June 13, 1889] 



NAIURE 



151 



12° of the sun's place. The very slow motion of the meteor, its 

 considerable length of path, and the exceptional point from 

 which it diverged, combine to render it an object of especial 

 interest, and further observations of its apparent path would be 

 valuable. It probably became visible at an earlier part of its 

 path than when first seen at Bristol in Lyra, and it is desirable 

 ■to ascertain, if possible, a more precise result for its point of 

 appearance. The entire length of its course might then be 

 ■derived, when it would possibly be found that the distance 

 assigned from present data is much shorter than that really 

 traver.>;ed by the meteor. The Bristol and Reading observations 

 indicate the whole length as nearly 300 miles, and this, though 

 imdoubtedly under the true value, is yet far greater than the 

 customary tracks over which the flights of these bodies extend. 

 Bristol, May 31. W. F. Denning. 



Palaeolithic Implements from the Hills near Dunstable. 



During the past twelve months I have found a small number 

 of Palasolithic implements at great elevations in North Hertford- 

 shire and South Bedfordshire, uncoimected with existing river 

 valleys. Four of the implements -1386, 1387, 1393, and 1398 in 

 my collection — are from Caddington : height above Ordnance 

 datum, 595 feet 9 inches. The dry valley close by, to the west, 

 is 470 feet, and the ground gradually falls southwards to 409 feet 

 at the source of the Ver, near Markyate Street, at a distance of 

 l\ mile. The sections at Caddington exhibit red "clay with 

 flints," brick earth (or clay), and tenacious brown clay or loam, 

 surmounted by bl.-ickish earth, containing broken white-coated 

 flints, a few ochreous flints, and numerous blackish Tertiary 

 pebbles. The whole deposit rests on chalk, and varies in depth 

 from 2 feet to 50 feet. Aware of the importance of finding the 

 worked flints in the undisturbed material, I have, after long 

 searching, found a single implement and one or two flakes in 

 sitti at the stony bottom of the upper deposit of tenacious brown 

 clay at a depth of 3 and 4 feet from the surface. A single small 

 Palaeolithic implement I have f mnd on the surface at Kensworch : 

 height above Ordnance datum, 759 feet 8 inches. The bottom 

 of the valley, i^ mile to the west, at the source of the Ouzel, 

 is 414 feet. Half an ovate Palaeolithic implement, obviously 

 derived from the hill-tops, I have found in a field at the bottom 

 ■of a chalky valley near Houghton Regis. The Caddington 

 implements are pointed (or tongue-shaped), slightly abraded, 

 small in size, and cinnamon-brown in colour. The interest 

 attached to these finds rests not only on the great heights 

 mentioned and the positions away from existing river valleys, 

 but in the nature, age, and mode of deposit of the upper tenacious 

 brown clay in which the implements are embedded. The imple- 

 ments themselves agree in make and appearance with the well- 

 known brown or ochreous implements often found in non-ochreous 

 sand, &c., in existing river valleys. I have at present seen 

 no traces of fossil bones or fresh-water shells in the deposits 

 mentioned. Worthington G. Smith. 



Dunstable. 



Japanese Clocks. 



