NOVEMBER 27, 1913] 
26. 5h. 57m. Venus in conjunction with the 
Moon (Venus 5° 13/ N.). : 
12h. 32m. Jupiter in conjunction with the 
Moon (Jupiter 3° 46’ N.). i 
29. gh. 45m. Uranus in conjunction with the 
Moon (Uranus 2° 53' N.). 
A New Hitt Astronomicat Orpservatory.—M, H. 
Perrotin, writing in the Revue Générale des Sciences 
(November 15, No. 21), records the foundation of a 
new hill observatory on Mont Saleéve, at an elevation 
of 1250 metres. This new observatory owes its origin 
to the fact that M. Schaer, of the Geneva Observatory, 
having completed the construction of a Cassegrain 
telescope of 100 cm. in diameter, looked for a suit- 
able spot in the canton of Geneva where an observa- 
tory could be built in order to make the best use of 
this telescope. The plain of Geneva, bounded by the 
Jura, the Saléve, and the lake, was always found to 
be invaded by the mist during the fine season and 
by fog in winter. Such bad observing conditions are 
nearly always associated with low-lying stations, and 
hence the general tendency of either moving old or 
creating new observatories on elevated sites vemoved 
from large rivers, lakes, and towns. M. Schaer’s 
work has always been encouraged by M. Honegger, 
and it is due to the latter that this high site can be 
utilised. The observatory will be used both for astro- 
nomy and meteorology, and the chief astrophysical 
work will be the study of the spectra of the stars of 
the second and third magnitude with very great dis- 
persion. An astrophysical laboratory will be attached, 
and an electric current of 500 volts will be available ; 
spectroheliographic work will also be done. M. Schaer 
invites French astronomers or meteorologists to maixe 
use of the site either by using the observatory’s in- 
struments or any instruments they may like to bring 
with them. 
28. 
MEASUREMENT OF RapiAL VELOCITIES BY OBJECTIVE 
GratinG SpEecTROGRAPH.—The determination of the 
velocities in the line of sight of the fainter stars is 
becoming an urgent necessity in astrophysics, and 
consequently efforts are being made to replace the 
slit spectrograph by other arrangements capable of 
utilising a greater proportion of the light available. 
To this end M. Maurice Hamy explains in a note 
in No. 17, Comptes rendus, a method by which. an 
objective grating spectrograph may be employed for 
this purpose. The grating, preferably one giving 
under normal incidence only two symmetrical spectra, 
must be mounted so that these spectra may be photo- 
graphed in two separate cameras. A collimator fixed 
to the same base is used to furnish comparison spectra 
from a terrestrial light-source. To eliminate the 
effects of variations of the angle of incidence the 
exposures on the star and comparison have to be 
intermittent and alternate. The reduction is based 
on a rigorous relation between directions of incident 
and diffracted beams, wave-length, constant of the 
grating, and order used. Two methods are given for 
the measurement of the plates. 
Sun-spor AREAS FOR 1912.—Dr. Dyson communi- 
cates the usual annual summary relating to the areas 
and positions of sun-spots for the past year to the 
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 
(vol. Ixxiii., No. 9), and its chief interest lies in the 
fact that that year and the present one includes the 
epoch of a minimum. In 1912 the mean daily spotted 
area was only thirty-seven millionths of the sun’s 
visible hemisphere, while the values for 1910 and 
1gII were respectively 264 and 64 millionths. Com- 
parison is made between the years of minimum of 
the three preceding cycles; the values for 1878 gave 
an area of twenty-two, for 1889 an area of seventy- 
NO. 2300, VOL. 92] 
NATURE 
83 
ioe) 
eight, and for 1901 an area of twenty-nine, so that the 
low value in the last-mentioned year is not quite 
attained in 1912. 
Attention is directed to the fact that, up to Septem- 
ber 12 of the current year, a ‘‘ much feebler condition 
of sun-spot activity even than 1912"’ has been ex- 
perienced, so that the sun-spot minimum now in 
progress is probably going to turn out an unusually 
low and prolonged one. Minima of this character 
have generally been followed by a slow rise to a low 
maximum. ‘The fact that some small spots have been 
observed in high latitudes suggests the commence- 
ment of a new period of activity. It is interesting 
to note that since 1905, and including that year, the 
number of days on which photographs of the sun 
were taken have been either 364 or 365. 
CURRICULA OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS.) 
THE recently issued memorandum on the curricula 
of secondary schools displays with remarkable 
clearness the attitude of the Board towards educa- 
tional problems. It is to be hoped that it will be 
widely read outside as well as inside the scholastic 
profession. Inevitably the influence of the Board on 
the work of the schools gets greater year by year, and 
it is vital to national. progress that this influence 
should be exercised in a broad and enlightened spirit. 
We may state at once that we have never read an official 
document which gave us more reason to hope that 
the dangers of bureaucratic control will be avoided, 
while the opportunities for removing inefficiency and 
for coordinating and economising our educational 
resources will be watchfully grasped. 
In the introduction we read:—‘The present 
memorandum ... is not intended to contain any 
dogmatic exposition of educational doctrine . . . the 
problems of education have to be re-stated for each 
generation . . . the Board could do no greater dis- 
service than by attempting to check the spirit of 
exploration, experiment, and inquiry which should 
exist in every school. . . . Organisation alone cannot 
make a good school. The real success of the work 
depends on the harmonious activity of a well-equipped 
staff, and also—a fact not always sufficiently taken 
into account—on the cooperation of the parents.” 
Turning from these expressions of opinion, which, 
however excellent, are platitudes unless translated into 
practice, we find that the Board regards as cardinal 
and essential subjects ‘‘ English language and litera- 
ture, at least one language other than English, geo- 
graphy, history, mathematics, science, and drawing." 
Provision must be made for training in singing and 
manual work, and for promoting the physical de- 
velopment of the pupils. The memorandum lays 
emphasis on the fact that it is impossible for boys 
and girls to profit adequately if the duration of school- 
life be curtailed. The suggestion is put forward that 
some of the work hitherto restricted to technical 
schools may wisely be attempted in connection with 
the general education of the older boys and girls in 
the secondary school. The report truly states that, 
at present, time is often wasted in the middle and 
higher forms through the inefficiency of earlier 
teaching, through the absence of coordination (e.g. 
in the syllabuses for mathematics and science or for 
science and geography), and through the inclusion in 
the syllabuses of much that is trivial and unessential, 
to the neglect of what is of capital importance. 
The question of insistence on Latin is left in a 
curious position. If only one foreign language be 
offered, the school is free to propose any language 
which is suited to the needs of the pupils and for 
4 Board of Education Circular 826, Price 2d. 
