140 



NATURE 



[Dec. 8, 1887 



by Mr. Bochett, a working man — will be read ; and it has been 

 arranged that the reading of these papers shall be followed by a 

 discussion. It is hoped that employers and employed will both 

 be largely represented at the meeting. The Hon. Secretary will 

 be glad to send tickets for the platform or for reserved seats to 

 anyone who may apply for them. 



In the Report of the Newcastle Public Libraries Committee 

 for 1886-87, it is stated that, at the annual stock-taking in June- 

 July 1886, only three volumes were found to be unaccounted 

 for. Only sixteen volumes have been lost since the opening of 

 the Library in 1880. During the same period the issue of 

 V olumes has reached a total of 1,538,445. 



A NEW edition of the catalogue of books in the juvenile 

 lending department connected with Newcastle Public Library 

 has just been issued. A glance at the contents, as the compiler 

 truly says, will show that in this juvenile department " a won- 

 derful wealth of entertainment is placed at the command of the 

 young people of Newcastle ." No fewer than two thousand care- 

 fully selected volumes are at their disposal. During the seven 

 years the Library has been open, the Committee has more than 

 doubled the stock of bioks in this collection, and 215,092 

 volumes have been lent to children. 



A VISITOR to the beaver colony at Amlid, some distance from 

 Christiansand, in Norway, to which we referred some months 

 ago, states that the colony has flourished considerably during the 

 summer, and is now probably the largest in Norway. Some- 

 times as many as a dozen animals may be seen at a time in the 

 water. The huts are built close to the shore, and have two 

 stories, one above and one below the surface of the water. The 

 walls are made of timber, laid as in a human dwelling, whilst 

 the roof is covered with twigs and mud. All the aspen-trees in 

 the vicinity have now been felled, and the animals have begun to 

 attack the birches. Trees upwards of 18 inches in diameter at 

 the root have been cut down. The animals appear to have most 

 use for the branches, many stems stripped of the same lying 

 about in the wood^. The material required is dragged to the 

 waterside along regular "log runs," such as wood-cutters leave 

 in forests, and in some places roots crossing the same have 

 been gnawed off, so as to make the run smooth. Shortly after 

 an increase in the colony the new-comers begin to build a new 

 house. Not one of the animals has as yet been killed, and 

 visitors come from all parts for the purpose of watching their 

 peculiar mode of living. It has been found that sentinels are 

 posted, giving the alaroa to the rest of the colony in case of 

 danger. When such an alarm is given, all the animals leave 

 their dwellings for the water. 



Readers of Icelandic Sagas will remember that in the 

 celebrated Njal's Saga there is a record of an attack on Njal's 

 dwelling, Bergthorshval (named after his wife, Bergthora), and 

 of its being burned, with the whole of Njal's kin. In order to 

 demonstrate the historical accuracy of the Saga, a member of the 

 Iceland Archaeological Society some two years ago proposed to 

 excavate the spot where Njal's dwelling was said to have stood. 

 This was done last year, and resulted in the discovery, at a 

 depth of some 6 feet, of a layer of ashes, remains of charred 

 beams, &c. But this was not all. Below the ashes three lumps 

 of some substance of a spongy nature, dirty-white in colour, 

 were found ; and Dr. Storch, Director of the Royal Agricultural 

 Laboratory in Copenhagen, by whom these lumps have just 

 been analyzed, pronounces them to be ancient curdled milk and 

 cheese. Such milk, called Skyr, was much liked in Iceland in 

 remote times, and was often solidified to a kind of cheese by 

 the fluid matter being pressed out. Strangely enough, the 

 Saga mentions the fact of women bringing Skyr to extinguish 

 the fire. Dr. Storch, by slowly treating fresh Skyr to a tem- 



perature of a little more than 100' C, has thereby obtained 

 a substance in every respect similar to that found in the 

 supposed ruins of Njal's dwelling. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Striped Hyaena (Hya:na striata) from North 

 Africa, presented by Mr. Ernest Heydon Marquis ; a Crested 

 Porcupine {Hystrix cristata) from Suakim, presented by His 

 Grace the Duke of Hamilton, K.T., F.Z. S. ; two Common Squir- 

 rels {Sciurus vulgaris), British, presented by Mrs. Henry Alex. 

