424 



NATURE 



{March i, 1888 



Wolf's Relative 

 Numbers (Zurich). 



Variation in Map^etic 

 Declination (Milan). 



January .. 



February .. 



March 



April 



May 



]une 



July 



August 



September.. 



October . . 



November.. 



December .. 



28-4 

 23-6 

 61 -8 



45 '9 

 29-0 



257 

 329 



i9'o 



17-1 



9*5 



O'O 



151 



13-1 



157 



27 



7-5 



17-2 



i6-3 

 26*2 



2I'I 



6-9 



5-4 



4-5 



20-5 



4-07 

 4-91 

 8-6i 

 9-89 

 9 '06 

 8-37 

 9-58 

 8-17 

 7-61 



6-33 

 2-48 

 I -61 



371 

 3*69 

 6-99 



9 "33 

 9 '3° 

 955 

 10*25 

 9-07 

 6-o8 

 6-03 



3 "07 

 2- 23 



Mean 257 ... I3'i .. 672 ... 6'6i 



The fluctuations in the numbers and dimensions of the pro- 

 minences have not been so great as for the spots, but the 

 prominences likewise showed a maximum in July and a decline 

 afterwards. The highest prominence observed by Prof. Tac- 

 chini during the year was on July 2, 2^' in height. Both faculae 

 and prominences failed to show a depression similar to that so 

 conspicuous in November in the numbers of the spots, or the 

 revival these displayed in December, the faculse thus according 

 in their behaviour rather with the prominences than with the 

 spots. The following figures, given by the Rev. S. J. Perry 

 in the Observatory for February 1888, show the general decline 

 in prominence activity during 1887, as compared with 1886 : — 



Mean Height of Mean Height of 

 Chromosphere. Prominences. 



Mean Extent of 

 Prominence Arc. 



1886 8-05 ... 2478 ... 13-26 



1887 8-13 ... 23-86 ... 9-29 



A New^ Comet. — A comet was discovered by Sawerthal on 

 February i8. It was observed at Cape Town, February 18, 

 I4h. 32-5m., in R.A. I9h. iim. 32-5s., and N.P.D. 146° 3' 44". 

 Daily motion, R.A. + 7m. ; N.P.D. - 1° 15'. Its physical 

 appearance was as follows : — It was about the seventh magnitude, 

 had a well-defined nucleus, and a tail a degree in length. It 

 was visible to the naked eye. 



ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 

 WEEK 1888 MARCH 4-10. 



/"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 March 4 

 Sun rises, 6h. 40m. ; souths, I2h. iim. 45-03. ; sets, I7h. 4401. : 



right asc. on meridian, 2311. 2-5m. ; decl. 6" 9' S. 



Sidereal Time at Sunset, 4h. 35m. 



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

 that of the following morning. 



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



Corresponding 



March. 



4 

 6 



March. 

 4 



4 

 9 



Star. 



Mag. Disap. 



49 Librae ... 

 B.A.C. 6098 



Si 

 6 



h. m. 

 O O 

 2 28 



Reap, 

 h. m. 



o 30 

 3 25 



angles from ver- 

 tex to right for 

 inverted image. 



••• 334 274 

 ... 72 200 



h. 

 II 



14 

 22 



Jupiter in conjunction with and 3" 47' south 



of the Moon. 

 Mars stationary. 

 Venus in conjunction with and 0° 17' north 



of the Moon. 



Saturn, March 4. — Outer major axis of outer ring = 

 outer minor axis of outer ring = 16" 'o ; southern surface 



44 '-8 ; 

 visible. 



Star. 



T Arietis 



Algol 



R Persei 



\ Tauri 



C Geminorum 



R Canis Majoris. 

 S Cancri ... . 

 5 Librae 



U Coronse ... . 

 U Ophiuchi... 

 X Sagittarii ... 



5 Lyrse 



U Aquilse ... 



7j Aquilse 



Y Cygni ... . 



