NA TURE 



[Dec. 4, 1884 



case when it was wholly in the air, because, to be of any use 

 then, the strokes would have to be so rapid as to be scarcely 

 countable, as is the case with certain sea fowl (notably auks) 

 which use their wings (with a comparatively slow stroke) whilst 

 swimming under water, but when Hying move them so rapidly 

 that the strokes can either be counted with difficulty or not at 

 all. On watching flying-fish whilst in the air, I noticed a 

 flickering of the fins, indicating what I believe to have been 

 rapid motion. 



As Mr. Mitchell's observations, on which he chiefly relies, 

 were made when looking down from the high bows of a steamer, 

 the "waving from side to side" of the tail of the fish, being a 

 lateral motion, was clearly seen, whilst the movements of the 

 side fins would be less easily discernible. 



Finally, could the impetus acquired by the fish, when spring- 

 ing from the water, carry it through the air " 50 or loo yards" 

 (Mr. Mitchell's estimate) without the aid of any additional pro- 

 palling force during its fight? If so, the initial velocity must 

 have been very great. John Rae 



4, Addison Gardens, W. , November 27 



The "Jeannette" Drift 



In Nature of November 20 (p. 66) you give an account of 

 the finding of some relics of the Jeannette, which have been 

 picked up on an ice-floe at Jnlianhaab, in lat. 6i° N., long. 

 46 W., near the south p lint of Greenland, and which must 

 have drifted from the New Siberian Islands in lat. 75° N., long. 

 155 E., where the Jeannette was squashed three years ago. 

 This I consider a most important find with regard to Arctic 

 navigation and discovery. The question arises, How did the 

 ice-floe get to Jnlianhaab ? I propose the following solution. 

 The Siberian Islands bear nearly due north from Fulianhaab, 

 and in a straight line up Davis's Strait, Baffin's Bay, Smith's 

 Sound, Lincoln Sea, &c, and across at a distance of about 250 

 knots from the Pole. I think it most probable that the floe 

 may have drifted through "the unknown," or what Osborn 

 calls "the land of the white bear," the large unexplored area 

 to the west of Banks's Land, and have got into Baffin's Bay 

 through one of the sounds on its west coast — either by Jones's 

 Sound, where the tide runs eastward at the rate of two knots an 

 hoar (" Inglefield," p. 77), or by Banks's Strait and Lancaster 

 Sound. 



We know that the icebergs come down Baffin's Bay and 

 Davis's Strait into the Atlantic, and the floe has had fair success 

 in navigating through a distance of 2700 knots to reach Jnlian- 

 haab in three years. 



I cannot for a moment suppose that this ice-floe has come 

 from the Siberian Islands, via Francis Joseph Land, Spltzbergen, 

 Iceland, to Greenland, a distance of 3600 knots, for that course 

 would have been directly against the Gulf Sticam. in which no 

 floe could last three years, even if it were 26 feet thick, as 

 Inglefield found them in Jones's Sound, or 40 feet thick, as 

 McClure found them in Banks's Strait. McClure found the 

 current west of Point Barrow going 2 knots per hour to the 

 south, evidently making for Belli ing's Strait, while of the north- 

 west point of Banks's Land the drift was north-east 1 knot an 

 hour, evidently going towards Lancaster Sound. 



I therefore conclude that the Jeannette relics could not have 

 come westward, they must h.wc come eastward, and this proves 

 that there is a course open which is unknown to us. 



