i86 



NATURE 



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arrival at Sydney, this party will be joined by several 

 gentlemen who have had experience of eclipse work 

 with Mr. F. K. McCIeaii in Flint Island (ic>oS) and 

 Tasmania (kjio). These are Messrs. J. Mrooks, 

 \V, E. Raymond, and M. Winkelman. 



2. Expi'dilioti from the Joint I'cntuiiunt Eclipse 

 Commitlcf. — This party will be undtr the charj*e 

 of Father A. L. Co'rtie. S.J., from Stonyhurst 

 Observatorv. who will be assisted b^ .Mr. \V. McKeon, 

 S.J.. and Father K. F. Pij^'ot. S.J. Father Cortie's 

 e.xpedition also traveled by the Otway from London, 

 and proceeded to Varan on board the Encounter. 

 The equipment is as follows : — 



(i) Coronofjr.iph of 20 fpct f(x-al length. 



(2) (?orom>fjr:iph of 4 inches apertiirt'. 



(3) Coronogrnph of 4 inches ap<rture and 34 imhcs 

 focus. 



(4) 4-prism quartz train spectrofjraph for recording the 

 ultra-violet spectrum of the chromosphere and corona. 



(5) 6-inch Dallmeyer portrait lens arranged as a pris- 

 matic camera with a 7-inch objective prism of 42° angle. 



3. .\ private expedition in charge of .Mr. J. H. 

 \V()rthinj*t<)n. who has had a special equipment made 

 for this eclipse. His main instruments will in- 

 clude : — 



(a) Quartz-rocksalt spectrograph of 2J inches clear 

 aperture and 4 feet focal length. With this will be used 

 two objective prisms of quartz, 60° angle and 2^ inches 

 high. The length of spectrum given by this combination 

 is 8 inches from D to A 2606. 



(h) 3 vVinch coronograph with amplifying lens giving an 

 equivalent focal length of 20 feet. 



(c) 2|-inch coronograph of 4 feet focal length. 



(d) 3-inch portrait lens coronograph, 24 inches focal 

 length. 



.\rriving at Vavau early in April, the various par- 

 ties will have ample time to cret their various instru- 

 ments into the delicate adjustment which is necessary, 

 provided, of course, that they are not seriously ham- 

 pered bv inclement weather. A teleefram received 

 from Sydney brings the welcome news that the ofTicers 

 and men of H.M.S. Encounter are enthusiastic i-< 

 their anticipation of helping^ in the work of th*^ 

 various expeditions, and this augurs well for the suc- 

 cess of the eclipse observations if good, clear weather 

 is experienced. 



The eclipse occurs at \'avaii about <).i5 jj.ni. 

 G.M.T. on Friday, .\pril 28, totality lasting^ 217 

 seconds, with the sun at an altitude of about 43°. 



Ch.\k!.es p. Butler. 



NOTES. 



\ COMMITTEE lias been appointed for the purpose of 

 raising in .Amsterdam a suitable monument to the memory 

 of the late Trof. van 't Hod. 



SiK J. J. Thomson, K.R.S., has been elected a corre- 

 .•>pundant of the Paris Aciidi'mv of Sciences in the section 

 of physics. 



Tnr Queensland Govri nnvnt rt-cenlly appointed Dr. R. 

 1 lamlv n-I lariis as diiiciur of the Queensland Museum, 

 and has issued to him instructions to reorganise and put 

 the museum on a prOper footing. 



Since the so-called " Daylight-saving " scheme was first 

 put forward, we have pointed out that a change of custom 

 I lie hours of opening of city offices would secure the 

 use of daylight without legislative action. We are 

 j^Lid, therefore, to see the announcement that in certain de- 

 partments of the Board of Education the officials arrived at 

 their ot"fices t)n Monday at a.m. instead of at 10 o'clock, 

 and left at 4 p.m., an hour earlier than usual. The 

 experiment proved such a success last year that the Board 

 of Kducation authorities have decided to give it a wider 

 trial during the forthcoming summer. 

