356 



NATURE 



[August i i, 



Raven {Corvus corax), European, presented by Mr. H. W. 

 Mansell ; two Yellow-bellied Liothrix {Liothrix luteus) from 

 India, two Grey-headed Love-Birds [Agaportiis cana) from 

 Madagascar, two Passerine Parrots {Psittacula passerina) from 

 South America, a Yellow-rumped Seed-eater {Crithazra chrys- 

 opyg<A^ a Black-bellied Weaver Bird {Euplectes afer), a 

 Grenadier Weaver Bird {Euplectes oryx), a Crimson-eared 

 Waxbill {Estrelda pha-ntcotis), two Orange-cheeked Waxbills 

 {Estrelda vtelpoda) from West Africa, a Superb Tanager 

 {Calliste fastuosa) from Brazil, a Parrot Finch [Erythrura 

 fsittacea) from New Caledonia, two Red-crested Finches 

 {Coryphospingus cristatus) from South America, five Amada- 

 vade Finches {Estrelda amadava) from India, two Chestnut- 

 €ared Finches {Amadina castanotis) from Australia, three Bar- 

 crested Finches {Munia ttisora) from Java, a Black-headed 

 Finch {Munia nialaccd) from India, two Banded Grass Finches 

 \Poephila cincta) from Queensland, two Lazuline Finches 

 i^Guiraca parellina) from Central America, a Red-tailed Finch 

 ■{Estrelda ruficattda) from New South Wales, five Indian Silver- 

 t)ills {Munia malabarica) from India, presented by Mr. A. J. 

 Aitchinson ; a Common Wombat {Phascolomys mitchelli) from 

 A.ustralia, an American Siskin {Chrysomitris tristi's) from North 

 America, ' three Amphiumas {Amphiuma means) from North 

 America, a Black Iguana {Metopoceros cormitus) from the West 

 Indies, deposited ; a Garden Dormouse {Myoxtis quercinus), 

 European, received in exchange ; two Wapiti Deer {Cervus 

 ■canadensis), born in the Gardens. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 

 Wolf's Comet. — The following is a continuation of the 

 ephemeris of Wolf's comet as computed by Herr Thraen {Astr. 

 Jiack., 3506) :— . 



I2h. Berlin M.T. 



The comet is moving in the constellation of Taurus, lying some 

 ■distance to the west of Aldebaran. 



Dr. Gill on Sir John Herschel. — We have received a 

 reprint (from the Cape Times, ]\.me 24) of an address which 

 was delivered by Dr. Gill at the prize distribution, Diocesan 

 College, Feldhausen, on June 23 last. On this occasion Dr. 

 'Gill uncovered a portrait of Sir John Herschel, which had been 

 presented to the school by Mr. Gordon. The same generous 

 -donor has promised also a yearly Herschel prize. In his 

 address, Dr. Gill, after referring to the earlier life of Sir John 

 Herschel, and pointing out how he re-examined, with instru- 

 ments made by himself, the whole of the nebulae, star clusters, 

 and double stars which had been discovered by his father, and 

 ^nished this review of the northern hemisphere, mentions how 

 Herschel began a similar study in the southern hemisphere. 

 " Towards the end of 1833, bting then forty years of age, 

 lie sailed for the Cape, and after a voyage of sixty-three days 

 anived in Table Bay on January 15, 1834. He selected the 

 ^ouse and grounds of Feldhausen for his residence, and on 

 JFebruary 22 began the work of observation which he concluded 

 in 1838. On his return to England he spent nine years in the 

 arrangement, the reduction, and the publication of these Cape 

 ■observations, which were printed in one splendid volume at the 

 • -expense of the Duke of Northumberland." In a later part of the 

 address Dr. Gill refers to Herschel as ' ' the prose poet of science ; 

 his popular scientific works are models of clearness, and his 

 presidential addresses teem with passages of surpassing beauty. 

