256 Chronicles of Science. [April, 



obtained forty-five urns and evidence of more than one hundred 

 interments after cremation, but not any trace of metal. In some 

 of the larger mounds, evidence appeared of three successive inter- 

 ments : first, in the centre ; the second, inserted at a distance from 

 the centre, and rudely and violently misplaced to make room for a 

 third, due to an intrusive, perhaps a conquering tribe. The author 

 was of opinion that the whole of the remains belonged to an ex- 

 tremely remote period. 



Mr. Edward Peacock, F.S.A., described the opening of a barrow 

 at Chatham, Lincolnshire. The approximate dimensions of the 

 mound were 114 feet by 75 feet, with a central dejith of 9 feet 

 6 inches. Three interments were discovered : one in the centre ; 

 another at 42 feet south (of a youthful subject), and another at 

 40 feet north of the centre ; all accompanied by urns of a Celtic 

 type. The work of excavating was particularly interesting, as 

 showing the manner in which these mounds were constructed, the 

 materials being carried in baskets or panniers; each basketful of 

 sand could be distinctly traced. 



3. ASTEONOMY. 



[Including the Proceedings of the Royal Astronomical Society.) 



At the Greneral Meeting of the Astronomical Society on Feb- 

 ruary 12th, it was announced that the gold medal for the year 

 had been awarded to Mr. Stone, of the Greenwich Observatory, 

 for his labours towards the determination of the sun's distance. 

 We have already had occasion to refer at intervals to the various 

 papers which IMr. Stone has written upon this subject ; and a 

 reference to the accompanying review of the proceedings of the 

 Astronomical Society will show that he is still engaged on the 

 same interesting work. What he has done may be divided into 

 two sections : first, independent solutions of the problem of deter- 

 mining the sun's distance ; and secondly, the careful re-examination 

 of the observations and calculations of others. He has detected 

 numerical errors in the processes of Leverrier and other mathe- 

 maticians, besides errors of interpretation in the work of those who 

 investigated the transit observations made in 17G9 ; and ho has 

 given a large share of attention to the consideration of the proper 

 means of weighing discordant observations, — a question of great 

 difficulty, which largely enters into the problem of determining the 

 sun's distance. The result of his labours has been to show that 

 the sun's equatorial horizontal parallax is probably about 8" "91; 

 his distance, therefore, about 91,700,000 miles. 



