596 



NA TURE 



[April i8, 1901 



nature in South America. Thus far his efforts to develop and 

 utilise its vast resources have made its commercial history an 

 epic. The thought naturally presents itself that had North 

 America fallen to the lot of the Latin race in the European 

 occupation of the New World, and South America to the Anglo- 

 Saxon, the former might still have maintained its old 

 premacy ; for the more rapid progress of the latter may not be 

 due so much to racial superiority as to advantageous geographical 

 urroundings. " 



The list of additions to the library of the Royal Gardens, 

 Kew, received during last year, occupies eighty-three pages in 

 the Kew Bulletin (Appendix ii. 1901) just issued. The titles 

 are printed on one side of the page only, so as to allow the list 

 to be cut up and the slips used by persons and institutions having 

 catalogues based on the Kew catalogue. 



Announcement has just been made by a committee of 

 American anthropologists, of which Mr. F. W. Hodge, managing 

 editor of the Aiiierican Anthropologist, is secretary, of the pro- 

 posed publication of an illustrated volume containing more than 

 hirty folk-tales which were collected and translated by the late 

 Frank Hamilton Gushing during his long and intimate associa- 

 tion with the Zuiii Indian tribe of New Mexico. Information 

 and subscription forms may be obtained from the secretary, 

 whose address is Washington, D.C., U.S.A. 



The third divisional volume has been received of Thompson's 

 "Gardener's Assistant," a new edition of which, edited by Mr. 

 William Watson, assistant curator at the Royal Gardens, 

 Kew, is in course of publication by the Gresham Publishing 

 Company. Among the subjects dealt with are popular garden 

 plants, greenhouse and conservatory, greenhouse plants, stove 

 plants, orchids, indoor and hardy ferns, succulent plants, hardy 

 shrubs, bedding and floral decorations. Several plates and 

 numerous excellent illustrations accompany the descriptive 

 text. 



A LARGE terrestrial globe is an essential piece of furniture for 

 the satisfactory teaching of geography. The ideal globe is in 

 relief, but the price at which such a globe can be well produced 

 s prohibitive to its extensive use. A large globe in which 

 physical features are given prominence is the next best substi- 

 tute, and this has been produced by Messrs. Philip and Son 

 under the title of " Philip's Physical School Globe." The 

 diameter is nineteen inches, and three forms of mounting of the 

 globe are constructed, namely, one a pedestal for table, another 

 the same with the addition of a graduated half meridian, and 

 the third a tripod stand, with complete meridian and horizon. 



The following prices obtained for some of the natural history 

 books from the library of the late Mr. P. Crowley, sold by 

 Mr. J. C. Stevens at his auction rooms on Monday, are of 

 interest : — "Transactions of the Entomological Society," com- 

 plete set, 46 vols., 38/. ; " Catalogue of the Birds in the British 

 Museum," vols, i to 27, 1874-95, 48/. ; " The Ibis," 1859 to 

 1900, with indexes, 42 vols., 75/. ; '* Proceedings of the Zoo- 

 logical Society," 1830 to 1900, 60 vols., 60/. ; " The Birds of 

 the British Islands," by Lord Lilford, 7 vols., 63/. ; " Biologia 

 Centrali Americana," 35 vols., 90/. ; "Birds of Europe," by 

 H. E. Dresser, vols i to 8, 1871-1881, vol. 9 supplement, 

 1895-6, 56/. ; " Histoire Physique, Naturelle et Politique de 

 Madagascar," by A. Grandidier, 1875-95, 35/. ; " The Birds of 

 Asia," by John Gould, 7 vols., 1850-1883, 51/. ; " The Birds of 

 New Guinea, Papuan Islands and Australia," by J. Gould, 5 vols., 

 1875-78, 45/. ; "The Birds of Great Britain," by John Gould, 

 5 vols., 1863, 49/. ; " Monograph of the Pheasants," by D. G. 

 Elliot, 2 vols., 1872, 53/. ; "Rough Notes on the Birds ob- 

 served during Twenty-five Years' Shooting and Collecting in 

 the British Islands," by E. T. Booth, 3 vols., 1881-7, 25/. 

