282 



KNOWLEDGE. 



[December, 1902. 



thu calculutioiis of eclipses, and many tables of the elements of 

 the solar system, of comets, of the motions siikI paralkxes of 

 slurs, and of variable and double stars. The index itself is not 

 such as other indexes are, but following the name of each 

 astronomer is the date of his birth if known, and if unknown, 

 a note of interroj^ation. The date of death is also given, if 

 this has taken place, and if otherwise a long dash acts as a sort 

 of ttieineiitti iimri. The text-book is one that will prove of 

 eminent practical value to the working astronomer. We would, 

 therefore, like to see incorporated in its next edition yet more 

 fcibles and formulic, such as the astronomer is always needing, 

 and for whicli he caii very rarely trust his unaided menioi'3'. 

 The formulic for the solution of spherical triangles would \)Tovo 

 most useful, and it might not be imjiossible to devote a few 

 ])ages to a set of four -figure logarithms, an addition which would 

 make the book a most com])lete one. Prof. Young gives an 

 interesting and serious explanation of the fact that when high 

 in the sky " the moon appears about a foot in diameter." lie 

 attributes it to " the physiological fact that our muscular sense 

 enables us to judge moderate distances pretty fairly up to 80 or 

 100 feet, through the " binocuLar parallax " or convergence of 

 the ej-es upon the object looked at. Beyond that distance the 

 convergence is too slight to be perceived. " It would seem tliat 

 we instinctively estimate the moon's distance as small as our 

 sense will permit when there are no intervening objects which 

 compel our judgment to put her further off." There are one or 

 two minor errors. Thus on p. 41, the 3-ft. reflector presented 

 to the Lick Observatory by Mr. Crossley was made by Mr. 

 Calver, not by Mr. Common, as Prof. Young says, Mr. Common 

 bought it from Mr. Calver and sold it to Mr. Crossley. And 

 on p. 54, the almucantar is used in England in the University 

 Observatory of Durham, not of Cambridge. 



" Explanations of Terms and Phrases in Enulish 

 History." By W. T. S. Hewett. (Elliot Stock.) This is a 

 very useful companion to the general reader in English history, 

 and the plan of the book is capable of considerable extension. 

 Some of the definitions are loose and inadequate, but we hope 

 the compiler may be encouraged to return to the subject, when 

 ■we would suggest the insertion of authoritative definitions 

 wherever that is possible. 



The Ir/s!i Ndltiralisl for November is devoted to a si)ecial 

 report of the British Association meeting at Belfast. A general 

 account of the meeting, and of the papers read and excursions 

 made, is given, but the valuable part of the report consists of 

 the abstracts of papers dealing specially with Ii'ish natural 

 history, read in the sections devoted to geology, zoology, 

 geography, and botany. Irish naturalists, and all interested in 

 the natural history of la-eland, should procure a copy of this 

 issue of our contemporary. 



Messrs. F. E. Becker & Co., of Hatton Wall, have sent us an 

 elaborate catalogue of balances, scales and weights, containing 

 more than one hundred pages of illustrated descriptions of all 

 kinds of balances and weights used in scientific work. The 

 educational value of practice in the exact use of accurate balances 

 is great, and the introduction of this work into the schools may 

 be induced by the production of such instruments for the use 

 of students at reasonable prices. We would recommend all 

 those who are interested to obtain a copy of this catalogue. 



We have received from Messrs. Isenthal & Co. a copy of the 

 Catalogue of Max Kohl, of Chemnitz, for whom they are sole 

 agents in the United Kingdom and its Colonies. This 

 remarkable catalogue covers probably all instruments required 

 in the various branches of physics, as well as apparatus for 

 chemistry. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



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Chronographical Table for Tobacco. Dr. Prof. O. Comes. 

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The Riddle of the Universe. By Ernst Hacckel. (AVatts.) 



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THE BACKBONE OF LEINSTER. 



By Grenville A. J. Cole, m.k.i.a., f.g.s. 

 The Backbone of Leinstcr has been previously referred 

 to* as a typical Irish representative of the great Caledonian 

 folds, which run north-east and south-west aci'oss so many 

 mountainous regions in our islands. It is the most con- 

 tinuous featui-e of eastern Ireland, and its rounded 

 summits, clad with heather, and from 2000 to 3000 feet 

 above the sea, rise from a moorland seventy miles in 

 length. 



As I write in my study on the little ridge of Tulla, 

 Tulach-na-nespuc, the meeting-place of Irish and of Dane, 

 I look across the rough hedgerows and the valley, to where 

 the gorse flares on the first slopes of Carrick mines. The 

 granite crops out in bare knobs among the bushes, and 

 forms, with its smooth natural slabs, a paving for the 

 paths across the hills. On the left rises the grey quavtzite 

 cone of CarrickgoUogan, and from this point the ground 

 falls to the wooded demesnes along the sea. On the 

 borderland, a square grey tower stands suggestively, a 

 castle of the English Pale, set between the cultivated 

 lowland and the moor. 



On the right of this broad landscape, the great dome- 

 like mountains rise, one beyond another, the first promise 

 of the wilds of Leinster. We can see the bare granite 

 again on the slopes above Glencullen ; and after that it is 

 almost all granite, away south-west through Carlow, and 

 down to the heart of Waterford. The highest point visible 

 in the distance is Dolice Mountain— pronounced Djowse — 

 2384 feet above the sea. Long after the foothills have 

 become green in springtide, Douce may gleam white in the 

 morning sunlight, and tell us that fresh snow has fallen 

 all along the range. 



• "The Structui-e of Ireland," Ksowlkboe, Vol. XXI. (1898), p. 76, 



