KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



[Oct. 2, 188&. 



TliegeolcvI.Ml -;.■■. MM (Mirrs ,f (!,.-■ rvmt ,aioe dvUr- 

 mincd, and ii"i '' ■ i> ■ i li if i li.- |.:ihr.inl .il."_;i,-;i! ilii a 



agCof tliaf"".!.!. ., . U , , l.. I. Inluvr,! I l,:,t II ,l,Ust b.-nf 



remote .11111(11111 \, c.iisiili nn- ilir circuin^siiinec-s which 

 the mentioin'il rncl^s |ii-. m-iI , ;is will us tlio geological 

 phcnomemi «hirh h:iyr i\,. v.- I ;,krn ] 1;mv ami ..f which no 

 notice is given in tli,' lii, i-L-lvi^hlcs m- hMditious of the 

 ancient Mexicans. 



This consideration alone is enough to believe that the 

 man of the PefKui is pre-historic. The odontological 

 characteristics indicate that this man belonged to an 

 unmixed race, the teeth being set with regularity and 

 corresponding perfectly the upper with the lower. They 

 eculiarity besides, that the canine teeth are 

 mt have Ihe sam ^ ., ■ • 



sent the 

 not conical, 

 peculiarity 



othe 



^eth found 



of tlir 



The 



I si. a 



sof the limbs are those 

 ry stature, and from the 

 must have been about 



between this hill and (In- 'I'l [ r 



The excavations continue a 



Pefion, with the object of qu;. 



.i.ppearance of the. teeth t 

 f jrty years old. 



The greater part of the cranium liaving been destroyed, 

 it was not po.ssible to (htci-iniiu' its iliaiiutii's and thus 

 classify it. The strati-iMpliiral a,nii lil Imln^iral rliarac- 

 teristics of the groimd sconi to indicatr that the furiaa- 

 tion belongs to the ujiper Cjuaternary, or at least to the 

 base of the present geological age. 



It may as well be remarked that at the foot of the 

 steep slope of the Tcpeyac hill, near the place where the 

 calcareous si'dinnnts arc tw be si eu among the rocks of 

 the hill, as was ] n■vinlI^ly nn ni iiiud, .some excavations 

 were made, and ri-..fissMr |),,n Anl^nio del Castillo found 

 various bones of Qualcriiaiv anlnials enveloped in a cal- 

 careous rock similar to iliat. .f tlic I'enon. The distance 

 nearly three miles. 

 foot of the hill del 

 g building stone, and 

 this will allow in the course of time some other data to 

 be discovered which will clearly mark the geological age 

 of the event ; a tooth of a mastodon or an object of the 

 present age would at once bo the landmark assigning it a 

 tixed page in the history of the earth. The authenticity 

 of the fossil is not only determined by the report of 

 Seflor ObregQn and the identity of the rock which con- 

 tains the remains with the blocks that are being at present 

 quarried at the foot of the hill, but I, mj'self, have 

 determined this authenticity, having found part of the 

 human remains still imbedded in tlic ground rock. 



I will conclude by mentioning other facts that indicate 

 the antiquity of man in the valley of Mexico. Twelve 

 years ago, in executing some works for the drainage of 

 the valley, in the direction of Tequisquiac, numerous 

 deposits were discovered belonging to Quaternary animals, 

 such as elephants, mastodons, glyptodons, &c., and among 

 one of these deposits a fossil bone was found carved by 

 human hand and imitating an animal's head. Unfortu- 

 nately no care was taken to determine if it was found 

 simultaneously with the bones of the Quaternary animals. 

 The appearance of the carved bone, and of the cuts and 

 incisions which it has, denote a remarkable antiquity, and 

 it has characteristics of fossilisation. Two years ago I 

 discovered some remains of ancient ceramics in the 

 pumice tufa which is under the basaltic lava formation 

 found in the south-eastera part of the valley of Mexico ; 

 the lava occupies a large area, and in some points its 

 thickness is over two metres. No tradition makes any 

 mention of this volcanic cataclysm before the existence of 

 man in the valley of Mexico. 



new tliat ; 

 pological 

 have. 