 NO. 2162, VOL. 86] 



It is proposed, in memory of ilu- laic Dr. Louij. Oliv!. i, 

 f()under of the lievue g^nirale det Sciencet. to publish .1 

 book, of from 350 to 300 pages, containing contributin: - 

 from eminent men of science and letters who knew .\I. 

 Olivier, The volume is to appear next .August for t!i' 

 anniversary of the death of .M. Olivier, and will be arro- 

 panied by a booklet containing his portrait, a bio. 

 sketch, and a bibliography of his works. Sub- 

 o7 20 francs will secure a copy of both publica 

 ordinary paper, and 50 francs will entitle to << ; 

 Japanese paper. Subscriptions may be sent to M. Louis 

 Brunet, treasurer of the committ'i-, 18 rue Chauv-au- 

 Lagarde, Paris. 



The Decimal .Asxjciation has i>sii<'<l a iinular witii 

 reference to the Colonies and the metric system of weights 

 and measures. The most recent instance of the adoption 

 of the metric system by a British colony is that of Malta, 

 where an Ordinance has been passed making the system 

 compulsory as from January i next, or such later date 

 as the Governor may fix. It is understood by the Decimal 

 .Association that the question of the introduction of th« 

 metric system throughout the Empire will be brought for- 

 ward by the Australian representatives at the forthcoming 

 Imperial Conference. .Accompanying the circular is an 

 interesting summary of official reports on the metric 

 system by Mr. j. 11. Twigg, l.n ' ' 



Service. 



The noteworthy flight of Lieuts. Erler and Markenthun 

 from Berlin to Hamburg, and thence to Bremen, has pro- 

 vided a remarkable example of the immediate military 

 value of the aeroplane. The officers started on March 28 

 soon after eleven o'clock, reaching Hamburg, 142 miles 

 distant, about half-past six. Two halts, each of about 

 two hours' duration, were made, one at Dollen in Meck- 

 lenburg, owing to the overheating of the motor, and the 

 second at Ludwigslust. A wireless message was sent from 

 the machine en route, which was received at Nauen, near 

 Berlin. The altitude maintained — 492 feet to 984 feet- 

 was comparatively small for military purposes, and the 

 flight was aided by a slight following wind. The next day 

 the officers continued the journey to Bremen, covering the, 

 distance of 73 miles in a continuous flight of ih. ism.i! 

 aided again by a following wind. The machine used wa* 

 a biplane built to the designs of the military authorities^ 

 with the passenger's seat placed directly behind that of tht 

 pilot, but at a higher elevation to enable the observer tp 

 obtain an uninterrupted view in all directions. .A dual coft^ 

 trol was fitted, allowing the observer to take charge in th* 

 event of the pilot becoming incapacitated from any cause.;- 



A Central News message from Christchurch (N.Z.) on 

 April I states that the Terra Nova has arrived safely at 

 Port Lyttelton from the .\ntarctic. During the meeting 

 of the British party with the .Amundsen Expedition cordi«l 

 greetings were e.xchanged. As already announced, tfie 

 Terra Nova, while following the Great Ice Barrier from the 

 direction of King Edward Land with the view of land- 

 ing the eastern exploration party somewhere near what 

 was formerly known as Balloon Bight, found the Fram 

 in the Bay of \Vhales. Captain .Amundsen's sole object 

 for the present is to reach the South Pole by way of the 

 Bcardmore Glacier, but he hopes, after having done 90» 

 to carry out the programme of Arctic exploration originally 

 drawn up by him. His equipment includes ii6 Greenland 

 dogs and a sufficient number of sledges and skis. The 

 Terra Nova on her return to McMurdo Sound left a 

 message in the Discovery hut announcing the meeting 

 with Captain Amundsen, and this message Captain Scott 

 will find when he returns from his depot-laying expedition 



