430 



NA TURE 



\_Sept. I, 1887 



In a balloon, although he had never been in one before. The 

 Russian Ambassador in Paris has undertaken to transmit the 

 tnedal to M. Mendeleieff. 



The Ceylon Observer of August i announces the death on 

 July 31 of Mr. W. Ferguson at the age of sixty-seven. Mr. Fer- 

 guson arrived in Ceylon in December 1839, and at once entered 

 iipon the arduous duties of Surveyor to the Government, a post 

 which he filled for many years. He finally relinquished it very 

 much shattered in constitution from exposure to climate. He 

 "was an enthusiastic naturalist, and employed the opportunities 

 his profession afforded him for observation with pleasure to him- 

 •self and advantage to others. Botany esf)ecially profited by his 

 knowledge and exertions. He contributed largely to Thwaites's 

 " Enumeratio Plantarum Zeylanias," and also to other works 

 relating to the vegetation of Ceylon ; and his aid was warmly 

 -acknowledged by the various authors whom he assisted. He 

 was of much service to the Eclipse Expedition of 1871, 



The death is announced of Dr. Vincenz Kosteletzky, formerly 

 Professor at the University, and the Director of the Botanical 

 Gardens, at Prague. He died on August 19 at the age of eighty- 

 iseven. 



The Council of the Institution of Civil Engineers has issued 

 :a list of subjects on which it invites original communications. 

 For approved papers the Council has the power to award pre- 

 miums, arising out of special funds bequeathed for the purpose. 



The Tiines of Tuesday printed some notes about the eclipse 

 which had reached German papers from Siberia and various 

 stations in the Russian eastern provinces. At Tomsk the astro- 

 nomers were able to observe not only the total eclipse but the 

 corona in a very satisfactory way. In most houses it was 

 necessary to light candles or lamps. The eclipse began at 

 10.22 a.m., and ended at 11.46. The weather was very fine 

 and the sky clear. At Krasnoyarsk, in the Government of 

 Yeniseisk, the corona was very wsU photographed. At Irbit 

 the period of absolute totality was at 8.44 a.m., and lasted 

 \\ minute. Prof. Stanoievich, from Belgrade, was very success- 

 ful in his observations at Petrovsk ; he saw and photographed 

 the green line in the corona. Prof. Kononovich, of Odessa, 

 was equally fortunate, obtaining photographs of the whole 

 spectrum. At Ekaterinburg the eclipse began in a cloudless 

 sky at 7.25 a.m., and lasted till 9.30. The temperature fell from 

 19° C. to 13° (about SS^F.) at 8.37 a.m., and ro.se to 24° (over 

 75° F.) after the eclipse. At Novocherkask the sky was cloud- 

 less, but only about a quarter of the sun's surface was obscured, 

 the appearance presented being a reaping-hook with the handle 

 and point uppermost. Photographic sketches were taken every 

 five minutes. At Savidovo the sky became suddenly clouded 

 as the moment of the eclipse approached, and the sun was not 

 visible till noDn. The actual moment of the total eclipse could 

 only be iioted by the intense darkness which suddenly spread 

 over the whole district. Here and there a yellowish or lea den - 

 gray tint could be distinguished in the clouds, presenting a 

 most weird appearance ; and the strangeness of the scene was 

 heightened by the profound disquiet and fear which seemed to 

 have taken possession of the birds and the cattle in the fields. 



Prof. Young has returned from Russia, and is attending 

 the Manchester meeting of the British Association. 



There is a chance that, although the English Technical 

 Education Bill has been abandoned, the corresponding Scotch 

 measure may become law. The House of Commons went into 

 Committee on the Bill on Monday night. 



According to the Meteorological Council, the telegrams re- 

 ceived from the Ben Nevis Observatory have been of no service 

 whatever as aids to the issue of storm warnings from the 

 Meteorological Office. Mr. A. Bachan, in a letter to Mr. 



R. H. Scott, complains that the memorandum in which this 

 judgment is pronounced is very misleading. " The finding of the 

 memorandum," says Mr. Buchan, "is that the telegrams received 

 from the Ben Nevis Observatory are absolutely useless to the 

 Meteorological Office in issuing storm warnings. This statement 

 is so incomplete that we do not think that in preparing the 

 memorandum for your report the instructions have been kept in 

 view which were sent to Mr. Omond, in accordance with your 

 letter of December 3, 1883, a copy of which, so far as refers tc 

 this matter, is herewith sent. A copy of this letter was 

 sent to Mr. Omond, with instructions to carry out youi 

 wishes to the best of his ability. Now, in these instruction: 

 to Mr. Omond no special mention is made of stormi 

 or storm warnings ; and certainly neither the directors nor th( 

 staff at the Observatory have ever supposed that it was expectec 

 by the Meteorological Office that a telegram was to be sent foi 

 every storm that had actually broken out or appeared to b( 

 threatened. This, however, is the assumption of the memorandum 

 We therefore think that in these circumstances the finding of th( 

 memorandum will be misleading to those of the public who hav( 

 little or no knowledge of meteorological matters, and of th( 

 nature of the information asked from Ben Nevis Observatory 

 and as regards others it may be considered as doubtful if the find 

 ing that weather telegrams from Ben Nevis Observatory are use 

 less will be indorsed by them. As you are aware, the director: 

 offered the Meteorological Office, in their letter of November 16 

 1883, daily weather telegrams from both Ben Nevis Observatorj 

 and the low-level station at Fort William. This offer, however 

 the Meteorological Council did not see their way to accept, chiefl] 

 on the ground of the expense ; but asked for telegrams when- 

 ever any very striking change of conditions or a specia 

 phenomenon of great interest was recorded. This has been done 

 by Mr. Omond, and, so far as the directors are aware, no ap 

 plication has been made by the Meteorological Office for mor 

 frequent telegrams or for any other information. The directors 

 in view, then, of the limited nature of the information asked for 

 would have been surprised if any other result had been found 

 than that stated in the memorandum." 



In Mr. Symons's "British Rainfall," which we briefly reviewe( 

 last week, it is shown that the total fall in 1886 was rather abovi 

 the average, but not exceptionally so, the amount being fo 

 England and Wales 37*53 inches, for Scotland 37-31 inches, an( 

 for Ireland (four stations only) 41 -61 inches. The mean of al 

 stations was 37*59 inches, or about 7 per cent, above the averag 

 for a long series of years. Some one ought now to discus 

 the observations with the view of showing the proha- iHty 

 rainfall for each month, and also with the view of showing thi 

 seasonal rainfall for the whole period now available. 



Mr. Edward Sanger Shepherd has sent us a very fin 

 photograph of lightning taken by him at Norfolk Terrace, West 

 bourne Grove, W., during the thunder-storm of Wednesday 

 August 17. While the storm lasted Mr. Shepherd exposed fiftee 

 plates, sevenof which were successful. The apparatus used wa 

 a half-plate square box camera and a portrait lens of \\ inq 

 aperture ; the plates used were " Ilford extra rapid." 



In a letter to the Times of Wednesday Prof. Tyndall 

 attention to the very imperfect way in which lightning condu 

 are often set up. Some years ago a rock lighthouse on thej 

 of Ireland was struck and damaged by lightning ; and whe 

 facts were brought before Prof. Tyndall, as scientific advii 

 the Trinity House and Board of Trade, he found that the j 

 ning conductor had been carried down the lighthouse to^ 

 lower extremity being carefully embedded in a stone pet 

 to receive it. " If the object," says Prof. Tyndall, 

 to invite the lightning to strike the tower, a better arrJ 

 could hardly have been adopted. I gave directions to ha<te 1 



m 



