i8 



NA TURE 



[May 3, 1888 



Vatican and other Italian libraries with a view to further light 

 being thrown upon this question. 



Mr. W. Chandler Roberts-Austen will give the discourse 

 on Friday evening, May n, at the Royal Institution in place of 

 Mr. W. H. Barlow, who is unwell. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Bonnet Monkey {Macacus sinicus ? ), from 

 India, presented by Mr. Lionel H. Hanbury ; a Macaque 

 Monkey {Macacus cynomolgus & ), from Burma, presented by 

 Mrs. G. E. Buchanan ; a Scarlet Ibis {Eudocimus ruber), a 

 Roseate Spoonbill {Platalea ajaja), from Brazil, presented by 

 Mr. Charles Booth; a Common Kestrel {Tinnunculus 

 alaudarius), British, presented by Mr. H. Weetman, F.Z.S. ; 

 a Hoffmann's Sloth {Cholopus hoffmanni), from Panama, 

 deposited ; three Lined Finches {Spermophila lineola), from 

 South America, purchased ; two Persian Gazelles {Gazclla 

 subgutterosa S 9 ), two Chinchillas {Chinchilla lanigera), born 

 in the Gardens. 



ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 



WEEK 1888 MA Y 6-12. 



/"pOR the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at 



^ Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24, 



is here employed.) 



At Greenwich on May 6 

 San rises, 4I1. 24m.; souths, nh. 56m. 25*95. ; sets, ic;h. 29m. : 

 right asc. on meridian, 2h. 55 '5m. ; deck 16° 44' N. 

 Sidereal Time at Sunset, ioh. 29m. 

 Moon (New on May II, ih.) rises, 3h. 15m.; souths, 

 8h. 49m. ; sets, 14b. 34m. : right a?c. on meridian, 

 23h. 47 -5m. ; deck 5 36' S. 



Right asc. and declination 

 Planet. Rises. Souths. Sets. on meridian. 



h. m. „ 



Rises, 

 h. m. 

 4 16 

 3 56 



16 9 



Mercury 



Venus . 



Mars 



Jupiter ... 20 53 



Saturn ... 9 16 



Uranus... 16 13 



Neptune.. 5 7 



Souths, 

 h. m. 



11 36 

 IO 49 

 21 51 



1 9 

 17 13 

 21 52 



12 50 



Sets, 

 h. m. 

 18 56 



17 42 

 3 33* 

 5 25 

 1 10* 



3 3i* 

 20 33 



2 35'i 

 1 47 - 9 



12 51-5 



16 67 



8 125 



12 52-3 



3 49 "6 



14 29 N. 

 9 35 N. 

 4 15 S. 



19 52 S. 



20 35 N. 

 A 52 S. 



18 25 N. 



* Indicates that the rising is that of the preceding evening and the setting 

 that of the following morning. 



May. 



9 



9 ... Venus in conjunction with and 3° 50' north 

 of the Moon. 



10 ... 22 ... Mercury in conjunction with and 5° 6' north 



of the Moon. 



11 ... o ... Mercury in superior conjunction with the 



Sun. 

 Saturn, May 6. — Outer major axis of outer ring = 4o""2 ; 

 outer minor axis of outer ring = 14" -3 : southern surface visible. 



M signifies maximum ; m minimum. 



Meteor- Showers. 

 R.A. Decl. 



Near t Crateris 

 ,, a Coronse 

 ,, £Draconis 



GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES. 



The Mouvement Geographique contains details of Lieut. Van 

 Gele's recent exploration of the River Mobangi, the great tribu- 

 tary of the north bank of the Congo, which discharges a little 

 below the equator. It will be remembered that the Rev. George 

 Grenfell succeeded in making his way up the river as far as 4 

 N. latitude, where he was stopped by the Zongo rapids. Lieut. 

 Van Gele started on October 26 last, and reached the rapids on 

 November 21. There are six of them, covering a space of 34 

 miles. They are situated in what is really a mountain gorge, 

 the mountains, in gentle slopes, coming down to the river banks. 

