June 21, 1894] 



NA TURE 



181 



th«n one hundred pages, and the remaining 550 pages consist 

 of papers upon various branches of inquiry. The subjects of 

 these investigations are food-fishes and fishing-grounds, methods 

 and sUtislics of the U.S. fisheries, the work of the U.S. Fish 

 Commission steamer Albxtross, the oyster resources and oyster 

 fishery of the Pacific Coast of the United States, the coast 

 fisheries of Texas, a review of the sparoid fishes of America and 

 Europe, fish Entozoi fr im ihe Yellowstone N'alional Park, and 

 last, but not the leas- important, a translation of Prof. Haeckel's 

 "Planklon-Siudien," being " a comparative investigation of the 

 importance an 1 constilution of the marine fauna and flora." 

 All these papers will be read with interest by students of marine 

 biology. 



Since 1844, Miiller-PouiHel's " Lehrbuch der Physik und 

 Meteorologie " (Vieweg und Sohn, Braunschweig) has passed 

 through eight ediiions, and the ninth edition, edited by Dr. L. 

 Ffanndler, only wants the second part of the second volume to 

 complete it. There are three volumes altogether. Vol. i. 

 treats of Mechanics and Acoustics, and vol. iii. of Magnetism 

 and Electricity. The former appeared in 1886, and the latter 

 in 1890 The publication of the second volume, dealing with 

 Light and Meat, has been delayed owing to Ihe removal of the 

 editor to Graz University. Dr. OlIo Lummer has, however, 

 taken up the work where it was left, and the publishers have 

 been able to iisue the first part of the second volume, contain- 

 ing four chapters on Light, It is hoped that the remainder of 

 the volume will be published at no very distant date. The 

 whole edition has been thoroughly revised and greatly enlarged, 

 the work, so far as yet published, running into more than 2200 

 pages. It is uiiforlunate that so many years should have elapsed 

 between the publication of vols. i. and iii. and that the issue 

 of vol. il. should havi been so long delayed. Owing to these 

 diffeiences of dates, the edition cannot be said to represent, as a 

 whole, the state of physical science at any particular epoch. 

 Likejamin's and Ganot's and Deschinel's works on physicS; 

 that ol MUller-Pouillet is amply illustrated. All experimental 

 apparatus is fully described, and the objects accomplished with 

 it explained in detail without the use of advanced mathematics. 

 In a prefatory announcement the work is commended to those 

 "welche nicht Gelegenheit finden, akademi-che Vortuige mit 

 Experimenten zu besuchen. " From this one could be led to 

 believe that the manual was suitable for reading by a public 

 debarred from seeing physical experiments performed. This, 

 however, is not the case. The place of the work is among 

 books of reference suitable for elementary students of natural 

 philosophy, not with those designed for general reaiers. 



The a Idiiions to the Zjoiogical Society's Gardens during the 

 past «eck include a Bornean Ape {.Ifacacus inornalus, ?) 

 from Borneo, presented by Mr^. Florence Firman ; a Puma 

 (Friis concolor, 9 ) from South America, presented by Miss 

 Florence Dickinson ; a Leopard (F^Us pirJus, <J ), a Cheetah 

 (Cynaliints Jiibalus) from East Africa, presented by Major 

 Owen; an Isabelline Beir {Ursus isafietliniis, i) from 

 Cashmere, presented by Mr. E. Haag ; a Sloth Bear (Melursus 

 ursiiiiii) from ihe Hills of Orrissa, Bengal, presented by Mr. 

 J. W. Currie ; a Downy Owl {Piilsalrix torqtialus) from 

 Brazil, presented by Dt. E. A. Goeldi ; an Eroded Cinixys 

 (Cinixys irjio) fro.n Cipe Lipiz, Gibson, presented by 

 Commander J. L. Marx, R. N. ; a Greek Tortoise ( TV i/Hi/o 

 grjfa) from Greece, presented by Mr. H. K. Birtlett ; a 

 Iloolock Gibbon {//yMaJes hojloci) from Assam, a Black- 

 handed Teelee {Callilhrix melnnochir) from Brazil, a Black- 

 wingeil Peafowl ( i ) from Cochin China, five Heloderms 

 (llclo.lenna stispeclum) from Arizona, deposited ; a Great 

 Anieater (Mynnaophaga jiibata) from South .Vmerica, a Black 

 Stoik [Cuonia nip-a), European, two Japanese Teal {Qiur- 



NO. I2b6, VOL. 50] 



