52 



NA rURH 



[January ii, 1900 



in charge of Lieut. Blackett, R.N., and what he did 

 every night before the eclipse was to get his staff of 

 seven or eight to observe certain groups of stars from 

 the deck of the ship or from the shore, and determine 

 their magnitudes as well as they could, and make maps 

 of them. It was perfectly wonderful how, after three or 

 four nights, they could make a map of the constellation 

 of Orion, not going very far wrong. That stood us in 

 very good stead during the eclipse. 



Each observer was supplied with a photograph of a 

 small star chart of the region near the sun, prepared by 

 Dr. Lockyer. This was afterwards supplemented by 

 another on a larger scale photographed at the office of the 

 Trigonometrical Branch of the Survey of India at Dehra. 



Observations of Shadow Bands. 

 Staff-Surgeon Nolan, R.N., observed these phenomena 

 with the help of two assistants. Previous to the eclipse 

 a large white table-cloth was spread on aflat piece of 

 ground in front of two walls intersecting at an angle of 

 ii;^ which were whitewashed. 



Fig. 7. — The kiiiematcgraph hut. 



Siii'ill Prism and Grating Observations. 

 The spectroscopic work was in charge of Lieut. 

 Colbeck, R.N., and Senior Engineer Mountifield, R.N. 

 I took out several spare prisms and spectroscopes with 

 me in the hope they would be of service, and they wer6 

 used to the very great advantage of science. 



Meteorological Observations. 

 Mr. Eliot, the Meteorological Reporter to the Govern- 

 ment of India, brought with him several important in- 

 struments with a view of making observations similar to 

 those he had arranged along the whole line of totality, 

 lie was assisted by twelve volunteers. 



Landscape Cameras and Kinematographs. 



All the available landscape and hand cameras were 

 put in charge of Mr. Turner, of the Survey Department, 

 Calcutta, who was assisted by five volunteers. 



As a well-defined shadow had been anticipated, the 

 kinematograph was used for the first time in an attempt 

 to photograph its passage through the air. 



NO. 1576, VOL. 61] 



The Marquis of Graham brought out with him two 

 kinematographs, one for the recording of the whole 

 phenomenon of the eclipse, and the other for photograph- 

 ing the moon's shadow as it swept across the earth's 

 surface. The latter was put in charge of Mr. H. 1'. 

 Barnett, R.N., Paymaster, with one assistant. The 

 kinematograph for the eclipse was worked by the 

 Marquis of Graham himself, and five volunteers. The 

 instrument was fed by a small coelostat. 



The above statements will give an idea of the com- 

 pleteness of the organisation rendered possible by such 

 a wealth of observers, and it is to be hoped that the 

 e.xample set in 1898 may be followed in the eclipses of 

 this and the following years. Norman Lockyer. 



THE YANGTZE VALLEY.'' 

 IV/r RS. BISHOP'S volume gives an account of a journey 

 ^^ undertaken, the author tells us, solely for recreation 

 and interest after some months of severe travelling in 

 Korea. The book is a 

 valuable contribution to 

 the literature of travel, 

 both from the remark- 

 able personality of the 

 writer and from the 

 public interest recently 

 directed to our projected 

 "sphere of influence" 

 in the Yangtze Valley. 

 The greater part of the 

 route followed has be- 

 come a " beaten track " 

 for travellers who from 

 time to time have re- 

 corded their experiences 

 and supplied valuable 

 statistical accounts of 

 the potentialities of this 

 part of China. The 

 author, however, in her 

 daring attempt to reach 

 the heart of the Mantze 

 country, entered upon 

 new and untrodden 

 ground, and has given 

 a graphic account of her 

 adventures in one of the 

 most picturesque moun- 

 tain lands of China, the 

 home of this obscure 

 aboriginal tribe. 

 The story is all the more fascinating because it is 

 written by a woman who has been careful to note the 

 details of her environment day by day in a manner quite 

 her own, and always interesting. Some light has been 

 thrown upon this race of mountaineers, who, physically 

 and in their manners and customs, are a people apart 

 from the Chinese, who have maintained their character- 

 istics, their language, and their independence through 

 the centuries, and at last have been driven by their foes 

 to the mountain solitudes of Szechuan and other parts 

 of the empire. 



It is to be regretted that Mrs. Bishop was unable to 

 add to her excellent series of photographs some types of 

 the race, or to afford some clue to the language, which 

 appears to be an unknown tongue written in Tibetan 

 characters. They are, one would suppose, allied to the 

 Sifan and Lolo visited by Baber. 



The first chapter deals with the Yangtze Valley— our 

 sphere of influence. Approximate figures are here set 



1 " The Yangtze Valley and Beyond." By Mrs. J. F, Bsbop. Pp- xv + 

 557. (London : John Murray, 1899.) 



