576 



NA TURE 



[April 12, 1900 



observatory. Six hours observatory, first half. Three hours 

 lecture and six hours observatory, second half." 



The University possesses an excellently equipped students' 

 observatory, in addition to the world-famous establishment on 

 Mount Hamilton. Graduates of the University, or indeed of 

 other universities of equal standing, are received at the Lick 

 Observatory to pursue a higher course of instruction in as- 

 tronomy ; every facility consistent with the scientific work of 

 the establishment will be given them, and they will usually be 

 assigned as assistants to some of the astronomers. An illustra- 

 tion of the bond between the greater and lesser establishments 

 is afforded by the recent computation at the students' observatory 

 of the elements of a comet from observations telegraphed by the 

 astronomers at Lick. (Pub. Ast. Soc. Proc. vol. xi. No. 70 

 p. 190-) 



From the information which Prof. Holden has collected, we 

 gather that special students of promise have also the privilege 

 of entering into the regular work of the observatories at 

 Harvard College, and the Universities of Yale, Michigan, 

 Virginia, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. 



The special value to the student of this association with the 

 staff of an observatory is admirably stated by Prof. Holden in a 

 report on the Lick Observatory, from which he makes the 

 following quotation: "No institution in the world is better 

 fitted to give such instruction, and there is a special impetus to 

 be gained in an observatory which is regularly pursuing work of 

 discovery and research. The student comes directly into the 

 current, and learns far more by observation of the methods of 

 others than by the study of text-books. He can take part in 

 the regular work of the observatory also." This happy arrange- 

 ment is not only beneficial to the student. Prof. Holden 

 further remarks : "It iS a great advantage to the university as 

 a whole to count among its members a considerable number of 

 active and ambitious young men who are able to work with some 

 independence to advance science, and not merely to acquire what 

 is already known. They set a standard of scholarship to all the 

 undergraduates. Such students can take a useful part in the 

 actual observations of every day as assistants, and after some 

 practice they become valuable aids in our work of computation 

 and observation, and supplement the permanent force of the 

 observatory in an important degree." 



No wonder that with advantages like these there is an 

 adequate supply of highly-trained young astronomers capable of 

 fully developing the great resources which the scientific spirit of 

 wealthy Americans has placed at their disposal. It appears to 

 us that it is precisely for want of opportunities for securing the 

 necessary technical training to future observers that the astro- 

 nomical development of our own country proceeds less rapidly 

 than that of America. While it is possible to obtain a certain 

 amount of tuition in spherical astronomy, and here and there a 

 modicum of practical instruction in the older branches of the 

 subject, facilities for the study of astrophysics are almost com- 

 pletely lacking, and it is a deplorable fact that the universities 

 are especially deficient in this respect. 



Under the Science and Art Department a general study of 

 astronomy is encouraged, but the subject is incorporated with a 

 variety of other subjects, under the comprehensive title of 

 Physiography, and no separate certificate for astronomy is 

 granted. 



At the universities, astronomical teaching appears to remain 

 in much the same position as the teaching of chemistry and 

 physics before the introduction of practical work in those sub- 

 jects, the prevailing idea apparently being that if a mathema- 

 tician can be placed at the head of affairs in an observatory, it 

 matters little who makes the actual observations, or whether 

 observations are made or not. There can be little doubt that 



means exist for establishing schools of astronomy comparable | 

 with those which have arisen for other branches of science, and I 



we sincerely hope that the need for serious attention to practical 

 teaching in astronomy will soon be recognised. 



So far as we know, there is only one institution in Great 

 Britain where any attempt is made to give practical instruction 

 in astronomical physics, and even in this case the greater part 

 of the instruction is necessarily of a somewhat elementary char- 

 acter, in consequence of the small amount of time available for 

 the subject. 



It is a natural consequence of our inadequate provision for 

 technical education in astronomy — more particularly in the newer 

 branches — that vacancies in our observatories must be filled by 

 observers who have still to make practical acquaintance with the 



work expected of them. Much loss of time and apparent in- 

 activity is the result. 



It may be urged that benefactors of the science of astronomy 

 are less numerous here than in America, but the generous gifts 

 of Dr. F. McClean to Cambridge University and the Cqje Ob- 

 servatory, and of Sir Henry Thompson to the Royal Observatory, 

 Greenwich, remind us that they are not wholly wanting. Besides, 

 there are already numerous observatories scattered throughout 

 the country which might be made more productive by putting 

 them in the hands of obser^'ers who have received adequate 

 training. Public interest in astronomy is by no means absent, 

 and British observatories would, perhaps, receive a much in- 

 creased measure of support if it wre not for the possible impres- 

 sion that the best work can only be done in America, and that 

 instruments of the largest size are alone useful. 



THE FLIGHTLESS RAIL OF NEW ZEALAND. 



T^HE most important ornithological event in New Zealand, 

 -'- in recent years, was the capture of a fourth specimen of 

 the Takahe [Notoniis hochstetteri), on the west side of Lake Te 

 Anau, in August 1898. Prof. W. B Benham sent us an 

 interesting description of the bird at the time of its cap'ure 

 (vol. Iviii. p. 547), and a more detailed account by him is re- 

 ferred to in a paper, by Sir Walter L. Buller, in vol. xxxi. of 



Fig. I -The 



■j- of New Zealand. 



the Transactions of the New Zealand Instilute (1898), which 

 has just reached this country. The following particulars, with 

 the accompanying illustration, have been derived from this 

 source : — 



In size the bird is like a goose, but in colouration it resembles 

 the Pukeko ; its breast is a beautiful rich dark blue, becoming 

 duller on the neck, head, abdomen and legs. These last are 

 clothed with feathers for a greater distance than in the native 

 turkey, but they are relatively shorter and much thicker than 

 in the latter bird. One of the most noticeable characteristics 

 of the bird is its beak— a large equilateral triangle of hard pink 



NO. 1589, VOL. 61] 



