2o6 



NATURE 



[June 28, 1894 



J ), an .-Elhiopian Wan Hog (Pkacochariis nthiopicus, i ), a 

 Banded Ichneumon (Hcrf-ates fasciatus), a Milky Eagle Owl 

 {Buba lait(us), a Black-crested Eagle \Lofhouliis occipitalis), 

 a Marabou Stork, {Lfptoptilus erumtiii/cnis), two Green- 

 necked TonncoasiCoryi/iaixcA/orixA/amj's), two White-crested 

 Toaracoos {Curythaix aliL^-cristaliis), a Bell's Cinixys t^Cini.xys 

 del/iana) from British Central Africa, presented by Mr. H. H. 

 Johnston ; a Black faced Kangaroo {Macropiis meiano/^s, i ) 

 from Australia, presented by Dr. G. Lindsay Johnson ; a Black- 

 headed Conure {C^^ntirus nan^ay) from Paraguay, presented by 

 Mr. A. Harrison ; a Golden Eagle [.-li/iii/a chrysados) from 

 Scotland, presented by the Mi:laine of Lochbine ; a Stump- 

 tailed Lizird ( Tiiichydoiiiuriis riigosiis) from Australia, pre- 

 sented by Capt Jamieson ; a Maholi Galago (Galaga maholi) 

 from South .\frica, an .\rabian Gazelle (Gazella arabica, <5 ) 

 from Arabia, an Indian Gazelle (Gazella bennttti, 9 ) from 

 Persia, a Lioness {Fclis Uo) from East Africa, a Military 

 Macaw (Ara militaris) from South America, deposited ; a 

 White-tailed Gnu {Connoc/uzles gnu), three Vpecaha Kails 

 {Aramides ypecaha), bred in the Gardens. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 



The Native Cai.e.ndar of Centrai. America and 

 Mexico. — The native races of Mexico and Central America 

 used a calendar differing completely from those employed by 

 the ancient nations of the Old World to reckon time. Many 

 explanations of the origin of the calendar have been suggested, 

 some referring it to series of recurring events in nature, others 

 to astronomical phenomena, while a third section of inquirers 

 regard it as purely mythical and terrestrial. Dr. D. G. Brinlon 

 has lately studied the peculiar c.ilendar from the point of view 

 o( linguistics and symbolism, and his results are given in the 

 /Ve, (•<-,/; ;yi of the American Philosophical Society, vol. xxxi. 

 p. 258, 1S93. As the calendar system investigated is not widely 

 known on this side of the Atlantic, it may be well to give an 

 outline of it. "The basis is a so called 'month 'of twenty days. 

 Each day is designated by a name of some object, animate or 

 inanimate, and besides its name, each day is numbered, l;ut not 

 (rom one to twenty, but only Irom one to thirteen, when the 

 numbering begins again at the unit. The result of this combin- 

 ation evidently is, that a day bearing both the same name and the 

 same number will not recur until thirteen of the ' months ' have 

 elapsed. This gives a period or cycle of 260 days, and this 

 anomalous period is at the foundation of the native calendar." 

