i6 



NATURE 



[May s> ^88; 



spring, and towards the south in autumn ; (4) if the charts of 

 nebulosity are compared with isobaric and wind charts it will 

 be seen that the zones of clear sky correspond to the regions of 

 high pressure which lie on each side of the equator, and which 

 give rise on the one hand to the trade winds, and, on the other, 

 to the westerly winds which prevail towards the temperate regions 

 of the two hemispheres. The zones of greater cloudiness extend 

 above the regions of low pressures, viz. near to the equator, 

 on the one hand, and near to 60° of north and south latitude. 

 The distribution of cloud, taken as a whole, appears therefore 

 to be a direct result of the march of the winds, and is regulated 

 by the distribution of the atmospheric pressures. 



The new Industrial Institute at Bromley, Kent, was opened 

 on Saturday last by Sir Lyon Playfair. Hitherto, he said, 

 the country had prided itself upon the practical knowledge of 

 its artisans, but it had relied too entirely upon that knowledge, 

 and the consequence had been that countries which nurtured the 

 intellects of their people had stepped in, and with their superior 

 mental education had shown the world that the competition of 

 the day was not one of local advantages, such as the possession 

 of raw material applicable to industries, but a competition of 

 intellect. England was realizing her position now, and training 

 her sons by technical schools to compete intellectually with 

 the countries round her, from whom she had learnt her 

 lesson. 



Science lately invited certain eminent American authorities 

 on education to discuss in its columns the question, " What 

 industry, if any, can profitably be introduced into country 

 schools ? " Mr. Samuel G. Love writes enthusiastically on the 

 effects which may be produced on children by industrial or 

 manual training. It "opens a way," he thinks, "to interest 

 them, to develop and employ their perceptive faculties, and to 

 make the otherwise unattractive experiences of school life cheer- 

 ful and pleasant. " As for the particular kinds of industry that 

 may be most advantageously introduced, he contents himself 

 with the general statement that " there are many things that 

 can be done with profit in any and all schools ; and, as soon as 

 the pupil enters upon school life, one of them should be taken 

 up, and each carried forward one after the other, just as the 

 subjects of study are taken up and completed." Mr. Francis 

 A. Walker is more precise. He proposes that approved methods 

 of the Kindergarten should be carried upwards through the 

 primary grades ; that at the age of twelve, or thereabouts, there 

 should be semi-weekly exercises with tools, preferably wood- 

 working tools, and in clay-modelling ; and that at the age of 

 about fourteen, exercises in metal-working should be begun. 

 Mr. Charles H. Ham takes a wholly different view. He objects 

 to the introduction of "industrial features" into courses of 

 popular education in rural districts, partly because industrial 

 training is very costly, but chiefly because children in the 

 country learn so many things in their ordinary work and play 

 that they do not seem to him to need any special industrial 

 training at school. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include two Green-winged Doves {Chalcophaps indica) 

 from Penang, presented by Mr. S. A. Clarke ; two Alpine 

 Newts {Molge alpesiris) from Algiers, presented by Mr. Alban 

 Doran ; twenty Ruffe or Pope {Acerina cernua) from British 

 fresh waters, presented by Mr. T. E. Gunn ; a Whinchat 

 {Pratincola rubetra), British, two White-faced Tree-Ducks 

 {Dendrocygna viduata) from Brazil, purchased ; two White- 

 necked Storks {Dissura episcoptis) from West Africa, two 

 Demoiselle Cranes {Grus virgo) from North Africa, received in 

 exchange ; a Gayal {Bibos frontalis <J ), a Persian Gazelle 

 (Gazella subgutterosa <J ), born in the Gardens. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 



The Orbit of the Minor Planet Eucharis. — Dr. L. de 

 Ball has published, in Memoires de V Acadhtiie Royale de Belgique, 

 tome xlix., an investigation of the orbit of Eucharis (No. 181), 

 deduced from all the available observations made during the 

 years 1878 (the year of its discovery) to 1886 inclusive. The 

 discussion of the orbit of this minor planet is of considerable 

 interest, as in part of its path it approaches Jupiter, and its con- 

 sequent perturbations will afford material for a determination of 

 the mass of that planet. To attempt such a determination at 

 present would be premature, but a necessary preliminary to it 

 is the determination of a sufficiently accurate orbit for the per- 

 turbed planet, and this is furnished by Dr. de Ball in the paper 

 before us. The perturbations due to Jupiter and Saturn, using 

 Bessel's values of the masses, have been taken into account, and 

 great pains have been taken to reduce the places of the com- 

 parison-stars used to a uniform system — that of Auwers's Funda- 

 mental Catalogue. The great mass of observations discussed 

 in this paper are equatorial observations ; a considerable number 

 of meridian observations made with the Washington transit- 

 circle in 1878 are, however, also discussed. These do not 

 harmonize very well with the equatorial observations, and Dr. 

 de Ball is led to the conclusion (for which he is unable to 

 account) that the corrections to reduce the Washington meridian 

 observations to the system of the Fundamental Catalogue 

 deduced from fundamental stars are not applicable to the obser- 

 vations of Eucharis, and gives the latter consequently a very 

 small combining weight. But this want of harmony it doubtless 

 due to the circumstance that the observations of fundamental 

 stars are made in a bright field, whil-t those of the planet must 

 have been made in a dark field with illuminated threads — a 

 difference which is quite sufficient to account for such a system- 

 atic discordance as Dr. de Ball has found to exist. 



ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 

 WEEK 1887 MA F 8-14. 



/■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 May 8. 



San rises, 4h. 22m. ; souths, iih. 56m. 20'is. ; sets, igh. 31m. ; 



deck on meridian, 17° 5' N. : Sidereal Time at Sunset, 



loh. 36m. 

 Moon (at Last Quarter on May 14) rises, 7h. 24m.*; souths, 



oh. 26m. ; sets, 5h. 19m. ; decl. on meridian, 13° 41' S. 



M signifies maximum ; m minimum. 



