears  on  the  top.  This  supernatant 
liquid  is  then  filtered  through  absorbent  cotton  into  an  open 
dish  or  wide-mouthed  bottle.  To  every  .oO  c.c.  of  this  filtered 
shellac,  f)  c.c.  of  castor  oil  and  .j  c.c.  of  Venetian  turpentine  are 
added  to  render  the  shellac  less  brittle.  The  filtered  shellac 
will  be  too  thin,  and  must  be  allowed  to  evaporate  till  it  is  of 
the  consistency  of  thin  syrup.  It  is  then  put  into  a  capped 
bottle  and  is  ready  for  use. 

The  examination  of  living  micro-organisms  is,  as  a  rule,  best 
carried  out  by  means  of  the  "  hanging  drop."  For  this  purpose 
a  thick  glass  slide  having  a  concave  well  in  the  middle  is  made 
use  of.  The  ''hanging  drop"  is  made  in  the  following  manner: 
Place  a  small  drop  of  water  on  a  clean  cover-glass  on  the  table. 
The  drop  must  be  small  enough  so  that  it  will  not  run  if  the 
cover-glass  is  placed  on  edge.  The  organisms  are  then  placed 
in  the  water  and  a  ring  of  vaseline  is  placed  around  the  edge  of 
the  well  on  the  upper  side  of  the  concave  slide,  by  means  of  a 
brush  or  match  stick.  The  .slide,  with  its  ring  of  vaseline,  is 
then  inverted  over  the  cover-glass  and  gently  pressed  down. 
The  cover-glass  now  adheres  to  the  slide,  which  is  then  inverted. 
Care  should  be  taken  to  see  that  the  ring  of  vaseline  is  continuous 
around  the  edge  of  the  well.  If  such  is  the  case  no  evaporation 
of  the  drop  of  water  can  take  place,  and  hence  the  hanging  drop 
can  be  examined  at  leisure  and  without  the  presence  of  annoying 
curreDts  in  the  liquid. 

A  great  variety  of  bacteria,  moulds  and  yeasts  can  be  obtained 
by  the  student  of  bacteriology  from  the  air.  The  following 
simple  procedure,  suggested  by  Dr.  F.  Xory,  will  enable  anyone 
to  grow  these  bacteria  from  the  air,  and  thus  obtain  a  variety 
of  organisms  suitable  for  examination  in  the  living  condition 
and  for  staining  purposes.  Place  two  or  three  .sound  potatoes 
and  a  knife  in  a  vessel  of  water  and  boil  for  twenty  minutes. 
Ponr  away  the  water,  and,  when  cool,  cut  them  in  halves  with 
the  sterilized  knife,  taking  care  to  touch  neither  the  blade  nor 
the  potatoes  with  anything.  Transfer  the  potatoes,  cut  side 
uppermost,  to  a  piece  of  paper,  and  leave  them  exposed  for  from 
ten  to  thirty  minutes.  Then  cover  them  with  a  glass  tumbler, 
and  at  the  end  of  about  forty-eight  hours  they  will  begin  to 
show  one  or  more  pinhead  growths.  These  growths  are  due  to 
organisms,  which,  floating  about  in  the  air,  have  dropped  on  the 
potatoes  and  have  there  found  a  soil  congenial  to  their  growth. 
The  germination  of  seeds  in  sterilized  water  to  which  varying 
quantities  of  oxygen  liad  been  added  has  been  studied  by  M.  P. 


JIaze.  lie  concludes  that,  while  life  appears  to  remain  latent, 
certain  slow  changes  take  place,  although  germination  under 
water  may  fail  on  account  of  lack  of  aeration.  Some  small 
seeds  are  developed  slowly  by  the  atmosphere  within  their 
coats.  Starchy  seeds  under  water  quickly  lose  all  jmwer  of 
germinating,  oily  seeds  retain  it  longer  ;  l)ut  there  is  no  proof 
that  any  seeds  can  long  retain  their  vitality.  The  weakening 
of  the  submerged  embryos  is  attributed  to  the  accumulation  of 
poisonous  products,  especially  aldehyde. 