 NO. 1642, VOL. 63] 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during 

 the past week include a Macaque Monkey {Macacus cyno- 

 molgus) from India, presented by Mr. C. L. Lane ; a Mozam- 

 bique Monkey {Cercopithecus pygerythrus) from East Africa, 

 presented by Miss Leah Simmons ; a Rufous-necked Scimitar 

 Babbler {Pomatorhinus riificollis), a Golden-backed Wood- 

 pecker (Brackyptentus aurantius) from India, presented by Mr. 

 E. W. Harper ; an Indian Python [Python molurus) from India, 

 presented by Mr. C. Oscar Gridley ; a Chameleon {Chamaeleon 

 vulgaris) from North Africa, presented by Mr. C. King ; ten 

 Indian Cobras (Naia tripudians) from India, ten Reeve's Terra- 

 pins {Damonia reevesi) from China, ten Roofed Terrapins 

 [Kachuga tectum) from British India, ten Blue Lizards {Gerrho- 

 notus coeruleus), six Red Newts {Sperlepes rubra) from North 

 America, a Red-fronted Lemur {Lemur rufifrons) from Mada- 

 gascar, deposited ; an English Wild Cow (Bos taurus), a 

 Bactrian Camel [Camelus dactrianus), horn in the Gardens. 



OUJi ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 



Nova Persei. — Bulletin No. 16 of the Yerkes Observatory 

 contains a report from Prof. Hale on the work done in connec- 

 tion with the new star in Perseus. An examination of the 

 Nova with the 40-inch refractor on February 24 failed to show 

 any trace of nebulosity. Photographs of the spectrum were 

 obtained on eight nights, using Erythro plates, with spectro- 

 graphs of one and three prisms respectively. These extend 

 from Ha in the red to the ultra-violet H^ ; comparison spectra 

 were taken of titanium, hydrogen and sodium. Photographs 

 of the region of the Nova have been obtained with the 40-inch 

 telescope, and will be subsequently measured at Columbia 

 College Observatory. The brightness of the star has been 

 measured by the wedge photometer. 



A Remarkable Group of Nebulous Spots. — Prof. Max 

 Wolf, of Heidelburg, writes to the Astronomische Nachrichten 

 (Bd. 155, No. 3704), describing an appearance of small nebulous 

 bodies surrounding the star 



h. m. 

 R.A. = 12 52"6~1, o.^, « 

 Decl. = -^28° J2' i('855o). 



They are so close together as to form a remarkable feature 

 in the field of view. He was able to count 108 in a circle 

 about 30' of arc in diameter. Some of the fourth or fifth mag- 

 nitude showed a central condensation, more or less elongated, 

 while other fainter ones had a roundish form. 



Stonyhurst College Observatory. — The annual sum- 

 mary of the meteorological, magnetical and other observations 

 made at the Stonyhurst Observatory in Lancashire has just been 

 issued by the director, Father Sidgreaves. Special co-operation 

 with the International Meteorological Committee has been in 

 force since November, observations of clouds and wind being 

 made throughout three successive days of each month ; on the 

 second of these days balloon ascents are made by representatives 

 of the Committee. 



The work of comparison between individual sun-spots and 

 terrestrial magnetic .storms has been concluded and published 

 in the Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society. This 

 covers the period of eighteen years from January 1881 to 

 December 1898. 



Experiments are in progress in connection with the improve- 

 ment of the present means of obtaining stellar spectra, quartz 

 lenses being now employed, so that more of the ultra-violet 

 region will be photographed. 



Catalogue of Double Stars. — Yo\.'\. oi ihe Publications 

 of the Yerkes Observatory consists of a general catalogue of 

 1290 double stars, discovered from 1871-1899 by Prof. S. W. 

 Burnham. The stars are arranged in order of their right 

 ascensions, full particulars being given of all the micrometrical 

 measures of each pair. The woik has been done with tele- 

 scopes varying from 6 inches to 40 inches in aperture, the 

 greater number (45 1 ) of the discoveries having been made with 

 the smallest instrument. 



