\Nov. I, 1888] 



NATURE 



19 



i'a) from India, three Red Deer (Cerz-us elaphus i <} <i), 



British, two While-tailed Gnus (^Connocha-tes gnu (j 9 ), bred 



in Holland ; a Ruffed Lemur {Lemur varius) from Madagascar, 



; osited ; a Red-crested Pochard {FuUgula rufinai) from 



. iia, purchased. 



ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 

 WEEK 1888 NOVEMBER 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 November 4 



Sun rises, yh. 2m. ; souths, llh. 43m. 40'9s. ; sets, l6h. 26m. : 

 right asc. on meridian, I4h. 40"3m. ; decl. 15° 36' S. 

 Sidereal Time at Sunset, igh. 23m. 

 Moon (New on November 4, oh., and at First Quarter November 

 ID, i6h.) rises, yh. 13m.; souths, i2h. iSm. ; sets, 

 lyh. 12m. : right arc. on meridian, I5h. i4'Sm. ; decl. 

 13° 20' S. 



Right asc. and decimation 

 Planet. Rises. Souths. Sets. on meridian. 



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



Mercury. 

 Venus .., 

 Mars ... 

 Jupiter ... 

 .'^aturn ... 

 Uranus . . . 

 Neptune.. 



6 i6 ... 



9 54 ... 

 12 o ... 



9 30 ... 

 23 7*... 



4 47 - 

 17 19*... 



" 15 

 13 47 

 15 Al 

 13 36 



6 34 

 10 15 



I 4 



16 14 



17 40 

 19 26 

 17 42 



14 I 



15 43 

 8 49 



14 1 1 -2 .. 



16 44-3 .. 



18 40-0 .. 



16 326 ., 



9 29 6 .. 



13 117 .. 



3 587 - 



12 29 S. 



23 28 S. 



24 41 s. 



21 27 S. 



15 45 N. 

 6 57 S. 

 18 46 N. 



I 



* Indicates that the rising is that of the preceding evening. 



OccuUation of Star by the Moon (visible at Greenwich). 



Corresponding 



Mag. 



B.A.C. 

 h. 

 19 



5954 ... 6 



Disap. 



h. m. 

 18 13 



Reap. 



h. m. 

 1857 



angles from ver- 

 tex to right for 

 inverted image. 



... 75 348 

 5' south 



Jupiter in conjunction with and 



of the Moon. 

 6 .. 3 ... Venus in conjunction with and 4° 28' south 



of the Moon. 

 6 ... 22 ... Mercury at least distance from the Sun. 



8 ... o ... Mars in conjunction with and 2° 35' south 



of the Moon. 



9 ... 18 ... Mercury stationary. 



• Saturn, November 4. — Outer major axis of outer ring = 4o''7 : 

 outer minor axis of outer ring = 9" 7 : southern surface visible. 



Star. 



U Cephei 



Variable Stars. 

 R.A. Decl. 



h. m. 



o 52-4 



8x 16 N. ... Nov. 



\Tauri 3 545 ... 12 10 N, 



T Monocerotis ... 6 19-2 ... 7 9 N. 

 R Canis Majoris... 7 I4'5 ... 16 12 N. 



R Ursae Majoris 

 S Ophiuchi ... 

 U Ophiuchi... 

 W Sagittarii 

 fl Lyrae... ... 



S Vulpeculte 

 S Sagittse ... 

 T VtSpeculae 

 V Cygni 



W Cygni 

 5 Cephei 



.. 10 367 ... 69 22 N 



.. 16 27-8 ... 16 55 S. 



.. 17 10-9 ... I 20 N 



.. 17 579 ••• 29 35 S. 



.. 18 460 ... 33 14 N 



19 43*8 



19 509 



20 467 

 20 47 6 



27 I N. 

 16 20 N. 

 27 50 N. 

 34 14 N. 



... 21 31-8 ... 44 53 N. ... „ 

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



M signifies maximum ; m minimum. 



Meteor- Showers. 

 R.A. Decl. 



I oM 



Near 7 Camelopardalis. 

