Sept. I, 1 88 7] 



NATURE 



431 



iductor immediately prolonged, and to have added to it a large 

 ninal plate of copper, which was to be completely submerged 

 ;he sea. The obvious convenience of a chain as a prolonga- 

 1 of the conductor caused the authorities in Ireland to propose 

 but I was obliged to veto the adoption of the chain. The 

 itact of link with link is never perfect. I had, moreover, be- 

 e me a portion of a chain cable through which a lightning 

 charge had passed, the electricity in passing from link to link 

 :ountering a resistance sufficient to enable it to partially fuse 

 chain. The abolition of resistance is absolutely necessary in 

 meeting a lightning conductor with the earth, and this is done 

 closely embedding in the earth a plate of good conducting 

 terial and of large area. The largeness of area makes atone- 

 nt for the imperfect conductivity of earth. The plate, in 

 t, constitutes a w ide door through which the electricity passes 

 jly into the earth, its disruptive and damaging effects being 

 reby avoided." Prof. Tyndall understands that lightning 

 iductors are frequently set up without any terminal plate 

 atever. It is said that the Bishop of Winchester's palace at 

 rnham is " protected " in this way. If this is true, the Bishop 

 1 be interested to hear that the "protection" is "a mockery, 

 .elusion, and a snare." 



vVe have received the twelfth Report of the Bradford 



ilosophical Society. This institution was revived two years 



), and we are glad to see from the Report that it has "a 



ght prospect of success." The Society is closely associated 



ijh a group of afBIiated Societies in Bradford, and it has been 



[jnd that this plan works well, " The joint programme of the 



pieties," says the Report, "is one that teflects great credit on 



town, and members of the Philosophical Society would do 



1 to avail themselves (as their membership allows) of the 



ous lectures and excursions of the united Societies. Members 



Society may be assured of a hearty welcome." The 



1 Societies are the Historical and Antiquarian Society, 



.'u^oi-oscopical Society, the Naturalists' Society, the Scientific 



ciiiion, and the Browning Society. 



.ii,L"r. WisSMANX, the well-known African traveller, has 

 ' It Mozambique. He intends to proceed to Zanzibar on 

 back to Europe. 



: E large packages containing rare plants and specimens 

 lia have been received from Calcutta by the Keeper of 

 : ographical Department of the British Museum. 



■>CK of earthquake was felt in Mexico at seven o'clock 

 lay morning. The houses were shaken and the inhabit- 



ch terrified, but no damage was done. The direction of 

 k was from north to south. The shock was also felt at 

 -ingo, where two arches of an arcade in the main square 

 iiolished, at Orizaba, Tlaltan, and Otumba. 



i:GE proportion of the salmon fry hatched out by the 

 P'ishery Board at the new hatchery at Worcester this 

 being reared by Mr. William Burgess in his ponds at 

 ern Wells, pending their transference to the open river, 

 worthy of note that the fry may be seen rising continually 

 e fly. Seeing that they inhabit the bottom of the river in 

 wild state and do not rise, this is rather remarkable. Their 

 ofgroAth does not seem to be so fast as that of other fish, 

 lUgh their present position is well suited to their require- 



lEauu.auns lu uie Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 week include a Rhesus Monkey {Macaats rhestis) from 



, presented by Miss Austin ; a Capuchin {Ccbits ) 



Souih America, presented by Mr. J. II. Williams ; two 

 d Lizards {r/irynosoma cornulum) from North America, 

 led by Mr. Maxwell Blackie ; two Common Boas {Boa 



coiisti-icto)-) irom Dominica, W. I., presented by Mr. A. Nicholls ; 

