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♦ KNOW^LEDGE ♦ 



[March 1, 1889. 



Halley, the cost being defrayed by the Royal Society." 

 This is a mistake worth correcting, for it cannot be too 

 widely known that Halley is the benefactor of mankind who 

 not only urged Newton to the writing of the " Principia," 

 but saw" it through the press and paid for its publication. 

 It wa.s not the funds of the Royal Society which were used, 

 though the words on the title-page, .hcssu Sociefafts liegue, 

 have misled many others besides Mr. Cudworth. In the 

 case of books printed at the expense of the Royal Society it 

 was then customary to use the words Jussu et Sumptibus. 

 But the matter is conclusively proved by an entry in the 

 Royal Society minutes for June 2, 1686, where it was 

 ordered '-that E. Halley shall undertake the business of 

 looking after it and printing it at his own charge, which he 

 engaged to do." This fact with respect to the printing of 

 the " Principia " was pointed out some years ago by 

 Professor Grant. A. C. R. 



?'/te Construction of the Wonderful Canon of Logarithms. 

 By John Napier, Bai-on of Merchiston. Translated with 

 Notes and a Catalogue of Napier's Works, by W. Rae 

 Macdonald, F.F.A. (Blackwood <fc Sons, Edinburgh and 

 London. 1889.) — Mr. W. Rae Macdonald has conferred a 

 favour upon the student of mathematical history by pub- 

 lishing a translation of Napier's " Mirifici Logarithmorum 

 Canonis Constructio," th(! work in which the original con- 

 ception and construction of the first table of logarithms 

 are described. The table or " Canon " itself appeared in 

 1614, accompanied by the " Descriptio," or explanation of 

 its use, a translation of which, by Edward Wright, was 

 published in 1616 (after the translatoi-'s death). But 

 Napier's " Constructio," or account of the manner in which 

 the "Canon" was constructed, did not appear until 1619, 

 two years after the author's death, when it was edited 

 by his son Robert Napier. Besides a translation of 

 " Remarks " by Briggs, who, as is well known, devoted 

 himself to the computation of a table of logarithms to the 

 base 10 (the advantage of which was perceived by Napier 

 himself), ]\Ir. Macdonald gives some useful notes, a short 

 biographical introduction, and a list of the various editions 

 of Napier's works, with the names of the principal public 

 libraries in this country, as well as of .some on the Continent, 

 which have copies. 'The " Constructio " is very rare, and 

 the library of the British Museum does not appear to 

 possess a copy. But Mr. Macdonald has overlooked that 

 there is a copy in the library of the Royal Astronomical 

 Society. 



Planetary and Stellar Studies. By Johm Ellard Gore, 

 E.R.A.S., M.R.I.A. (Roper & Drowley. 18S8.)— This is 

 really a charming little book, most beautifully got up, and, 

 as might be expected from an astronomer of Mr. Gore's 

 standing, all the information has been brought forward to 

 date, while many of the papers are new or have been re- 

 written. The illustrations are especially good. There is 

 much information here which could not be obtained else- 

 where without ransacking scores of volumes. A sentence 

 about " Neith," on page 31, reads rather like the riddle of 

 the Sphinx ; and we think that a reference to the " Histoire 

 Celeste," or the seventh volume of the " Bonner Beobach- 

 tungen," might clear up some of the discrepancies in Lalande's 

 magnitudes referred to in the chapter entitled " Some sus- 

 pected variables of the Algol Type." But these are very 

 minor matters. 



Astronomy for Amateurs, edited by John Westwood 

 Oliver. (Longmans, Green & Co. 1888). — This very in- 

 teresting little volume consists of a series of papers, con- 

 tributed by many well-known amateur and professional 

 astronomers, which have been passed through the press by 

 Mr. Oliver. A good deal of the work is not exactly new 



(the chapter on " Double Stars," or at least the greater 

 portion of it, appeared in the J<Jn;/lish Mechanic some time 

 before it was reprinted in the Sidereal Messenger), but the 

 work, as a whole, is well done. We should specially single 

 out for commendation Mr. Elger's article on " The Moon " ; 

 Mr. Denning's on " Comet Seeking " ; Mr. Barnham's 

 {facile princeps he of living double-star discoverers and 

 observers), with Mr. Gore's additions ; and Mr. Backhouse's 

 on " The Zodiacal Light." The last five lines of page 1 28 

 read rather curiously, and is Mr. Denning certain that 

 " the next good opportunity for studying the ring-system 

 will occur in 1907 "? H. Sadler. 



A Manual of Cursive Shorthand. By Hugh L. Cal- 

 LENDAR, B.A., Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. 

 (London : C. J. Clay & Sons. 1889.) — As the result of a 

 practical acquaintance with the Pitman method of short- 

 liand, and a series of experiments with an electric chrono- 

 graph, to determine the relative time occupied in making 

 certain shorthand signs, Mr. Callendar has declared .against 

 the geometrical school of shorthand, and has produced a 

 system on the cursive plan, in which he embodies joined 

 vowels and alternative devices for indicating vowel-places, 

 three principles which are rapidly gaining favour in short- 

 hand circles. A system constructed on such a plan is 

 bound to be facile and legible. Mr. Callendar 's forms are 

 pretty to the eye, but his devices appear too numerous to 

 enable us to grasp the system rapidly. A student, however, 

 would not perhaps find any difficulty in quickly learning it. 

 To those already practising other systems this little book 

 will be interesting and of much value on account of the 

 scientific and effective manner in which the author has 

 dissected the Pitman geometrical method, and exposed its 

 weak points. His arguments appear unanswerable. 



Tables, Memoranda, and Calculated Results for Farmers, 

 Surveyors, Land Agents, d-c. (Crosby Lockwood <fe Son, 

 1889.) — Those who are interested in the management and 

 cultivation of land will welcome this handy little volume, 

 which is literally small enough for the waLstcoat pocket. 

 It contains practical directions for measuring land and 

 timber, for the construction of farm buildings, with concise 

 information as to manures, cropping, feeding, and dairy 

 management, which is given in very clear language, and 

 brings together the i-esults of the most recent experiments, 

 so as to be easilj' referred to. We are pleased to find a very 

 intelligible system of farm accounts, which will be welcome 

 to many farmers of the new order of things, who have not 

 the same horror of putting pen to paper as some of their 

 predecessors. The tables of weights and measures are very 

 full, and illustrate how terribly complicated and diverse are 

 our ways of doing business. There are no less than nine 

 different acres given. This leads us to remark the omission 

 of the metric system, which must sooner or later come into 

 more extensive use in this country. 



Science is nothing more nor less than the refinement of 

 common sense, making use of facts already known to 

 acquire new facts. — Sir H. Davy. 



In the Berlin Botaniail Gardens the rare plants are 

 photographed at the time of flowering, and prints are sent 

 to the other botanical gardens of the empire. — Invention. 



The foreign population of Paris is extraordinarily mixed 

 in character. Recently foreigners were required to report 

 themselves between October and January, and it appears 

 {Revue Scientifique) that 170,262 persons of both sexes were 

 then registered as living in the department of the Seine. 



