90 



NATURE 



[May 26, 1887 



A CURIOUS series of experiments has just been completed by 

 Drs. Emil P'ischer and Penzoldt {Liebigs Annalen, B. 239, i. 

 131) upon the sensitiveness of the sense of smell. These 

 chemists used mercaptan and chlorphenol as their odoriferous 

 substances, and experimented in a room of 230 cubic metres 

 capacity, A gramme of the substance was dissolved in a litre 

 of alcohol ; 5 c.c. of the solution were again diluted to a known 

 volume, and 1-3 c.c. of the latter solution measured out into a 

 flask from which a fine jet could be directed by the experimenter 

 to all parts of the room, the air of which was subsequently 

 agitated by the waving of a flag. At a given signal a second 

 experimenter stepped into the room, and took his olfactory 

 observation, which was checked by the independent observation 

 of a third person. The astonishing result was arrived at that 

 our olfactory nerves are capable of detecting the 1/4,600,000 

 part of a milligramme of chlorphenol and the 1/460,000,000 

 part of a milligramme of mercaptan. The quantity of mercaptan 

 present in the air of the room was 250 times less than the 

 amount of sodium present in the air of the room in which 

 Bunsen and Kirchhoff made their experiments upon the sen- 

 sitiveness of the spectroscope, when the sodium lines were just 

 perceptible. 



In our note last week (p. 64) on Mr. Carey Lee's paper in 

 the American Journal of Science, for " protochloride " read 

 "photochloride." 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Brown Capuchin {Cebus fattiellus) from 

 Guiana, presented by Mr. George Doddrell ; a Rhesus Monkey 

 {Macacus rhesus) from India, presented by Mrs. Livingstone ; a 

 Common Marmoset {Hapale jacchus) from South America, pre- 

 sented by Mr. J. H. Hallett ; a Ring-tailed Coati {Nasua rufa) 

 from South America, presented by Mr. Robert R. Maclver ; a 

 Brown Bear {Ursus arctos) from Russia, presented by Mr. John 

 Rhind ; a Grey Ichneumon {Herpestes griseus) from India, pre- 

 sented by Mr. J. W, Deacon; a Bare-eyed Cockatoo {Cacatua 

 gymnopis) from South Australia, presented by Sir Nathaniel 

 Barnaby; two Daubenton's Curassows {Crax dauhentoni <J 9) 

 from Venezuela, presented by Mr. F. G. Thompson ; two 

 Madagascar Porphyrios [Porphyrio madagascariensis) from 

 Mozambique, presented by Capt. J. C. Robinson, s.s. Roslin 

 Castle ; a Western Slender billed Cockatoo [Licmetis pastinator) 

 from West Australia, presented by Miss Streeter ; a Horse-shoe 

 Snake {Zamenis hippocrepis) ; an Ocellated Sand Skiak {Seps 

 ocellatiis) from Tripoli, North Africa, presented by Mr. George 

 Russell ; two Hawk's-billed Turtles [Ckelone imbricata) from the 

 East Indies, presented by Mr. J. A. Wilson ; a Collared Fruit 

 Bat {Cynonycteris collaris) born in the Gardens. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 

 Photography the Servant of Astronomy.— As an 

 instance of the ease with which relative motions of stars can te 

 detected by the aid of photography may be cited the case to 

 which attention is drawn by M. de Gothard in Astrononvsche 

 Nachrichten, No. 2777. On examining a photograph of the 

 cluster G. C. 4440, taken at the Hereny Observatory in 1886, 

 M. de Gothard found that a small star of the eleventh magni- 

 tude had changed its position relatively to the other stars in its 

 neighbourhood by a considerable amount since the date of Herr 

 Vogel's measurements of the relative positions of several of the 

 components of this cluster executed with the Leipzig equatorial 

 in 1867-69. The star in question is No. 48 of Herr Vogel's list, 

 and it appears to have a proper motion of 2" -3 per annum^ 

 No. 46 of the same list appears also to have changed its 

 position. 



A New Minor Planet.— No. 266, if, as it would appear, 

 Dr. Luther s discovery of April 11 be really Hesperia, was dis- 

 covered by Herr Palisa, at Vienna, at midnight on May 17 ; 

 magnitude 12. j 1 ' 



Comet 1887 e (Barxard, 1887 May 12).— Dr. |E. Lamp 

 supplies the following elements and ephemeris for this object 

 {Astr. Nach. No. 2786) from observations obtained at Cambridge, 

 Mass., on May 12, and at Kiel on May 14 and 16 : — 



T = 18S7 June 18-85945 Berlin M.T. 