I would suggest that a numbei of very strong buoys, capable 

 of resisting ice-pressure, should be set adrift on ice floes on 

 us of the Siberian coast, each numbered indelibly, so 

 that when recovered it could be ascertained whence they started, 

 and their course might possibly be ascertained from the Eskimo, 

 who may have seen them, or by other means. This experiment 

 is worth a trial. R. s. Newall 



Ferndene, November 30 



A Meteor Visible in the Daytime 

 At Waterpark, just below Waterford City, about 4 p.m. on 

 October 15, my attention was attracted by a flash of increased 

 light. Looking up, 1 saw in the south-south west, about half 

 way between the horizon and the zenith, a bright meteor slowly 

 sailing nearly due west, its apparent size about half that of the full 

 moon, intensely white in colour at the centre, passing into blue 

 at the circumference. It described a low arc. and was in sight 

 for several seconds, leaving a trail of indigo blue with lighter 



luminous edges. The meteor disappeared behind some clouds 

 which concealed the sun at a considerable altitude above the 

 horizon. James Graves 



November 27 



Noon-Glow 



WHILE waiting at the telescope shortly before noon this date 

 to note place of sun-spots at meridian passage, masses of cloud 

 formed suddenly in a clear sky overhead, and drifting slowly due 

 south, obscured a peculiarly brilliant sun. No sooner had direct 

 light been intercepted than the upper air above cloud and sun's 

 place appeared filled with the latterly common white glare (as of 

 attenuated peat-smoke highly illuminated), which soon became 

 suffused with the now familiar rose-tint, apparent also between 

 the clouds and on south-south-west horizon, but not beneath the 

 sun on meridian. The sun's apparent meridian altitude being 

 16°, the superior limit in altitude of rose-tint was 39 ; the 

 colouring being monotone throughout, and not to be confounded 

 with that of halos. Fearing ocular deception, as often happens 

 from fatigue of eyesight, I asked an intelligent companion to 

 verify observation, more especially as the diffused white glare at 

 first slightly masked the tinting as compared with that of other 

 "glow-.'' It seems, however, plain that the ter.ns "fore-glow" 

 and "after-glow " no more cover the entire field than the Kraka- 

 toan dust. D. J. Rowan 



Kingstown, November 24 



Rosy Glow about the Moon 



After watching for some time this evening a lovely twilight 

 in the west, which though bright and luminous was not remark- 

 able for strong colour, I turned toward the south-east, when the 

 moon, now well up, was shining through detached fleecy clouds, 

 and was surprised to see about her a rosy-coloured glow, very 

 like thai so often seen about the sun ; the nearer clouds, though 

 very high, telling as a cold almost greenish grey upon it. This 

 glow, of course, was much lower in tone than that about the 

 sun, but both in character and extent just like it, and quite 

 distinct, and broader than those prismatic hues often seen about 

 the moon, and called by sailors "cock's eyes" or peacock's- 

 eyes. This was at 4.45 p.m., and as the twilight faded the glow 

 disappeared, from which I infer that it was caused by vapour 

 lying high enough in the south-east to catch some of the very 

 last rays of the sun, but too far east to give a glow in the west. 



I see that a correspondent of the Standard telegraphed that on 

 the evening of the 25th "a sunset equal in splendour to those of 

 last autumn was seen over the Yorkshire wolds. The pre- 

 dominating hue was a rich crimson. " The weather here was cloudy 

 that evening, but between narrow openings in the clouds the 

 sky was the colour of rich painted glass of a ruby-red tint 

 about 4.30 p.m. Robert Leslie 



6, Moira Place, Southampton, November 28 



Wild Fowl Decoy 



M w I ask if any of your readers who are interested in wild- 

 fowl decoys will send me the names and positions of any past 

 and present ones they may happen to know or have heard of. 

 I am endeavouring to save the history of decoys from oblivion, 

 and though I have many hundred letters, maps, and sketches 

 connected with this interesting subject, still I may have a great 

 deal of information yet to obtain. I think the subject deserves 

 a standard work, or I would not trouble you. 



Kaltti Payne Gallwey 



Cowling Hall, Bedale, November 24 



Prehistoric Man 



During October last, the sanitary authorities of Gloucester 

 City had occasion to make some excavations in the timber-yard 

 of Messrs. Booth and Co., and in the Bristol Road adjoining 

 this yard, for the purpose of laying down a new sewer. In the 

 course of this operation the workmen disinterred, from a bed of 

 plastic clay, three human skeletons, occupying a position which 

 appears to suggest that the remains in question are probably 

 those of prehistoric man. 



Arriving accidentally on the spot some two or three days after 

 the actual find, I learned, to my great regret, that the skulls, 

 two of which had passed through my friend Mr. \Vm. Booth's 