With reference to your notice of the Japanese clocks pur- 

 chased for this Museum, and described by Mr. A. Rambaut, it 

 may prove of interest to point out in somewhat fuller detail the 

 conclusions at which he has arrived as to the cause of the 

 peculiarities in their construction It was on account of these, 

 to me, unintelligible peculiarities, that I invited Mr. Rambaut to 

 undertake their explanation, and this, I venture to think, he has 

 very thoroughly accompli^shed as follows. The three clocks 

 agree in having a dial on which the time is indicated by a pointer 

 attached to, and descending with, the weights. In other re- 

 spects they diff'er, though all are made more or less on the same 

 principle. The largest of the three appears the most important, 

 and the greater part of the paper is occupied in explaining its 

 construction. The dial of this is divided by vertical lines into 

 six equal spaces, which are crossed by a series of thirteen grace- 

 ful curves. An examination of these curves leads to the con- 

 clusion that they were intended to divide the day and night, at 

 all seasons of the year, into six equal portions each. This 

 system was common enough in ancient times, but the peculiarity 

 of these clocks is that they show the day to have been reckoned, 

 not from sunrise till sunset, but from the first noticeable streak 

 of morning twilight until the sun had reached a corresponding 

 distance below the western horizon. This distance is equal to 



13°, and the form of the curves leads to the conclusion that the 

 clock was constructed in a latitude of about 34° 7', very little 

 less than that of Miako, formerly one of the principal cities in 

 Japan. An examination of the two other clocks, although they 

 ditfer very much in detail, supports the conclusions derived from 

 a study of the first. V.Bali.. 



Science and Art Museum, Dublin, June i. 



Luminous Night-Clouds. 



For the first time this year these clouds appeared in this 

 locality last night, between 10 p.m. and midnight. I inclose 

 sketches, as with my reports in former years, made at half-hour 

 intervals, exhibiting development and movement ; which latter 

 has been in this case from west to east, a direction the reverse of 

 light local wind. A depression of temperature was noticed, as 

 on former occasions. Minimum (on grass) fell to 40° F. 



It may be remembered by some of your readers that when first 

 pointing attention to this annual phenomenon some years ago, and 

 athrming the self-luminous character of these cloudlets, at ap- 

 parently high altitudes, the name " nubeculae boreales " was 

 suggested to distinguish them from simple auroral eff'ects. Herr 

 Jesse, of Berlin, has recently (Nature, vol. xxxix. p. 537) 

 noted their occurrence toward the South Pole also, and pointed 

 to their probable cosmical importance. Detailed observations 

 of any of your correspondents, made during the present reap- 

 pearance of this phenomenon, would be accepted by the writer 

 thankfully, toward afuller discussion of the subject. If, as would 

 appear, it is chiefly of a Polar character, the name proposed 

 should be modified to include the South Pole, and tliese clouds 

 so designated "nubeculae polares" (or " noctilucse "). 



D. ]. Kowan. 



Dundrum, Co. Dublin, June 8. 



Note on some Hailstones that fell at Liverpool on 

 Sunday, June 2, 1889, 



Being in the Physical Laboratory at about 3.35 p.m., about 

 which time a violent thunderstorm took place, accompanied by 

 hail and rain, I went outside and picked up what seemed to me 

 a fine specimen of hail. I brought it inside, measured its diameter 

 with a pair of calipers, and found it to be 2'9 centimetres. 



I then placed it on a slate slab, on which it gradually melted 

 down until it showed a very fine section, a picture of which is 

 given below. 



The centre was circular, and consisted of opaque ice, about the 

 size of an ordinary hailstone ; this was surrounded by a circle of 

 almost perfectly clear ice, this again by a circle of opaque ice, 

 and this once more was surrounded by almost clear ice, but with 

 fine circular lines in it, and bounded by a beautifully frilled outline 

 of opaque ice, which imitated in shape the spheroidal state 

 of a drop of water. Outside this again was a thick layer of clear 

 ice of crystalline form, the position of whose angles I have not 

 shown, as I did not observe their position with regard to the frill 

 inside sufficiently well. 



The diagram is drawn to the right size, omitting the angles on 

 the outer covering of ice, the dark parts represent white opaque 

 ice. 



If a hailstone is formed during electric oscillation from cloud 

 to cloud, and if it receives opaque ice from one cloud and clear 

 ice from another, the alternation of layers would be a natural 

 consequence. The violence of the hail scarcely seemed as great 

 as their size justified, and this suggested that electrostatic attrac- 

 tion had upheld them against the force of gravitation down to a 

 moderate height above the ground. 



I believe almost all the lightning flashes that occurred were 

 between two clouds, as, although I was looking out for the form 

 of the flashes, I could only see the sky lit up with a brilliant red 