 The Tanrids 



GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES. 



In some notes embodying the results of his ov.n observations, 

 contributed to the Milthcilungen of the Hamburg Geographical 

 Society, Dr. H. Lindemann throws some light on the physical 

 geography of the interior of Heligoland. He points out that the 

 island is protected on the east from the action of the sea by a 

 Icng and narrow sand dune, about i^ mile distant. The gradual 

 disappearance of this British possessirn. Dr. Lindemann points 

 out, is but partly due to the action of the sea. This is especially 

 the case with the western side, where the strength of the waves 

 is much greater. The chief factors in wearing down the island 

 are the heavy rainfall, the variations in the weather, and the dis- 

 solving power of the frost ; all these causes effect the disintegra- 

 tion of the stones and the denudation of the land. The results 

 can be seen better at work on the eastern side of the island, for 

 the strata and the inclination of the Oberland are towards the 

 north-east, and all the water consequently flows that way. The 

 eastern side is largely planted with potatoes, and the gradual 

 disappearance of these potato- fields gives us a tolerably good 

 basis on which to calculate the sinking of this side of the island. 

 There is now nothing remaining of a potato-field which only 

 eighty years ago measured 80 metres, and another field, 25 

 metres broad, has been reduced within the same period to 3 

 metres. In old maps we find an ancient cemetery on the eastern 

 side of the Oberland, which had to be removed to its present 

 position. These causes, but, above all, the direction in which 

 the strata lie, produce the different aspect of the eastern and 

 western sides. The eastern cliff is mostly uniform and perpen- 

 dicular ; the western side offers a splendid and varied example 

 of the invasive powers of the sea, with its many inlets, caverns, 

 and chiselled pillars now separated from the main rock. From 

 a comparison with the measurements taken in 1845, Lindemann 

 finds that the western cliff had receded about 7 feet in the last 

 forty years, or at the rate of about 2 inches a year. The Unter- 

 land was joined to the dune by a stone jetty, called the Waal, as 

 recently as the seventeenth century. This Waal formed a kind 

 of semicircular harbour, open on the north and south sides. If 

 we take Geern's map, we find the place of the old northern 

 harbour occupied then by green pastures and meadows. But 

 this has all been swept away ; the sea carried most of the jetty 

 towards the Unterland and the dune. The destruction of the 

 breakwater had the effect upon the mainland that the Unterland, 

 against which the masses of stone were driven, was gradually so 

 greatly increased that new rows of houses could be built upon the 

 beach. 



It is stated that contracts have been entered into in America 

 for the construction of two steamers intended for an expedition to 

 the Antarctic regions, which is being organized by Mr. Henry 

 Villard. The officers and scientific staff of the expedition will 

 all be Americans and Germans, as the enterprise is stated to be 

 in great part supported by Hamburg money. The expedition 

 will start from New York, and its object will be mainly the ex- 

 ploration of the South Shetlands, South Orkneys, South Georgia, 

 and the Poovel Islands. This expedition seems to be independent 

 of that to be sent out by the German Government under the 

 conduct of Dr. Neumayer. 



Mr. Joseph Thomson has returned from Morocco in com- 

 pliance with an urgent telegram from the British East African 

 Company. Mr. Thomson will probably start immediately for 

 Mombassa, and we have reason to believe will be intrusted with 

 a very important mission to the interior. 



PRELfMLYARY NOTE ON THE ANATOMY 

 AND PHYSIOLOGY OF PROTOPTERUS 

 ANNECTENS. 



Introduction. 



^WING to the generosity of Prof Wiedersheim, I have 

 ^-^ recently had the opportunity of making some observations 

 on the structure and mode of life of Protopt.rus. Although I can 

 at present only give a few brief notes on the subject, some points 

 have already proved so interesting, (hat it has seemed wor:h 

 while to give an abstract of my results up to the present time, 

 leaving a detailed description until a later date. 



I was fortunate enough to be present in Freiburg at the end of 

 last June when a quantity of fresh material arrived. This was 

 procured direct from the Gambia, owing, in the first instance, to 