Messrs.  11.  and  J.  Beck  have  ]ilaced  on  the  market  a  new 
microscope  on  the  "  Continental  '  model  which  they  call  the 
"  London."  Many  im])rovenients  have  been  introduced  in 
matters  of  detail  "which  make  it  worthy  of  notice.  The  work- 
manship is  in  Messrs.  Beck's  best  style,  and  the  price  reasonable 
for  a  first-class  instrument. 


NOTES   ON   COMETS   AND   METEORS. 

By  W.  F.  Dknning,  f.r.a.s. 

Bkorsen's  Comkt. — The  ivtiirn  of  this  interesting  short-poi-iud 
comet  is  expeded  rarly  in  ItOl,  and  ii  sweeping  epliemeris  lias  boon 
pul>li.slii'(l  in  Axt.  Nm'h..  '.Wii),  by  .V.  lierbcricli,  of  Bci-lin.  From  this 
i(  appears  tlial  tlio  comet  is  now  iiirisible  in  English  skios  owing  to 
its  siiutborn  declination,  but  thatil  is  travelling  northwards  and  ought 
to  bo  fdvovirably  ]iresoiited  to  view  at  the  end  of  January  and  in 
Kebiuary,  1!K)1.  JJerberich's  epliemeris  is  for  Berlin  midnight,  and 
tlie  positiims  at  eight  day  intervals  are; — 

Dintauce  of  Comot 
D:ite.  K.A.  Dec.  in  Millions  of 

H.       M.  "         '  Miles. 

190(1.    DiTcmber  17       ...       '.i2       S  -41-     32  ...  G2 

L'.j  21      u!)  -39      Ki  ...  56 

191M.     Januarv      2  21      39  -33       4         ...         47 

"     :u         .       21       9         -22     .51..         ...         40 
18       ...       20       8   ,      -    9     37  38 

Tlie  patli  is  from  Grns  tlirongli  I'iseis  .Aiistialis  and  Capricornus, 
afler  wliich  it  passes  tlirougb  Aqiiila.  It  will  ht-  nearest  to  the  earth 
at  tlie  middle  of  .January,  but  at  that  time  will  be  too  near  the  sun 
for  observation.  Soon  af(erwards  tlie  eomet  ought  to  become  visible 
iust  before  sunrise  low  in  due  east.  This  eomet  was  discovered  in 
1846,  and  it  has  a  period  of  revolution  of  a'^out  5i  years.  Ttwas  last 
seen  in  1879,  and  should  have  returned  in  1884,  1890,  and  1895,  but 
escaped  deteetion.  It  is  now  questionable  whether  the  comet  exists 
in  the  same  form  and  dimensions  as  in  1879  and  |irevioiis  years.  Tlie 
supposition  is  tliat,  bke  Biela's  double  comet,  it  is  )irai-tirally  lost  to 
us  as  an  observable  object  But  it  remains  to  be  seen  whelher  the 
large  telescopes  of  the  present  day  are  capable  of  rcdetecting  the 
comet,  for  they  will  sure  to  be  employed  in  the  seareli  during  tlie 
months  of  January  and  February  next. 

Comet  Borbelly-Bkooks. — This  object  is  now  exceedingly  faint, 
but  its  position  is  very  favouralile.  It,  was  observed  by  Dr.  8eliorr  at 
Hamburg  on  October  lliUi,  and  may  possibly  be  picked  up  in  Decem- 
ber in  a  good  instrument.  The  following  places  are  by  Wedemeyer 
(A.sl  Xac/i.,  3070)  :— 

l^phemeris  for   ISerlin  Midni<ilit. 

Distance  in 
Date.  R-A.  rX'c.  Millions  of 

liKMl.  H.    •  M.        s.  o  '         "  MilfS. 

December  10     ...  Hi  19  17  ...  +71  oL'  .'56  ...  ilo 

11,  16  26  5t  ...  +  73  0  30  ...  181 

18       ..  16  34  .J5  ..  -I-  7t  12  34  ...  184 

22      ..  16  43  2.5  .  +75  28  45  ...  187 

26     ...  16  52  33  ...  +   76  48  38  ...  190 

Jani'in'ry        6      ...      17     23      15      ...      +  80      13       (i     ...      198 
The  comet  is  thus  moving  slowly  to  N.N.H.  ani<ingst.  tlie  stars  iu  Ursa 
Minor. 

