XV111 NOTES BY THE EDITORS 



point. Within a very recent period an announcement has been made of 

 the discovery of a wingless bird on Lord Howe's Island, situated between 

 New Holland and Norfolk Island, which adds another link to the chain of 

 evidence. Specimens of this bird, which is about the size of the rail, are 

 now on their way to England. 



The active labors of astronomers have been rewarded by an unusual 

 number of important discoveries. Three new planets have been added to 

 the list of those known, two of them discovered by Gasparis, the discov- 

 erer of Hygea, and one by Mr. Hind, the discoverer of Iris and Flora. 

 The whole number of planets is now twenty-one, nine of which have been 

 discovered within the last five years. A third ring of Saturn has been 

 observed by the Messrs. Bond, whose previous observations upon that 

 planet are well known. Three of those erratic visitors to our sphere, 

 comets, have been detected, two of them by Mr. Bond. One of these is 

 identical with that known as Faye's, discovered in 1843, and adds another 

 to the increasing list of periodic comets. Of the supposed periodic comet 

 of 1264 and 1556, no traces have been discovered, but it is not yet too late 

 to hope for them, as the amount of retardation in its motion caused by the 

 various planets is uncertain. No phenomenon has excited more interest 

 than the remarkable meteor of Sept. 30th, which was seen throughout the 

 New England States and in a portion of New York. The periodic meteors 

 of August were as numerous as ever, while those of November were very 

 few. The change in the proper motion of a Virginis, and probably of 

 other stars, is a discovery fraught with interest both for the theoretical 

 and the practical astronomer. 



Only one new star has been announced in Europe, but we learn that 

 the Messrs. Bond have detected three in the neighbourhood of the trapezium 

 in the nebula of Orion, as well as a variable one, which appears and dis- 

 appears at intervals of a few weeks. But, on the other hand, a reddish 

 star observed by Mr. Hind in 1 848, in the constellation of Ophiuchus, as 

 of the sixth magnitude, and afterwards noted as of the fifth, seventh, 

 and eighth magnitudes, could not be discovered when sought for by Prof. 

 Loomis, on June 4, and it " may therefore be pronounced extinct." 



Dove's maps of the isothermal lines of the globe must be regarded as a 

 contribution of great value to meteorological science, however much opin- 

 ions may differ as to the cause of some of the phenomena indicated. 



Geographical science has been marked by the discovery of a lake in 

 Southern Africa, by a careful examination of the Great Salt Lake, and an 

 exploration of our Pacific coast. Much is expected from an expedition 

 penetrating to Central Africa from the north, but the discoveries as yet 

 announced are unimportant. A valuable contribution has been made to 

 the antiquities of Central America by Mr. Squier, who has forwarded 

 some of the results of his labors to the Smithsonian Institution. Layard 

 continues his explorations at Nineveh with success. 