■e, at jircsent, all the data I can give relative 

 iKI I'.non. On my return to Mexico I will 

 iiha fun lu-r investigation of the ground where 

 •ry was made, and will communicate anything 

 lay be found, in order to determine the anthro- 

 mportance which these hum 



FIRST STAR LESSONS. 



Br R.:cuARD A. Pkoctor. 



1'^HE constellations included in the twenty-four maps 

 of this series are numbered throughout as foUowa 

 (the names being omitted on the maps, to clear these aa 

 fai as possible from all that might render the star- 

 groniiing less distinct) : — 



22. Cancer, the Crab (th» 

 cluster is the Beehive). 



23. Leo, the Lion (a, Regulua). 



24. Virgo, the Virgin (o, Spica). 



25. Libra, the Scales. 



26. OphiucMis, the Serpent 

 Holder. 



27. Aquila, the Eagle {a,Altair}. 



28. Delphinun, the Dolphin. 



29. Aquariu!!,the Water Carrier, 



30. Pisces, tlie Fishes. 



31. Cetus, the Sea Monster (o, 

 Mira, remarkable va- 

 riable). 



82. Eridan-us, the Rtcer. 

 33. Orion, the Giant Hunter 

 (o, Betelgeux; l3, Rigeiy. 

 -■ " -■ r, the Lesser Vog- 



. Vrsa Minor, the Little Bear 



(a, the Pole Star). 

 . Draco, the Dragon (a, 



Thuba,i) 

 . Cephevs, King Cepheus. 

 !. Cassiopeia, the Lady in the 



Chair. 

 : Perseus, the Champion (ji, 



Algol, famous variable). 

 1. Auri'ia, the Charioteer (a, 



C'apella) 

 ' " " ■ the Greater 



Bear (a, ft, the Fointe 

 \. Canes Venatici, the Hunting 



Dogs (a. Cor Caroli). 

 1. Coma Berenices, Queen 



I. Bootes, the Herdsman (a, 



. Corona Borealis, the Nor- 

 thern Crown. 



t. Serpens, the Serpent. 



!. Hercules, the Kneeler. 



!. Lyra, the Lyre {a, Vega). 



I. Cygnus, the Sivan (a, 

 Arided; l3,Albires). 



i. Pegasus, the Winged Horse. 



. Andromeda, the Chained 

 Lady. 



1. Triangula, the Triangles. 



>. Aries, the Ram. 



I. Taurus, the Bull (a. Aide- 

 biiran ; t), Alcyone, chief 

 Pleiad). 



. Gemini, the Twira (a, 

 Castor ; /3, Pollux). 



(a, Procyon). 

 i. Hydra, the Sea, Serpent (a, 



Alphard). 

 1. Crater, the Cup (a, Alkes). 

 '. Corvus, the Crow. 

 1. Scorpio, the Scorpion (a, 



Antares). 

 I. SagittariTis, the Archer. 

 I. Capricornus, the Sea Goat. 

 .. Piscis Australis, the Sow- 



them fish (a, Fomai- 



haut). 

 . Lepus, the Hare. 

 ;. Columba, the Dove. 

 ,. Canis Major, the Greater 



Dog (a. Sinus). 

 i. Argo, the Ship. 



The Satellite of Neptune. — From similar observa- 

 tions of Neptune's satellite Prof. Hall obtains for Neptuna 



1 



-19092+64 



computing the mean distance of the satellite at 16"'2699i. 



N =184°-314±0°-1233 



I =120-052±01019 



Period =5-876839 mean solar days. 



Newcomb's value =5-8769 so that the correction is 



very slight. Prof. Hall found the satellite an easy objpect 



with the great refractor (26 inches in aperture) whea 



more than 10" from Neptune. He looked in vain, during 



1881-1884 for any other satellite. 



The Satellites of Uranis. — From a careful dis- 

 of the movements of Oberon and Titania, the sa- 