Barvard's  Comet  (1884  II.).— This  .>bject  escaped  observation  at 
its  last  two  returns,  and  there  seems  a  very  meagre  prospect  of  it  being 
,sjcn  at  the  present  time  owing  to  generally  unfavourable  conditions. 
Its  computed  position  on  December  2nd  is  K.iV.  20h.  14m.,  Dec. 
-21"  ->'. 

Fiki-:bali,  of  S0.vn.iv,  Octohke  21,  8h.  35.m.  -A  magnificent 
slow-moving  fireball  w.as  observed  from  all  parts  of  England.  Thi' 
sky  was  clear  over  tlie  country,  .and  as  the  metejr  travelled  leisurely 
along  its  coui so  from  S.W.  to  N.E.  there  occurred  three  explosions 
or  outbursts,  and  these  induced  very  vivid  lightuinglike  Hashes.  At 
Tewkesbury  the  meteor  is  said  to  have  given  a  momentary  Hood  of 
brilliant  moonlight,  and  about  three  minutes  later  there  was  a  detona- 
tion like  that  pr.jdueeil  by  the  firing  of  a  heavy  gun  at  a  great  distance. 


286 


KNOWLEDGE 


[Decembfr  1,  1900. 


Mr.  Ballard,  of  Leigh  Linton,  near  Malrem,  says  that  the  meteor  fell 
within  ten  yards  of  his  house.  It  appeared  just  orer  him,  and  he 
moved  to  be  out  of  its  way  when  it  fell  just  over  the  hedge.  The 
Rev.  H.  J.  Scott,  writing  from  Chin,  Shropshire,  says  that  three 
minutes  after  the  meteor  had  disappeared  he  heard  a  sound  like  the 
distinct  but  distant  roll  of  artillery  for  15  or  20  seconds.  Another 
observer  at  Cluu  says  the  meteor  passed  overhead  and  that  two  minutes 
later  he  heard  a  rumbling  sound  resembling  distinct  thunder.  As 
the  nucleus  sailed  along  several  varicoloured  fragments  detached 
themselves  from  it.  At  Devizes  some  observers  counted  seven  of 
these  smaller  bodies,  and  say  that  the  phenomenon  ended  in  a  shower 
of  sparks  followed  by  the  sound  of  a  gun.  A  considerable  number  of 
descriptions  have  appeared  in  the  newspapers,  but  they  are  very 
incomplete  and  in  some  instances  inaccurate.  Hence  it  is  extremely 
ditTicult  to  deduce  a  satisfac'ory  real  path,  but  it  certainly  appears  that 
the  object  was  very  low  in  the  air.  From  some  of  the  most  reliable 
accounts  it  would  seem  that  the  radiant  was  in  Sagitta  at  .300°  +22°, 
and  that  the  meteor  passed  from  a  height  of  68  miles  over  a  point 
near  Ts'ew  Radnor  to  a  height  of  20  miles  over  Shiffnal.  Length 
of  path  66  miles,  and  velocity  11  miles  per  second.  The  fireball  was 
certainly  a  splendid  object,  but  it  is  questionable  whether  it  justified 
the  Dailii  Mail's  expression  that  it  was  "  one  of  the  brightest  meteors 
seen  in  an  English  sky  for  many  a  year!"  About  10  minutes  after 
the  fireball  had  appeared,  another  and  a  smaller  one  was  seen  movmg 
in  a  contrary  direction,  and  at  9h.  25m.  a  third  appeared.  There  was 
also  a  bright  meteor  at  about  lOh.,  and  at  lib.  5Sm.  Prof.  A.  S. 
Herscbel  recorded  one  equal  to  Venus  falling  slowly  from  149°  +  46° 
to  155°  +  38"  and  leaving  a  train  of  orange  sparks.  Tlie  latter  was 
also  seen  by  ilr.  C.  L.  Brook,  at  Jleltham,  near  Huddersfield.  The 
radiant  was  at  350°  -  4°,  and  height  of  the  object  63  to  48  miles 
over  the  North  Sea. 

