January 4, 1894] 



NATURE 



23: 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 



Prizes at the Paris Academy. — Among the numerous 

 prizes presented by the Paris Academy {Coniptes Roichis, No. 

 25, Dec. iS), those devoted to the science of astronomy were 

 as follows : — M. Schulhof, the Lalande Prize, for his magni- 

 ficent researches on comets ; Dr. Berberich, the Valz Prize, for 

 his well-known connection with the calculations of cometary and 

 ^minor) planetary orbits ; and Prof. Langley, the Janssen Prize, 

 for the work he has done relating to the distribution of the heat 

 in the normal solar spectrum, and to the influence exerted on 

 this distribution by both the solar and terrestrial atmospheres. 

 Among the general prizes we notice that the Arago medal has 

 been awarded to two American astronomers, Profs. Asaph Hall 

 and Barnard. The former receives this medal as he was the 

 discoverer of the two satellites of Mars, although on a former 

 occasion he was the recipient of the Lalande prize for the same 

 reason. The latter, it is needless to say, owes this honour to 

 the fine use he made of the great 36-inch telescope of the Lick 

 Observatory, in searching out the fifth, or, as it should be named, 

 the first satellite of Jupiter. 



The Tail of Comet Brooks (<: 1S93). — Last week, under 

 this heading, we referred to Prof Barnard's remark that the fall 

 of this comet had encountered some outside or obstructive 

 medium. It is interesting, in the face of this, to look at the 

 drawmgs of the great comet of 18S2, and to notice the frag- 

 ments and their relative positions and forms. With the draw- 

 ing before us (Young's " Astronomy," 1888, p. 427) the follow- 

 ing description is given : — " Besides this " (referring to that 

 curious phenomenon called the sheath) "at different times, three or 

 four irregularshreds of cometary matter were detected by Schmidt, 

 of Athens, and other observers, accompanying the comet at a 

 distance of three or four degrees when first seen, but gradually 

 receding from it, and at the same time growing fainter. Possibly 

 they may have been fragments of the tail which belonged to the 

 comet before passing perihelion, or of the matter repelled from 

 the comet when near perihelion. Since the comet, in passing 

 the perihelion, changed the direction of its motion by nearly 

 180° in less than three hours, it was, of course, physically im- 

 possible that the tail it had before the perihelion passage could 

 have made the circuit of the sun in that time. . . . Visible or 

 invisible, the particles of the old train must have kept on their 

 way under the combined action of the sun's gravitation and 

 repulsion. ..." Would not a more simple explanation in 

 this case be that these fragments were the result of collisions 

 near perihelion passage, for here most certainly we should ex- 

 pect to be in the presence of meteoritic matter in abundance, 

 and these travelling at high speed ? 



The Planet Venus. — This planet, which forms such a bril- 

 liant object in the evening sky, will during this month become 

 brighter, reaching its maximum brilliancy on the loth of 

 January. For observers in northern latitudes its position is 

 becoming more favourable for observation, owing to its move- 

 ment northward in declination. A conjunction with the moon 

 takes place on the loth of January, so that about the day before 

 and after that date these two bodies will form a striking 

 pair. 



GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES. 



With the first of January the weekly South German 

 geographical paper, Das Aiislaiul, edited by Dr. Sigimund 

 Giinther, of Munich, and established as long ago as 1827, comes 

 to an end, having sunk its identity by amalgamating with 

 Globus, which for thirty-two years has been its North German 

 contemporary and rival. Globus will continue to be published, 

 with numerous illustrations, as heretofore, and with the 

 additional attraction of Roman type being substituted for the 

 old German character. It is somewhat remarkable that weekly 

 papers of this kind, entirely devoted to geography and travel, 

 with no political purpose, should be so thoroughly established in 

 Germany and France, while no successful attempt has ever been 

 made in an English-speaking country to start a similar 

 publication. 



