326 



NATURE 



\Atigust 4, 1887 



canrni," fascicule vi. ; M. Kamenski's "Comparative Researches 

 into the Development and Structure of Urticularia ; " and several 

 botanical papers published in Russian scientific periodicals. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include two White-eared Bulbuls {PycnonoHis leticotis) 

 from North-West India, presented by General W. H. Breton ; a 

 Magpie {Pica rustica),' British, presented by Mr. H. Stacy 

 Marks, R.A., F.Z.S.; two Turtle Doves [Ttirtttr co/nmunis), 

 British, presented by Mr. N. Brooks ; a Daubenton's Curassow 

 {Crax daubentoni) from Venezuela, presented by Capt. Rigaud, 

 s.s. Lame ; a Loggerhead Turtle {Thalassochelys caouand) from 

 the Atlantic Ocean, presented by Mr. R. T. Ward ; two Green 

 Lizards {Lacerta viridis) ; two Marbled Newts {Molge marmor- 

 ata), European, presented by the Rev. F. W. Haines ; a Crested 

 Pigeon ( Ocyphaps lophotes) from Australia ; a Secretary Vulture 

 {Serpentarins reptilivorus) from South Africa ; an Elliot's 

 Pheasant {Pkasiamis ellioti <J ) ; a Temminck's Tragopan 

 (Ceriorms temmincki i ) from China ; four Spotted Tinamous 

 {Nothura maculosa) from Buenos Ayres ; two Indian Crocodiles 

 (Crocodilus palustris) from India, deposited ; eight Ocellated 

 Sand Skinks {Seps ocellatus) from Malta, purchased ; a Bennett's 

 Wallaby {Halmatm'us bennetii $ ) born in the Gardens ; a Com- 

 mon Crowned Pigeon [Gotira coronata), a Cockateel {Calopsitta 

 novcs-hollaiidice) bred in the Gardens. 



ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 

 WEEK 1887 AUGUST 7-13. 



/"PPOR the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at 

 ^ Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24, 



is here employed.) 



At Greenwich on Atigust 7 

 Sun rises, 4h. 35m. ; souths, I2h. Sm. 33*8s. ; sets, igh. 36m. ; 



decl. on meridian, 16° 27' N. : Sidereal Time at Sunset, 



l6h. 40m. 

 Moon (at Last Quarter on August ii) rises, 2oh. 58m.* ; souths, 



2h. 29m. ; sets, 8h. 9m. ; decl. on meridian, 6° 14' S. 



Planet. Rises. Souths. Sets. Decl. on meridian. 



Rises. Souths. 



h. m. h. m. 



Mercury ... 3 36 ... 11 7 



Venus 8 44 ... 14 42 



Mars I 59 ... 10 13 



Jupiter II 32 ... 16 45 



Saturn 3 3 ... 11 o 



Sets, 

 h. m. 



18 38 ... 16 31 N. 



20 40 ... I 14 S. 

 18 27 ... 23 8 N. 



21 58 ... 10 3 S. 

 18 57 ... 20 37 N, 



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

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



Corresponding 

 August. Star. Mag. Disap. Reap. tef t"rrht for' 



inverted image. 

 h. m. h. m. o o 



8 ... B.A.C. 81 ... e\ ... 3 53 ... 4 57 ... 88 353 



8 ... 26 Ceti 6i ... 23 57 ... I 2t ... 105 240 



9 ... 29 Ceti 6i ... 3 24 ... 4 5 ... 172 240 



13 ... 48 Tauri 6 ... 2 18 ... 3 24 ... 76 244 



t Occurs on the following morning. 

 August. h. 



8 ... I ... Mercury stationary. 



Variable Stars. 

 Star. R.A. Decl. 



h. m. „ , h. m. 



U Cephei o 52-3 ... 8i 16 N. .. Aug. 11, 20 49 m 



^ Persei 3 22*8 ... 35 17 N. ... „ 9, M 



S Virginis 13 27*1 ... 6 37 S. ... ,, 10, m 



U Coronae 15 13*6 ... 32 4 N. ... ,, 9, 3 11 m 



U Ophiuchi 17 10*8... i 20 N. ... „ 11, i 42 w 



,, 21 50 ;« 



X Sagittarii 17 40-5 ... 27 47 S, ... „ 10, 21 o m 



T Serpentis 1823-3... 6 14N. ... ,, 12, M 



^ Lyrae 18 45-9 ... 33 14 N. ... ,, 10,23 om 



S Sagittae 19 50-9 ... 16 20 N. ... ,, 8, 21 oM 



S Cygni 20 3-1 ... 57 40 N. ... „ 13, M 



5 Cephei 22 25-0 ... 57 50 N. ... ,, 10,21 oM 



M signifies maximum ; m minimum. 



