August 25, 1887] 



NATURE 



401 



leucolophiDn), a Madagascar Porphyrio {Porphyria madagascari- 

 cnsis), five Tambourine Pigeons ( Tympanistria bicolor), three 

 Schlegel's Doves {Chalcopc'.ia puella) from West Africa, pre- 

 sented by Mr. J. B. Elliott ; a Common Cormorant {Phalacro- 

 corax carbo), European, presented by Mr. T. M. Oldham ; a 

 Great Eagle Owl (Bubo \_maxitmfs), European, a Virginian 

 Eagle Owl (Bubo virginianus) from North America, presented 

 by Mr. Charles Clifton ; a Ilygian Snake (Elaps hygia) from 

 Port Elizabeth, presented by Mr. W. K. Sibley ; a Tarantula 

 Spider (Mygale), from Bahama, presented by Mrs. Blake ; a 

 .Sand Lizard {Lacerta agilis) from Jersey, presented by Mr. F. 

 T. Mason ; a Prince Albert's Curassow (Crax alberlt) from 

 Columbia, a Slender-billed Cockatoo (Licinetis tcnidrostris) 

 from South Australia, deposited ; three Oyster- catchers 

 (Ilcematopus ostralegus), European, purchased ; a Blood-breasted 

 Pigeon {Phloganas cruentata), bred in the Gardens. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 



Magnitudes OF "Nautical Almanac" Stars. — In order 

 to expedite the publication of short articles upon astronomical 

 and meteorological subjects, prepared at the Harvard College 

 Observatory, Prof. Pickering has decided to print each as com- 

 pleted as successive numbers of a series, which, when a sufficient 

 amount of material has been collected, will constitute the 

 eighteenth volume of the Annals of the Observatory. Each 

 number is to be published and distributed soon after it is 

 prepared. 



The first of this series of papers is a collection the stars 

 employed in the standard lists of the Nautical Almanacs pub- 

 lished by the Governments of Great Britain, the United States, 

 France, Germany, and Spain, together with their magnitudes, as 

 derived from four standard authorities : \)nQ Harvard Photometry, 

 the Uranometria Argentina, Wolffs photometric observations, 

 and the Uran.metria Oxoniensis, the second and third being 

 reduced to the photometric scale employed in the other two 

 catalogues, the Harvard and Oxford scales agreeing closely. At 

 present the magnitudes assigned to these stars in the respective 

 Almanacs do not agree, nor do they represent the most accurate 

 results available. Prof. Pickering therefore offered to the 

 .Superintendents of the Almanac Offices to supply a discussion of 

 the best values of the magnitudes at present attainable ; and 

 favourable replies having been obtained in the cases of the 

 French, Spanish, and American Almanacs, it is expected that 

 the improved values here given will be used in those works in 

 future. 



The list embraces 800 stars, and of these the magnitudes of 

 all but 64 depend at least upon two, and generally upon three, 

 authorities ; 132 stars being common to all four of the adopted 

 standard catalogues of brightness. The average values of the 

 residuals from the adopted means for these 132 stars are 

 respectively: Harvard, o '062 ; Argentine, 0093; Wolff, 0*094; 

 Oxford, 0106. The average probable error of the adopted 

 magnitudes is o'OQ, assuming the absence of systematic error. 

 The total number of residuals is 2188, of which only 67 exceed 

 two-tenths of a magnitude, and only 17 three-tenths. There 

 are only two cases of a residual exceeding four-tenths, both in 

 the Oxford Uranometria ; the one being the low star Ophiuchi, 

 the other the double star Serpentis. 



Comet 1887 e (Barnard, May 12). — The following 

 ephemeris for Berlin midnight is given by Dr. H. Kreutz 

 (Astr. Nachr., No. 2799). The comet is very favourably placed 

 for observation, but is extremely faint. 



ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 



WEEK 1887 AUGUST 2Z— SEPTEMBER 3. 



/T7OR the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at 

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

 is here employed. ) 



At Greenwich on August 28 

 Sunrises, 5h. 7m. ; souths, I2h. im. 8'9s. ; sets, i8h. 5Sm. ; 



decl, on meridian, 9° 45' N. : Sidereal Time at Sunset, 



I7h. 22m. 

 Moon (Full on .September 2, ilh.) rises, l6h. 6m,; souths, 



2oh. 25m, ; sets, oh. 45m,* ; decl. on meridian, 19° 44' S. 



