I30 



NATURE 



\yune 5, 1879 



the comet near its old track were equally unsuccessful, 

 and it was not till the grand meteoric shower on the 

 evening of November 27 in that year that further light 

 was thrown upon the subject. As is well known, the 

 meteors of that great shower were found to be moving in 

 an orbit sensibly identical with that of Biela' s comet in 

 1866. Intersecting, or at least passing very near to the 

 earth's orbit on November 27, the comet must have been 

 descending to a. perihelion passage a month later, or 

 about December 27 '6; such at least would be the date 

 when the meteoric shower would arrive at its least dis- 

 tance from the sun. In this fact appears the only ground 

 upon which we can now work to obtain an idea of the 

 probable position of the comet in the present year. If 

 we apply Dr. Michez's perturbations from 1852 to 1866 

 to the late Prof Hubbard's elaborately-determined ele- 

 ments of the south-following nucleus in 1852 (assumed to 

 be identical with the principal comet in 1846), we find the 

 following orbit for 1866 : — 



Longitude of perihelion 



,, ascending node 



Inclination to ecliptic 



Angle of excentricity 



Mean daily motion 



Revolution 



109 39 48 



245 43 42 

 12 22 3 

 48 46 19-35 



529"'9iS7 



2445'67 days 



Mean equinox 

 January 27. 



And bringing up the longitudes to the equinox of 1879 ^e 

 have the following heliocentric co-ordinates to be com- 

 bined with the X, Y, Z of the Nautical Almanac in the 

 preparation of sweeping-ephemerides on different hypo- 

 theses as to time of arrival at perihelion : — 



If the meteoric cloud of November 27, 1872, was moving 

 in the orbit given above, a revolution counted from 

 December 27-6 in that year will bring us to about 

 September 8, 1879, as the epoch of next perihelion 

 passage. Assuming September 7-5 we should have the 

 following sweeping-line for that date : — 



Time from 

 perihelion. 



o days 



-20 „ 



Right North Distance Intensity of 



ascension, declination, from earth. light. 



140-2 

 125-9 



10-8 

 17-4 



1-66 

 1-42 



0-47 

 0-57 



It may, however, be regarded as by no means im- 

 probable that the perihelion passage of the body which 

 caused the shower of meteors may take place much later, 

 and a very close and extended search will be required. 



Sweeping-ephemerides to the extent desirable would 

 occupy too much space here, but they will be easily pre- 

 pared in the manner indicated from the above co-ordi- 

 nates. 



It is impossible not to admit the justice of a remark 

 made by M, Otto Struve at the Stockholm meeting of the 

 German Astronomical Society, when urging further atten- 

 tion to this comet : " Kein Comet gebe mehr Ansicht, 

 iiber die Natur der Cometen im Allgemeinen etwas zu 

 erfahren, als der Biela'sche ; " and if due preparation be 

 made this year for an exhaustive examination of the 

 heavens in those regions where it is possible any portion 

 «f the comet may be found, further light may be thrown 

 upon what yet appear the mysterious agencies which have 

 affected its constitution and motions. 



GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES 



In the place of Prof Geikie's lecture on geographical 

 evolution which was promised for this month, the June 

 number of the Geographical Society's monthly periodical 

 contains the anniversary address by Mr. Markham on 

 the progress of geography. This is followed by a short 

 paper on the " Mardian Hills and the Lower Indravati in 

 the Bustar Dependency," contributed by Capt. T. H. 

 Holdich, R.E., who also furnishes a sketch-map of the 

 region. As regards quantity, at any rate, the geographical 

 notes show a great improvement on previous numbers, 

 and many of them supply information of considerable 

 interest. Attention may be especially called to Mr. Keith 

 Johnston's remarks on the employment of elephants in 

 African travel, and regarding his own movements, Russian 

 topographical labours in the Kirghiz Steppe and in 

 Turkistan, the Russian Trans-Caspian territory, recent 

 topographical survey by" the Russians from the Oxus to 

 Herat, new maps of Afghanistan, and a singular cave- 

 formation in Queensland. There is also a good summary of 

 Lieut. Wheeler' s survey work in Oregon in 1878, based on 

 an account drawn up by Mr. T. W. Goad, who was himself 

 an active partaker in the work. Under the head of 

 " Proceedings of Foreign Societies," we find a report of 

 the Inter-Oceanic Canal Congress up to May 23. The 

 last thirteen pages of the number are occupied by notes on 

 new books and maps. 



Mr. J. F. Broumton, the agent of the China Inland 

 Mission at Kweiyang-fu, in the Kweichow province, re- 

 cently accompanied Mr. Cameron, on his way from Yiin- 

 nan to the sea-board, as far as Kweilin-fu, in Kwangsi. 

 Their route lay through the regions occupied by the 

 Miao-tsze, or aboriginal tribes, who are very numerous in 

 the south-east of Kweichow, and practically independent 

 of the Chinese. Mr. Broumton visited a place called 

 Pa-tsia, near which there are many Miao-tsze, but they 

 are very shy and do not mix with the Chinese, only 

 coming to the town on market-days to buy cotton, cloth, 

 salt, &c. Their villages consist of mud cottages, usually 

 hidden among trees and situated in places among the 

 hills, which are difficult of access. From what he saw, 

 Mr. Broumton thinks that the Miao-tsze are thrifty and 

 industrious, for their land seemed well cultivated and the 

 people well clothed. There is another interesting class 

 of people in the Kweichow province, viz., the Tsung-kia- 

 tsze, who, it is thought, originally emigrated from Hunan 

 and Kiangsi, and in course of time intermarried with the 

 Miao-tsze. Now they are a distinct class, speaking a 

 language differing from both the Chinese and the Miao- 

 tsze. Like the latter, they do not bind their girls' feet, 

 and they are described as a sturdy, hardy race and 

 thriving agriculturists. 



In the annual statement of the British Museum, just 

 presented to Parliament, we find a report by Mr. Major on 

 the department of maps, charts, plans, and topographical 

 drawings. We do not learn very much as to the nature 

 of the accessions made during the year, but Mr. Major 

 particularises a photographic reproduction of a hydro- 

 graphical chart on parchment (dated 1385) in the Royal 

 Archives at Florence, comprising the Atlantic as far as 

 Cape Bojador, then the furthest point of geographical dis- 

 covery southwards, to Syria and the Black Sea, on the 

 east. On this chart, which is earlier by half a century 

 than the effective discovery of the Azores by Diego de 

 Sevill and other navigators, we find the islands of San 

 Miguel and Santa Maria laid down, but with an illegible 

 description, while the islands of San Jorge, Fayal, and 

 Pico are described as Insule de Ventura and Columbia, 

 and Terceira is named Insula de Brazi, so called from the 

 Brazil wood with which it abounded, thus preceding its 

 famous namesake in South America by a century and a 

 quarter. The chart bears the following epigraph : - 



