May 4, 1893] 



NATURE 



new matter and of the theories based upon it by Drs. 

 Epping and Strassmaier convinced him of the genera' 

 correctness of the results of his own investigations, at 

 which he had arrived by a method peculiarly his own, 

 and by many new readings of the cuneiform names of 

 planets and stars which he was enabled to explain satis- 

 factorily he confirmed several identifications of stars 

 which had been pointed out by Dr. Epping by the light 

 of mathematical astronomy. It is but fair to say that at 

 the outset some differences of opinion existed between 

 these distinguished scholars, but already many of them 

 have been adjusted, and the proof of the general accuracy 

 of the work is therefore much stronger. 



Prof Jensen divides his book into two sections. In the 

 first he treats of the " Universe and its Parts," and in the 

 second of the " Creation and of the Formation of the 

 World." Under the first heading, in a series of chapters, 

 he discusses the sky and the heavenly bodies in it, 

 special attention being paid to the consideration of the 

 Zodiac, the earth, the Mountain of sunrise, the abodes 

 of the blessed dead and of the damned, and of 

 the" Okeanos ; and under the second he translates 

 and explains the Babylonian texts referring to the 

 Creation and to the Deluge. Many of Prof. Jensen's 

 ideas are new, and will therefore fail to be accepted by 

 those who prefer to follow traditions and their own views 

 in preference to results obtained directly from the cunei- 

 form texts which are, after all, our only trustworthy 

 authority on Babylonian cosmology. He argues his 

 propositions in a sober manner, and he arranges his facts 

 with clearness ; he gives proof or authority for every 

 statement, and he assumes or takes for granted little or 

 nothing. Prof Jensen's book is a careful statement of all 

 the important views of the Babylonians concerning the 

 system of the heavens and the earth as recorded by the 

 officia astronomers and astrologers attached to the 

 library of Assurbanipal at Nineveh about B.C. 660. His 

 work will command the respect and earn the gratitude of 

 all true scholars, even of those who may disagree with 

 him, and by reason of it the scientific astronomer of 

 to-day with his telescope and spectroscope and instru- 

 ments for stellar photography will respect his pre- 

 decessors on the plains of Mesopotamia, who differ from 

 him in their calculation of the length of the average 

 period between new-moon and new-moon by two-fifths of 

 a second only ! 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



Eletnents of Physiography. By Hugh Dickie, LL.D. 

 .Collins Science Series. (London : Collins.) 



This is a small manual designedly written as a text-book 

 for the elementary stage of physiography, according to 

 the syllabus of the Science and Art Department. All 

 that is necessary for this stage is treated of within its 

 pages in as concise and brief a manner as possible. 



Interspersed amongst the text are upwards of 100 ex- 

 cellent illustrations and four coloured maps, and very 

 good sets of questions for exercise are inserted at the end 

 of each chapter. 



The author would do well to be a little more precise 

 and accurate in some of his statements. In Article 150, 

 p. 138, he says : "The position of a star in the sky is 

 fixed as follows : — (i) Its angular [distance E. or W. of 

 the line passing through the poles." Which particular 



NO. 1227, VOL. 48] 



one of the infinite number of lines passing through the 

 poles is meant is not very clear. He should have 

 "fixed" the line by adding "and the zenith." At the 

 end of Article 1 54 he states that "comets and nebulae are 

 bodies less dense in their composition than stars, and 

 more erratic in their movements." Surely the author 

 should know that nebulas do not appear to wander about 

 amongst the stars, but keep the same relative position 

 with respect tp the latter. 



Upon the whole, however, the book, which is moderate 

 in price, can be recommended to pupils preparing for the 

 examination in elementary physiography. 



Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the 

 Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 188586. By 

 J. W. Powell, Director. (Washington : Government 

 Printing Office.) 

 The Report which occupies the first part of this hand- 

 some volume is too old to be read with much interest. 

 Happily it is accompanied by papers which are of more 

 than passing value. One of these — on Indian linguistic 

 families of America north of Mexico — is by Prof J. W. 

 Powell, who, in the course of an elaborate discussion and 

 exposition, throws much light on an intricate and most 

 difficult subject. A paper by Mr. W. J. Hoffman on the 

 Mide'wiwin or " grand medicine society" of the Ojibwa, 

 will be read with pleasure by students of anthropology . 

 and Mr. James Mooney devotes a very careful and inte^ 

 resting paper to the consideration of the sacred formula 

 of the Cherokees. 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions ex- 

 pressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake 

 to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected 

 manuscripts intended for this or any other part of fi ATVRK. 

 No notice is taken of anonymous communications .^ 



A Remarkable Rainfall. 



I SEND a few particulars of the recent remarkable rainfall at 

 Crohamhurst, situated on the western slope of Mont Blanc, a 

 peak on a spur of the D'Aguilar Range, an offset from the 

 Blackall Ranges, South Eastern Queensland. The whole of this 

 district is watered by the Stanley River, a tributary of the Bris- 

 bane River, and hence the values given below were prominent 

 factors in producing the terrible floods from which we have 

 suffered. I may mention that the observer at Crohamhurst is 

 Mr. Inigo Owen Jones, one of my specially trained assistants, 

 and that implicit reliance can be placed on his figures. 



The following are the more remarkable falls of the flood period 

 at Crohamhurst:— For 24 hours ending 9 a.m. February i, 10775 

 inches ; ditto February 2, 20056 inches ; ditto February 3, 

 35714 '"cl^es ; ditto February 4, 10760 inches. The gauge is 

 a standard of the " eight-inch" pattern, standing one foot above 

 the ground at an altitude of about 1400 feet above mean sea 

 level. The approximate latitude and longitude of Croham- 

 hurst are 26° 50' S. 152° 55' E. The gauge was emptied every 

 three hours, night and day, on the occasion of the greatest fall. 

 I think meteorologists will agree that for a 24 hours' fall we have 

 beaten the world's record. Clement L. Wragge, 



Government Meteorologist of Queensland 



Brisbane, March 22. (lateof Ben Nevis). 



The Cold Wave at Hongkong, January 1893.— Its 

 After Effects. 



Now that the cold wave has completely passed away and 

 warm weather is setting in (March 17, 1893), one can wrhe more 

 certainly respecting the effects upon animal and vegetable life. 



With regard to the plants the effect has been disastrous, 

 especially on the higher levels, and were it not that our rarest 

 plants descend the hillsides, and often occur in sheltered nooks, 

 this year's frost would have caused the extinction of several of 

 them. Combined with the dry weather we have been enduring 

 the frost has turned our fairly green island into a brown, desert- 

 looking land, much of the undergrowth being dead. Most of 

 the leaves have fallen, even new leaves that were unfolding have 