 His life was a pure and blameless one from first to last, full of 

 the noblest effort and the noblest aim from the time when 



NO. 1502, VOL. 58] 



as a young Cambridge graduate he registered a vow ' to try to 

 leave the world wiser than he found it '—a vow that his life 

 amply fulfilled." 



The Paris Observatory.— On February 8 of this year M. 

 Lcewy presented his report of the Paris Observatory for the year 

 1897 to the Council of the Observatory. Perhaps the most 

 important fact which he communicated was the reorganisation of 

 the meridian work. Up to the present time the greater part of 

 the personnel of the meridian instruments has been employed in 

 the revisions of the zones of Lalande, a piece of work that has 

 been pursued steadily since the year 1854 ; in this, no less than 

 600,000 observations of stars of Lalande have been made. As 

 this great enterprise is now nearly completed, M. Lrewy points 

 out that other problems can now be attacked, and consequently 

 a different organisation for meridian studies becomes necessary. 

 The three meridian instruments, according to the new scheme, 

 are each used by two astronomers, who make, reduce, 

 discuss and publish the observations in their own names. 

 The meridian circle dujardin has been used for the absolute 

 determination of latitude and its variations, the large meridian 

 instrument for absolute determinations of declinations of funda- 

 mental stars, while the instruments of Gambey have been 

 employed for filling up gaps in the observations of the stars of 

 Lalande. 



During the year 1897 as many as 16,824 meridian observations 

 were made, together with 333 planetary observations. The large 

 equatorial coude has been devoted to obtaining photographs of 

 the moon which were required to make the series complete. 

 The present report contains a beautiful heliogravure cliche of 

 the moon relative to a phase which presents the greatest 

 photographic difficulties. It was obtained immediately after 

 the sun had set, the moon then having a very low altitude and 

 being only 4 days 6 '4 hours old. The equatorials in the east 

 and west towers have been used, as formerly, for observations of 

 comets, minor planets, double stars, nebulae and occultations. 

 The photographic chart of the heavens seems to be progressing, 

 although the year was not very suitable for such work. The 

 catalogue, we are told, is practically finished, with the exception 

 of some isolated cliches. In the spectroscopic research depart- 

 ment M. Deslandres has been continuing his interesting in- 

 vestigations. With the large reflector of i "20 metres and a 

 spectroscope of three prisms he has secured 47 negatives, which 

 will furnish the velocities in the line of sight of the star.studied, 

 and in the laboratory he has been experimenting on the question 

 of the relationship between coronal and kathodic rays. 



The report contains, further, the work of the bureau of com- 

 putations, observatory and personal publications, &c. ; but even 

 a brief account of these would render this ncte too long. 



The French Astronomical Society. — The Bulletin of 

 this Society for the current month is devoted nearly wholly to 

 reproductions of some lunar charts obtained by Messrs. Loewy 

 and Puiseux at the Paris Observatory, and numerous accounts 

 of the nearly total eclipse of the moon which took place on the 

 3rd of last month. In the former, four of these most excellent 

 lunar pictures are reproduced, and the description which 

 accompanies them points out the most curious objects in 

 special relation to a better understanding of the order and 

 succession of physical forces which have been at work on our 

 satellite. In the observations of the lunar eclipse we are pre- 

 sented with some excellent reproductions from photographs of 

 the phenomenon at different stages. 



THE ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE AND 

 MICRO-STRUCTURE OF ALLOYS. 



TN a note in Nature for June 18, 1896, on "The Electrical 

 -•- Resistance of Alloys," Lord Rayleigh suggested that the 

 entirely different behaviour of pure metals and of alloys with 

 respect to the resistance which they offer to the passage through 

 them of an electrical current, might be partly due to thermo- 

 electric effects. 



Profs. Dewar and Fleming have shown that the resistance 01 

 a pure metal tends to disappear as absolute zero is approached, 

 and quite recently Prof. Dewar has pointed out that the 

 resistance of platinum in boiling hydrogen is reduced nearly to 

 ^Vth of its resistance when in boiling oxygen. So far as they 

 have been examined, alloys show no such diminution in their 