 Dr. Itrinton's linguistic analysis of the names of the twcniy days 

 in the Maya, Tzental, and Quiche-Cakchiqueldialecls, and inthe 

 Zapoiccand Nahuall languages, shows thai they are all identical 

 in signification, and therefore must have had one and the 

 same origin. By arranging the symbols represented by the 

 day-names in order from one to twenty, it is found 

 that Ihey exhibit a sequence covering the career of human 

 life, from the time of birth until death at an old 

 age. Thus, in all the five languages and dialects, the name 

 ,,i ,1,.. (.. , .lay signified birth or beginning, that of the tenth 

 through hardship and suffering) ; of the eleventh, 

 '■ irmountcd , of the thirteenth, advancing years ; of 



llic eigiitcenlh, war and death ; of the twentieth, the sun, or 

 house of the soul. It appears, therefore, that the calendar con- 

 veyed a philo.^ophieal conception of life ; which may or may 

 noi, however, have originated contemporaneously with il. The 

 period of Iw — ' vis doubtless derived from the vigesimal 

 system of ■ use among the tribes employing the 



calendar. I .r 20 is based on finger-and-loe counting, 



and Dr. Brinlon points out that in the languages investigated iis 

 name has the signification " completed " or •' filled up. " " In 

 ihn way," he thinks, " the number came to represent symboli- 

 cally the whole of man, his complete nalure and destiny, and 

 mystically to shadow forth and embody all the unseen potenesis 

 which make or mar his furiunes anl his life." Each of the 

 twcniy signs in the primitive calendar had 13 numbers, and also 

 13 namci, or ralhcr 13 varieties o( the same name. Apparently 

 ihe ancient scer» of Mexico and Central America believed that 

 by a«»i(;ning ihirleen modes of activity lo each of the twenty 

 headings under which the agencies that influence human life 



NO. I2S7, VOL. 50] 



were arranged, they had taken into account the thirteen possible 

 relations of each to both the material and immaterial worlds ; 

 and the fact that the result of 20 x 13 days is 260 days or ap- 

 proximately nine months, that is, the period from conception to 

 birth, would, according to Dr. Brinton, have appeared to con- 

 firm the mystic potenesis of these cardinal numbers. But 

 whatever theory is accepted to account for the adoption of the 

 factor 13, there is little doubt that this period was posterior and 

 secondary to the 20 day period. 



The Appearance of the Helium Line. — M. A. B^lo- 

 polsky contributes to the Alemorie Jelle Societa dcgli Spetlrosco- 

 pisti llaUani for May an account of some observations made by 

 him on the apparent reversal of the Heliam line, Dj. He 

 noticed, while observing solar prominences, that this bright 

 line frequently appeared d luble and contained a dark line, not 

 running down its middle, but nearer to one edge than the other. 

 A close investigation on several occasions showed that the one- 

 sided appearance was not produced by inurumental defects. 

 And since it w.is found that the line was sometimes visible, while 

 at other times il could not be detected, M. Btlopolsky concluded 

 that it was produced by alisorption in the earth'satmosphere. The 

 fact that the line did not split D3 in halves, and that a second 

 similar line could sometimes be seen, indicated that the appear- 

 ance was not merely one of reversal. To locate the positions of 

 these dark lines, the third order of a spectrum produced by a 

 Rowland gr.iting having 14,438 lines to the inch w.is employed. 

 It was then found that the bright badge of Helium was almost 

 exactly in the middle of two fine lines, of which the one near 

 the redward side was double. Their telluric origin was 

 evidenced by their absence on one occasion when the .lir was 

 very dry and the temperature - 4° C. At other times, when the 

 atmosphere was lull of moisture, and the temperature com- 

 paratively high, the lines were perfectly seen. With a spectro- 

 scope of small dispersive power, the double line on the red edge 

 of D3 appears as a single line stronger than the really single 

 line on the violet side, which can only be seen under good 

 obseiving conditions, M. Belopolsky gives the following wave- 

 lengths of the lines, on the Potsdam scale: 587 65 (double), 

 58760 {D3), 587-58. 



Ephemeris for Tem pel's Comet. — In continuation of the 

 ephemeris for Tempel's periodic comet, given in these columns 

 on May 31, the following ephemeris for Paris Midnight (from 

 Aitr. Naih. 3229) shows the positions of the comet until the 

 middle of August : — 



R,A. 



THE RECENT DISCOVERY OF FOSSIL 

 RE.MAINS AT LAKE CALLAfJONNA, SOUTH 

 AUSTRAL/ A.' 



II, 

 Geology. 



■I7OK what I have to say under this head I must express my 

 •'■ obligations lo my colleague. Prof. Tate, whose observations 

 in Australia have now extended over many years. He has 

 recenlly summarised the whole history of its geological progress 

 in a very able presidential address to the .\uslralasian .Vssocia- 

 lion for the Advancement of Science, and I have had no hesi- 

 tation in quoting freely from this and from other writings of so 

 competent an observer. 



There appears to be no doubt, both from geological and 



' By Dr. E. C, Slirling. F,R.S,, C,M,f;., Hon. Dircclor, Soulh Australian 

 Museum, (Continued from page 1S8.) 



