May 24, 1888] 



NATURE 



pendent elliptic orbit very closely resembling that computed by 

 Prof. Boss. The first two places used are the same as those 

 Prof. Boss employed ; the third is one obtained on April 16 at 

 Harvard College. Prof. Boss gives the following epheme/is for 

 Greenwich midnight : — 



1888. R.A. Decl. Logn Log A. 



h. in. s. 011 



May 26 o 17 19-4 38 1 45 N. 0-17274 0-26595 



28 o 20 45-6 38 43 8 0-18109 0-27036 



30 024 5-5 392319 0-18928 027459 



June 1 o 27 19 o 40 2 24 0-19730 0-27864 



3 o 30 26-1 40 40 25 0-20516 0*28252 



5 o 33 266 41 17 26 0-21287 0-28623 



7 o 36 20-5 41 53 30 0-22042 0-28978 



9 o 39 76 42 28 39 0*22783 0-29317 



11 o 41 47-8 43 2 56 0*23509 0-29639 



13 o 44 21 1 43 36 23 0-24222 0-29947 



15 o 46 47-5 44 9 i N. 0*24921 030240 



The light ratio on June 15 is „\ of that at discovery. 



New Minor Planet.— A new minor planet, No. 278, was 

 discovered by Herr Palisa at Vienna on May 16. 



ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 

 WEEK 1888 MAY 27— JUNE 2. 

 /p*OR 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 27 

 Sun rises, 3h. 54m. ; souths, nh. 56m. 57*8s. ; sets, 19I1. 59m. : 

 right asc. on meridian, 4V1. 18 -8m. ; decl. 21° 25' N. 

 Sidereal Time at Sunset, I2h. 22m. 

 Moon (at Last Quarter June 1, 13I1.) rises, 2ih. 10m.*; 

 souths, ih. 27m. ; sets, 5I1. 41m. : right asc. on meridian, 

 17I1. 47-6111.; decl. 20 31' S. 



Right asc. and declination 

 Planet. Rises. Souths. Sets. on meridian. 



h. m. h. m. h. m. h. m. , 



Mercury.. 4 42 ... 13 14 ... 21 46 ... 5 35-8 ... 25 29 N. 



Venus 3 26 ... 11 6 ... 18 46 ... 3 28-2 ... 17 56 N. 



Mars 14 42 ... 20 22 ... 2 2*.. 12 45-1 ... 4 31 S. 



Jupiter... 19 12 ... 23 31 ... 3 50*... 15 55-3 ... 19 22 S. 

 Saturn.... 8 2 ... 15 57 ... 23 52 ... 8 19-3 ... 20 14 N. 

 Uranus... 14 47 ... 20 27 ... 2 7*... 12 502 ... 4 39 S. 

 Neptune.. 3 47 ... u 31 ... 19 15 ... 3 528 ... 18 35 N. 

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

 that of the following morning. 



Occultations of Stars by the Moon (visible at Greenwich). 



Corresponding 



angles from ver- 



May. Star. Mag. Disap. Reap. tex to right for 



inverted image, 

 h. 111. h. m. 



27 ... 31 Sagittarii ... 6 ... 22 17T... 23 23 ... 49 240 

 30 ... 20 Capricorni ... 6 ... 2 45 ... 3 38 ... 40 322 

 t In horizon at Greenwich. 



Variable Stars. 

 R.A. Dec', 



h. m. . . h. m. 



... o 52-4 ... 81 16 N. ... May 27, o 57 m 



June I, o 36 m 



U Cancri 8 29*4 ... 19 17 N. ... May 28, M 



S Leonis II 5-1 ... 6 4 N. ... ,, 27, M 



RCorvi 12 138 ... 18 38 S. ...June 2, M 



R Bootis 14 32*3 ... 27 13 N. ... May 29, M 



U Coronse 15 13*6 ... 32 3 N. ... June 1, o 37 m 



S Libra 15 15-0 ... 19 59 S. ... ,, 2, m 



R Scorpii 16 no ... 22 40 S. ... May 30, M 



U Ophiuchi 17 10-9... 1 20 N 28, 2 8 m 



and at intervals of 20 8 



W Sagittarii ... 17 579 ... 29 35 S. ... May 27, 21 o M 



Z Sagittarii 18 14-8 ... 18 55 S. ... ,, 27, 1 o M 



,, 31, 00m 



# Lyras 18 460 ... 33 14 N. ... ,, 30, 21 o M 



R Lyrae 18 51*9 ... 43 48 N. ... June 2, M 



S Vulpeculae ... 19 43-8 ... 27 1 N. ... May 29, m 



S Sagittae 19 509 ... 16 20 N. ... „ 28, 3 oM 



T Vulpeculae ... 20 46*7 ... 27 50 N. ... ,, 31, 23 oil/ 



June 2, 1 o m 



SCephei 22 25*0 ... 57 51 N. ... ,, 1, 1 o M 



s p egasi 23 14-9 ... 8 18 N. ... May 29, 



M signifies maximum ; m minimum. 



