Nov. 2 2, 1888] 



NATURE 



85 



at times. I began to watch for the return of the Leonids 

 at I5h. 30m., but there were many clouds until about i6h , 

 when the firmament cleared and remained nearly cloud- 

 less until i8h. During the 2\ hours I counted 29 shooting- 

 stars, and of these 17 were Leonids; so that the shower 

 was pretty conspicuous. The radiant-point was at 149° 

 + 22^, which is almost identical with the place assigned 

 to it in previous years. 



The display was noteworthy for the brilliancy of the 

 individual meteors. I observed a large Leonid fireball at 

 i6h. 56m., and I also saw two Leonids equal to Jupiter and 

 one first magnitude at other times. Their paths were as 

 follow : — 



h. m. o o o o 



Nov. 13 ... 16 41 ... \ ... 166 + 34 to 172 + 371 



16 56 ... Fireball ... 125^ — 22 to 121 - 30^ 



17 19 ••• ■2/ ...252 +33^10257^ + 31' 

 1746... I ••.175 + 66H0 210 + 75i 



All these left bright streaks enduring for several 

 seconds. The fireball at i6h. 56m. was situated very low 

 in the southern sky, and I should not have seen it but for 

 its brilliant flashes, which lit up the whole sky with un- 

 usual vividness. It must have been a splendid object in 

 the English Channel and at stations in the north-west 

 parts of France. The fine meteor at I7h. 19m. appears 

 to have been seen also by Mr. Backhouse, at Sunderland. 

 At Bristol it was observed near e Herculis, and very close 

 on the north-east horizon ; at Sunderland it was pro- 

 jected near Arcturus, about 15° above the east-by-north 

 horizon, and the most remarkable feature of its display 

 at Sunderland was the durableness of the streak, which 

 ■ continued visible to the naked eye nine minutes after the 

 flash which accompanied the outburst of the meteor. A 

 comparison of the observations shows that this bolide at 

 its disappearance was about 37 miles in vertical height 

 above point in the North Sea near lat. 55:{° N., long. 3° E. 



The recent shower appears to have been decidedly 

 brighter than any other return of the same stream since 

 1879, when there occurred a very similar display to that 

 which has just been witnessed. There was a large pro- 

 portion of fine meteors from the Leonid radiant on 

 November 13 of that year, and this seems a characteristic 

 element of the shower. 



Mr. Backhouse obtained observations at Sunderland 

 which amply confirm those at Bristol during the appari- 

 tion of 1888. He says the Leonids were "unusually 

 numerous" on November 13. Between i6h. 48m. and 

 l8h. 14m. he noticed about 14 of them, including one 

 fireball, one equal to Jupiter, two equal to Sirius, and one 

 equal to a first magnitude star. The streaks of the larger 

 meteors belonging to this system are very pronounced in 

 their aspect, and they sometimes brighten up consider- 

 ably a few seconds after the nuclei have died away. 



It is probable that this well-known group will become 

 increasmgly active every year until its maximum in 1899. 



Bristol, November 17. W. F. Denning. 



NOTES. 



We understand that Prof. Ray Lankester is a candidate 

 for the post of Deputy- Professor of Human and Comparative 

 Anatomy in the University of Oxford, which has just been 

 created in consequence of the continued illne;s of Prof. 

 Moseley. 



Prof. Giard's lectures at the Sorbonne begin to-day. He 

 is to deal with the general proofs of the doctrine of evolution. 



It is expected that the meeting of the International Congress 

 of Anthropology and Prehistoric Archaeology, at Paris, in 1889, 

 will be a great success. The Congress was founded at Spezzia in 

 1865, and held its first session at Neuchatel in 1866. Many 

 members have already announced their intention of being present 

 at the Paris meeting. 



At the ordinary meeting of the Institution of Civil Engineers, 

 on Tuesday, November 13, the President, Sir George B. Bruce, 

 announced that Lord Armstrong, C.B., Past-President, in the 

 belief that the Benevolent Fund attached to the Institution was 

 not adequately supported by the general body of members, and 

 that it needed support, had most generously offered to contribute 

 any sum not exceeding ;^5ooo, provided the members among 

 them would raise a similar amount. 



At a recent meeting of the Edinburgh International Exhibition 

 Association.the joint Committee appointed by the Association and 

 the executive to consider the best way of disposing of the Exhibi- 

 tion surplus submitted its report. The Committee, among various 

 other proposals, recommended that £\<xxi should be given to 

 the Scottish Meteorological Society in aid of the Ben Nevis 

 Observatory, and ^100 to the Royal Scottish Geographical 

 Society. 



A resolute effort is about to be made to secure for North 

 London (comprising the boroughs of Finsbury, Hackney, Isling- 

 ton, and St. Pancras) four great technical institutes. The Central 

 Executive Committee has issued a circular, pointing out the need 

 for these institutions, and appealing for funds. It is supposed 

 that if ;if 200,000 can be raised by private subscriptions a like 

 sum will be contributed by the Charity Commissioners. 



The next course of Christmas lectures adapted to a juvenile 

 auditory will be given, at the Royal Institution, by Prof Dewar, 

 F.R.S., the subject being " Clouds and Cloudland." They will 

 begin on December 27. During the recess the staircases leading 

 from the gallery of the theatre have been considerably altered in 

 order to facilitate more speedy egress. 



We have already called attention to the fact that an effort is 

 being made to secure for Bedford College (for ladies), York 

 Place, Baker Street, London, new chemical and physical 

 laboratories. The College has been among the most successful 

 of the institutions which send up graduates to the science de- 

 grees at the University of London ; but its students have hitherto 

 been severely handicapped by the inadequacy of the laboratory 

 accommodation. The opportunity has occurred of securing 

 fresh building-ground adjoining the College, and plans have 

 been prepared for the proposed additional laboratories. The 

 offer must be definitely made before Christmas, and the esti- 

 mated expenditure will be at least ;i^3000. The Council do not 

 feel warranted in going forward unless they have at least a con- 

 siderable portion of this sum promised, for which they are 

 entirely dependent on voluntary contributions. Subscribers' 

 names will be received by the lady-resident at the College. An 

 application for assistance is also being made to the City 

 Companies. Bedford College is the only institution exclusively 

 for ladies which provides first-class practical instruction of this 

 kind. 



The work of the United States Fish Commission during the 

 past season seems to have been even more than usually success- 

 ful. Stations capable of hatching four hundred million codfish- 

 eggs have been established at Gloucester and Wood's HoU ; and, 

 according to Science, these stations will probably put at least 

 one-fourth of that number of cod-fry into the Atlantic Ocean 

 during the present season. It is expected, therefore, that cod- 

 fish will soon be more plentiful on the coast of New England 

 than they were years ago, and that a lost industry worth millions 

 of dollars will be restored to that part of the United States. 



The Committee on Science and the Arts, of the Franklin 

 Institute, of Pennsylvania, wishes to make known the fact that 

 it is empowered to award, or to recommend the award of, 

 certain medals for meritorious discoveries and inventions which 

 tend to the progress of the arts and manufactures. These medals 

 are :— (1) The Elliott Cresson Medal (gold), founded by the legacy 



