June 25, 1903J 



NATURE 



83 



this little known region, including- notes on the mangrove 

 trees and their influence on the coast line. The gold-field 

 of Horn Island is described, the reefs occurring in 

 porphyritic granite. The works are now abandoned, but 

 apparently they were started before adequate investigations 

 had been made, and even now it is doubtful whether the 

 trials were exhaustive. 



We have received a copy of the illustrated catalogue of 

 chemical apparatus and laboratory fittings supplied by 

 Messrs. Max Kaehler and Martini, of Berlin, W. The 

 catalogue runs to 500 pages, and will be sent post free to 

 schools and colleges where there are chemical laboratories. 

 The sole agent for the United Kingdom is Mr. S. Bornett, 

 ^2 King William Street, London, E.C. 



Prof. Wyndham R. Dunstan, F.R.S., was recently ap- 

 pointed by the Board of Trade to be director of the Imperial 

 Institute, and one of the results appears to be the publication, 

 as a supplement to the Board of Trade Journal, of a 

 ■" Bulletin of the Imperial Institute." The first issue of 

 the bulletin contains much useful information as to the 

 experiments and inquiries which have been carried out in 

 the scientific and technical department of the Institute. 

 Reports on the following investigations, amongst others, 

 are included : — poisonous fodder plants and food grains ; 

 analyses and e.xaminations of coal from Trinidad ; kaolin 

 from St. Vincent ; tin ore from the Bautshi tin fields. 

 Northern Nigeria ; fibres from Sierra Leone and Brazil ; 

 and nuts from British Honduras and Portuguese East 

 Africa. The second part of the bulletin consists of general 

 notices prepared by the scientific department on a variety 

 of questions, as different as the chemical analysis of gutta- 

 percha as a guide to its cultivation and valuation, and 

 cotton cultivation in Asia Minor. The work of the scientific 

 and technical department is chiefly initiated by departments 

 of the Governments of India and the Colonies. Arrange- 

 ments have been also made by the Foreign Office whereby 

 British Consuls may transmit for investigation such natural 

 products of the countries in which they are appointed to 

 reside as are likely to be of use to British manufacturers 

 and merchants. Materials are first chemically investigated 

 in the laboratories of the department, which includes a staff 

 of skilled assistants, and are afterwards submitted to 

 technical trials by experts, and finally are commercially 

 valued. Manufacturers, and dealers in natural products, 

 ought to be keenly alive to the advantages to be derived 

 from work and inquiries of this character. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during 

 the past week include an Indian Elephant {Elephas 

 indicus, 9 ) from India, presented by the Maharaja of 

 Benares ; a Mozambique Monkey {Cercopithecus pygery- 

 thrtts) from East Africa, presented by Mr. J. R. E. Stans- 

 feld, D.S.O. ; a Crested Porcupine {Hystrix cristata), a 

 DIack-backed Jackal {Canis mesomelas), a Puff Adder (Bitis 

 arictans), a Cape Bucephalus {Dispholidus typus), a Smooth- 

 bellied Snake {Homalosoma lutrix) from South Africa, pre- 

 sented by Mr. Barry McMillan ; two Puff Adders {Bitis 

 arictans) from South Africa, presented by Mr. A. W. 

 Guthrie ; two Black Lemurs (Lemur macaco) from Mada- 

 gascar, a New Zealand Owl (Ninox novae-seelandiae), four 

 \"ariegated Sheldrakes {Tadorna variegata) from New Zea- 

 land, five Nutmeg Fruit Pigeons {Myristicivora bicolor) 

 from Moluccas, six Nicobar Pigeons (Caloenas nicobarica) 

 from the Indian Archipelago, a Glossy Calornis (Calornis 

 chalybeus), a Hamadryad {Naia bungurus) from India, 

 seven Large Andaman Parrakeets {Palaeornis magnirostris), 

 an Andaman Starling {Poliopsar andamanensis), six Anda- 

 man Teal (Querquedula albigularis) from the Andaman 

 NO. 1756, VOL. 68] 



Islands, two Canadian Cranes (Grus canadensis), four 

 Prickly Trionyx (Trionyx spinifer) from North America, 

 four Ceylonese Terrapins {Nicoria trijuga) from Ceylon, two 

 Adanson's Sternotheres {Sternothoerus adansoni) from West 

 Africa, deposited ; a Brush Turkey {Talegalla lathami), 

 bred in the Gardens. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 



Astronomical Occurrbncks in July: — 

 I. loh, 40m. Minimum of Algol (j8 Persei). 

 5-6. Venus very near Regulus (o Leonis). 