1 



' ijuaiula formom) from North-East Asia, purchased ; a 

 Wapiti Deer (Cervus Canadensis, i), a Mouflon (Otis 

 musimon, 9 ), a Yellow-footed Rock Kangaroo (Pelragcue 

 xanthopuSf i ), born in the Gardens. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 

 Bright-Li.se Stars. — Exact information about stars with 

 bright lines in their spectra is appreciated by all who have the 

 advance of celestial science at heart. In a paper in the June 

 number of Astronomy and Astro- Physics, Prof. W. W. Camp- 

 bell brings together all that is known with regard to objects of 

 this spectroscopic character, and adds to the literature a num- 

 ber of important observations made by himself Since 1867, 

 when MM. Wolf and Rayet discovered three bright-line stars in 

 Cygnus, fifty-two objects of the same type have been found, 

 forty- two of this number being placed to the credit of the 

 Harvard College Observatory. Prof. Campbell has made 

 visual determinations of the positions of the lines in the spectra 

 of thirty-two of these stars, and has also photographed the 

 spectra in juxtaposition with a hydrogen comparison spectrum. 

 One of the most noteworthy facts brought out by the obser- 

 vations is that the hydrogen lines in the spectra present a variety 

 of forms and intensities. In many of the stars they are dark ; 

 in others, they are dark with bright borders. The bright 

 hydrogen lines vary from faint to very bright,, from mono- 

 chromatic lines to very broad bands, and from those clearly 

 single to those apparently multiple. Like many lines in the 

 spectra of nebula;, those of bright-line stars are difficult to 

 identify with terrestial substances. The ubiquitous lines of 

 hydrogen ate certainly present, and Prof. Campbell finds that 

 prominent lines of iron and other elements appear to coincide 

 with a few of the star lines, while a line at wave-length 4480 

 suggests to him a magnesium origin, but the identifications are 

 not sufficient to lead him to make any definite conclusions. 

 Much more can be learnt from his comparison, in tabular form, 

 of lines in stars of the Wolf- Rayet type with those found in the 

 solar chromosphere, in Nova Aurigie, and nebulae ; also with 

 dark lines in Orion stars, and in j8 Lyr^. The hydrogen lines 

 are shown to be prominent in all the six spectra. With theex- 

 cep'ion of the lines of hydrogen, D3, and that at A 4472, lines in 

 the chromosphere do not furnish any striking coincidences with 

 lines in Wolf Rayet stars. The parallel columns of lines also 

 fail to indicate any connection between these stars and N'ov;e, 

 the only point of similarity being that the lines in both these 

 classes of celestial objects are broad. As is well known, the 

 nebular spectrum and that of bright-line stars are much alike. 

 A close examination, however, has led Prof. Campbell 10 think 

 that nine prominent star-lines do not occur in nebulse ; while, 

 on the other hand, five nebular lines vvere unsuccessfully looked 

 for in the stars. His deductions from the whole of the obser- 

 vations are summed up as follows : — " In conclusion, [ think 

 we can say that the spectra of the Wolf Rayet stars are not 

 closely related to any other known type. They appear to have 

 several points in common with the nebular and Orion type 

 spectra ; but the last two appear to be much more closely 

 related to each other than to the Wolf-Rayet spec'.ra. It is 

 therefore difficult to place these stars between the nebulje and 

 Orion stars. They certainly do not come after the Orion stars, 

 and one does not like to place them before the nebulje. We 

 can probably say that the bright lines are chromospheric, owing 

 their origin to very extensive and highly heated atmospheres, 

 but showing very little relation, in constitution and physical 

 condition, to that of our own sun. For the present, at least, 

 this type of spectrum must be considered as distinct from every 

 other known type, just as the nebular spectrum is distinct, and 

 like the nebular spectrum containing lines whose origin cannot 

 now be assigned." 



Ephemeris for Gale's Comet. —The following positions 

 for Gale's comet are from the ephemeris given by Prof. Kreuiz 

 in Astronoinischt Xaehrichten, No. 3229 : — 



Ephimeris for Berlin Midnight. 



1S94. R.A. Decl. Brightness, 



h. m. s. , 



June 23 .. II 54 33 ... N. 43 1-4 014 



27 ... 12 2 16 ... 43 159 ... o 12 



July I ... 12 9 47 ... 43 25 5 ... 010 



5 ••• '2 17 7 -■ 43 jio •• 009 



9 ... 12 24 19 ... 43 335 ... 007 



13 ... 12 31 26 ... 43 331 ... 006 



