Jan. 24, -8 ^^9] 



NA TURE 



307 



canter. The act had the air of being habitual." Mr. G. Plarr, 

 writing from Tiinbridge, tells us of a hare which he saw many 

 years ago while he was walking along a mill-stream in El -ass. 

 The hare was being chased by some boys in a meadow on the 

 opposite side of the stream. It disappeared in the water, and 

 emerged on the side on which Mr. Plarr was walking. Without 

 stopping to shake the water away, it made off with great speed. 

 The creature presented a strange appearance, its head seeming 

 to be large beyond all proportion to ;its body. This was, of 

 course, due to the fact that the head had been kept dry above 

 water, while the rest of the body had been immersed. 



Messrs. Dulau and Co. have sent us a catalogue of 

 zoological and paljeontoloTical works, including works on 

 Echinodermata, Vermes, and Crustacea. 



In the letter on " Alpiic Haze," by Antoine d'Abbadie 

 (p. 247, lines 13 and 17 fro.ii the top), /<7r " earth-haze " ;va(/ 

 " earth-ashes," and for " Ventouk " ;var/ " Ventr>ux." 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Macaque Monkey {Macactis cynomolous S ) 

 from India, presented by Mrs. Henderson ; a Rhesus Monkey 

 (Macacus r/i sus 6) from India, a Brown Capuchin {Cebtis 

 faluellus) from Brazil, deposited ; two White Ibises [Etcdo- 

 cimits, sp. inc.) from Central America, purchased ; a Rufous- 

 necked Wallaby {Hjbnatiints rufiiollls i) from New S juth 

 Wales, received in exchange. 



OUR AS TRONOMICA L COL UMN. 

 Discovery of a New Comet. — A faint comet was dis- 

 covered on J anuary 14, at i8b. 47m., by Mr. W. R. Brooks, 

 of Geneva, New York. Its positi m at the time of discovery 

 was R. A. i8h. 4m. os.. Deck 21° 20' S. The comet was 

 moving rapidly towards the west. 



Minor Planets. — Herr Palisa at Vienna discovered a minor 

 planet on January 4, which may possibly be Siwa, No. 140. 

 Should it be a new planet, it will be No. 282, and Herr Palisa's 

 sixty-ninth discovery. Three minor planets, all discovered by 

 Herr Palisa, have recently been named. No. 278 has been 

 called Paulina ; No. 279, Thule ; and No. 280, PhUia. 



The Observatory of Tokio. — An Astronomical Observa- 

 tory has just been instituted at Tokio, lapan, by the combination 

 of the astronomical portions of the old Naval Observatory and 

 of the Home Office, together with the Astronomical Observa- 

 tory of the Imperial University. The site of the old Naval 

 Observatory has been selected for the new institution, the 

 meteorological portion of the former having been transferred to 

 the Central Meteorological Observatory of the Home Office. 

 The principal instruments of the new Observatory are a Repsold 

 meridian instrument of 5^ inches aperture ; a transit-circle, by 

 Merz and Repsold, of 5 inches aperture ; and two equatorials, 

 the one by Troughton, of S inches, and the other by Merz, of 

 6\ inches aperture. The staff of the institution has not yet been 

 fully organized, but Prof H. Teraohas been appointed Director, 

 and has commenced regular observation. The approximate 

 position of the Observatory is — longitude E. of Greenwich, 

 139" 44' 30" 3 ; N. latitude 35' 39' if'S. 



ASTRONOXflCAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 



WEEK 1889 JANUARY 27— FEBRUARY 2. 



/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 January 27 

 Sun rises, 7h. 47m. ; souths, I2h. 13m. S'4s. ; sets, l6'i. 3911. : 



right asc. on meridian, 2oh. 40'9m. ; decl. 18' 19' S. 



Sidereal Time at Sunset, ih. 8m. 

 Moon (New on January 31, 9h.) rises, 3h. 54m. ; souths, 



8h, 22m.; sets, I2h. 43m.: right asc. on meridian, 



l6h. 48 •9m. ; decl. 19" 10' S. 



Planet. 



Mercury.. 

 Venus ... 

 Mars ... 

 Jupiter ... 

 Saturn ... 

 Uranus... 

 Neptune.. 



Rises. 



h. m. 



8 30 . 



9 18 

 9 6 

 5 29 



17 24* 



23 33*- 

 " 39 • 



Souths, 

 h. m. 



13 24 

 15 7 



14 34 

 9 24 

 o 56 

 4 56 



19 22 



Sets. 



h. m 

 18 18 

 20 36 

 20 2 

 13 19 



8 28 



ID 19 



3 5* 



Right asc. and declinatioo- 

 on meridian, 

 h. m. . , 



21 52-5 



23 35-8 



23 2-4 



17 5i"9 



9 21 9 



13 22-3 



3 50-9 



13 19 s. 



2 57 S. 

 7 2S. 



23 5 S. 

 16 37 N. 

 7 59 S. 

 18 25 N, 



* Indicates that the rising is that of the preceding evening and the setting-; 

 that of the following morning. 



Jan. 

 28 



30 



Feb. 



I 



Jupiter in conjunction with and 1° 42' south' 



of the Moon. 

 Mercury at greatest elongation from the Sun. 



18° east. 



Mercury in conjunction with and 4° 24' north- 



of the Moon. 

 Mercury at least distance from the Siin. 

 Mars in conjunction with and 3° 57' north 



of the Moon. 



Variable Stars. 



GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES. 



The International Geographical Congress will be held a*: 

 Paris from August 5 to August 10 next. The Geographical- 

 Societies of London, Berlin, Leipzig, Manchester, Edmburgh, 

 New York, Melbourne, Lisbon, Antwerp, and Milan, and many 

 French Societies will be represented at the meeting. ^':. ..^^ 



M. Eugene Markow sends to the French Geographical 

 Society an interesting account of his recent ascent of Mount Ararat. 

 He and his companion, after passing the night among the rocks- 

 at a height of 13,000 feet, began their ascent on August 13, at 

 5 a.m. Soon they passed a conical rock which rises on the 

 south-east face of Ararat, and here M. Markow places the limit 

 of perpetual snow on the mountain. From the base of the rock 

 extends in an opposite direction a broad plain of neve, which 

 reaches the summit at a slope of 35°. Underneath this nez'e was 

 heard the sound of a stream formed of the melted ice. At the 

 height of 14,800 feet, M. Markow found among the rocks a 

 Coccinella septempundata oi a very bright red. At 15,500 feet, 

 some flowers were found on a small sandy eminence. At 2 p.m. 

 the party reached the foot of the sacred summit of the moun- 

 tain. This summit presents a vast extent of snow, separated 

 into 'two by a precipice commencing on the north-cast side, and 

 getting broader and deeper as it reaches the southeast. Part 

 of the right summit is almost entirely free from snow, and is 

 covered with small slcmes. The left summit, on the north-west^ 

 l^rcscnts a plateau covered with snow, but having a small ele- 

 vation in the middle. It is much larger than the right summit. 