Obseevatio>-3  or  Shooting  St.\rs  ix  Octoeeb. — Ihe  month 
was  tolerably  favourable,  and  at  Bristol  141  meteors  were  observed  in 
12i  hours'  watching.    The  radiants  well  determined  were  as  follows  : — 


Radiant. 

No.  of 

Date. 

o               o 

Meteors. 

Appearance. 

October  23—27 

..     99    +    13 

10 

Rapid  streaks. 

23 

..     92   +    15 

5 

Rapid  streaks.  Orionids. 

26—27 

..     91    +    16 

■5 

23-27 

..     43    +    12 

8 

Rapid.     White. 

23-27 

..     45   +    27 

8 

I. 

23-27 

..     57   +     9 

6 

Rather  swift. 

23—27 

..     47    +    43 

6 

Slowish. 

26—27 

..   123   +   42 

4 

Rapid  streaks. 

FiBEBAXL  OF  OCTOBER  27,  lln.  42ir. — The  writer  at  Bristol  saw 
a  meteor  feveral  times  brighter  than  Venus,  shooting  rapidly  frcm 
7S°  +  33°  to  56°  +  24i°.  It  left  a  bright  irregular  streak,  a  section 
of  which  was  watched  with  a  small  opera-glass,  power  2,  for  13 
minutes.     During  this  period  it  drifted  17  degrees  in  a  southerly 


■f^  + 

1 

+  ' 

Atx;.t-j.»- 

+  i 

^^-^^^ 

'^' 

••  -■^  ->^' 

k     ^3 

.■/r 

% 

,:  «i  ^ 

+  . 

+x 

7,  ST 

1^ 

\ 

Path  and  Streak  of  Fireball  of  1900,  October  27,  llh.  42ui.,  observed 
by  W.  F.  Denning,  at  Bristol. 

direction.  Soon  after  its  first  projection  it  formed  a  perfect  sickle,  the 
denser  and  more  enduring  section  forming  the  handle.  The  meteor 
was  observed  by  Mrs.  W.  H.  S.  Monck,  of  Dublin,  passing  just 
below  the  belt  of  Orion  in  a  direction  from  east  to  west.     The  meteor 


had  a  radiant  at  136° +  34",  and  its  height  was  from  76  miles  over  a 
point  5  miles  W.  of  Basingstoke  to  67  miles  over  a  point  8  mdes 
S.  of  Salisbury.  Observed  path  34  miles,  and  velocity  about  40  miles 
per  second,  the  duration  of  flight  being  est'mated  0  9  second. 

The  Leonids  or  1900.— At  Bristol  the  weather  was  unfavourable 
on  November  1.3th  and  14th,  but  occasional  observations  showed  that 
Leonids  were  very  scarce.  There  were  a  few  brilliant  slow-moving 
Taurids  from  a  radiant  at  58°  +  10°. 


THE    FACE    OF     THE   SKY    FOR    DECEMBER. 

Bj    A.    FOWLEE,    F.E.A.S. 

The  Sun. —  On  the  1st  the  sun  rises  at  7.4-5  aud  sets  at 
3. -54 ;  on  the  31st  he  rises  at  8.8  aud  seta  at  3.58.  He 
enters  Capricomus,  and  Winter  commences  on  the  •22nd 
at  7  A.M.     Few  sunspots  are  to  be  expected. 

The  Moon.— The  moon  will  be  full  on  the  6th  at 
10.38  A.M.,  wiU  enter  last  quarter  on  the  13th  at  10.42  p  m., 
will  be  new  on  the  22nd  at  0.1  a..m.,  and  will  enter  first 
quarter  on  the  29th  at  1.48  a.m.  The  more  interesting 
occultations  during  the  mouth  are  as  follows : — 


i 

mo. 

3 

h 

a 
1^ 

2  o 

L'li'^ 

Q 

1 

2  — 

■3 

1' 

0 

P 

o     1      o 

o         o 

d.  h. 

