5iS 



NA TURE 



[March 30, 1905 



ing partly on analysis and partly on graphics. Some in- 

 teresting conclusions are drawn as to the relative merits of 

 doubly pivoted, three pivoted, and doubly built in arches. 

 These memoirs are rendered more accessible by being issued 

 with their pages cut. They show what a lot of good work 

 may be done by the expenditure by a public body of a very 

 moderate sum on the endowment of mathematical research. 

 We have another example of the same fact in the Cam- 

 bridge Smith's prizes and the large number of former 

 winners of these prizes who are now Fellows of the Royal 

 Society. 



The widely extended use of the freezing point and boil- 

 ing point methods of molecular weight determination has 

 been to a large extent rendered possible by the manufac- 

 ture of sensitive thermometers of the now familiar 

 Beckmann type. In the current number of the Zeitschrift 

 fur physikalische Chemie is a very interesting paper by 

 Mr. Ernst Beckmann giving a complete history of the 

 differential mercury thermometer, with especial reference 

 to the modifications it has undergone since its first use in 

 freezing point work. He mentions the fact that 'the 

 original Beckmann thermometer was due to an accident. 

 A costly instrument, divided into i/ tooths of a degree, was 

 being carried in the hand down a corridor when it was 

 broken in half by the sudden opening of a door. In order 

 still to be able to use the thermometer, a small bulb was 

 blown on above the capillary, and from this the present 

 type was evolved through a series of instruments illustrated 

 in the present paper. Some of the thermometers figured 

 are masterpieces of glass-blowing, notably one combining 

 a Beckmann and ordinary thermometer on one instrument. 



MES.SRS. John Wheldon and Co. have sent us their 

 latest catalogue of scientific books they have for sale. The 

 catalogue includes many scarce sets of Journals and 

 Transactions, as well as selections from the libraries of 

 the late Prof. Everett, Dr. C. \V. Siemens, and others. 



The most recent addition to the report being issued by 

 the Engineering Standards Committee is the " British 

 Standard Specification and Sections of Flat-bottomed Rail- 

 way Rails." Copies of the publication may be obtained 

 from Messrs. Crosby Lockwood and Son. The price is 

 los. 6rf. net. 



We have received from .Mr. Nasarvanji J. Rcadymoney, 

 of Bombay, a copy of a publication he has prepared en- 

 titled " .^n Outline of Descriptive, Defining Nature-Historv 

 Tables, Illustrated ; or Nature-History Research Thinking 

 Tables; or Work of Genesis Minutely Tabulated." The 

 object of the tables is to enable the student to summarise 

 and classify " all events in nature or creation " in a philo- 

 sophical manner. 



The February number of the Journal of the Straits 

 Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society has reached us from 

 Singapore. Among other important papers we notice con- 

 tributions by Dr. Charles Hose on various methods of 

 computing the time for planting among the races of 

 Borneo, by Mr. P. Cameron on descriptions of new species 

 of Iphiaulax and Chaolta (Braconida;) from Sarawak, 

 Borneo, and by Mr. H. W. Firmstone on Chinese names 

 of streets and places in Singapore and the Malay Peninsula. 



A NEW and revised edition of the volume of Prof. W. 

 Schlich's " Manual of Forestry " dealing with forest 

 management has been published by Messrs. Bradbury, 

 Agncw and Co., Ltd. The mathematical problems have 

 been simplified, and some of the calculations have been 

 NO. 1848, VOL. 71] 



shortened. The appendices have been considerably altered. 

 In the preface to the new edition Prof. Schlich directs 

 attention to the fact that the most urgent need of British 

 forestry is the collection of statistics, which wlW enable 

 the proprietor and his forester to gauge the economic value 

 of forest operations. He insists that the fully equipped 

 forester must have a good know-ledge of mathematics if he 

 is to secure the best results. 



A NEW encyclopaedia, prepared and printed by Messrs. 

 T. Nelson and Sons, is to be published in forty fortnightly 

 parts under the title of the " Harmsworth Encyclop.-cdia." 

 Three of these parts, each of i6o pages, have been re- 

 ceived, and judging from these we do not hesitate to say 

 that the complete work should be a useful aid to students 

 and a responsive friend to general readers. So far as we 

 have tested the parts received, we have found the inform- 

 ation accurate and confined to essential points. Of course, 

 it must be understood that w-ithin the limited sgacc allotted 

 to any subject only bare outlines can be described ; but as 

 references are in many cases given to authoritative works, 

 inquiring readers may be led to pursue their search for 

 information, inspired by what they find in this encyclo- 

 paedia. The work is liberally illustrated, and as a con- 

 venient guide to information which men and women often 

 seek to know it will be of service. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 



ASTRONO.MICAL OCCURRENCES IN APRlL:— 

 April 4. 2h. Mercury at greatest elongation (19° 11' E. ). 



5 23h. Mercury in conjunction with the Moon. 



( Mercury 7' 2S' N.). 

 6. 6h. Tupiter in conjunction with Moon, (fupiter 



3°35'N.).^ 

 9. Ilh. 4m. Minimum of Algol {S Persei). 

 12. 7h. 53m. Minimum of Algol (/3 Persei) 

 15. Venus. Illuminated portion uf disc = 0^049 ; of 



Mars = o-975. 

 17. 8h. iSm. to 9h. 12m. Moon occults tj \'irginis 

 (mag. 4c). 

 20-22. Epoch ol Lyrid meteors (Radiant 27l°-l-33°). 



Discovery of a New Co.met, 1905 a. — .\ telegram from 

 the Kiel Centralstelle announces the discovery of another 

 new comet by M. Giacobini at Nice on March 2(1. 



The position of the comet at 8h. ii-Sin. (M.T. Nice) 

 was R..A.=5h. 44m. 14s., dec. = -(-10° 56' 56", and its 

 daily movement in R.A. = -t-3m., in dec — 1° 15'. 



This shows the object to be in the constellation Orion, 

 about 6m. W. and 3° 34' N. of Betelgeuse, or a little 

 more than one-fourth the distance from Betelgeuse to 

 C Geminoruni, along a straight line joining the two. 

 .Apparently the comet passed very near to Betelgeuse on 

 March 29. 



Comet iqo4 c (Borrellv). — .\ continuation of the daily 

 ephemeris for comet 1904 c is given by Dr. E. Stromgrert 

 in No. 4004 of the Astroiioinischc Nachrichtcn. 



The ephemeris extends from March 29 to May 4, and 

 from it we see that on the first named date the comet 

 will apparently be situated very near to (," -Aurigae, and 

 will have a brightness of 024. Travelling thence in an 

 E.N.E. direction it will enter the constellation Lynx, its 

 computed position on May 4 being R..^. =7h. om., 

 dec. = -(-45° 17', whilst its brightness on that date will be 

 012. The brightness at time of discovery (about mag. 10) 

 is taken as unity. 



Obser%'ations of the Recent Eclipse of the Moon. — 

 In No. 9 (1905) of the Comptcs rcndus is published a paper 

 by M. Puiscux wherein he discusses a series of twelve 

 photographs taken between 7h. 32m. and Sh. 12m. on the 

 occasion of the partial lunar eclipse which occurred on 

 February 19. 



Amongst other conclusions he states that the apparent 

 changes in the aspects of the circles Messier and Messier A 

 are simplv due to differences of illumination and not t<5 



