go 



NATURE 



[October 3, njiS 



origin of these bands, Prof. Campbell considers 

 thai the rapid cutting oil of the sun's rays before 

 totality, and the reverse process following totality, 

 may conceivably produce temperature or density 

 gradients in the earth's atmosphere which may be 

 favourable t<> effects upon tin- solai rays analogous 

 to diffraction. 



Prof. E. I'. Lewis, who was associated with the 

 Lick observers, employed a large quartz spectro- 

 graph, an objective prism with double-image 



prism loi Studying possible polarisation in the 



lines, and a double-image camera for investigating 

 the integral polarisation ol the corona. Strong 



polarisation of the corona was recorded to a. dis- 



tance greater than the solar diameter. 



At Green River, Wyoming, where the Mount 

 Wilson observers wen stationed, the sun was 

 partly covered bj clouds during totality. A fairly 

 good photograph of the corona, however. Was 

 secured by .Mr. Kllerman with an 8-in. objective 

 of ^o-f t. local length, and Dr. St.- John was par- 

 tially successful in his work on the spect'-um of 

 tlie corona. The scale of the spectrograph em- 

 ployed was o A per millimetre in the region of the 

 green line, and the slit coincided with the sun's 

 equator on an image 2 cm. in diameter. An iron 

 arc comparison impressed on the plate leads to 

 the wave-length 5^03^04, on Rowland's scale, for 

 .the green coronal line on the east limb of the sun, 

 but the west limb was unfortunately obscured by 

 clouds. If it be assumed that the rotation of the 

 corona is of the same order as that of the chromo- 

 sphere, the corrected wave-length becomes 

 530V-39- It is important to note that the photo- 

 graph gave the impression that trie green line 

 might have appeared less simple with a stronger 

 exposure. Some valuable records of the spectra 

 of the prominences and upper chromosphere were 

 also secured with a concave grating objective spec- 

 trograph. 



The principal station occupied by the Yerkes 

 observers was also at Green River, Wyoming. 

 Prof. Barnard obtained photographs of the corona 

 and prominences with a 6-in. lens of 60-ft. focal 

 length, and others with a photographic objective 

 of 12-in. aperture, which are stated to show the 

 prominences with an excellence of definition rarely 

 equalled. An extensive programme of spectro- 

 scopii s planned by Prof. Frost, but the 



clouds were too dense to permit of successful 

 results in all cases. The chief novelty was the use 

 of a moving-picture camera for recording the suc- 

 cessive change: in the chromospheric spectrum 

 near the begin 1 [d end of totality, the ordinary 



lens of this apparatu: being replaced by an objec- 

 tive prism and a lens ol |o-em. focal length. Ex- 

 posures were made at tin rate of sixteen per 

 second, and, in spile of some interference by 

 clouds, many hundreds of interesting spectra were 

 obtained. Photometric measures, and photographs 

 of the coronal rings lor measurement of the in- 

 tensity and distribution : f light v ithin the corona, 

 btained by Prof. Parkhurst. 

 \n expedition from the Lowell < ibservatory, 

 under the direction of Dr. V. M. Slipher, was 

 553, VOL. I02] 



located near Syracuse, Kansas, and lure also the 

 sun was covered by thin cloud during totality. 

 The large-scale photographs, however, show much 



delicate detail, and the shape of the corona is de- 

 scribed as lying between the maximum and mini- 

 mum types. \f hes ol coronal matter above the 



brighter promini 1 es wen- conspicuous, app 

 showing the influence of the prominences upon the 



structure of the corona, as also noted by Prof. 

 Campbell. Numerous spectroscopic photographs 

 were obtained, and one ol those taken with a single 

 pi ism shows the solar absorption lines in the outer 

 corona in addition to the emission lines and con- 

 tinuous spectrum of the inner corona. A prelimi- 

 nary measure gave 53030 for the- wave-length of 

 the green line. Photographs of the green ring with 

 a slitless instrument show thai the irregularities 

 have no relation to those oi the hydrogen and 

 helium rini^s, and there is no obvious correlation 

 between the prominences and the inner corona. 



Successful observations were also made by ex- 

 peditions from the L'.nitcd States Naval Observa- 

 tory, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 

 the Sproul Observatory, and other institutions. 

 The only permanent observatory in the bell of 

 totality was the Chamberlin Observatory at Den- 

 ver, and it is unfortunate that the 20-in. refractor 

 and other instruments assembled for the occasion 

 could not be utilised on account oi dense 1 loads. 



MODERN STUDIES IN SCHOOLS. 



T11L report (Cd. 9036, price gd. net) of the 

 Committee appointed to inquire into the 

 position of modern languages in the educational 

 system of Great Britain, published shortly after 

 that of the Committee on the position of natural 

 science, which was summarised in Nature of April 

 18, p. 135, was awaited with peculiar interest. It 

 was expected to put new life into the modern sides 

 of schools, so that modern language teaching 

 should afford some gift which the study of lan- 

 guages c an Inst provide. The questions really are : 

 What is the part which the study of modern 

 languages shall take in the creative life of the 

 world, and what is its distinctive message? With- 

 out some high purpose the modem sides of 

 schools must be dull and mechanical. We looked 

 for inspiration, but have been disappointed. The 

 members of the Committee are not themsehes in- 

 spired with enthusiasm for the part that modern 

 studies shall take— -which the studies alone can 

 take in the uplifting of the world. 



The truth is that with the authors of the report 

 the studv of modern languages is their second love. 

 So we are met at the threshold with business and 

 diplomacy. It is true that, later, the report seeks 

 some higher purpose, but only half-heartedly and 

 without the enthusiasm of conviction. Commerce, 

 we are gravely told, "is one of the principal ends 

 of education, if it is not the whole of it " ; and the 

 Committee has consulted a large number of com- 

 mercial firms. But ideals which are springing into 

 life, which it is the essential work of education to 

 foster, may transform the whole of our commercial 



