396 



NA TURE 



yFeb. 26, 1885 



others. A collection of photographs showing the structural 

 damage will be exhibited. The attendance of those interested 

 in the subjected is invited. 



The last earthquakes in Southern Spain (February 15) were 

 incident with slight subterranean motions in Algiers and in 

 Savoy. The valley of Isere and Chambery principally felt them. 



An exceptionally severe shock of earthquake was felt at 

 Geraldton in Western Australia on January 5. It was preceded 

 by a subterranean rumbling lasting ten seconds. Houses were 

 violently shaken, and the walls rocked, causing much consterna- 

 tion. The sea subsided three feet in a quarter of an hour, 

 returning gradually to its ordinary level. The weather at the 

 time was clear and the temperature cold. 



Messrs. Sonnenschein and Co. have published a third 

 edition of Dr. Coppinger's "Cruise of the Alert." 



We have received from the Royal Museum of Anthropology 

 of Leyden No. I of its "Anthropological Notices," by Drs. 

 Serrurier and Jenkate. It deals with the Kroomen of Liberia, 

 arranges the observations in them after the Broca-Topinard 

 method. Only two individuals of the tribe, who had arrived as 

 sailors on board a vessel at Rotterdam, were examined. They 

 came from the region situated between Monrovia and the River 

 Sesters. A plate containing an outline of the feet of each, and 

 of the hand of one, is also added. 



The writer of the letter on " Human Hibernation" inNATURE 

 of February 5 (p. 316) was Col. C. K. Bushe. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Serval (Felis scrvali ), a Civet Cat ( Viverra 

 civetta 9 ) from West Africa, presented by Mr. T. J. Alldridge, 

 F.Z. S. ; a Common Badger (Miles laxus ¥ ), British, presented by 

 Mr. Cuthbert Johnson ; two Common Foxes ( Co«!i »«//« i <5 ), 

 British, presented by Lady Brassey, F.Z.S. ; two Pileated Jays 

 (Cyanocorax pileatus) from Buenos Ayres, presented by Mr. 

 Theo. Walsh ; a Roseate Cockatoo (Caeatua roseicapilla) from 

 Australia, deposited ; two Malayan Squirrels (Sciurus nigro- 

 vittatus) from Malacca, a Four-horned Antelope (Tetraceros 

 t/uadricornis S ) from India, a Golden-winged Woodpecker 

 (Colaptes auratus) from North America, a Pine Grosbeak (Pini- 

 cola enudeator), European, a Brazilian Teal (Querquedula brasil- 

 iensis 9 ) from Brazil, purchased ; four Long-fronted Gerbilles 

 (Gcrbillus longifions), born in the Gardens. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN 



The Double-star Piazzi XIV. 212. — Piazzi first remarked 

 from his own observations between 1800 and 1809, the large 

 proper motion of this star, which was determined by Argelander 

 in vol. vii. of the Bonn Observations to be 2" '015 annually, in 

 the direction I5i°'2. " Der Beglciter 84m.," he adds, "theilt 

 die Bewegung des Hauptstern ; beide bilden also ein System, 

 dass eine ziemlich rasche Aenderung der Distanz und des Posi- 

 tionswinkels zeigt. ..." The following measures suffice to 

 show the nature of the change in the relative position of the 

 components : — 



Herschel and South 1823-3 ... 270^2 ... 10' -82 

 Bumham 1881-4 ... 29i 0- 3 ... I5"'38 



The most reliable measures may be closely represented by the 

 formula; — 



D . sin P = - I2"-S02 - [878020] . (t - 1850-0) 

 D . cos P = + 2" -613 + [8-96275]. (/ - 1850-0) 

 But there is one point of interest connected with this star to 

 which attention seems hardly to have been directed — viz. the 

 strange discordances in the estimates of the magnitudes of the 

 components. To illustrate this we may quote the following from 

 a much larger number of estimates recorded :— 



At 6/1. Greenwich Mean Time 



Star A Star B 



Herschel 1835-45 ... 54 ... 7 



1837-46 ■•• 6 ••• 9 



Jacob 1856-24 ... 6 ... 74 



Argelander ... 1862-89 ... 4-9 ... 84 



O. Stone ... 187737 ••• T° ••• 8-5 



Flammarion ... 1877-51 ... 5-5 ... 6'5 



O. Stone ... 1879-47 ••• 5'° ••• 8"o 



Bumham ... 1880-32 ... 60 ... 8'o 



O. Stone ... 1880-35 ... 8-o 95 



Burnham ... 1881-36 ... 6-5 ... 8'o 



Gould has 6 -3 and 7J. The star is not in Argelander's Urano- 



metria, nor has Heis got it. Argelander made a difference of 



3i magnitudes in 1862-63, Flammarion in 1877 rated the fainter 



star only one magnitude below the other. The difference between 



Burnham and O. Stone at nearly the same time in 1880 may 



have been due to atmospheric conditions at Cincinnati, but the 



star appears to be worth watching for variability ; compare 



Argelander in 1S62 with Burnham in 1881 or with Gould. 



Wolf's Comet. — The following ephemeris for 6h. G.M.T. 

 is founded upon one for Berlin midnight, calculated from Prof. 

 Krueger's last orbit, by Dr. Lamp, of Kiel : — 



R.A. Decl. Log. distance from 



h. m. s. , Earth Sun 



March 2 ... 3 7 13 ... -o 9-7 ... 0-3243 ... 0-2752 



3 ■•• 9 3i •■ -o 26 



4 ... 11 49 ... +0 4-4 ... 0-3296 ... 0-2776 



5 ... 14 7 ... o 113 



6 .. 16 24 ... o i8'2 ... 0-3348 ... o-2Soo 



7 ... iS 42 .. o 25-0 



8 ... 20 59 ... o 31-8 ... 0-3400 ... 0-2825 



9 ... 23 16 ... o 38-5 



10 ... 25 ss ... o 45-3 ... 0-3451 ... 0-2849 



11 ... 27 50 ... o 52-0 



12 ... 30 6 ... o 5S6 ... 0-3502 ... 0-2873 



13 ... 32 22 ... 1 51 



M •■• 3 34 38 ... +1 " - 6 ... 0-3553 .. 0-2897 

 Mr. J. I. Plummer observed the comet for position on February 

 18, notwithstanding the presence of a 3J days' moon. 



ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 



WEEK, 1885, MARCH 1-7 

 (For the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at 

 Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24, is here 

 employed. ) 



At Greenwich on March 1 

 Sun rises, 6h. 47m. ; souths, I2n. 12m. 27'8s. ; sets, 17I1. 39m. ; 

 decl. on meridian, 7 24' S. : Sidereal Time at Sunset, 

 4h. 1 8m. 

 Moon (Full at 4I1.) rises, 17I1. 12m.*; souths, oh. Im. ; sets, 

 6h. 38m. ; decl. on meridian, 6° 15' N. 



6 Librae 4^ ... o 52 ... 2 2 



Phenomena of Jupiter's Satellites 

 March 



10 II. eel. reap. 

 17 53 II. tr. egr. 



2 6 III. occ. disap. 

 4 16 I. occ. disap. 



1 34 I. tr. ing. 



3 54 I. tr. egr. 



22 42 I. occ. disap. 



I 20 I. eel. reap. 



4 5 II. tr. ing. 



19 19 III. tr. egr. 



20 o I. tr. ing. 



22 20 I. tr. egr. 

 19 49 I. eel. reap. 



23 4 II. occ. disap. 



The occultations of stars and phenomena of Jupiter's satellil 



uchi 



