6l2 



NATURE 



[April 27, 1893 



evidently remarkably successful. Prof. Thorpe, who was 

 in charge of this expedition, sent to Lord Kelvin the 

 followingtelegram:— "April 19, 1893. Thorpeto President 

 Royal Society, Burlington House, London. Eclipse suc- 

 cessfully observed at Fundium. Position good,weather fine, 

 very slight haze. Slit spectroscope good, but mainly pro- 

 minence lines ; calcium and hydrogen seen projected on 

 moon. Thirty prismatic camera photographs, eighteen 

 excellent ; mainly prominence lines ; corona lines doubt- 

 ful. Ten coronograph pictures, six very good. Photo- 

 metric work successful ; twenty comparisons with equa- 

 torial, eleven with integrating apparatus. Deslandres and 

 Colcuiesco also observed at Fundium, with good results. 

 No word from Bigourdan at Joal. Health of expedition 

 good. Blonde leaves for Teneriffe to-morrow.— Thorpe." 

 With regard to the work of the same expedition, a 

 correspondent of the Times telegraphed from Bathurst 

 on April 19 :—" The solar eclipse was successfully ob- 

 served at Fundium, Senegal. The weather was fine, 

 with only a very slight haze. The results of the slit spec- 

 troscope were good. Thirty prismatic camera photo- 

 graphs were taken, eighteen of which are excellent, while 

 of ten coronograph pictures six are very good. The 

 photometric work was successful, and twenty compari- 

 sons were taken with the equatorial and eleven with the 

 integrating apparatus. The French astronomers, MM. 

 Deslandres and Colcuiesco also made observations at 

 Fundium with good results. The health of the expedi- 

 tion is excellent." 



Last week we gave the substance of a telegram regard- 

 ing Prof. Pickering's observations at Minasaris. The 

 New York Herald has published a telegram from Valpar- 

 aiso, containing the following supplementary information 

 as to Prof.Pickering's work:— "Thesunlight changed during 

 the period of totahty and presented a pale yellow hue. A 

 faint chill was perceptible in the air. The photographic 

 results with the differential spectroscope give twenty lines 

 in the solar atmosphere at a time of 34 seconds previous 

 to totality. Two rays of light were seen issuing from the 

 cusps, their terminal points corresponding to the horns of 

 the new moon. The cusps were in violent motion. The 

 corona showed a conical structure with a network of fine 

 filaments visible to the naked eye. Four light streamers 

 from the corona were noticeable, and seven prominences 

 were observed, which latter were estimated to attain a 

 height of 80,000 miles. The integrating spectroscope 

 showed one red, one yellow, and one blue line and two 

 green lines in the corona. The prominences were well 

 photographed." 



The following is a Reuter's telegram from San Fran- 

 cisco, relating to the work of the American expedition to 

 Chili :— " Prof. Holden, the director of the Lick Obser- 

 vatory, has received a telegram from Prof. Schaebele, the 

 leader of the American expedition to Chili, stating that 

 his observation of the sun's total eclipse was successful. 

 The drawings of the corona made a year ago by Prof. 

 Schaebele were found to be a true representation of the 

 corona actually visible in the present eclipse. Fifty photo- 

 graphs were secured by means of the three telescopes 

 used by the observers. One of these gave an image of 

 the sun 4 in. in diameter, and the corona covered a plate 

 18 by 22 in." 



NOTES. 

 All the most essential arrangements have now been made for 

 the Nottingham meeting of the British Association. The first 

 general meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 13, at 

 8 p.m., when Sir Archibald Geikie will resign the chair, and 

 Dr. J. S. Burdon Sanderson will assume the presidency and 

 deliver an address. On Thursday evening, September 14, there 

 will be a. soiree ; on Friday evening a discourse will be delivered 

 by Proi. Arthur Smithells on "flame"; on Monday evening 

 NO. 1226, VOL. 47I 



Prof. Victor Horsley will deliver a discourse " on the discovery 

 of the physiology of the nervous system " ; on Tuesday evening 

 there will be another soiree ; and on Wednesday afternoon, 

 September 20, the concluding general meeting will be held- 

 Excursions to places of interest in the neighbourhood of 

 Nottingham will be made on the afternoon of Saturday, 

 September 16, and on Thursday, September 21. The following 

 will be the presidents of sections : — A (Mathematical and 

 Physical Science), Prof. R. B. Clifton, F.R.S. ; B (Chemistry 

 and Mineralogy), Prof. J. E. Reynolds, F.R.S. ; C (Geology), 

 Mr. T. J. H. Teall, F.R.S. ; D (Biology), Rev. H. B. Tristram, 

 F.R.S.; E (Geography), Mr. H. Seebohm ; F (Economic 

 Science and Statistics), Prof. J. S. Nicholson ; G (Mechanical 

 Science), Mr. Jeremiah Head ; H (Anthropology), Dr. Robert 

 Munro. 



The Chemical Society will hold on Friday, May 5, a Hofmann 

 Memorial Meeting. Addresses will be delivered by Lord 

 Playfair, Sir F. A. Abel, and Dr. W. H. Perkin. 



The annual dinner of the Royal Geographical Society will 

 take place on Saturday, May 13, at the Whitehall Rooms, 

 Hotel Metropole, Sir Mountstuart E. Grant DufF in the chair. 



At the recent Graduation Ceremony of the University of 

 St. Andrews the honorary degree of LL. D. was conferred on 

 Prof. Henry E. Armstrong, Ph. D. , F.R.S.,. in recognition of his 

 eminent services to organic chemistry. 



On Thursday, May 4, the forty- first anniversary of the elec- 

 tion of the Secretary of the Institution of Civil Engineers as an 

 Associate, the first " James Forrest " lecture will be delivered 

 by Dr. W. Anderson, F.R.S., the subject being "The Inter- 

 dependence of Abstract Science and Engineering." 



The City and Guilds of London Institute has forwarded to 

 county councils throughout the kingdom, and to the secretaries 

 of technical schools in connection with the Institute, a circular 

 letter indicating various ways in which it has improved and 

 enlarged the scope of its technological examinations. Among 

 the alterations may be mentioned the addition of practical tests 

 in photography, boot and shoe manufacture, goldsmiths' work, 

 mechanical engineering, and other subjects ; the subdivision of 

 many subjects into sections to suit the requirements of different 

 branches of the same trade ; and the addition of examinations 

 in such subjects as manual training and dressmaking. After 

 careful consideration of the difficult questions involved in the 

 organisation, for the first time, of a system of inspection of 

 technical classes, the Committee of the Institute have adopted a 

 scheme, and are prepared to receive applications from county 

 councils or school committees for the inspection of classes in 

 technical (other than agricultural) subjects, and also for special 

 reports on the results of the examination of the students of 

 separate classes registered under the Institute. 



It has been resolved by the Council of the Zoological Society 

 of London to award the Society's Silver Medal to Donald 

 Cameron, of Lochiel, and John Peter Grant, of Rothiemurchus, 

 in recognition of the efforts they have made to protect the Osprey 

 iPandion halidtus) in Scotland. The osprey, formerly common 

 in many parts of the British Islands, has become so rare of late 

 years that it is stated that only three pairs of this bird have been 

 known to breed in this country for some years past. 



The hon. secretaries of the Australasian Association for 

 the Advancement of Science are sending out invitations to the 

 leading scientific societies in Europe drawing attention to the 

 meeting of the Association, which will be held in Adelaide, 

 commencing on September 25 next. Sydney, Melbourne, 

 Christchurch, and Hobart are the places in which the previous 

 meetings of the Association have been held. The meeting in 