Star 

 U Cephei 



M 



Meteor- Showers. 

 R.A. Decl. 



Near x Bootis 



,, 54 Draconis 

 From Vulpecula . 

 Near * Pegasi 



227 

 290 

 303 

 332 



30 N. 

 60 N. 

 24 N. 

 27 N. 



89 



June 2. 



Slow, short. May 30. 

 Swift. 



Swift. Very long 

 paths. Streaks. 



GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES. 



Referring to the ethnology of the Himalayan hill region o 

 Sikkim, where a small British force is at present in occupation, 

 the Madras Mail says that the population may, broadly speak- 

 ing, be divided into three nationalities : the Lepchas, who are 

 the aborigines ; the Nepalese immigrants, now forming nearly 

 half the entire population ; and the Bhuteas, or Bhutanese, who 

 very closely resemble the Tibetans, and are pure Tartars. It is 

 remarkable that the last-named are like the Chinese in the make 

 of their hats, clothes, and boots, and in their pig-tails, but their 

 language is somewhat like Turkish in its sound. It is supposed 

 that this people originally came from Tibet, though they ap- 

 parently derive their name from Bhutan, which lies to the east of 

 Sikkim. They are tall, strong, and hardy, though they are 

 accused of being lazy. They have their Buddhist temples, and 

 erect long poles round their houses, with paper streamers on 

 which are printed prayers in Chinese-looking characters. One 

 may often meet them on the roads twirling their praying-machines, 

 which are cylinders of brass or copper, with a printed roll of 

 prayer inside, and small weights attached to it to make it re- 

 volve when once it is set going. It is thought that amongst them, 

 like the Tibetans, polyandry prevails. The women are large and 

 coarse-featured ; they wear thick woollen clothes of bright colours, 

 and numerous massive gold and silver ornaments. Some of 

 them smear themselves with a browni-h ointment which makes 

 their faces appear as if a coating of French polish had been 

 put on. With regard to the aborigines of Sikkim, they are a 

 Mongolian race, short and stout. In appearance they resemble 

 closely the Nepalese, though, far different from the latter, who 

 are brave soldiers, they are the most arrant cowards. They live 

 by cultivating small tracts of the forests, which they clear by 

 setting fire to the trees and brushwood, and move to a fresh spot 

 each year. As may be supposed, their agriculture is of the most 

 primitive description, and in their language they have no word 

 for a plough. They worship the forces of Nature under the form 

 of demons ; the Bhuteas also, though professed Buddhists, pro- 

 pitiate evil demons, the same sort of imaginary beings as the 

 Nats of the Burmese. The Lepchas are monogamous. The 

 race is gradually dying out. The Limboos are a race of half- 

 breeds between the Nepalese and the Lepchas, but resembling 

 the former more than the latter. There are several similar 

 mongrel races to be found in Sikkim, for the Nepalese immigrate 

 in vast numbers, being driven out of their own country by press 

 of over-population. Few ever return to their own country, and 

 great numbers of them work as coolies on the tea estates. Their 

 religion is a mixture of Buddhism and Brahminism, and they 

 boast of their caste distinctions. Many of them carry curved 

 weapons in their belts, while the Bhuteas and Lepchas use 

 straight-bladed weapons. The Bhutea sword is like that of the 

 old Roman legionary, but the hilt has no guard, after the 

 Mongolian fashion. Amongst the jungles of Perai there are 

 some curious aboriginal tribes, who do not appear to suffer from 

 the malaria which attacks everybody else who sets foot in their 

 territory ; but it is said that if they leave their jungles they are im- 

 mediately attacked themselves by fever, the malarial poison with 

 which they have become inoculated thus finding an exit when they 

 quit their own locality. All the natives of the plain call these races 

 indiscriminately " Pahariyas," or " hill-men," who, though they 

 differ from each other, differ still more from the inhabitants of 

 the plain in their language and mode of life. They are all moun- 

 taineers and Mongolians, and have all great physical strength. 

 A story is told of a Bhutea woman who once carried a grand 

 piano up the Ghaut from Punkabari to Darjeeling in three days, 

 and arrived on the third day quite fresh and unexhausted at her 

 destination with her burden on her back. 



A recent number of the China Reviau (vol. xvi. No. 3) 

 contains a long paper by Mr. Taylor, whose publications on 