O / 



CO = 17 24-50 ) 



g = 245 8-81 > Mean Eq. 1887-0. 

 t = 17 31 09) 

 log q 0-13822 



R.A. 



Ephemeris for Berlin Midnight. 



Decl. 



20 20-6 S. 

 18 45-8 



17 8-6 



15 29-8 



13 50-1 S. 0-1426 9-5854 1-72 



The brightness on May 12 is taken as unity. Dr. Lamp 

 describes the comet as being faint and round on May 14, and as 

 showing a nucleus. 



Log r. 



0*1492 



0-1456 



0-1426 



Log A. 

 9-6024 



9'59i9 

 9-5854 



Bright- 

 ness. 



1-54 

 1-64 



ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 

 WEEK 1887 MA V 2g—/UNE 4. 



/■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 Miy 29. 

 Sun rises, 3h. 53m. ; souths, iih. 57m. 6-93. ; sets, 20h. im. ; 



deck on meridian, 21° 37' N. : Sidereal Time at Sunset, 



I2h. 29m. 

 Moon (at First Quarter on May 30) rises, loh. 30m. ; souths, 



I7h. 48m. ; sets, oh. 56m.* ; decl. on meridian, 11° 40' N. 



Planet. 



Mercury 

 Venus ... 

 Mars . . . 

 Jupiter... 

 Saturn... 



"Rises, 

 h. m. 



3 55 

 6 30 

 3 28 

 15 55 

 653 



South', 

 h. m. 

 12 7 



14 54 

 II 22 

 21 13 

 14 59 



Sets. 



h. m. 

 20 19 

 23 18 

 19 16 



2 31** 

 23 5 



Decl. on meridian. 



... 22 49 N. 



... 24 26 N. 



... 20 9 N. 



... 9 3S. 



... 22 2 N. 



May. 



29 .. 



29 .. 



30 .. 

 June. 



2 .. 

 4 ■• 



May. 

 29 

 30 



June. 

 2 



* Indicates that the .setting is that of the follo.ving morning. 



Occultations of Stars by the Moon (visible at Greenwich). 



Corresponding 

 Star. Mag. Disap 



45 Leonis... 

 p Leonis ... 

 (T Leonis ... 



94 Virginis 

 49 Librje ... 



Mag. 



.. 6 

 ■• 4 

 .. 4 



.. 6 



.. 5i 



h. m. 



20 37 

 23 10 



19 46 



20 29 

 19 55 



Reap. 



h. m. 

 21 34 

 O 2t 



20 6 



20 39 

 20 30 



angles from ver- 

 tex to right for 

 inverted image. 



.. 69 314 



.. 88 311 

 .. 152 188 



•. 335 319 



.. 345 284 



h. 



2 



17 



h. 

 12 



t Occurs on the following morning 



. Mercury at least distance from the Sun. 

 . Venus in conjunction with and 2" 15' north 

 of Saturn. 



. Jupiter in conjunction with and 3° 22' south 

 of the Moon. 



Star. 

 U Cephei ... 



5 Libras 

 U Coronas ... 

 W Herculis ... 

 U Ophiuchi... 



U Sagittarii... 



;8 Lyrae 



R Lyrse 

 S Aquilse 

 5 Cephei 



Variable Stars 

 R.A. 

 h. m. 



o 52-3 



Decl. 

 I 16 N, 



8 4S. 

 32 4N. 

 37 34 N. 



I 20 N. 



May 29, 



June 3, 



j> 4j 



I, 



„ 4. 

 May 30, 



and at intervals of 20 8 



57 '« 

 37 m 

 18 m 

 6 m 

 M 

 34 w 



19 12 S. 



33 14 N. 



43 48 N. 



15 17 N. 



22 25-0 ... 57 50 N. 



May 29, 2 

 June I, I 

 May 31, 23 



,, 31. 



„ 29, 

 June 2, 3 



o m 

 o J/ 

 o m., 

 M' 

 in 

 o M 



il/ signifies ma.'cimum ; m minimum ; iit^ second.iry minimum. 