Planet. Rise;:. Souths. Sets. Decl. on meridian, 



h. m. h. m. h. m. , , 



Mercury ... 3 50 ... il 15 ... 18 40 ... 15 26 N. 



Venus 8 25 ... 13 47 ... 19 9 .., 8 6 S, 



Mars I 48 ... 9 48 ... 17 48 ... 20 57 N. 



Jupiter 10 28 .,, 15 34 ... 2040 ... ir 10 S. 



Saturn i 54 ... 9 48 ,,. 17 42 ... 20 6 N. 



* Indicates that the setting is that of the following morning. 

 O :cultations of Stars by the Moon (visible at Greenwich), 



Corresponding 

 August. Star. Mag. Disap. Reap, ^t^'^^^lt. 



inverted image, 

 h. ra. h. m. 00 



28 ... I' Sagittarii ... 6 ... 18 54 ... 19 56 ... 36 304 

 Sept. 

 I ... 45 Capricorni ... 6 ... o 15 ... i 29 ... 108 330 



1 ... 44 Capricorni ... 6 ... o 33 near approach 216 — 



2 ... X Aquarii 5^ ... 23 7 near approach 190 — 



August. h. 



28 ... 17 ... Mars in conjunction with and 0° 49' north 



of Saturn, 



29 ... 11 ... Venus stationary. 



Variable Stars. 



Star. R.A. Decl. 



h. m. , / h, m. 



U Monocerotis ... 7 25-6 ... 9 33 S. ... Aug. 31, m 



W Virginis 1320-2... 2 48 S. ... ,, 31,23 oM 



5 Librae 14 54*9 ... 8 4 S, ,,. ,, 29, 4 57 »« 



Sept, 2, 20 40 m 



U Coronse 15 13-6 ... 32 4 N. ... Aug. 29, 20 18 m 



S Librae 15 14-9 ... 19 59 S. ... Sept. 2, M 



U Ophiuchi 17 10-8 ... I 20 N, ... Aug. 31, 4 46 »» 



and at intervals of 20 8 



X Sagittarii 17 40*5 ... 27 47 S. ... Aug. 31, 22 o m 



W Sagittarii ... 17 57-8 ... 29 35 S. ... „ 28, o o M 



R Scuti 1841-5... 5 50 S. ... ,, 28, VI 



R Lyrse 18 51-9 ... 43 48 N. ... „ 31, M 



S Vulpeculae ... 19 43*8 ... 27 o S. ... Sept. 2, m 



X Cygni 19 462 ... 32 38 N, ... Aug, 29, m 



S Sagittae 19 50-9 ... 16 20 N. ... ,, 31, o o m 



M signifies maximum ; m minimum. 



THE FACTORS OF ORGANIC EVOLUTION. 



VyHILE reviewing, a short time ago, Mr. Herbert Spencer's 

 essay on the above subject (Nature, vol. xxxv. p. 262), I 

 promised to consider the present sanding of the question as to 

 whether, or how far, use- and disuse admit of being regarded as 

 true causes of change of organic type. Of course there is no 

 question about the effects of use and disuse as regards the 

 individual : the only question is as to whether, or how far, these 

 effects admit of being inherited, so that modifications of structure 

 which are produced by modifications of function in the individual 

 become causes of corresponding, and therefore of adaptive, 

 changes of structure in species. The importance of this question 

 is second to none in the whole range of biology. For not only is 

 it of the highest importance within the range of biology itself — 

 governing, by whatever answer we give it, our estimate of the 

 importance of natural selection, and thus requiring to be dealt 

 with on the very threshold of biological philosophy — but its 

 influence extends to almost every department of thought. For, 

 as Mr. Spencer remarks in his preface, upon the answer which 

 this question may finally receive will depend in chief part the 

 sciences of psychology, ethics, and sociology. If functionally- 

 produced modifications are inheritable, the phenomena of instinct, 

 innate ideas, moral intuitions, and so forth, admit of a scientific 

 explanation at the present moment ; otherwise thejr do not, or, 

 at least, not in so distinct nor in so complete a manner. There- 

 fore, we can hardly feel that Mr. Spencer exaggerates the im- 

 portance of this question when he says of it, "Considering the 

 width and depth of the effects which our acceptance of one or 

 other of these hypotheses [namely, that functionally-produced 



