134 



NATURE 



[June 9, 1898 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Servaline Cat (Felis servalina), a Serval 

 {Felts serval) from Uganda, presented by Mr. Francis G. Hall ; 

 a Greater Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacutita gakrita) from 

 Australia, presented by Mr. P. G. Dupuch ; two Golden 

 Eagles {Aquila chjysceHis), European, presented by Edgar 

 Baxter; a Yellow-billed '$,\\&z.'Cck>\\\{Chionis alba), captured at 

 sea, presented by Captain H. W. Schlemann ; a Bean Goose 

 {Anser secetum), European, presented by Mr. W. H. St. Quintin; 

 two Egyptian Kites {Milvus ccgyptius) from Congoland, pre- 

 sented by the Rev. R. H. C. Graham ; a Common Viper 

 ( Vipera bertis) from Cornwall, presented by the Rev. John 

 Harris ; a Burchell's Zebra {Eqiiiis burchelH, 6 ) from South 

 Africa, deposited ; two Black Hornbills (Lophoceros nastitus) 

 from West Africa, a Yarrell's Curassow [Crax carunculata) 

 from South-east Brazil, a Guan Ortalida from South America, 

 a Double-ringed Turtle Dove {Ttirliir bitorqtiatus) from Java, 

 purchased ; an English Bull {Bos taiirus) born in the Gardens. 



Erratum. — In the classification of Bacteria given in the re- 

 view of Prof. Migula's work on "Systematic Bacteriology,'' 

 which appeared in last week's Nature, the term "genus" 

 should be substituted for "species." 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 



The Companion to Procyov. — As is well known Prof. 

 Schaeberle discovered in November 1896 a companion to 

 Procyon, which he suggested would prove the theoretical com- 

 panion predicted by Bessel. This difficult object —difficult on 

 account of its nearness to Procyon, not by reason of its faintness 

 — has been satisfactorily observed at the Yerkes Observatory, 

 thus confirming Prof. Schaeberle's measures, the motion of the 

 object, and its suggested identity with Bessel's companion. We 

 have now the following measures : 



Prof. Barnard, who reports the observation, says that when the 

 seeing is good, the companion star is a very conspicuous object 

 and easy to measure, with the bright star in the field unobscured. 

 It was estimated to be one magnitude fainter than the old com- 

 panion, which is of about the twelfth magnitude. This 

 description, however, scarcely agrees with that of Prof. 

 Schaeberle, who states that he made a measure of the star in 

 November 1897, ten minutes before sunrise, and when looking 

 along the outside of the telescope Procyon was no longer visible 

 in the sky. This would imply that the comes was brighter than 

 the thirteenth magnitude, and therefore more observations may 

 be anticipated. 



The Liverpool Observatory.— We have received the 

 annual report of the director of the Liverpool Observatory, and 

 are glad to see that he is making some attempt to break away 

 from the mere meteorological observations, which have so long 

 held sway at this observatory. The present attempt is a very 

 small one, consisting merely in the observation of the Right 

 Ascension of some of the circumpolar stars that Prof. Auwers 

 has suggested should be continuously observed, with the view 

 of affording more frequent opportunities, and more accurate 

 determinations of the azimuthal error of transit instruments. 

 Cometary observations have always formed a part of the routine 

 work of this observatory, since the appointment of the present 

 director. These are still being actively prosecuted, when the 

 brightness of the comet permits. We notice also that the 

 observatory is taking some part in the inquiries that are now 

 going on in seismometry and ihe physics of the earth's crust. 