The Russian geologist, W. A. Obrucheff, who started in the 

 early part of 1893 for a journey into the little known region of 

 Ordos, lying in the great bend of the Hoang-ho, has (says 

 Globus) been able to make many new observations. Leaving 

 Tai-Yuen-fu, the farthest point reached by Richthofen in this 



NO. T262, VOL. 49] 



direction, on January 18, and crossing the Hoang-ho on the ice 

 on the 28th, he selected the route to Ning-hsia, across the 

 south-western edge of Ordos, as the least known, with the in- 

 tention of proceeding to study the mountains of Alashan and 

 the left bank of the Hoang-ho, up to the Nan-shan range. On 

 his way Obrucheff was able to throw some light on the hills 

 between the plateau of Shan-si and Kansu, and the plain of 

 Ordos, which he found to be only the denuded edge of the 

 plateau, and in no sense a range. The portion of Ordos which 

 he intended to cross is a blank on all maps, and the whole dis- 

 trict in the great bend of the Hoang-ho north of the Great Wall 

 is practically unknown territory. 



The last number of the VerluDidlungen of the Berlin 

 Geographical Society contains a short note on a journey to 

 Hadramaut undertaken last year by a German explorer named 

 Hirsch, whose experience gives some clue to the difficulties now 

 being encountered by Mr. and Mrs. Bent. At the outset Herr 

 Hirsch met with opposition from the British Resident at Aden, 

 but overcoming this he reached Makalla and started for the 

 interior, with two camels and a small party, on July I. He 

 ascended the Wadi Howere to the great plateau, and crossed 

 the watershed at an elevation exceedmg 6,000 feet. From the 

 barren plateau Hirsch descended to the fruitful and populous 

 Hadramaut valley, several of the towns of which were visited. 

 At Terim he was very badly received, subjected to insults, and 

 compelled to leave at very short notice, returning to Makalla 

 through the scarcely known Wadis Bin Ali and Odym. Alto- 

 gether the journey in the interior only lasted forty days, but 

 observations of considerable value were made, which are now 

 being prepared for publication. 



A remarkakle discovery has been announced by the 

 Austrian Institute for Historical Research, in the formof acopy 

 of a map by Columbus, drawn on a letter written from Jamaica 

 in July, 1503. This, although only a rough pen-and-ink sketch, 

 shows exactly the opinion of Columbus himself as to the part of 

 the world he had reached, which he believed to be the east 

 coast of Asia. The original map, drawn by Columbus and his 

 brother Bartholomew, was presented to Frate Hieronymo, who 

 gave the map and a description to Alexander Strozzi, a noted 

 collector of early voyages. He is supposed to have copied the 

 original map on the margin of the letter of Columbus, which he 

 had bound in a volume with other documents, and this volume 

 is now in the National Library at Florence, where the existence 

 of the map was discovered by Dr. R. v. Wieser, the Professor 

 of Geography at Innsbruck.; 



NE W FRENCH LA W FOR THE PRE VENTION 

 OF FOREST FIRES} 



'T'HE wooded tract of country comprising the hill ranges of 

 Les Maures and I'Esterel in the departments of Le Var and 

 Les Alpesmaritimes, in the south-east of France, has been annually 

 ravaged by forest fires from time immemorial. It is stocked 

 with conifers, Pinus Halepeusis, and P. Pinaster ; the cork oak, 

 and the pubescent variety of Qucrcus sessiliflora, and there is a 

 dense undergrowth of Erica arborea, the roots of which are 

 used for briar {brtiycre) pipes, also of Erica scoparia, lavender, 

 juniper, broom, dwarf palms, wild olive, and Arbutus, &c. 

 During the months of June, July, August, and September, the 

 drought, high temperature, and the violent mistral wind which 

 prevail, increase the danger from forest fires and their severity. 



Owing to the great destruction of property which these fires 

 cause, a law was enacted in 1870, to be in force for twenty years, 

 and has given excellent results, the frequency and extent of 

 forest fires in the region having diminished by half during the 

 period 1S70-90. This law was renewed up to the present time, 

 in order to allow Government to draw up a permanent law on 

 the subject. The Minister of Agriculture accordingly drafted a 

 bill, which, after consideration by a Committee of the Chamber 

 of Deputies, and some unimportant amendments, was passed by 

 the legislature, and received the consent of the President of the 

 Republic, as a law, on August 19, 1893. 



The principal clauses of the Act deal with methods of preven- 

 tion and extinction of fires : thus the first clause prohibits, 

 during the dangerous season above mentioned, all fires in forests 



J The text of this Law is given in the Revue dcs Eatt.x et FcrCts, vo 

 .\ix. part 18, for September 25, 1893. 