Dec.  3     19  Ariel  is 

6-2 

0.7     P.M. 

31  ,    70 

5.55 

287     3-23 

11  11 

,,     .5     (i>2  Tauri 

4-6 

6.11  P.M. 

26  i    67 

I        6.46 

312     353 

13  11 

,,   10  :  «  Cancri 

50 

8.56  P.M. 

111  '  148 

!»..52 

278     317     18  14 

„   26  '  51  Aqnarii 

o-H 

7.42  P.M. 

29     356 

1 

S.3:J 

2«0     244       4  20 

The  Pl.ojets. — Mercury  is  a  morning  star,  reaching 
the  greatest  westerly  elongation  of  20"  50'  on  the  8th. 
On  the  3rd  he  rises  at  5.50  a.m.,  and  on  the  10th  at 
5.58  A.M.,  so  that  his  position  may  be  considered  fairly 
favourable,  especially  as  there  are  no  bright  stars  or 
planets  in  the  neighbourhood. 

Venus  is  a  morning  star,  rising  shortly  after  4  a.m.  on 
the  1st,  and  at  about  quarter  to  6  on  the  31st.  On  the 
15th  the  illuminated  portion  of  the  disc  is  0836,  and  the 
apparent  diameter  128." 

Mars  is  visible  before  midnight  throughout  the  month, 
rising  on  the  1st  at  10.35  p.m.,  and  on  the  31st  at  9  21  p.m. 
The  path  of  the  planet  is  easterly  through  Leo  (see 
diagram).  On  the  I5th,  the  illuminated  part  of  the  disc 
is  0907,  the  apparent  diameter  8  6",  and  the  distance 
from  the  earth  alx)ut  100  millions  of  miles. 


The  apparent  Path  of  Mars,  from  November  1,  1900,  to  July  1,  1901. 
Eros,  which  is  now   receiving  so  much  attention  in  a 


December  1.  lOOO. 


KNOWLEDGE 


287 


new  detenu  illation  of  the  solar  parallax,  may  be  observed 
throughout  the  night.  The  lollo-wiiig  is  ;in  ubiidged 
cpheuieris.  for  Borliii  midnight  ; — 


De 


Kiirht 

A  SCO 

ision. 

Peil 

iiutiou. 

H. 

M. 

s. 

o 

' 

mbor  1 

1 

27 

20 

+  50 

238 

0 

1 

26 

311 

IS 

400 

11 

1 

L'.S 

14 

46 

4o-7 

16 

1 

33 

26 

44 

44-3 

21 

1 

40 

36 

42 

3.S3 

„        2(i 

1 

."10 

1 

40 

30  0 

„        31 

2 

1 

23 

3.S 

210 

The  planet  is  nearest  to  the  earth  on  Doeember  2i>th,wluMi 
its  distance  is  0.:>118  that  of  the  Sun,  and  its  parallax 
estimated  at  about  "28".  The  planet  may  be  distinguished 
from  neighbouring  stars  by  its  relative  motion,  which  is 
very  rapid ;  its  ajiparent  stellar  magnitude  will  be  about 
9.0. 

Jupiter,  Saturn  and  Uranus  are  too  near  the  Sun  to  be 
observed,  being  in  conjunction  on  tlie  14th,  2!Hh,  and  .5th 
respectively. 

Neptune  is  in  oppo.=ition  on  the  20th,  and  may  be  ob- 
served throughout  the  night.  During  the  month  he 
describes  a  short  westerly  path  in  the  most  eastern  part 
of  Taurus,  but  as  it  lies  in  the  Milky  Way,  careful  obser- 
vation will  be  required  to  identify  the  planet.  Tiie  j)ath 
is  a  little  to  the  south  of  a  line  joining  rj  (leminorum  and 
132  Tauri,  at  nearly  equal  distances  from  the  two  stars. 

The  Stars. — About  9  p.m.  at  the  middle  of  the  mouth. 
Cancer,  Gemini,  and  Canis  Minor  will  be  towards  the 
east ;  Auriga  high  up  towards  the  east ;  Taurus  and  Orion 
towards  the  south-east ;  Perseus  and  Cassiopeia  nearly 
overhead  ;  Aries  and  the  head  of  Cetus  in  the  south  ; 
Andromeda  high  up  towards  the  north-west ;  Pegasus  a 
little  south  of  west ;  Cygnus  and  Lyra  in  the  north-west  ; 
and  Ursa  Major  a  little  east  of  north. 

Minima  of  Algol  at  convenient  hours  occur  on  the  14tli 
at  9.2.5  P.M.,  and  on  the  17th  at  6.14  p.m. 