WCygni ... . 

 5 Cephei ... . 



Variable Stars. 



R.A. Decl. 



h. m. , , 



2 42-1 ... 17 3 N. 



3 0-9 ... 40 31 N. 



Mar. 8, 



3 22-9 

 3 54-5 



35 17 N. 

 12 ID N. 



6 57-5 ... 20 44 N. 



14-5 ... 

 37-5 •• 

 55-0.. 

 13-6 .. 

 10-9 ... 



4^5 • 

 46 o .. 



233 •• 

 46-8 .. 

 476 .. 



16 12 S. 



19 26 N. 

 8 4S. 



32 3 N. 

 I 20 N. 



27 47 S. 



33 14 N. 

 7 16 S. 

 o 43 N. 



34 14 N. 



... 21 31-8 ... 44 53 N. ... ,, 

 ... 22 25-0 ... 57 51 N. ... ,, 



M signifies maximum ; m minimum. 



4, O 



6, 20 

 5. 



7, o 

 10, 23 



4, 22 

 10, 2 



9, 21 



6, 20 



7, I 

 10, 4 



5. I 

 4. 3 

 7, 22 



10, 5 

 9, 5 

 4- 19 

 7, 19 

 5. 



10, 22 



M 



I m 



50 in 



M 



20 m 



12 m 



o M 



o m 



25 m 



59 '« 



6 m 



7 m 

 2S ni 



o M 

 o M 

 o ni 

 o m 

 II m 

 5 m 

 in 

 o m 



Meteor- Showers. 

 R.A. Decl. 



From Coma Berenices. 

 Near i\ Librae 

 ,, 7 Herculis ... 



190 

 234 

 244 



26 N. 

 17 S. 

 16 N. 



March 8. 



Swift. March 7. 



Very swift. Mar. 7. 



THE RE LA TIONS BETWEEN GEO LOG Y AND 

 THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES.^ 



IL 



T N the remarks which I have hitherto made, I have confined 

 -*■ myself to the purely biological aspects of palaeontology. As 

 astronomy exhibits to us the orderly working of physical and 

 chemical laws in other and far distant orbs, so palaeontology 

 presents us with the biological phenomena of many and widely- 

 separated periods. 



But besides the biological, there are two other aspects in which 

 fossils may be viewed ; and in these aspects their relations are 

 almost entirely with zoological science. It is the recognition of 

 this fact which prevents the geologist from acquiescing with the 

 claims of biologists to treat palaeontology as nothing more than 

 a branch of their own science. 



The assemblage of fossils found in a particular deposit 

 furnishes us with the most valuable evidence concerning the 

 conditions — such as salinity of water, depth, temperature, pres- 

 sure, &c., — under which the deposit must have been formed. 

 And, again, in the changes which the materials of fossils can 

 be shown to have undergone we have very accurate data for 

 determining the succession of processes to which the materials 

 of the deposit must have been subjected since their original 

 accumulation. 



It is true that this evidence of fossils concerning the conditions 

 under which deposits have been formed, is of a kind which has 

 been sadly misread in the past. Until the study of deposits 

 which are being formed at the present day was taken up in a 

 systematic manner, it was almost hopeless to avoid numerous 

 sources of error ; but at the present day the advantages accruing 

 to geology from the results of deep-sea researches, are at least as 

 great as those which by the same means have been conferred upon 

 biology. 



It is almost needless to call attention to the fact that there are 

 vast masses of rock, including most of the calcareous and carbon- 

 aceous, and many of the siliceous and ferruginous types, of which 

 the materials have been accumulated entirely by the agency of 

 living organisms ; it is impossible to study the petrology of such 

 deposits without an acquaintance with the nature and functions 



» Address tD the Geological Socletj- by the Pres'dent, Prof. John W. 

 Judl, F.R.S., at the Anniversary Meeting, on February 17. Continued from 

 p. 404. 



