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eee 
to say of the present edition that it has been revised 
and has added to it a chapter on modernism, which 
is also issued separately, price 6d. net. 
A SECOND edition of their List No. 52 has been issued 
by Messrs. A. Gallenkamp and Co., Bids. ot sun 
Street, Finsbury Square, London, E.C. The cata- 
logue deals in an exhaustive manner with charts, 
diagrams, lanterns, and _ lantern slides, botan- 
ical and hygenic models, and other require- 
ments of lecturers and teachers. The list brings 
together in a convenient manner the publications, and 
so on, of a great variety of firms, and will save 
intending purchasers much time and trouble. Even 
a glance through these well-illustrated 200 pages is 
enough to show the wealth of pictorial illustration 
now at the disposal of lecturers. 
OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 
ASTRONOMICAL OCCURRENCES FOR JULY :— 
July 2. 1th. om. Earth at greatest distance from 
the Sun. 
8. 23h 27m. Uranus in conjunction with the 
Moon (Uranus 1°.42’ N.). 
g. igh. 14. Jupiter in conjunction with the 
Moon (Jupiter 0° 32’ N.). 
16. 6h. om. Mercury in inferior conjunction 
with the Sun. 
20. 2h. 43m. Saturn in conjunction with the 
Moon (Saturn 5° 50’ S.). 
21. 2h. om. Neptune in conjunction with the 
Sun. 
». Igh. 46m. Mercury in conjunction with the 
Moon (Mercury 8° 37’ S.). 
22. 1oh. som. Neptune in conjunction with the 
Moon (Neptune 3° 43 S.). 
25. 18h. 24m. Venus in conjunction with the 
Moon (Venus 1° 52’ N.). 
26. 4h. 33m. Mars in conjunction with the 
Moon (Mars 2° 7’ N.). 
» 17h. om. Mercury stationary. 
Tue RapIATION OF THE SuN.—The Journal of the 
Franklin Institute for June (vol. clxxvii., No. 6, p. 641) 
publishes an article on the ‘* Radiation of the Sun,” 
being an address presented by Prof. C. G. Abbot at 
the meeting of the section of physics and chemistry, 
The article is popularly written, and displays the 
general nature of the problem of solar radiation, and 
the different researches which have and are being 
pursued to elucidate the knotty points. Interesting 
photographs, diagrams, and curves accompany the 
text, and the name of the distinguished author is a 
guarantee of the accuracy of the information given. 
Articles such as the above are most valuable to those 
whose work in astronomy lies along other lines, but 
who keenly desire to be posted on the progress of 
the researches of workers in other branches of the 
subject. 
DISPLACEMENT OF THE LINES TOWARDS THE VIOLET 
IN THE SOLAR SpeEctruM.—Dr. T. Royds, acting 
director of the Kodaikanal Observatory, gives the 
results of his researches (Bulletin No. 38) in the form 
of a preliminary note on the displacement to the 
violet of some lines in the solar spectrum. While the 
majority of the metallic lines in the solar spectrum 
are shifted towards the red when compared with their 
positions in the electric arc, there are, however, many 
exceptions, and some of these are specially dealt with in 
this paper, the iron arc spectrum being compared with 
NG} 2331, VOL.VO3) 
NATURE 
| 
beautifully clear during the night. 
[JuLy: 27 vera 
that of the sun’s centre. A full list of the wave-lengths 
of the lines employed and their intensities in long or 
short ares, with other data, accompany the discussion. 
Summarising briefly the results, it may be stated 
that the iron lines which are unsymmetrically widened 
to the red in the arc are displaced to the violet in 
the sun relative to a short iron arc, and those un- 
symmetrically widened to the violet are displaced to 
the red. Symmetrical lines give normal displacement 
to the red. The change of wave-length of certain 
classes of iron lines is caused in a way other than 
by pressure or motion in the line of sight. The un- 
symmetrical iron lines are displaced in the short are 
compared with the long arc. Those widened towards 
the red are displaced to the red in the short arc, and 
those widened towards the violet to the violet, whilst 
symmetrical lines have mostly small displacements. 
Differences in the density of vapour is suggested as a 
possible cause of the displacement between the different 
kinds of arc; but the matter, as Dr. Royds remarks, 
requires further investigation. The longer the iron 
arc, the more nearly do the conditions approach those 
in the reversing layer of the sun. Lines of other 
elements than iron also have sun minus arc displace- 
ments, which cannot be explained as due to pressure or 
line of sight motion. 
METEORS ON JUNE 25-26.—Mr. W. F. Denning 
writes us that, though meteoric phenomena are seldom 
displayed abundantly on a June night, he observed 
some strikingly brilliant and interesting meteors on 
Thursday, June 25. At 10.39 a 2nd magnitude was 
seen nearly stationary, and close to its radiant at 
269°+ 46°. At 10.52 a fine meteor, exceeding 1st mag- 
nitude, crossed 7 Herculis and 6 Draconis in a rapid 
flight, and left a transient streak. Radiant at 
260°— 24°, and height of object forty-eight to forty- 
four miles; path, fourteen miles, and velocity twenty 
miles a second. At 11.28 a bright meteor equal to 
Venus fell about 6° to the right of a Andromedz, and 
left a streak. Its radiant was at 342°+309°, and its 
height fifty-one to twenty-five miles, path forty-five 
miles, and velocity thirty miles a second. At 11.52 a 
meteor equal to Jupiter glided down the eastern sky 
about 2° to the left of a~8 Pegasi, its flight being 
as nearly as possible parallel with those stars. Grace- 
ful, slow motion, there was no trace or streak, yellow 
nucleus. Radiant at 354°+77°, and height fifty-nine 
to twenty-three miles. Path, forty-six miles; velocity, 
eighteen miles a second. At 11.58 another meteor 
equal to Jupiter shot swiftly upwards in the eastern 
region of Cygnus, leaving a bright phosphorescent 
streak for several seconds. Its radiant was on the 
eastern horizon at 350°—8°, and its height sixty-seven 
miles; path, fifty-two miles, and velocity, about fifty- 
two miles a second. At 12.57 a 3rd magnitude meteor 
with a streak was directed from a radiant at 24°+42°, 
and at 12.58 a very slow 2nd magnitude was seen in 
Camelopardalus moving from the direction of Ursa 
Major. Others were observed, and the sky remained 
1 The heights, etc., 
of the several meteors given are computed from dupli- 
cate records obtained by those enthusiastic observers, 
Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, of Bexley Heath, Kent. 
REPORT OF THE U.S. Nava OBSERVATORY FOR 1913. 
—The report of the superintendent of the U.S. Naval 
Observatory for the fiscal year 1913 forms Appendix 2 
to the annual report of the chief of the Bureau of 
Navigation, 1913. Commencing with the interesting 
statement that ‘‘this observatory, being the first insti- 
tution in the world to have its time signals regularly 
transmitted by radio-telegraphy,’’ the superintendent 
proceeds to describe the part played by the delegates 
appointed to represent the United States at the Inter- 
