July 1, 1899.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



159 



jaottccs of Booltg. 



Corona and Coronet. By JIabel Loomis Todd. (Houghton, 

 Mifflin & Co : Boston and New York.) Mrs. Mabel Loomis 

 Todd has written a very charming account of the Amherst 

 Eclipse Expedition, which went to Japan in I'^OtJ, to observe 

 the total eclipse of the sun on the 9th of August. Mrs. Todd 

 and her husband. Prof. David P. Todd, were the guests of Mr. 

 James, who kindly placed his schooner yacht " Coronet," at the 

 disposal of the observers in search of the " Corona,'' hence the 

 title of the book. The author describes in an easy, conversa- 

 tional style, the jireparations that were made to capture the 

 fleeting light of the corona, and despite the fact that a faint 

 mist intervened at the critical moment, yet her description of 

 the veiled coronal light is a picture-poem in itself. To those 

 interested in the coming total eclipse of the sun, in 1901), the 

 book affords some idea of the preparations necessary in order to 

 observe a total eclipse of the sun, and the trials that await those 

 who propose to follow " in pursuit of a shadow.'' Tliis unscientific 

 account of a scientific expedition is treated in a masterly way by 

 the bright, sympathetic author, who knows so well how to describe 

 the picturesque scenes and people, and the many delightful 

 experiences occurring during this eventful cruise. She weaves 

 the charm of romance around actual facts, and a keen sense of 

 humour adds gre.atly to the interest of the book. Mrs. Todd 

 knows not only how to tell a story, but how to tell it well. 



(Ja Buds and Stipules. By the Right Hon, Sir John Lubbock, 

 Bart., M.P., F.R.S., etc. (London : Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner 

 & Co., Limited.) 5s. This new volume belongs to the deservedly 

 popular International Scientific Series. That it is from the pen 

 of Sir John Lubbock is evidence enough of its interest, even for 

 the general reader. Vaucher long ago called attention to the 

 fact that some species of rock rose have stipules while others 

 have none, and suggested that it would be interesting to ascertain 

 the reason for this difference. Sir John Lubbock has devoted 

 himself to the question, and has been contributing his conclusions 

 to the Linnean Society since 1890. In the present volume a 

 selection of parts of the papers likely to be of general interest 

 has been made. Every reader knows what a bud is, and the 

 meaning of stipule is thus clearly defined by tlie author : 

 " Stipules are normally more or less leaf-like structures at the 

 base of, or just below, and one on each side of, the leaf -stalk. 

 They are very variable in size and appearance " (p. 224). 

 Among the conclusions arrived at may be mentioned that the 

 general functions of stipules is to protect the younger leaves ; 

 their presence or absence depends in great measure on the need 

 for such protection. Speaking generally, where the leaf-stalk 

 is broad and covers the bud there are no stipules, and where it 

 is too narrow to protect the bud stipules are present. But 

 though the protection of the bud is the chief business of the 

 stipule, it often performs other useful work. Sometimes it 

 behaves like a leaf ; often it forms hooks or tendrils ; in other 

 cases it secretes gum, or a sweet substance which attracts wasps ; 

 while in some plants it holds water — acts as a reserve of nourish- 

 ment for the plant — or even makes a support for the stem. The 

 book is lavishly illustrated at the rate of three good pictures to 

 every two pages, and in addition to this there are four coloured 

 plates. We cordially recommend the volume to "everj'one who 

 loves a garden,'' to use the words with which Sir John Lubbock 

 commences. It is simply written in the author's well-known 

 style, and many of the observations can be repeated by any 

 intelligent reader. 



Annals of the Loii:eU Ohservatoiy. — Vol. I. Observations of 

 the Planet Mars during the Ojtjiositiou of 1894-5, made at 

 Flar/staf', Arizona. By Percival Lowell, Director of the 

 Observatory. (Boston and New York : Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 

