March 7, 1901] 



NATURE 



441 



the museum of the Institute of Jamaica, and later were briefly 

 described by Messrs. Grabham and Cockerell in Nature (1892, 

 p. 514), when the specific term /amaicensis was suggested. 

 The year following over a dozen specimens were received by Dr. 

 Grabham, also from Bath. The locality fs in a most humid part 

 of the eastern extremity of the island. Two or three examples 

 have since been secured from widely separated spots, but the 

 species has hitherto been regarded as one of much rarity, and as 

 uncertain in its distribution. Various attempts made by 

 different collectors to secure specimens have been unsuccessful. 



Prof. E, L. Bouvier, who has lately been making a systematic 

 study of the genus, recognises two species — P. jainaicensis and 

 P. juliformis var. Gossei — among the Jamaica representatives, 

 (cf. Quart. Jour. Micr. Set., vol. xliii. p. 750). Prof. Ray 

 Lankester, on behalf of Prof. Bouvier, has recently communicated 

 with the Institute of Jamaica asking for additional specimens. 

 A general description of Peripatus was accordingly inserted in 

 the local newspapers, and offers of reward were made with the 

 object of encouraging the peasantry to search for the animal, but 

 this was of no avail. A visit, since made by the writer, to Bath 

 resulted in the securing of a number of examples. These were 

 exhibited in the neighbourhood and a sum was offered for further 

 specimens, with the result that before long numbers began to pour 

 in and soon upwards of fifty were obtained. Dr. Grabham also 

 secured a large supply. Afterwards more than eighty specimens 

 were dispatched to the Museum, then another fifty were offered, 

 and now that a local enthusiasm has been created it would seem 

 that examples in plenty might be procured at any time. It is 

 thus obvious that the animal is by no means so rare as has been 

 supposed. 



The creatures are found under stones and rotten wood, often 

 buried for a short distance in the earth. Most are blackish 

 brown or green, much lighter on the ventral surface ; others are 

 reddish black above and light flesh-coloured beneath ; but many 

 intermediate tints occur. A reddish-brown colour is extracted 

 at first by alcohol, and the distinctive colours are soon lost. 

 Specimens of all sizes were obtained, including individuals in 

 which parturition took place during preservation. The length 

 of the newly born was as much as 2 cm. J. E. Duerden. 



Institute of Jamaica, Kingston, February 12. 



Audibility of the Sound of Firing on February i. 



From the letters written to Nature and to the Standard hy 

 correspondents who heard at very great distances the guns fired 

 at Portsmouth on February i, it seems to be the general im- 

 pression that the firing was by volleys, if one may use a con- 

 venient but probably technically incorrect expression. This was 

 not the case. It would be very desirable that the official order 

 of firing should be published. If this is not done, there may be 

 some interest in a note on the order as it appeared to me, 

 watching from the sea-front near Southsea Castle. 

 The disposition of the fleet was roughly thus : 



Southsea. 

 Channel Squadron. 

 Reserve Squadron. * Flagship. 



l<'oreign 3bips. 



Osborne. 



The first gun of each round of firing seemed to me to be fired 

 far down the line, from the flagship of the Reserve Squadron ; 

 but of this I cannot be sure. It was immediately succeeded by 

 the gun from the Majestic, flagship of the Channel Squadron ; 

 and from this the firing ran down the double line, the intervals 

 between the successive pairs of flashes being about half a second. 

 It was impossible to see from Southsea whether the Reserve 

 Squadron followed the lead of the Channel Squadron or of its 

 own flagship. In the latter case, after the leading guns from 

 the flagships there would have been four guns, in the former 

 case two guns every half second, for a space of some seconds. 



These details are from memory, and may require some correc- 

 tion. The important fact is that the guns were fired in quick 

 succession, and not simultaneously. 



'i he line of ships was about eight miles long, roughly east 

 and west, and Southsea was about a mile north of the eastern 

 end. But the roll of the guns lasted only about twenty seconds 

 — that is to say, scarcely any sound reached us from the western 

 division of the line, which was hidden from sight by a projecting 



NO. 1636, VOL. 63] 



point of land. It is not surprising, therefore, that nothing was 

 heard at Chichester and other places comparatively near Ports- 

 mouth. Arthur R. Hinks. 

 Cambridge, February 26. 



Protective Markings in Animals. 



I ENCLOSE a photograph of my cat asleep, in which may be 

 plainly seen the resemblance to open eyes, borne by the mark- 

 ings above the orbits. In the living cat this resemblance is so 

 striking that my attention was first drawn to it by my fancying 

 that he was sleeping with his eyes open. 



I have noticed the same markings in other cats, but never quite 

 so distinct. The advantages, to a non-domesticated animal, of 

 such an arrangement are obvious, and I think it may interest some 

 of your readers. Besides these marks over the eyes, I observe in 

 a good many cats that the fur on the lower jaw is generally light 

 and bounded by markings following the line of the mouth, thus 

 giving a heightened effect when open, whilst when shut, during 

 sleep, the cat has, at a distance, the appearance of having the 

 mouth still open. Clarence Waterek. 



Ilighfield, Northdown Avenue, Margate, February 26. 



Snovtr Crystals. 



A FALL of snow stars, similar to that described by Mr. Wm. 

 Gee (p. 420), occurred near Sutton Coldfield about 1876, as near 

 as I can remember. I was much struck by their beauty and the 

 graceful way they fell to the earth. C. J. Woodward. 



Municipal Technical School, Birmingham, March 2. 



THE NEW STAR IN PERSEUS.^ 



DR. COPEL.\ND was kind enough to inform me by 

 telegram, on the afternoon of February 22, of the 

 discovery by Dr. Anderson of a new star in the Milky 

 Way in Perseus on the early morning of that day. It 

 was stated that its position was R.A. 3h. 24m. 25s. and 

 Declination +43^ 34', its magnitude 27, and colour of a 

 bluish-white. Later in the evening this information was 

 corroborated by another telegram from the "Centralstelle" 

 at Kiel- 

 Owing to cloudy weather, no photographs could be 

 obtained at Kensington until the evening of the 25th. 

 Momentary glimpses of the star on the evening of the 

 22nd, between the hours of 6 and 7.30 p.m., indicated 

 that the Nova had considerably brightened since the 

 time of its discovery, as it was estimated as a little 

 brighter than a first magnitude star ; no satisfactory 

 observations of the spectrum could be made. 



Another glimpse on the early morning (1.30 a.m.) of 

 Monday (25th) showed that the star was still of about the 

 first magnitude. 



Prof. Pickering reports that the Nova was dimmer 

 than an eleventh magnitude star on February 19. On the 

 23rd it was as bright as Gapella. 



The star, therefore, was then at least 10,000 times 

 brighter than it was four days previously, and ranks as 

 the brightest new star recorded since that which appeared 

 in the year 1604. 



Since the 25th the brightness has diminished slightly, 

 and on the evening of the 27th was estimated between 

 the first and second magnitude ( i 7). If this reduction of 

 brilliancy continues at the same rate, the new star will 

 evidently be shorter lived than those to which it has 

 most closely approximated in luminous intensity at the 

 maximum, and less time will be available for studying the 

 spectral changes which may be anticipated, I may 

 state that Tycho's Nova (1572) was visible for nearly 

 one and a half years, and Kepler's (1604) for about the 

 same period. 



It is interesting to note that the star was described by 

 Dr. Anderson as being of a bluish-white colour at the 



1 Preliminary note. By Sir Norman Lockyer, K.G.B., F.R.S. Received 

 and read before the Royal Society, February 28. 