 Smooth Snake {Coroiiclla Icevis) from Hampshire, presented by 

 Mr. Sidney G. Smith ; a Lion Marmoset {Midas rosalia), a 

 Peba Armadillo {Tatiisia pcba), two Blue-bearded Jays {Cyano- 

 corax cya7iopogon), an Ariel Toucan {Ramphastos ariel), three 

 Bahama Ducks [Dafila bahamensis), a Laughing Gull {Larus 

 atricilla) from Brazil, a Black-handed Spider Monkey {Ateles 

 inelanochir 'i ) from Central America, eight Blanding's Terrapins 

 {Cleinmys blandingi) from Michigan, U.S.A., purchased ; two 

 Hybrid Australian Ibises (between Ibis strktipeniiis and Ibis 

 bernicri) bred in the Gardens. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN 



Variable Star in the Ring Nebula in Lyra. — Herr 

 Spitaler draws attention in the Aslroucmische Nachricten, 

 No. 2800, to the apparent variability of the small star near the 

 centre of this well-known nebula. He had made himself pretty 

 well acquainted with the nebula in September 1885, when he 

 had sketched it, but was induced to examine it again last 

 autumn from the note on the "ring-formed nucleus" discovered 

 by means of photography, which Herr E. von Gothard had 

 published in the Asinvioinisc/ie Nachrictcii, No. 2749. The 

 interior of the ring nebula appeared with a low power to be 

 covered with a faint curtain of light, which a high power showed 

 to be of varying intensity, so that the interior had a faint floccu- 

 lent appearance ; a bright speck of light was also easily recog- 

 nized midway between the centre of the nebula and the inner 

 edge of the ring on the south-west side. In the eastern portion 

 three faint stars were seen several times, but a fourth star seen 

 by Prof. Vogel, and shown on the photographs of the Bros, 

 tienry, could not be made out. But on July 25 of the present 

 year, during the visit of Prof. Young to the Vienna Observatory, 

 on the telescope being again turned to the nebula a small star 

 was seen at the first glance a very little north-west of the centre, 

 just as it is shown in the Gothard photograph, but a little fainter. 

 The following night it was seen again, but not so distinctly. The 

 star would therefore appear to be variable, and well worth 

 watching. The evidence of Herr von Gothard's photograph, 

 which shows it, whilst a faint star in the neighbourhood is not 

 represented, seems to indicate that it is particularly rich in 

 actinic light. 



New Variable Star. — Mr. Espin announces in Circular 

 No. 17 of the Wolsingham Observatory that the star Birming- 

 ham 541 is variable from 6-6 ± to 8*o ±. The star's place for 

 1887 is R.A. 2oh. 9m. 17s ; Dec'. 2,^" 22' 'o N. 



Discovery OF a Comet. —Mr. W. R. Brooks, Red House 

 Observatory, Phelps, New York, discovered a comet on 

 August 24, 2oh. 53m. G.M.T. Place of the comet, R.A. 

 8h. 33m., Decl. 29' o' N. It seems probable that this object is 

 the expected comet of Olbers. 



ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 

 WEEK 1S87 SEPTEMBER 4-10. 



/■Tjj*OR the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at 

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



is here employed.) 



At Greenwich on September 4 

 Sun rises, 5h. 19m. ; souths, iih. 58m. 58*33. ; sets, i8h. 39111. ; 



decl. on meridian, 7° 13' N. : Sidereal Time at Sunset, 



I7h. 33m. 

 Moon (at Last Quarter Sept. 10, ish.) rises, rgh. 25m.* ; souths, 



ih. 9m. ; sets, 7h. 4m. ; decl. on meridian, 3" 39' S. 



Planef. Rises. Souths. Sets. Decl. on raeridifin. 



Rises, 

 h. m. 

 Mercury ... 4 38 



Venus 8 o 



Mars I 46 



Jupiter ID 7 



Saturn i 31 



Souths, 

 h. m. 



Sets, 



h. m. 



u 39 ... 18 40 ... II 8 N. 



13 17 ... i8 34 ■■• 9 8 S. 



9 39 •.. 17 3J ••• 19 59 N. 



15 II ... 20 15 ... II 35 S. 



9 2| ... 17 17 ... 19 57 S. 



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

 Sept. h. 



10 ... 18 ... Mercury in superior conjunction with the 

 Sun. 