SuNSPOT Periods and Natural Phenomena. — In an 

 article entitled " Le Soleil et la Nature'' in the Bulletin de la 

 Society Aslrononiiqite de France ioxlwn^, M. Camille Flammarion 

 brings together some very interesting data concerning the con- 

 nection between the sunspot period and the yearly return of 

 swallows, cuckoos and nightingales, and the flowering of 

 chestnuts and lilacs. The observations have been extended over 



NO. 1493, VOL. 58] 



several years. In the case of the chestnuts and lilacs, M, 

 Flammarion himself commenced the series in the year 1871, 

 and not only observed the same trees every year when they 

 began to bud, but employed the same scale of observation from 

 the first ; the observations are thus homogeneous throughout. In 

 the remarkable series of figures accompanying the article, M, 

 Flammarion has grouped together the observations of three years, 

 and plotted curves which undoubtedly suggest a connection 

 between one another, and with that representing the number of 

 spots on the sun. Further, when spots are most numerous 

 migratory birds return to any one place earlier in the year than 

 usual, and when spots are at a minimum they do not come back 

 until a much later date. In the case of swallows this is very 

 remarkable, as observations of their time of return have been 

 made since 1853, ^ period of forty-five years. The curve has a 

 period of about eleven years, and the times of the maxima and 

 minima correspond well with those of the sunspot curve. 



Another curious fact M. Flammarion points out is that the 

 curves showing the temperature of the months of March and 

 April and the mean temperature of the year are nearly identical 

 for the period covered by the years 1876-97. 



Double and Multiple Southern Stars. — On April 28 

 of this year we noted in this column that Dr. T. J. J. See had 

 published in the Astronomical Jotirnal, Nos. 431-432, some 

 details of his plan of double and multiple southern stars,, and 

 the first part of a catalogue of new double stars. In the current 

 numbers of the Astro. Nachr. (Nos. 3495-6) he publishes a further 

 catalogue containing the measures of those systems made at the 

 Lowell Observatory during the past year and four months. In 

 many instances these measures are the first that have ever been 

 made, and on that account a great part of the accompanying 

 results possess a degree of interest equal to that of the first 

 measures of new double stars. Messrs. W. A. Cogshall and S. 

 L. Boothroyd have ably assisted Dr. See in this work. 



THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY, GREENWICH. 

 C\^ Saturday last (June 4) the Astronomer Royal presented 

 ^^ his annual report to the Board of Visitors ot the Royal 

 Observatory, Greenwich. As usual the numerous guests num- 

 bered among them many astronomers and other men of science ; 

 and the weather, though at times threatening, proved sufficiently 

 fine to allow the buildings and instruments to be comfortably 

 inspected. The following brief rhiimi. is taken from the 

 report : — 



Buildings. 



The buildings on the south side of the grounds, which form 

 part of the new physical observatory, are now approaching 

 completion, having been delayed somewhat by a failure in the 

 supply of terra-cotta. Up to the present time the construction 

 of the magnetic pavilion has not been commenced, although 

 provision has been made for it and a good site selected. It is 

 hoped that this will no longer be delayed, for the amount of iron 

 recently used in the construction of the new phy.sical observatory 

 has a very decided effect on all the magnetic instruments in the 

 old buildings. For some months past we have noticed a scaffold- 

 ing outside the dome of the 28-inch. This we read was put up 

 in February last in preparation for erecting a balcony round the 

 building, but the plans were subsequently reconsidered and 

 modified, and the work in consequence delayed. The electric 

 light and telephone communication has been extended to the 

 new buildings, and a new accumulator house is being con- 

 structed in the basement on the north-east side of the physical 

 observatory to replace the shed in which they are now 

 located. 



Transit Circle. 



A diagram on the wall of the transit ioon> showed a curve 

 which had been plotted, the points in the curve representing the 

 number of R. A. observations and circle readings for each year 

 from 1877. A glance at this curve showed that the number of 

 transit observations during the more recent years has increased 

 by leaps and bounds, and where in place of the usual 4000 

 observations per year in 1877-80, the number now has reached 

 the figure 11,000. This year the transits, counting separate 

 limbs as one observation, amount to 11,441, excluding determ- 

 inations of coUimation error 297 and level error 651. The circle 

 readings were 10,626. The correction for the R.D. discordance 



