NovEMBER 8, 1906 | 
NATUR 
41 
DESIGNATIONS OF NEWLY-DISCOVERED VARIABLE STARS.— 
The permanent designations allotted to recently-discovered 
variable stars by the Commission of the A.G. Catalogue 
of Variable Stars are published in No. 4127 of the Astro- 
nomische Nachrichten. The table given also shows the 
position for 1900, the precession corrections, and the range 
of magnitude of each object. 
Tur Borocna Osservatory.—We have received from 
the director of the Bologna Observatory, Prof. Rajna, an 
interesting account of the history of the observatory, of 
its present condition, and of a projected re-establishment 
on a new site. Founded in the year 1712, the observatory 
was a prominent one in the astronomical world at that 
time, but at the end of the eighteenth century a decadence 
set in, and, with the exception of the period 1855-1865, 
when Respighi was director, has continued ever since. The 
instruments are out of date or incomplete, and the only 
work prosecuted is the computation of ephemerides. Prof. 
Rajna has, however, elaborated a scheme whereby the 
observatory might be installed in an existing building and 
re-fitted with new instruments at an estimated cost of 
about 147,000 lire (about 58o0ol.), and to this end appeals 
for help in carrying out his project. 
RESEARCH IN INDIA. 
Bie must be confessed that the Englishman at home takes 
little interest, other than political, in his Indian 
Empire. The fact has been noticed by the Hindus them- 
selves. We do not compare favourably with the Dutch, for 
example, who are keenly interested in every aspect of 
their possessions in the East. Yet the scientific importance 
of India (a big slice of the globe comes under the name) 
is in many ways unique, and to the sympathetic and 
imaginative mind its varied yet homogeneous population 
supplies an inexhaustible fund of suggestion for the study 
of man. Much has been done, sporadically, since the days 
of Sir William Jones, but scientific research in India has 
never been adequately organised. The antiquities and 
languages of India have received comprehensive attention, 
but the most remarkable religion of the world has depths 
still unfathomed ; the institutions and social, habits of the 
people are not yet fully understood; important documents, 
like the Tantras, still remain untranslated, though the 
task is a simple one, and its results would be of great value. 
Meanwhile the Hindus are the people who, thousands of 
years ago, said—as some think—the last word on philo- 
sophy. It is curious to note how frequently the European 
thinker ends his course in some system long ago familiar 
to the Hindu. ‘‘ The immobility of the East,’’ so strangely 
contrasting with our feverish civilisation, may perhaps 
contain the solution of a problem which still perplexes us 
—how to live. 
The memoirs here noticed represent a varied range of 
research in biology, ethnology, the history of science, 
palzography, and religion, in which Englishmen, Moham- 
medans, Hindus, and a Belgian Jesuit have taken part. 
Mr. G. Muhammad gives new data on the customs and 
traditions of the people of Gilgit, a dependency of Kashmir, 
where polo is the national game and a noble family exists 
claiming descent from Alexander the Great. These people, 
as others of the Hindu Kush, possess a harvest ceremonial 
of great interest, and the present paper gives some well- 
arranged additions to Sir George Robertson’s account of the 
subject. 
1 Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1405-6. Vol. i. No. tr. 
pp. 1-23, ‘On certain Tibetan Scrolls and Images lately brought from 
Gyantse,” by S. C. Vidyahhisana. No. 2, pp. 25-42, ‘‘Sal-ammoniac: a 
| Study in Primitive Chemistry,” by H. E. Stapleton. No. 3, pp- 43-45, 
““The Similarity of the Tibetan to the Kashgar-Brahmi Alphabet,” by 
A. H. Francke (with 5 plates). No. 4. pp. 47-70, “‘ Alchemical Equipment 
in the Eleventh Century, a-p ,” by H. E. Stapleton and R. F. Azo (with 
t plate). No. 5, pp. 73-84, ‘* Malaysian Barnacles in the Indian Museum, 
with a List of the Indian Pedunculata,” by N. Annandale (with rx plate). 
No. 6, pp. 85-91, ‘ Ashrafpur Copper-plate Grants of Devakhadga,” by 
G. M. Laskar (with 1 plate). No. 7, pp. 93-127, ‘‘ Festivals and Folklore 
of Gilgit,” by Ghulam Muhammad. No, 8, pp. 93-119, ‘‘ Notes on the 
Bhotias of Almora and British Garhwal,” by C. A. Sherring. No. 9, pp. 