(t^tsn  Column. 

By    C.    D.    LococK,    b.a. 

* 

Communications  for  this  coliunn  should  be  addressed 
to  C.  D.  LococK,  Netherfield,  Camberley,  and  be  posted 
by  the  10th  of  each  month. 

Solutions  of  November  Problems. 
(P.  G.  L.  F.) 

No.  1. 
1.  E  to  KIRS,  and  mates  next  move. 

No.  2. 
Eiey  move — 1.  Q  to  Esq. 
If  1.  .  .  .  PtoK.5,         2.  Q  toKEBch. 
I.  .  .  .  BxP,  2.  KxB. 

1.  .  .  .  Any  other,     2.  Q  x  Bch. 
CoEEECT  Solutions  of   both  problems  received   from 
Alpha,    W.  de  P.  Crousaz,    G.  A.  Forde  (Capt.),  H.  S. 
Brandreth,    Major     Nangle,    and    one     unsigned     from 
Bradford. 

Of  No.  1  only  from  W.  F.  Preedy,  H.  Le  Jeune. 
H.  Le  Jeune.— QKs<i  would  be  met  by  .  .  .  PK.5. 
P.   A.    Cohbold    (Ontario).— Tour    solution    of    No.    1 
(October)  is  correct,  but  K  to  B2  will  not  solve  No.  2, 
BBo  being  a  valid  defence.      In  the  variation  you  give 
(2.  QB6ch,  K  X  P)  there  is  nothing  approaching  a  mate. 


PEOBLEMS. 

No.  I. 

By    .Tcff    AUrn  (C;l.lrutt;lV 
Black    (7). 


\€ 


m 


..„„.„     -wm     ://'     H 

m    m».m    m 

W^      //-/-'-'/       WWi       ^R 


Whitk  (0). 

White  mates  iu  two  moves. 

No.  2. 
By  Major  Nangle. 

Black  (5). 


White  (3). 

White  mates  in  three  moves. 


CHESS   INTELLIGENCE. 


"Knowledge"  Solution  Toueney. 
A  Solution  Tourney  is  to  be  started  iu  Knowledge,  iu 
the  .lauuary  number  of  the  journal.  The  sum  of  One 
Guinea  is  offered  as  First  Prize,  and  Knowledge  free  for 
twelve  mouths  as  Second  Pri/.e.  The  conditions  arc  as 
follows  :  — 

1.  The  Tournament  will  begin  on  January  1st,  1901, 

and  will  include  all  the  direct  mates  in  two  and 
three  moves  printed  iu  Knowledge  during  the 
year  1901. 

2.  If  a  Problem  be  incorrectly  printed  it  will  be  can- 

celled and  reprinted. 

:i  Key-moves  only  need  be  given.  A  correct  key  to 
a  two-move  Problem  will  score  two  points,  to  a 
three-move  Problem,  three  points.  A  second 
solution  will  score  one  point.  An  incorrect  claim 
for  a  second  solution  will  lose  one  point.  If  a 
Problem  has  no  solution,  tho  fact  must  be  stated  ; 
it  will  then  count  as  a  correct  key. 

4.  In  tho  event  of  a  tie  for  either  prize,  the  Chess 
Editor  may  decide  it  by  a  further  trial  of  skill 
under  new  conditions. 


288 


KNOWLEDGE. 


[December  1,  1900. 


5.  Solutions  must  bear  postmark  not  later  than  the 
loth  of  the  month  of  publication. 

The  British  Chess  Company  (Stroud,  Gloucester)  have 
brought  out  a  miniature  chess-board,  on  the  In  aiatii  quo 
principle.  It  consists  of  a  neat,  strong  cardliaard  box 
(6ix4xi  inch).  Fixed  to  the  bottom  of  the  box  is  a 
chess  board  drilled  with  holes,  extra  holes  being  provided 
for  the  captured  men.  The  men  are  ebony  and  box  wood, 
with  pegs  to  fit  into  the  holes.  The  price  for  one  set  is 
2s.  6d.,  for  three  sets  6s.  Jtd  ,  and  for  six  V2».  Altogether 
it  is  a  very  neat  and  useful  contrivance. 


