436 



NA TURE 



[August 29, 1901 



factors. If the principles can be applied to the development of 

 will power and co-ordination, why not to memory, association, 

 imagination, and reasoning as well ? All have a physiological 

 basis, and in so far all are governed, in a given individual, by 

 the same principles of growth. There is at least a wide field 

 here for inquiry and practical investigation. There can be no 

 doubt that the present system of secondary and collegiate in- 

 struction, which requires an equal amount of work from all 

 pupils, causes much harm to many individuals. Mr. Davis's 

 results emphasise the importance of recognising the individual 

 in the training of either physical or mental ability. 



An elementary text-book of zoology, which has been prepared 

 for the Cambridge Natural Science Series by Mr. A. E. Shipley 

 of Cambridge and Prof. MacBride of McGill University, 

 Montreal, will be published on September 9 by the University 

 Press in England and the Macmillan Co. in New York. 



A CATALOGUE of works on chemistry and chemical technology 

 in the library of the Patent Office has just been published as 

 No. 6 of the Patent Office Library Series. The list comprises 

 the titles of 885 works (79 serials, 806 text-books, cSic. ), repre- 

 senting about 3300 volumes. The titles are classified under 

 146 headings and sub-headings, so that students using the 

 Patent Oftice library can readily find the works available upon 

 any subject in chemistry. 



The United States Board on Geographic Names has issued a 

 special report giving the accepted spellings of 4000 geographical 

 words used in the Philippine Archipelago. When the islands 

 were acquired by the United States in 1S98, and new charts 

 had to be prepared, much confusion existed as to the geo- 

 graphical orthography — Spanish, Malay, American and English 

 methods of spelling native names being in use. Acting upon 

 the advice of the Board, the U.S. Hydrographic Office adopted 

 the spelling upon the best Spanish official charts and maps, and 

 a list of about 4000 coastwise names was compiled, chiefly from 

 Spanish sources. This is the list which has now been pub- 

 lished. Another list, containing about 6000 Philippine geo- 

 graphical names, was prepared independently by Father Algue, 

 director of the Jesuit Observatory at Manila, and these have 

 been accepted by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey for the 

 atlas of the Philippine Islands shortly to be issued. To ensure 

 uniformity. Father Algue has revised the present list, so that all 

 the names in it now agree with those used in the Coast Survey 

 atlas. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Bonnet Monkey {Macaciis sinicus) from 

 India, presented by Mr. H. S. Kemp ; a Japanese Deer (Cervus 

 sika) from Japan, presented by Sir Douglas Brooke, Bart. ; a 

 Short-headed Phalanger {Petaiirus breviceps) from Australia, 

 presented by Captain Gordon Wilson ; two Common King- 

 fishers (Alcedo ispi'da), British, presented by Mr. W. Milne ; two 

 Rosy-faced l^ove-h\tAi{Agaforiiisroseicollis) from South Africa, 

 presented by Mrs. Harry Blades ; an Alligator (Alligator 

 mississippiensis) from Southern North America, presented by 

 Mr. J. Foster Spence ; a New Zealand Parrakeet {Cyano- 

 rhanipkus novae-zealandiae), a One- wattled Cassowary {Casu- 

 an'iis iiniappeitdictilatus), a Westermann's Cassowary ( Cfli'Ka^vKj 

 westernianni) from New Guinea, two White-breasted Sea Eagles 

 (Haliastur leucostemus) from Australia, an Angulated Tortoise 

 ( Tesliido aiigzi/ala) from South Africa, two Pale-headed Tree 

 Boas [Epicrates aiigiiUfer) from Cuba, a Common Roe [Capre- 

 oiiis caproea), European, two Getulian Ground Squirrels (Xerus 

 geluliis) from Morocco, deposited ; a Spot-wing { Psaroghssa 

 spiloptera) from India, purchased ; a Burrhel Wild Sheep (Ovis 

 burrhel), an Axis Deer {Cervus axis), born in the Gardens. 

 NO. I 66 I, VOL. 64] 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 

 Astronomical Occurrences in September. 

 Sept. I. 7h. 36m. Minimum of Algol (6 Persei). 



4. i6h. 2m. to l6h. 58m. Moon occults € Tauri 

 (mag. 37). 



6. loh. 48ni. to ilh. 13m. Moon occults 71 Orionis 



(mag. 5-1). 



7. Pallas in opposition to the sun. 



9. I4h. 32m. to I5h. 25m. Moon occults k Cancri 



(mag. 5-0). 

 12. Perihelion passage of Encke's comet. 

 15. Venus. Illuminated portion of disc = 0795. 

 15. Mars. ,, ,, ,, = 0933. 



15. I5h. Venus in conjunction with the moon. Venus 



1° 15' N. 

 18. I2h. 30m. Minimum of Algol (y3 Persei). 

 21. 9h. 19m. ,, ,, ,, 



27. 6h. 5m. to 9h. 13m. Transit of Jupiter's Satellite III. 



28. 6h. im. to 6h. 41m. Moon occults 62 Piscium 



(mag. 6'o). 



New Elements of Comet 1901 (I.). — From observations 

 made in May and June at the Cape and Cordoba (Astronomische 

 Nacliriihten, Bd. 156, No. 3734), Ilerr II. Thiele has computed 

 a new set of elements for this comet, giving the following 

 orbit : — 



T = 1901 April 24-28845 Berlin M.T. 



a = 203 2 1 5 ■ I ~j 



8 = 109 38 53-1 -I9010 



i = 131 4 49-3 J 



log? = 9-388827 



An ephemeris is also given founded on these revised elements, 

 so that search for the now faint comet may be continued. 



Ephemeris for 12//. Berlin Midnight, 



Brightness of the Solar Corona, January 22, 1898. — 

 In a paper read before the Royal Society, Prof. Turner gives 

 a preliminary description of the results obtained from an in- 

 vestigation into the law of variation of the brightness of the 

 solar corona in relation to the distance from the sun's limb 

 {Proc. Roy. Soc, vol. Ixviii. pp. 36-44). Instead of the 

 rotating sectors used in previous similar investigations, a 

 graduated gelatine wedge has been employed to diminish the 

 intensity of the comparison beam. An entirely new method 

 has been adopted for representing the results, which has led 

 to the suggestion of a more satisfactory law for the variation 

 of coronal brightness with the distance from the sun. 



Up to the present time the relation usually adopted was that 

 formulated by Prof. Harkness in 1878, viz. : — 



Brightness 



(distance from sun's limb)- ' 



but this was not in agreement with the visual measures of 

 Thorpe and Abney in 1886 and 1893. 

 The new relation now suggested is — 



Brightness oc 



(distance from sun's cenlref 



Tables giving the measures along six different radii show 

 sufficiently small residuals to warrant the formula being pro- 

 visionally used to express the variation. It is found that a 

 constant is required to be added to the formula, the physical 

 interpretation of which is most probably the sky-glare present 

 during totality, and which would necessarily give a certain 



