294 



NA TURE 



[January 27, 1898 



conscious, misrepresentation involved in taking certain specula- 

 tive conclusions — which in the light of current conceptions we 

 know and point out must appear absurd — away from their con- 

 text, and holding them up to ridicule as if they had been 

 advanced as well-ascertained facts ; and all these from a chapter 

 the first words of which read — "This chapter will be mainly 

 speculative." 



In conclusion I would thank your reviewer for one useful 

 piece of criticism in his eight-column notice — a notice, by the 

 way, to say that the book is not worth noticing — in which he 

 points out a loosely and badly worded paragraph on page 77, 

 the real purport of which, however, is quite clear from what 

 immediately precedes it. Lewis H. Berens. 



Ilkley, January 15. 



Your reviewer regrets an appearance of antagonism between 

 himself and any one who has been genuinely endeavouring to 

 improve natural knowledge, but he must point out that a great 

 deal more study is necessary before a busy man like Mr. 

 Berens can adequately inform himself what the present con- 

 dition of scientific knowledge really is. O. J. L. 



THE TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN. 



IT will be some time before the complete results of the | 

 observations of last Saturday's eclipse can be made j 

 known, but it is extremely satisfactory that all the ex- 

 peditions to India from this and other countries were 

 favoured with perfect weather for the work. In places 

 where the eclipse could only be partial the weather was 

 not so favourable, for a telegram from Odessa (to the 

 Standard) states that the observations of the solar eclipse 

 in Southern Russia were not very successful owing to un- 

 favourable weather. Only a few good photographs were 

 obtained. 



From a telegram received at Greenwich from Sohag- 

 poor we learn that one of the official parties sent out by 

 a joint Committee of the Royal Society and Royal Astro- 

 nomical Society, consisting of the Astronomer Royal, 

 Mr. W. H. M. Christie, and Prof. Turner, of Oxford, who 

 were stationed at that place, were favoured with a per- 

 fectly clear sky, and were thus able to carry out com- 

 pletely the programme they had arranged ; the same 

 may be said of another official party, under the charge of 

 Mr. Newall, of Cambridge, and Captain Hills, R.E., who 

 were at Palgaon, near Wardha. The plates had not 

 been developed, so it is impossible to say as yet how 

 good the results are. Of Dr. Copeland, of Edinburgh, 

 there is at present no news. As his station lay between 

 those of the observers previously mentioned, it may be 

 presumed that he also experienced a clear sky, and was, 

 doubtless, equally successful. 



A later telegram from Sir Norman Lockyer, who was 

 at Viziadurg, on the West Coast, gives the results after 

 developing the plates. It states : "Weather excellent, 

 and all instruments satisfactorily employed with very good 

 results except the integrating spectroscope. The tempera- 

 ture fell about 3° C. during the eclipse. It was not a 

 dark eclipse, and very few stars were seen." 



This news is expressed in fuller detail in the subjoined 

 cablegram from Sir Norman Lockyer to the Morning 

 Post :— 



" The total eclipse of the sun was successfully ob- 

 served at our Viziadurg station in the most perfect 

 weather yesterday. 



"At our station we had the invaluable assistance of 

 one hundred and twenty-five officers, petty officers, and 

 men from her Majesty's ship Melpomene^ the observers 

 being divided into twenty-one parties. 



" As many as sixty photographs of the spectrum were 

 taken, including four sets of ten instantaneous exposures 

 at the beginning and at the end of the total phase. 



" Some of these have been already developed, and are 



NO. 1474. VOL. 57] 



found to exhibit changes in the aspect of the chromo- 

 sphere second by second at each of the four contacts. 



" The corona was a very majestic spectacle, and it 

 resembled that of 1896. 



" As had been expected with so many sun-spots, there 

 was no equatorial extension of the luminosity. 



" A few stars were seen, but the darkness was not of 

 sufficient intensity to necessitate the use of lamps. 



" The longest streamer was a polar one, and had a 

 length equal to four apparent diameters of the moon. 



"This streamer was altogether a most exquisite 

 structure. 



" Mr. Eliot, the Meteorological Reporter to the Indian 

 Government, and Mr. Pedler, of the Calcutta University, 

 were members of our party. 



" Mr. Pedler observed arc lines of iron in the lower 

 corona. 



" Lord Graham's cinematograph work has proved 

 quite successful. 



" The shadow of the moon on the earth was hardly 

 seen in consequence of our atmosphere being too pure. 



" The Collector at Ratnagiri and the officials of the 

 Public Works Department attended, and rendered us 

 every possible assistance." 



The observations made at Talni by Mr. E. W. 

 Maunder and Mr. C. Thwaites appear to have been very 

 successful. The sky was beautifully clear. The light 

 during the middle of totality was equal to full moon. The 

 following is a statement of the results reported to have 

 been obtained by the observers. The general shape of 

 the sun's corona was like that seen in the eclipses of 

 1886 and 1896. The corona extended over two diameters 

 from the sun, and its greatest extent was along the sun's 

 equator. Photographs of the corona were obtained by 

 Mrs. Maunder on a scale of four-fifths of an inch to the 

 sun's diameter, and also on a scale of one-tenth of an 

 inch, to get coronal extensions. The spectrum of the 

 corona, chromosphere and prominences was successfully 

 observed with an opera-glass fitted with a direct-vision 

 prism in one of the eye-pieces. The chief coronal line 

 was not seen on one limb of the sun, but extended to a 

 considerable height at the other. The " flash " spectrum 

 was seen both at the beginning and end of totalit). 

 Three photographs of the corona were obtained by Mr. 

 Thwaites on a scale of seven-tenths of an inch to the 

 sun's diameter. Mr. Thwaites also secured photographs 

 of the corona on a scale of one-tenth of an inch to the 

 sun's diameter. Good spectrum photographs were ob- 

 tained by Mr. Evershed, who is also reported to have 

 photographed the spectrum of the "flash" with a pris- 

 matic camera. 



Observations of the eclipse were also made by a party 

 from the College of Science, Poona, under the direction 

 of Prof. K. D. Naegamvala, and by a party at Jeur, from 

 the Lick Observatory, Mount Hamilton, U.S.A., under 

 the direction of Prof. W. D. Campbell. It is reported that 

 the sky was extremely clear, and that the observations 

 were very successful. The light during the middle of 

 totality is said to have been greater than that of full 

 moon. The general shape of the corona was similar to 

 that observed in 1886 and 1896. The corona extended to 

 a distance of nearly two diameters from the sun, a,nd its 

 greatest extension was observed along the sun's equator. 



A telegram from Dumroon states that the photographic 

 observations made by the survey party there were entirely 

 successful. 



Seven good pictures of the corona were obtained 

 during totality. 



The following telegram was received from the Rev. 

 J. M. Bacon, who was in charge of the British Astro- 

 nomical Association party at Buxar : — 



" On the Ganges weather perfect ; observations satis- 