The  followiug  characteristic  game  was  played  by  Mr. 
Steinitz  in  the  Vienna  Tournament  of  1882.  In  that 
tournament  he  divided  the  first  and  second  prizes  with 
Herr  Winawer.  The  notes  are  from  Knowledge  of  that 
vear. 


French  Defence. 


White. 
W.  St*'initz. 


1. 

2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 


P  to  K4 

P  to  K5  (h) 
P  X  P  en  iMSS. 
PtoQ4 
B  to  Q.3 
Kt  to  KB3 

7.  KttoBS 

8.  BQ  to  B4 

9.  Kt  to  K4  (c) 
10.  Castles 

R  to  K 

Kt  to  B5 

Kt  to  K5 

PQ  to  B3 

R  X  B 

K  to  Ksq.  (A) 

17.  Q  to  B3  («/) 

18.  B  to  Kt3  ■ 

19.  Kt  to  Q8 
Kt  to  K.5 
Bto  H2 
Q  to  Kt3 
Q  to  R4 
Q  to  Kt3 

25.  Q  to  R3 

26.  Q  to  R.5 

27.  BtoQ2  (/) 

28.  Q  to  R3 

29.  P  to  QB4 

30.  QR  to  Qsq  (/) 

31.  B  to  B4  (n) 
y2.  Q  to  R3  (p) 

33.  Q  X  P 

34.  Q  X  KtP 
B  to  Kt3 
Q  to  Kt3 
P  to  B3 
P  to  B5  («/) 
Kt  to  B4 


11. 

12. 
13. 
14. 

16. 


20. 
21. 
22. 
23! 
24. 


3.5. 
36. 
37. 
38. 
39. 


Black. 
B.  Fleis.iig. 

1.  P  to  K3 

2.  P  to  Q4 

3.  B  X  P  (h) 

4.  Kt  to  K2 

5.  Kt  to  Kt3  {<■) 

6.  Kt  to  B3 

7.  Kt  to  Kt.5  (f7) 

8.  P  to  QB3 

9.  B  to  B2 

10.  Castles 

11.  Kt  to  Q4 

12.  Kt1oR,5 

13.  Kt  toB4  (/•) 

14.  B  X  Kt 

15.  Kt  to  B3 

16.  P  to  KR3 

17.  KttoQ4 

18.  P  toQKt3  (A) 

19.  B  to  K3 

20.  R  to  Bs(i 

21.  Kt  (Bl)  to  K2 

22.  K  to  Rsq 

23.  K  to  Ktsq  (0 

24.  K  to  Ksq 

25.  Kt  to  Ktsq 

26.  R  to  B2 

27.  QKttoB3 

28.  Kt  to  Q4  a-) 

29.  QKt  to  B3 

30.  Q  to  Ksq  («i) 

31.  R  to  Bsq  (0) 

32.  B  to  Kt2 

33.  B  to  Rsq 

34.  P  to  Kt4 

35.  Kt  to  Q2 
86.  P  to  KB4 

37.  K  to  Kt2 

38.  QKt  to  li3 
Resigns  (r) 


Notes. 

(«)  Not  usually  played.  The  object  is  to  confine  the 
Queen's  Bishop,  and  hamijcr  Black's  game. 

(fe)  Perhaps  to  be  preferred  to  P  x  P,  as  the  two  Pawns 
on  tiie  Queen's  side  would,  at  a  later  stage  of  the  game,  be 
subjected  to  attack. 

(<■)    With  a  view  of  eventually  jilaying  P  to  K4. 


((Z)  Black  was  afraid  of  Castling,  on  account  of  the 
commanding  position  of  White's  Bishop  ;  for  after  Castles, 
White  might  at  once  proceed  with  P  to  KRl,  Kt  to  Kt5, 
P  to  R5 ;  that  is  to  say,  proceed  upon  the  liasis  of 
attacking  tlie  Pawn  at  R2,  of  which  we  indicated  the 
general  lines ;  therefore  Black  wished  to  exchange  that 
Bishop, 

{e)  This  again  places  another  piece  in  a  favourable 
position  ;  should  Black  play  P  to  KB4,  then  his  King's 
Pawn  becomes  weak,  because  unsupported  by  another 
Pawn,  and  therefore  more  liable  to  capture. 