Meteor- Showers. 



The present season is generally the richest in the year for 

 meteors, being the season of the Perseids, and the neighbouring 

 showers. 



R.A. Decl. 



Near S Andromedae .. 



Perseids 



From Aries 



Near /3 Persei ... 

 From Camelopardus.. 

 Near Q Cygni 



THE JUBILEE OF THE ELECTRIC 

 TELEGRAPH. 



C\^ December 12, 1837, William Fothergill Cooke, on behalf 

 ^-^ of himself and Charles Wheatstone, set his hand and seal 

 to Patent No. 7390, the subject of the specification being : 

 " Certain apparatus or mechanism which is constructed accord- 

 ing to our said improvements for giving signals and sounding 

 alarums in distant places by means of electric currents trans- 

 mitted through metallic circuits." This, the first English 

 patent dealing with the electric telegraph, contains the elements 

 of a thoroughly practical apparatus, as the historical experiment 

 of July 25, 1837, made between Euston and Camden Town, had 

 proved. Unlike many other developments of practical science, 

 the commencement of the epoch when electric telegraphy became 

 a practical success in this country can be sharply defined, and 

 what will become an historical event, viz. the commemoration 

 of July 27, 1887, can strictly be said to be the true jubilee of 

 the electric telegraph. 



To say that the invention of which Cooke and Wheatstone 

 were the pioneers has done more to transform the conditions of 

 human existence than any other except the steam-engine, and 

 some would add " gunpowder, " is but to restate an acknow- 

 ledged fact. The electric telegraph has so changed the con- 

 ditions of our social existence as to become indispensable to the 

 same, and we could almost as soon do without food and clothing 

 as dispense with the power that has annihilated distance. The 

 evolution of the electric telegraph as a means of transmitting 

 intelligence from a distance did not, of course, commence from 

 the year when Her Majesty began her reign. The names of 

 Ronald, Schilling, Watson, Sommering, Schweigger, Weber, 

 Lesage, and very many others, will at once occur to those who 

 give a moment's thought to the subject, as workers in the field 

 long before Wheatstone made his famous experiment, but few, 

 we think, will question the assertion that electric telegraphy as 

 a commercial success distinctly dates from the year 1837. 



The commemorative dinner was held in the Venetian Hall at 

 the Holborn Restaurant on Wednesday evening, July 27, the 

 Right Hon. H. C. Raikes, M.P., the Postmaster-General, being 

 in the chair. A large number of representative men were 

 pre.-ent (the company mustering about 250), though during the 

 last ten years or so death has sadly thinned the ranks of the 

 "old hands," of the Electric, U.K. and Magnetic Companies. 

 Amongst the men of science and others who attended were 

 Capt. Fonseca Varz, Mr. S. W. Silver, Dr. J. H. Gladstone, 

 Mr. C. B. Bruce, the Marquis of Tweeddale, Mr. William 

 Crookes, F.R.S., Mr. Edward Graves, Prof. W. G. Adams, 

 M. Gael, Mr. Jacob Brett, Mr. H. Weaver, Mr. John 

 Pender, Mr. C. H. B. Patey, Mr. G. Shaw-Lefevre, M.P., 

 Lord Onslow, Prof Stokes, Sir Lyon Playfair, M.P., Sir 

 William Thomson, Sir Frederick Goldsmid, Sir Frederick 

 Abel, Sir Douglas Galton, Mr. J. C. MacDonald, Mr. Edwin 

 Clark, Sir David Salomons, Sir George Elliott, Colonel 

 Andrews, R.A.,' Mr. Matthew Gray, Sir James Anderson, 

 Mr. Norman Lockyer, Mr. H. C. Fischer, Prof. Hughes, 

 Mr. W. H. Preece, Sir C. Bright, Major-General Webber, 

 Mr. C. E. Spagnoletti, and Mr. Latimer Clark. Letters ex- 

 pressing regret at non-attendance were received from the 

 Marquis of Salisbury, Lord John Manners, Viscount Cross, 

 Mr. W. H. Smith, Sir H. Holland, Sir W. Grove, Sir D. 

 Gooch, Sir A. Borthwick, M.P., Dr. von Stephan (Berlin), Dr. 

 William Siemens (Berlin), Mr. Cracknell (Sydney), Mr. C. 

 Todd (Adelaide), and others. 



The Chairman having proposed the usual loyal toasts, pro- 

 posed the toast, " To the Memory of the Pioneers of Tele- 

 graphy," asking the company to join in an expression of 



