May 4, 189: 



NA TURE 



was as low as 57° F., but has since recovered. Thousands of 

 fish died, or floated about torpid, the critical temperature having 

 just been reached. This state of things lasted about three days. 

 The Chinese fishermen said the fish had cholera, and called 

 attention to some alteration in a joss-house on an island in the 

 harbour, any tampering with which causes sickness to man or 

 beast, by interfering with the Fung Sui ! They gave up fishing 

 for a week, but the fish were not diseased so far as I could 

 see. 



I may note that since the Sanguir eruption in July last we 

 have had perfect Krakala~o sunsets, which are only just 

 waning. They were in greatest force in the middle of December, 

 and the fine after-glow was visible at the zenith an hour and a 

 half after sunset. It was strong enough to overpower the 

 zodiacal light. Sydney B. J. Skertchly. 



Kowloon, Hongkong, March 17. 



P.S.— Mr. J.J. Walker, R.N., has just visited the Happy 

 Valley after the rain. He finds the butterflies much more 

 plentiful. 6'. iZ(W«-!/J, and H. glaucippehaye appeared within 

 the last two days. — March 23. 



The April Meteors. 



Of the periodical meteor showers I believe that, from an 

 observational point of view, the April Lyrids may be regarded 

 as one of the least interesting. The display frequently disap- 

 points expectation, and even on the night of April 20, «hich 

 usually supplies the maximum, the observer often finds his 

 patience taxed in watching a sky which gives not more than 

 seven or eight meteors per hour from all radiants, and not more 

 than one-thiid of these from the special shower of Lyrids. 

 This is not, however, the invariable experience. Occasionally, 

 as, for example, in 1863 and 1884, the display is a conspicuous 

 one, and rivals other prominent showers, such as the Perseids, 

 Orionids, and Gemmids. 



This year the circumstances were not altogether favourable 

 for observation, the crescented moon being visible on April 19 

 and 20 during the first half of the night, and on April 21 her 

 setting did not take place until Hh. The sky was however 

 clear on April 18, 20, and 21, and the period was a remarkable 

 one on account of its exceptional heat. The maximum shade 

 temperature on four consecutive days was registered here as 

 follow :— April 19, 75', April 20, 77^ April 21, 8l°, April 22, 

 78°. The height attained on April 21 is entitled to be regarded 

 as a rare meteorological event. With an atmosphere so 

 salubrious the work of recording meteors was rendered very 

 pleasant, and reminded the observer of night-watches in July 

 and August rather than with experiences comparatively early 

 in the spring. 



On April 18 I noted 9 shooting stars in the ij hour between 

 lih. 30m. and I3h., and of these 2 or 3 were Lyrids. The 

 shower was so meagre that it was not thought advisable to watch 

 its progicss through the night. 



On April 19 the sky was not sufficiently clear for observations. 



On April 20, between iih. 15m. and I4h. 25m., I looked 

 towards the eastern quarter of the sky and counted 18 meteors, 

 of which 7 were Lyrids with a sharply defined radiant at 

 272^^ 4- 33°. Several meteors were also observed from a contem- 

 porary shower at 2I8°-^33' between e and 7 Bootis. I saw 

 this shower in 1887 from the same point on April 18-25. 



On April 21 the sky was beautifully clear, and I recorded 29 

 meteors during the 4 hours between iih. 20m. and I5h. 25m. 

 There were 8 Lyrids which showed very exact radiation from the 

 point 273°+ 34" and close to the position determined on the 

 preceding night. Several of the Lyrids were fine meteors leaving 

 bright streaks and moving with moderate speed. A minor 

 shower was detected from slow meteors seen on this and the 

 previous night, at 200° -t- 9° between Virgo and Bootes. I do 

 not appear to have noticed this radiant during my observations of 

 the Lyrids in former yejrs. 



On April 22 clouds unfortunately prevailed, and the further 

 progress of the display could not be watched. 