 Hankey ; a Horned Tragopan [Ceriornis satyrai) from the 

 South-eastern Himalayas, presented by Mr. R. J. Lloyd Price ; 

 a Vinaceous Dove ( Turtur vinaceus) from West Africa, pre- 

 sented by Mr. R. H. Mitford ; three South African Scorpions 



(Scorpio ) from South Africa, presented by Mr. W. K. 



Sibley ; a Zebu {Bos indicus) from Africa, two Sandwich 

 Island Geese {Bernicla sandvicensis) from the Sandwich Islands, 

 deposited. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 



The New Algol Variables, Y Cygni and R Cams 

 Majoris. — Mr. Chandler has just p\iblished in Gould's Astro- 

 nomical Journal, No. 163, his elements for these two interest- 

 ing variables. In the case of Y Cygni, it will be recollected 

 (see Nature, vol. xxxv. pp. 307, 329) that before its period 

 had been fully determined by observation, Mr. Chandler 

 concluded, from the analogy of all the then known stars 

 of the type, that it would prove to be about thirty-six 

 hours. This is now found to be correct, the actual period being 

 id. ilh. 56m. 48s. The ground upon which the inference was 

 based was the circumstance that with the other stars of the type 

 the shorter the period of the star the higher is the ratio which 

 the time of oscillation bears to fhe entire period. The first 

 exception to this rule is R Canis Majoris, the variable star dis- 

 covered by Mr. Sawyer last March (see Nature, vol. xxxvi. 

 p. 376), the duration of the oscillation for this star being 5h. 

 instead of 6h., as it should be on the same principle. 



The following are the elements of the two stars :— 



Y Cygni. R Canis Majoris. 



^ , r 1886, Dec. 9, / 1887, Mar. 26, 



^P^'^" t "h. 14m. 30s. t I4h. 58m. 30s. 



Period ... id. iih. 56m. 48s. id. 3h. 15m. 55s. 



Brightness at maximum 7'im. ... 5'9n^' 



Brightness at minimum 7'9ii- ••■ 67m. 



Duration of decrease ... 4h. ... 2'5h. 



Duration of increase ... 4h. ... 2'5h. 



Stationary maximum brilliancy 28h. ... 22h. 



Minor Planet No. 271. — This object has received the name 

 of Penthesilea. 



ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 

 WEEK 1887 DECEMBER 11-17. 



/"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 December 1 1 

 Sun rises, 7h. 58m. ; souths, lih. 53m. 22 "gs. ; sets, I5h. 49m. : 

 right asc. on meridian, I7h. 1 2 ■9m. ; decl. 23° l' S. 

 Sidereal Time at Sunset, 21 h. 9111. 

 Moon (New on December 14, I9h.) rises, 3h. Iim. ; souths, 

 8h. 47m. ; sets, I4h. 14m. : right asc. on meridian, 

 I4h. 6-5m. ; decl. 7° 27' S. 



Right asc. and declination 

 Planet. Rises. Souths. Sets. on meridian. 



h. m. h. m. h. ra. h. m. o / 

 Mercury.. 6 7 ... 10 3? ... 14 57 ... 15 51*2 ... 18 26 S. 



Venus 3 33 ... 8 46 ... 13 59 ... 14 4*9 ••• 9 5^ S. 



Mars o 47 ... 6 54 ... 13 i ... 12 I2'5 ... o 44 N. 



Jupiter.... 5 37 ... 10 6 ... 14 35 ... 15 24*9 ... 17 47 S. 

 Saturn.... 19 28*... 3 16 ... 11 4 ... 8 34-1 ... 19 10 N. 

 Uranus... 2 9 ... 7 43 ... 13 17 ••• 13 "'^ ••• 5 5^ S. 

 Neptune.. 14 44 ... 22 24 .. 6 4*... 3 45"o ... 18 3 N. 



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

 that of the following morning. 