 The steamer En Avant had to be unloaded several times and 

 dragged up the rapids. The spaces between the rapids are 

 mostly covered with islands, with great bars of rock stretching 

 between them. The countiy on each side is described as 

 being fine, fertile, and covered with villages. The people here 

 are all of the same tribe ; head shaved except at the nape, 

 bristling moustaches, and no tattooing. Above the middle falls, 

 the Bakombe inhabit the country. These arrange the hair in 

 queues, some of which are over 6 feet long. From the upper 

 end of the falls the river continues in a north-east direction for 

 about 32 miles, when it rounds to the east. It has a breadth of 

 about 2600 feet, and the navigation is easy, the average depth 

 being 14 feet. The easterly direction is maintained as far as the 

 En Avant went, about 172 miles further. The mountains dis- 

 appear from the right bank, and the left is marked by low hills, 

 with grassy plains and woods alternating. The villages are at 

 some distance from the river, but the people came down to the 

 vessel in crowds all the way up, and were perfectly friendly until 

 the last few days. Over the whole course tropical cultures of 

 every kind were abundant, as well as sheep, goats, and fowls. 

 The natives on the right bank belong to the Buraka and Maduru 

 tribes ; those on the right to the Bakangi, the Mombate, and the 

 Banzy. They mostly shave the head so as to leave a triangle of 

 hair, with the forehead as base. The ears are enormously elon- 

 gated with heavy copper rings. The river here is covered with 

 islands, mostly cultivated and inhabited. Among the Banzy the 

 huts have the shape of huge conical extinguishers, resting on a 

 circular wall about 2 feet high. These huts are ranged in circu- 

 lar rows, forming broad streets, well kept, and with a common 

 meeting-house in the centre. Each hut is divided into two 

 apartments, one used for sleeping. Iron is admirably worked 

 into all sorts of implements, weapons, and ornament-. Ivory is 

 abundant, but used only for bracelets, anklets, and pclele or lip- 

 ornaments. About 100 miles above the Zongo rapids a second 

 is met with, at Bemay. The vessel succeeded in passing it, and 

 a third 25 miles further up. Just above Bemay, the only tribu- 

 tary met with from the Zongo rapids upwards — the Bangasso — 

 discharges into the right bank of the Mobangi. Above the 

 river the country is densely peopled by the Mombongo and 

 Yakoma, and these showed themselves distinctly hostile to the 

 expedition. There were unfortunately several conflicts, in which 

 lives were lost on both sides. Rocks and sand-banks obstructed 

 the navigation, and after getting as far as 21° 55' E., Lieut. Van 

 Gele turned back, making his way downwards with some diffi- 

 culty, as the river had lowered about 10 feet. He arrived at 

 Equator Station on February I. The river was about 8000 feet 

 wide at the furthest point, and covered with islands, mostly in- 

 habited. On the north bank of the river, one village extended 

 along a distance of 3 miles. As Dr. Junker's furthest point on 

 the Welle was 22° 55' E. , only i° of longitude separates his 

 point from Van Gele's furthest, or about 68 miles. As they are 

 both on the same line of latitude, there can be no doubt that the 

 Mobangi and the Welle are the same river. 



From an official Report by Mr. Percy Smith, Assistant Sur- 

 veyor-General of New Zealand, on a visit to the Kermadec 

 Islands, in August last, we glean some information as to this 

 recent annexation to the British dominions. The group is situ- 

 ated between the parallels of 29 10' and 31 10' S. lat., and 

 between the meridian of 177° 45' and 179 W. long. There 

 are four islands, with some outlying islets and rocks, the most 

 northerly, Raoul or Sunday Island, being 674 miles north-east of 

 Auckland. The islands are all volcanic ; in two of them, 

 indeed, signs of volcanic activity are to be seen at the present 

 day, though on a limited scale. They appear to be situated on 

 an oceanic plateau which extends from New Zealand to the 

 Tonga Group, on which soundings are obtained at depths much 

 less than in the adjacent areas, but still so great as to show that 

 the islands form, as it were, the tops of volcanic cones rising to 



