368 



NATURE 



[August i8, 1892 



scheme as an improvement upon the present organization as far 

 as the recording of zoological literature is concerned. Perhaps 

 in the far distant future a record of geology and botany might 

 further be incorporated in the above scheme, to make an 

 "International Record of the Progress of Biological Science." 

 It is scarcely to be hoped, however, that we are within a 

 measurable distance of such a convenience. Would it not be a 

 reasonable thing that the Royal Society of London should 

 initiate such a progress in the recording of scientific literature as 

 that here advocated ? 



E. A. MiNCHIN. 

 University Museum, Oxford, August 2. 



Pilchards and Blue Sharks. 



You may like to know that the pilchards in coming in 

 on the Cornish coasts this season are followed by great quanti- 

 ties of blue sharks {Squalus glauctcs) from four to nine feet in 

 length. 



Just now they are hanging about four or five miles from land, 

 and evidently are disturbing tne pilchards in their feeding very 

 much, as they are not scattering and playing on the surface of the 

 sea in the evening twilight as they usually do, but are keeping 

 in closely-packed schools throughout the night; hence our 

 fishermen are having a very uncertain time of it as the con- 

 sequence, some boats having rather heavy catches, and others 

 only a few hundred of fish. And all are complaining of the 

 damage done to the nets by the sharp teeth of these monsters, 

 as in attacking the pilchards in the fishermen's nets, there is no 

 hesitancy on the part of the sharks, for the net is bitten through 

 and carried off with the pilchards. Last Friday morning the 

 fishing-boat Wave landed seven of these sharks, and the master 

 said, had he desired it, he could have caught a dozen; or 



Matthias Dunn. 



Mevagissey, Cornwall, August i6. 



Aurora Borealis. 



Standing by the Hampstead Heath flagstaff last Friday 

 evening (l2th), a few minutes before ten, I witnessed a feeble 

 but characteristic display of the Aurora Borealis. Looking to 

 the north-west, and midway between Ursa Major and the 

 horizon, was a speck of pale bluish-green luminousness. While 

 wondering as to the cause, a flickering shaft of crimson-tinted 

 light shot upward in the direction of the " Pointers." This was 

 followed by other streamers and "glows," sometimes white, 

 sometimes slightly coloured. Occasionally patches of hazy light 

 would be formed, through which the stars could be seen, and 

 once a number of horizontal bands or waves passed upward from 

 the horizon in quick succession, travelling almost to the star G 

 in Ursa Major before they faded away. At 10.20 p.m., when I 

 left the spot, the streamers had apparently ceased, but the sky 

 was still luminous. Throughout the display was very faint and 

 the colours very weak — mere tints. 



A. Butcher. 



On Friday evening, August 12th, between the hours of nine 

 and ten p.m., there was visible here a magnificent display of 

 the aurora borealis. The streamers were very bright at times, 

 and those on each extreme were more or less reddish. I think 

 it worth recording because of the unusual time of year for such 

 a display. It was doubtless seen over a wide region, and the 

 telegraph system may have had some experience of earth 

 currents. 



Edmund McClure. 



Mundesley, Norfolk, August 13. 



An active aurora of great brilliancy was visible here on Friday 

 night from nine till ten p.m. The whole realm of the sky from 

 north-west to north-east and from horizon to zenith was filled with 

 a vaporous and highly luminous mass with streamers and rays, 



NO. 1 1 90, VOL. 46] 



the light sufficing for reading moderately large type. The 

 streamers and rays were projected from the upper edge of an 

 arch of dark-coloured vapours resting on the northern horizon. 

 The sky space occupied by the points of the streamers covered 

 the constellation Ursa Major on the west, Cassiopeaon the east, 

 and the intermediate region. Among the brilliant sheaf of white 

 streamers an occasional dark-coloured ray shot upwards from 

 the generating arch, 



J, Lloyd Bozward. 

 Worcester, August 13. 



Aurora Australis, 



A FRIEND (Mr. Hamilton S. Dove) who has resided for 

 several years in Tasmania having sent me a full account 

 of an unusually splendid aurora recently observed by him, 

 but which met with little notice even locally, I enclose a 

 condensed description of it, thinking it worthy of record in your 

 columns. In previous occurrences of Southern Aurora he had 

 observed " only a greenish yellow light, and was very much 

 surprised at the grand fiery-red cloud-like patches, which 

 formed so striking a feature in this phenomenon." 



William White. 



The Ruskin Museum, Sheffield. 



" On the night of Wednesday, May i8th, 1892, a grand dis- 

 play of aurora was witnessed by us in the Calder district, near 

 the township of Wynyard, Table Cape, North-west Tasmania. 

 The sun had set at about ten minutes to five, and the night was 

 very clear and cold — no clouds were to be seen — with a keen frosty 

 wind blowing from the south-west. Shortly after seven o'clock 

 a bright light was visible above the southern horizon, somewhat 

 similar to the light preceding sunrise. Then two broad zones of 

 greenish light appeared, extending from the south-east to the 

 south-west, in the form of a depressed arch, one zone being 

 a short distance above the other, like the bands of a rainbow. 

 At times parts of these bands faded, whilst other parts became 

 brighter. Presently some patches of a dark-red colour, as of 

 illuminated sunset clouds, began to appear above the zones of 

 greenish light, spreading along, but with intervals between, 

 the whole expanse of the zones — one specially large and deep 

 red patch being conspicuous in the extreme south-west. These 

 patches glowed and faded alternately in the same manner as the 

 zones of greenish light. 



" After continuing for the space of about half an hour the 

 coloured lights gradually faded, leaving the strong whitish light 

 which appeared at first. Towards nine o'clock, however, a 

 further manifestation occurred, beginning with a brilliant red 

 light in the south- east, and extending from the horizon to a 

 considerable distance upward, resembling the glow from a huge 

 fire. This also paled and brightened, till presently the two 

 broad zones of greenish light again appeared, this time, how- 

 ever, confined chiefly to the south and south-east heavens, very 

 little reaching south-west. After this reappearance of the zones 

 some broad white stripes commenced to radiate from the horizon, 

 crossing the zones more than half the way upwards to the 

 zenith. The stripes began to appear near the red glow in the 

 south-east, and several others occurred south-east by south, only 

 two rather faint ones being to the west of south. 



"Almost directly one of the white stripes appeared one of the 

 red cloud-like patches came to the east of it, and gradually 

 extended towards it, so that the sky above the zones of greenish- 

 yellow light was eventually covered with red glowing patches 

 and pale vertical stripes, which similarly paled and brightened. 



" The later appearances, like the first, lasted for about half 

 an hour and then disappeared, the moon rising soon afterwards. 



"H. S. Dove, 

 "G. W. Easton." 



Units Discussion at British Association. 



Referring to the preliminary memorandum printed in your 

 issue of August 4th, page 334, I wish to correct a slip in the 

 statement about the fall between two surfaces joined by a 

 "weber." I ought to have added, " if their area is one square 

 centimetre." Enlargement of the area to a metre would 

 diminish the pull to 40 tons. Also I may observe that at the 

 meeting I did not press all the proposed resolutions, but with- 

 drew Nos. 4, 5, 6, and 8. 



Oliver J. Lodge. , 