Taking my observations collectively, I saw 56 meteors in 

 watches extending over 8A hours on the nights of April 18, 20, 

 and 21. Of these about 18, or one-third of the whole, belonged 

 to the Lyrid shower. The apparent paths of the brighter 

 meteors recorded were as follow.s ; — 



NO. 1227. VOL. 48I 



Path 



Date G.M.T. Mag. From To Probable 



1893. a & a 6 Radiant. Appearance, 



h. m. 00 00 00 



April 18 ... 1250 ... I ... 254-(-22j ... 238-1-29 ... 274-fio ... Slow. 



B. streak. 

 ,, 20 ... II 25 ... I ... 240-1-491 ... 232-1-54 ... 2i8-H33 ... V. slow. 

 ., 20 ... 11 56 ... IJS ... 289^-53! ... 300-I-52J ... ^oo-^ 9 ... Slow. 

 ,, 2o ... 1239 ... I ... 24i4-26| ... 2314-23 ... 2724-33 ... Not swift, 



streak, 

 ,, 21 ... 12 8 ... li - 27o-t-44 ... 268-l-49i ... 273-I-34 ... V. slow, 



sireak. 



,, 21 ... 1224 ... 9 ... 2364-30 ... 2074-18 ... 273-i-34 ■■• Slow, 



streak. 

 ,, 21 ... 1326 ... >i ... 2924-67 ... 3074-67 ... 2634-61 ... Rather 



swift, Stic. 



The Lyrid seen on April 21 at I2h. 24m. was very brilliant, 

 and it left a long streak between a and 3 coronae and slightly 

 above Arcturus. As the meteor traversed its course of 30 degrees 

 it exhibited three outbursts of light, and the places where these 

 occurred were indicated by bright knots in the streak. 



One of the most important questions in connection with this 

 cometary meteor shower is as to whether the radiant shows a 

 displacement in its position as observed on successive nights. I 

 wrote in Nature for May 7, 1885, to the eff'ect that my obser- 

 vations on April 18, 19, and 20 of the year mentioned proved a 

 rapid shifting to the eastwards, and even greater than that 

 recognised in the radiant of the July and August Perseids. My 

 later resuhs confirm the supposed displacement, but show that 

 it is far less extensive than that based on the figures obtained in 

 1S85. I append a .summary of all my radiants for this shower 

 with the exception of those obtained in the years 1873 and 1874, 

 which were certainly not very accurate owing to my inexperience 

 in the work at that time. In comparing the various positions 

 included in the list, it must be remembered that too much weight 

 should not be given to anyone individually, but that the general 

 result deducible from them all will ensure the most trustw orthy 

 conclusions. The first position in the list, viz. that for April 18, 

 1885, is undoubtedly too far west to be consistent with the others, 

 while that for April 19, 1877, is equally too far north. Froiii the 

 distribution of the radiants in right ascension there is striking 

 evidence of displacement. Further observations will be very 

 valuable, especially if made at the beginning and ending of the 

 shower on say April 16, 17, and 22 and 23. But on these nights 

 it is scarcely visible at all, so that it will be advisable to watch 

 for it during the whole night, and perhaps to amalgamate the 

 results for a .similar date in several years. 



Radiaitts of Lyrids observed at Bristol. 



1885 April 18 260 4-33 



1887 ,, 266 4-33 



1877 April 19 269 4-37 



1884 '„ 269 4-33 



1885 ,, 268 4-33 



1887 „ 269 +31 



1878 April 20 273 4-32 



1879 „ 272 4-33 



1885 2744-33 



1887 ,, 271 4-33 



1893 ,. 272 4-33 



1878 April 21 272 4-32 



1893 .. 273 +34 



1878 April 22 275 4-31 



The consistency of the positions on April 20 sufficiently shows 

 that the radiant is sharply defined and that its place may be 

 determined with considerable precision. 



In looking over the observations I found two trifling clerical 

 errors in my catalogue of radiants printed in the Monthly 

 Notices for May, 1890. Radiant number 102 was seen on 

 April 19, not April 20, 1884, and number 104 on April 21, not 

 April 20, 1878. 



I believe this shower lasts from April 16 to 23. On the 

 former date in 1877 I recorded three of its meteors, and the 

 radiant was indicated at 263° 4- 33°, but not with certainty. 



The very fine meteor of April 15 last, 9h. 52m., seen in many 

 parts of the country, wa's not an early Lyrid, but appears to have be- 



