494 



NATURE 



[June 23, 1910 



broken bottles about, for I was able to pack the jell) 

 in the bottom of one, tie a cover on, and carry it 

 down from the fell. I sent it, with the sod on which it 

 appeared to have grown, to my colleague, Mr. E. A. 

 Newell Arber, with a brief sketch of my story and 

 the reason why I thought it of interest. Mr. Arber 

 reported that it was no nostoc, and said that he had 

 sent it over to Mr. Brookes, in the Botany School, 

 who reported that it was a mass of bacteria. 



That is the end of my story, but I confess I am not 

 satisfied. The jelly seemed to me to grow out from 

 among the roots of the grass, and the part still 

 tangled in the grass was not only translucent bu* 

 quite transparent. 



What is it, and what is the cause of its having 

 a meteoric origin assigned to it? Has anyone ever 

 seen it luminous? 



Should anyone come upon it I should be very 

 giateful if they would send it, and the sod on which 

 it is found, to the Botany School at Cambridge, with 

 a label indicating what the parcel contains, so that 

 it may be attended to before decay has perhaps 

 obscured important features. 



T. McKenny Hughes, 



THE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE OF MAY 9, 

 1910. 



UP to the time of writing (May 28) no account has 

 been received from Mr. F. K. McClean with 

 regard to the erection and adjustments of the various 



two specimens of the work which had to be under- 

 taken. The first (Fig- 2) shows the avenue which had 

 to be made from the camp to the instrument site. The 

 figure standing up is Mr. Young, the bending figure 

 Mr. Dowsett. In Fig. 3 is shown the method adopted 

 for carrying the loaded packing-cases from the water's 

 edge to the site ; the figures from right to left are 

 Messrs. McClean, Young, Brooks, Dowsett, and the 

 last one, on the extreme left, unknown, probably one 

 of the miners who was in the locality, and who 

 assisted the members of the expedition. 



The communication to which reference above has 

 been made was dated April 17, and was dispatched 

 from Port Davey by the steamer Wainui. The con- 

 tents are as follows : — 



" On April 5 Mr. Hughes, of the Union S.S. Co., 

 supplied us with a time-table of the Wainui, and informed 

 us that the steamer would call in when passing in each 

 direction if weather permitted, but at the absolute discre- 

 tion of Captain Livingstone. j|t{jlN 



" News arrived the following dlr'that the 6-inch Cooke 

 O.G. of 30 feet focus would arrive by the Aihenic on 

 April 14, and arrangements were made for its dispatch 

 to Port Davey. 



" A telegram was also received from Mr. J. Short, of 

 Sydney Observatory, in answer to an invitation to set up 

 his instrument alongside of ours, in which he said that he 

 was awaiting Government sanction, and would be glad to 

 join us. 



Finally, on April 9, the Wainui arrived from Melbourne, 

 and all our instruments, tents, timber, ironmongery, food, 

 drink, clothing, and a whale-boat were put on board. 



Fig. I. — The Country about Hixson Point, the site of the Eclipse Camp. 



instruments he took out with him for the solar eclipse. 

 It will be remembered that the observing station he 

 chose was near Port Davey, and he selected a small 

 island, called Hixson Point, for the actual site of the 

 camp. The accompanying illustration (Fig. i) indi- 

 cates the position of this island in relation to the 

 neighbouring country, and is from a photograph taken 

 towards the east from Morning Hill. 



Mr. McClean has, however, sent an intermediate 

 letter, which will, no doubt, be read with considerable 

 interest, describing the first week's operations from 

 the time of the arrival of his entire party by the 

 Wainui on April 7, with their whole kit and instru- 

 ments. This account shows vividly the strenuous life 

 which the party had continually to undergo during the 

 initial stages of their settlement, and in a letter Mr. 

 McClean states that so far " this trip is a triumph of 

 matter over mind, as the latter has not had a look in 

 yet, and never would have if it were not for the 

 muscles of the party." 



The accompanying illustrations, from photographs 

 taken by Mr. H. Winkelmann, will serve best to show 



NO. 2 12 I, VOL\ 83] 



altogether about 140 cases and packages, and we left 

 Hobart at 9 p.m. 



" The following morning we entered Port Davey in a 

 strong south-west wind and a heavy swell, but as soon 

 as we passed the Breaksea Islands the sea became calm, 

 and the landing was effected without trouble. One of the 

 ship's boats took the instruments and cement to the foot 

 of Hixson Point, where they were hauled up the low bluff 

 on planks by block and tackle, and left in a pile covered 

 with a large tarpaulin until they could be carried to the 

 observatory site. Our whale-boat took the camp equip- 

 ment up the cove to where a small stream ran through 

 a clump of bush, and here we set up our tents after the 

 steamer left. The landing was done between 9.30 a.m. 

 and 2.0 p.m. with the help of some of the officers and 

 crew of the Wainui and two miners who were hunting in 

 the neighbourhood. The weather all the time was fine, 

 but rain started in the evening after we had set up three 

 tents, in which we spent the first night. 



" The following day we completed the camp and cut a 

 path some 100 yards long through the bush with the help 

 of the two miners, who later continued it on through the 

 2 -foot scrub to the observatory site. We then set up the 

 instrument tent close to the site, of the observatory, but 