 9. 8h. 4m. to gh. iim. Moon occults />' Sagittarii 

 (mag. 3-9). 



I5h. Venus at greatest elongation, 45° 30' E 

 lated portion of disc = o 

 Mars = ••873, 



15. Venus. Illuminated portion 



459 of 



20. I3h. 56m. Moon in conjunction with Aldebaran 



(a Tauri). 



21. I2h. 23m. Minimum of Algol {0 Persei). 



23. Mars ii° N. of Spica (a Virginis). 



24. 9h. 12m. Minimum of Algol ()3 Persei). 



26. 8h. Moon in conjunction with Pallas. Pallas 

 0° 47' N. 



29. 2oh. Saturn in opposition to the sun. 



30. Uranus i" N. of 51 Ophiuchi (mag. 4-9). 



New Comet, 1903 c. — A Kiel Centralstelle telegram 

 announces that M. Borelly, observing at Marseilles, dis- 

 covered a new comet, 1903 c, on June 21. Its position 

 for iih. 36-5m. (M.T. Marseilles) on June 21 was 



R.A. = 2ih. 52m. S2S., Dec. =8° 10' south, 



and its daily movements in R.A. and Declination are —28s. 

 and -1-44' respectively. 



The telegram states that a nucleus and a tail have been 

 observed, but it does not state the magnitude of the object. 



A later telegram states that Herr Wirtz, Strasburg, 

 observed this comet at 22h. 8-8m. (M.T. Strasburg) on 

 June 22, and determined its position as follows : — 



R.A.=2ih. 51m. S373S. 

 Dec. = 7° 17' 11* south. 



Photographic Observations of Comet 1902 iii. — Prof. 

 Sykora, of Jurjew, has communicated to No. 3871 of the 

 Astronomische Nachrichten the results of the photographic 

 observations of Comet 1902 iii. made by him during 

 September and October of last year. 



Reproductions of drawings made from the photographs 

 show that on September 26 the comet possessed two tails 

 of Bredichin's second and third types respectively, and the 

 measurements showed that the longer tail was about 2° in 

 length. On October 7 this length was increased to 3°, and 

 the tail was more like Bredichin's first type, whilst the 

 shorter third-type tail had decreased in length. On the 

 photograph taken on October 9 this difference was further 

 accentuated. 



The Mirror of the Crossley Reflector. — Dr. G. John- 

 stone Stoney writes to correct a misapprehension referring 

 to the mirror of the Crossley reflector in use at the Lick 

 Observatory. The figuring of this mirror is usually 

 attributed to the late Dr. Common, and has been ascribed 

 to him in these columns (pp. 132, 162). It appears, how- 

 ever, from a correspondence between Mr. J. Gledhill and 

 Prof. Campbell that Mr. Crossley 's gift to the Lick Observ- 

 atory included two mirrors, described as A and B, essentially 

 of the same diameter and focal length. One of these, B, 

 was refigured by Sir Howard Grubb, and was sent to 

 America as it came from his workshop. "It is the B 

 mirror," Prof. Campbell states, "which has been used in 

 all the work with the Crossley Reflector at the Lick Observ- 

 atory. " Dr. Stoney adds: — " In any enumeration of note- 

 worthy instruments made by Dr. Common, it would appear 

 desirable to include the very remarkable flat mirrors of large 

 size which he produced of late years, some of them for the 

 coelostats of the Joint Solar Eclipse Committee of the Royal 

 and Royal Astronomical Societies. The production of 