 1898.) Some six or seven years ago, M. Flammarion brought out 

 an admirable monogra])h on the planet Mars, embodj-iug the 

 principal results of all the physical observations made upon the 

 planet up to that date. Now we have in the first volume of 

 the " Annals of the Lowell Oliservator)'," a book of nearly 

 four hundred quarto pages, and illustrated by twenty-one fine 

 plates — nearly as large a book, that is to say, as Flammariou's 

 monogra]ih — as the result of the work of a single observatory 

 during a single opposition. This in itself is a very remarkable 

 achievement. It is the result of an adherence to the principle 

 which SchiaparelU was the first to thoroughly exemplify ; the 

 l)rinciple of studying the planet, not just for a few weeks at 

 opposition, but as continuously and as long as it was possible to 



do so with any good effect. To this principle Mr. Lowell added 

 another. Before beginning liis observations he made a most care- 

 ful search for the most favourable site in which to erect his obser- 

 vatory. SchiaparelU, by his detailed and continuous observations 

 in the fine climate with which he was favoured, revolutionized 

 our ideas of the appearance of Mars, and carried its observation 

 into quite a new sphere. In the main, his results have received 

 ample confirmation. Mr. Lowell has carried areography into 

 a higher sphere still. At present his results rest simply on 

 his own observation and those of his two assistants, Mr. W. H. 

 Pickering and Mr. Douglass. It would be unscientific, and 

 eminently unjust, to reject his work because as yet it transcends 

 the experience of less favoured, or less persevering observers. 

 It would certainly be rash to accept them blindly until they 

 have received support from entirely independent sources. In 

 any case, Mr. Lowell's energy and perseverance, the thorough- 

 ness of his devotion to the study of this most interesting planet, 

 and the lavishness with which he has devoted both money and 

 jjersonal effort, deserve the highest recognition and praise. 

 The volume gives the observations made of the planet in 

 great detail. An exceedingly minute survey of the South Polar 

 cap affords incidentally a means for demonstrating in an 

 ingenious manner the presence on Mars of air, water, and a 

 temperature not incomparable with that of the earth. After 

 some valuable determinations of a number of fundamental 

 longitudes, follow measures of the diameters of the planet, 

 giving a polar flattening of jjn, and, more remarkable still, a 

 determination of the twilight arc of ten degrees as against 

 eighteen degrees on the earth. The question of the seasonal changes 

 on Mars is then worked out in great detail, but the bulk of the 

 book is taken up with the study of " canals " and " oases." 

 Mr. Lowell concludes that there is little water on Mars ; that 

 it is locked up in the South Polar snows during the southern 

 winter, and that when liberated by the return of spring, it is 

 led off by artificial 'canals, and distributed over the surface of 

 the planet. The fine lines which we call " canals '' are not these 

 waterways themselves, but the zones of vegetation which spring 

 up along" their banks. An elaborate discussion of irregularities 

 on the terminator occupies over eighty pages, the projections 

 being ascribed to Martian clouds. These conclusions may or 

 may not be verified in the future, but one result will certainly 

 follow. It will no longer be considered sufficient for a great 

 observatory to make ten or a dozen drawings of Mars at 

 opposition as its contribution to our knowledge of the planet. 

 Other observatories must give the same earnestness and energy 

 to this study as has been done at Flagstaff, or they must leave 

 it alone altogether. 



Old Clocks and Watches and their Makers. By F. J. Britten. 

 (Batsford.) Illustrated. 10s. net. Mr. Britten, already known 

 as the author of several books, and as secretary of the Horo- 

 logical Institute, has here presented us with an account of the 

 history of clocks and watches, their mechanism and ornamenta- 

 tion, to which is appended a list of about eight thousand old 

 makers with descriptive notes. There are some four hundred 

 illustrations, many of which have been reproduced from photo- 

 graphs of choice and curious exam]>les of clocks and watches of 

 the past, in England and abroad, including the finely-ornamented 

 bracket clocks of the seventeenth century with their ingenious 

 mechanism, and the tall and elegant cases of the eighteenth 

 century ; also a judicious selection of portraits of the most 

 renowned masters of the clockmaker's art. Technical terms, 

 so exasperating to people uninitiated into the mysteries of 

 horological phraseology, are subordinated to the utmost, and 

 are only allowed to show themselves when popular language is 

 utterly inadequate to present an exact exposition of the subject 

 in hand. One is, at first, puzzled as to how the author has been 

 able to bring together such a vast collection of rare specimens 

 of timekeepers, on which artists have lavished their resources 

 in variety of design, and inventors their skill in all sorts of 

 ingenious contrivances for self-winding, perpetual motion clocks, 

 mj-stery clocks, rolling clocks, and so on, but the author, in 

 addition to availing himself of the collections at South 

 Kensington and the British Museum, has had access to many 

 private collections, and has also elicited particulars not to be 

 met with in ordinary channels, by consulting old tradesmen's 

 cards, the Hon. Gerald Ponsoaby, among others, having brought 

 together a magnificent show of this kind. A very useful sum- 

 mary, in tabular form, of incidents connected with the develop- 

 ment of clocks and watches is given, ranging from the invention 



