September 1, 1899.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



218 



growing up, the new edition would in all probability be 

 a distinct improvement. And when the infant arrives 

 at the hobbledehoy stage, who is going to protect us 

 from his antics ? Might it not be wise, for the sake of 

 the community, to legalize infanticide in this particular 

 instance ? Already the brat is said to be spoiling the 

 appearance of entire districts, and this because he is 

 past the crying stage. We must protect ourselves. 



Perhaps the most striking fact that can with justice 

 be introduced as absolutely electrical is that now "opaque" 

 bodies can be seen through. In this respect, if no other, 

 the child has distanced all the elder members of the 

 family. But why dwell upon this '? Our police force must 

 be regarded (like Mr. Meagles' family) as being constituted 

 of " practical people," and they would be amongst the 

 very first to assert that it was quite impossible for them to 

 work if the wires all remained cut. 



Endeavouring now to sum the matter up in a more 

 becoming spirit, this much may be asserted, absolutely 

 without fear of contradiction — if suddenly we were to be 

 deprived of everything electrical, our lives would at once 

 undergo a complete change, and this change would, 

 upon the whole, be very much for the worse. Again, and 

 with all possible deference, referring to Democritus, we 

 may glance at a fact which no one hoping to preserve 

 their own reputation for sanity dare dispute ; water power 

 where available may be converted into electrical energy, 

 which in its turn may be made use of for the production 

 of light, and the energy dissipated, or allowed to undergo 

 a form of change useless to man, need not be much more 

 than ten per cent, of the amount which must still be con- 

 sidered as having been available. In conclusion, since I 

 am doing my utmost to represent facts quite literaOy in 

 the latter part of this paper, let me ask for a statement of 

 fact from all who care to give the matter their serious 

 consideration. In what way, other than electrically, can 

 man manipulate any natural force, and, making it sub- 

 servient to his wUl, show such an efficiency as this ? 

 Finally, the subject in hand is difficult to leave, there is 

 so much that clamours for mention, and it would be 

 absurd to pretend that anything but an arbitrary selection 

 had been made here. 



NOTES ON COMETS AND METEORS. 



By W. F. Denning, f.r.a.s. 



Swift's Comet (1899a). — This object will be situated, in 

 September, near the Equator in the extreme north-east part of 

 Virgo, but will be exceedingly faint, the computed brightness 

 being only 0-006— . 



Tempel's Comet (1873 II.). — This comet is now invisible 

 to European observers, though it may still be seen from places 

 in the southern hemisphere. It was well seen at Bristol on 

 July ITith and 29th, when it was a fairly conspicuous object in 

 a ten-inch reflector with powers of forty and sixty. The nucleus 

 was placed on the S.S.E. side of the nebulosity, so that it pre- 

 ceded in the direction of motion. 



Holmes's Comet (1892 III.) is now well situated, but is 

 scarcely an object for ordinary telescopes. When re-discovered 

 by Perrine on June 11th, it was estimated to be uo brighter 

 than the l(5th magnitude, and since the date alluded to there 

 has been little increase in its apparent brightness. Its light is 

 far more feeble than that computed from its observed appear- 

 ance in 1892, and Prof. Barnard's idea that the comet owed its 

 origin to some "celestial accident" and would not be seen again 

 has been partially confirmed. Quite possibly its conspicuous 

 and sudden apparition in 1892 was really due to a catastrophe, 

 which imparted a temporary lustre to the object, so it is highly 

 probable that after this return it will have to be relegated to 

 the list of "lost comets." The following is an ephemeris by 

 Zwiers for several days in September : — 



On September 2nd the comet will be about half a degree east 

 of the variable star /3 Persei, but the lustre of the star will 

 probably obliterate the feeble light of the comet. 



The August Meteors (Perseids). — The weather was very 

 clear at about the time of the maximum, and a large number of 

 observations have been made. The shower was not unusually 

 rich, nor were the individual meteors of special brilliancy, but 

 the display was fairly conspicuous, and none of those who 

 witnessed it will have cause to complain of scanty results. 

 From the reports ah'eady to hand it appears that both August 

 loth and 11th furnished many meteors (about forty per hour 

 for a .single observer), but it is difficult to say when the maximum 

 was attained. Prof. Herschel at Slough, and Mr. T. H. Astbury 

 at Shifnal, Salop, found meteors decidedly more numerous on 

 the lOth tliau on the 11th, wliile the writer at Bristol considered 

 the two nights equally productive. But M. Antoniadi, at Juvisy, 

 observed more meteors on the lltli tlian on the lOth, his 

 comparative numbers being : — 

 li. ii. m. 

 Aug. 10—9 to 14 30 G.M.T. 104 meteors, 19 per hour. 

 „ 11—9 to 14 30 „ 138 „ 25 „ 



In 1898 the maximum occurred on the 11th, and that date 

 certainly furnished a richer display than was observed on any 

 night in 1899. During the recent shower some brilliant Perseids 

 were recorded. At Juvisy, on August 10th, at about 12h. 8m., 

 a magnificent fireball, estimated five times as brilliant as Venus, 

 exploded in Cepheus. At Bristol, meteors rivalling Venus were 

 seen on August 9th, 12h. 7m., August IDth, lOli. 14m., and 

 August 12 th, 12h. Im. The latter left a streak for three and 

 a-half minutes amongst the stars in the northern region of 

 Pegasus. On August 10th, lOh. 31m., Mr. T. H. Astbury at 

 Shifnal, Salop, recorded a Perseid which must have been quite 

 as bright as Sirius, for it gave a very Ijrilliant flash at the end 

 of its flight, and left a streak for twenty second.s. 



A preliminary examination of the results sent in by several 

 observers shows that a considerable number of the brighter 

 Perseids have been observed at more than one station. The 

 real paths of all these will be computed as soon as further 

 observations liave come to hand and rendered the list more 

 complete. 



The minor showers usually contemporary with the Perseids 

 are as interesting as they are numerous. The radiant points of 

 several of these were clearly indicated during the recent display 

 of Perseids, and the most prominent of tliem, as observed at 

 Bristol, appeared to be as follows : — 



Radiant. Meteors. Radiant. Meteors. 



These and the other secondary streams of the epoch occasionally 

 furnish very conspicuous meteors, and some of them were 

 observed during recent observations at Bristol. Thus on August 

 12th, at 12h. 31 m., an exceedingly slow, yellow meteor of about 

 first magnitude sailed down the northern sky, and occupied 

 about seven seconds in its descent. On August 13th, at 

 lOh. 41m., 3 meteor about equal to Jupiter passed slowly along 

 the ea.stern sky, from 29|° + 27i° to 353° + 3i°, and left a 

 bright streak. Its radiant was at 61° + 37°, and proves the 

 meteor to have been an early member of a well-known September 

 shower. 



Large Meteors. — Prof. Barnard has kindly sent me an 

 account of a large detonating meteor seen at Nashville, Tennessee, 

 on March 6th, 1899, at I7h. 45m. G.M.T. Observers describe 

 the meteor as blinding in the intensity of its light. It appeared 

 slightly to the west of the zenith, and moved through a short 

 path to the west or north-west, where it exploded with a terrific 

 noise which shook the city like an eai'thquake. 



Fireball of August 4tii. — M. Antoniadi sends a very 

 interesting account, accompanied with a diagram, of a fireball, 

 about five times more brilliant than Venus, which he observed 

 at Juvisy, on August 4th, 9h. 40m. G.M.T. It travelled from 