(/)  All  this  is  nierely  wrangling  for  good  position,  but 
Black  is  wasting  time  in  trying  to  exchange  pieces. 

(A)  QB3  might  lie  plaved  at  once.  For  if  Black  replies 
Kt  to  Q2,  then  Kt  x  KP.— (C.  D  L.) 

(3)  This  is  Mr.  Steinitz's  old  style ;  Black  cannot  move 
P  to  QKt3  now,  even  if  he  wished  to  do  so,  he  suffers 
from  the  inconvenience  of  having  his  Bishop  blocked  in. 

(/( )  We  shall  see  later  on  how  the  Pawn  on  B3  will  fare. 

(i)  Black  would  I)e  satisfied  with  a  draw. 

ij)  Inch  by  inch  the  ground  is  won;  this  is  a  fine 
move.  He  intends  at  the  suitable  moment  to  push  on  his 
QBP  and  use  the  Bishop  for  attacking  on  the  Queen's 
side,  I'/rt  Kt4. 

{h)  Playing;  into  White's  hands  ;  the  difficulty  is,  what 
to  do?  He  dare  not  move  the  King's  Knight,  as  White 
would  jilay  B  x  RP.  Had  Black  played  Kt  to  Q2,  White 
might  have  responded  with  Kt  to  Kt4,  threatening  the 
dangerous  Kt  x  RP,  which  would  yield  White  a  winning 
attack. 

(0  White  is  in  no  hurry  ;  he  goes  steady  but  sure. 
This  move  will  further  aid  White,  as  the  Black  QBP 
cannot  be  now  advanced, 

(in)  With  the  object  of  avoiding  a  discovered  attack 
on  his  Queen,  but  it  cramps  his  pieces  very  much. 

(«)  White  changes  the  originallv  intended  move,  for  if 
he  had  played  B  to  Kt4,  P  to  B4,  etc. 

(0)  R  to  K2  was  the  only  other  move.  Black's  Rook  is 
brought  into  awkward  jilay,  on  account  of  the  necessity 
of  defending  QBP,  showing  plainly  how  a  strong  player 
A\ill  take  advantage  of  even  a  very  slight  weakness. 

(p)  White  pressed  on  in  sometimes  an  almost  imper- 
ceptible manner,  and  now  he  has  gained  the  desired 
opportunity.  He  wins  two  Pawns  and  the  game,  he 
having  by  sheer  good  judgment  outmanceuvred  his 
opponent. 

{q)  A  fine  move.  It  further  tightens  his  already  strong 
hold.     He  intends  playing  his  Kt  to  Q6. 

(}•)  Black  simply  has  no  good  move ;  he  is  crushed.  If 
R  to  Ksq,  then  B  x.BP.  \VTiite  also  threatens  to  win  by 
Kt  to  Q6.     If  Q  to  Qsq,  then  of  course  R  x  P. 


For  Contents  of  the  Two  last  Numbers  of  "  Knowledge,"  see 
Advertisement  pages. 


The  yearly  bound  volumes  of  Knowledge,  cloth  ffilt,  Ss.  6d.,  post  free. 
Binding  Caaes,  Is.  6d.  each  ;  post  free.  Is.  9d. 

Subscribers'  numbers  bound  (includmg  case  and  Index),  2s.  6d.  each  volume. 
Index  of  Articles  and  Illustrations  for  1891,  1892,  1894,  1895,  1896,  1897,  and 
1898  can  be  supplied  for  3d.  each. 
All  remittances  should  be  made  payable  to  the  Publisher  of  "  Enowledqe." 


"  Knowledge "    Annual    Subscription,   throughout   the    world, 
7s.  6d.,  post  free. 

Communications  for  the  Editors  nnd  Books  for  Review  should  be  addressed 
Editors.  "  Knowledge,"  32G,  High  Holborn,  London,  W.C. 


Q 
1 

K7 

Physical  & 
Applied  i>ci. 
Serials 


Knowledge 


STORAGE 


'C^'p^t 


^Hm 


■■m 


TikTniTLfTsrUTy: 


■.^y.i:  ^.'-H^'i'tV/ .'  r  ■:•:>.'-  ;■■'■.■■,  nu :'. 


'mi