121-181, ‘‘ Religion and Customs of the Uraons,” by P. Dehon, S.J. (Cal- 
-cutta, 1905 [1-5, 7]: 1906 [6, 8, 9]). (Price:—x, 2s. 3¢.; 2, 1s. 6.3 
B, 2S. 102.5 4, 25. 3d. 3 5, 25. 3d. 3 6, 10d. $ 7, 25. 10d. ; 8, 25.3 9, 2s. 10d. 
NO. 1932, VOL. 75 | 
The paper on the Bhotias tells us a good deal about 
a little-known people. Their culture is partly Hindu and 
partly Tibetan. With the exception of the Jethoras, they 
are tradesmen by instinct and education. The system of 
** house-connections *’ was their business method, until the 
treaty of Lhasa in 1904 changed the conditions of trade. 
The national institution of the rambang, or village club, 
presents features of importance for the study of similar 
customs. In their marriage ceremonies there is a mock 
capture of the bride. The distinction between children and 
adults is marked, in language and custom, by the permanent 
teeth. After the burning of a corpse a bone is taken from 
the pyre and placed with much ceremony in what are 
known as ‘ ghost-boots,’’ while advice is given to the de- 
parted spirit as to the road he has to take. 
The most considerable of these papers is that by the late 
Father Dehon, S.J., a missionary who knew the Uraons 
well. He might have compiled a valuable monograph on 
the people with whom he had worked for so many years 
had he lived. His notes reveal a liberal and scientific mind, 
and contain much new and already elaborated information 
to supplement Dalton and Risley. The Uraons or Oraons 
are one of the most interesting branches of the so-called 
Dravidian race. One or two details will show what the 
reader may expect to find in the paper. More than evil 
spirits they fear the evil eye and the ‘‘ evil mouth,’’ and 
the palkhausna rite to obviate the evil results of envy is in 
constant use. Father Dehon is particularly complete and 
lucid in his account of their theistic and spiritualistic 
beliefs. Each dead man has two shades, a light and a 
heavy; the latter goes to Markha (heaven), the former re- 
mains among the living. Their ancestor-worship is full of 
pathos and affection. Human sacrifice, the author assures 
us, still occu1s, in spite of the vigilance of the authorities. 
Waifs and strays, tramps and strangers, are the victims, 
and the object of the sacrifice is to promote the success of 
the crops. The susceptibility of these natives to hypnotic 
influence is remarkable, and considerable use of this 
peculiarity is made in their religious practices. We are 
ce 
even told that ‘“‘in a Mission School in Chota Nagpur, 
every time the boys sang and beat the tomtom together 
they constantly fell into trances and would run like rats 
along the rafters of the school, and do all kinds of wonderful 
things.’’ In the dhumkuria, or dormitory, in which the 
village boys sleep, there is an organised system of bullying, 
the object of which is to make them hardy members of 
society. What would our educationists say to this? The 
panch is the whole community represented by the older 
members, and forms their republican chamber. There is a 
proverb, repeated on all important occasions, ‘‘ above God, 
below the panch.” 
Two papers owe their material to the late Tibetan ex- 
pedition. Some Tibetan scrolls from Gyantse contain 
interesting accounts of Buddhist saints, but do not seem 
to add anything new. Mr. Francke argues that the 
beautiful Tibetan script is derived from the Kashgar 
Brahmi characters. To one whose acquaintance with the 
ordinary Devanagari Sanskrit alphabet is but recent, the 
author seems to make out a good case for his theory. 
Mr. Stapleton’s study in primitive chemistry is extremely 
interesting. He traces the connection between savage 
magic and medizeval alchemy, with special reference to the 
process of obtaining sal-ammoniac from burnt hair. His 
other paper, with Mr. Azo, deals with the materials and 
apparatus of alchemy in the eleventh century, and is worth 
the attention of chemists who are interested in the origins 
of their science. It is chiefly written round an Arabic 
book. Inter alia, he shows that importance was attached 
to weights in chemical experiments 700 years before the 
time of Black and Lavoisier. 
Marine zoologists will find new examples of Pedunculata 
described and illustrated in Mr. Annandale’s paper. 
The Ashrafpur copper plates reveal the existence of a 
hitherto unknown line of Buddhist kings in east Bengal. 
There are some good plates in the volume. The press- 
correcting is at times annoying; there are too many mis- 
prints, and it is confusing to find two papers each com- 
mencing on p. 93, one ending on p. 119, the other on p. 127, 
while the succeeding paper begins on p. 121. 
A. ERNEST CRAWLEY. 
