5 88 



NA TURE 



{April 23, 1885 



nearly or quite two feet ; the body is short and thick, the head 

 triangular, half of it being covered by shields ; the colour is 

 earthy brown, with dark brown circular markings or spots ; the 

 belly is black, but the edges of the abdominal plates are whitish. 

 The same snake has been observed in Japan, Formosa, Mon- 

 golia, Chihli, Sze-chuan, and Kiang-hsi. It is much di 

 by the Chinese, who give it several fanciful names ; bit its 

 correct name is compounded of two ideographs meaning 

 "worm" and "to strike,'' from the idea that it invariably 

 inflicts two wounds. It derives one of its names ("only a day") 

 from the notion that a person bitten by it lives only twenty-four 

 hours. According to Ksempfer, soldiers are fond of the flesh, 

 and to this day it is highly esteemed as a febrifuge, and takes 

 an important position in the Japanese pharmacopoeia. The skin 

 also is preserved as a talisman of singular efficacy. The popular 

 belief is that the mamushi gives birth to its young through the 

 mouth, but it is really oviviparous. It is said by one native 

 encyclopaedia that if the flesh be thrown on the ground the earth 

 in the vicinity begins to hiss and steam, that the fat eats holes 

 into everything it touches, that it is covered with bristles like a 

 pig, is seven or eight feet long, carries a sting in its tail, and 

 finally, that it should be eaten with "plum vinegar," or the 

 leaves of the water-pepper. Taken thus, it cures irregular cir- 

 culation of the blood and stubborn ^ulcers. The bite is seldom 

 fatal, but when it is so, death occurs from circulation in the 

 pulmonary arteries, producing asphyxia. As is the case with all 

 Ciolalidie bites — for the mamushi is allied to the American rattle- 

 snake, though far less venomous — the young can inflict poison- 

 ous wounds immediately after birth. The poison canal runs 

 directly through the fang, while with many other snakes it 

 simply lies in the groove of the fang. This tooth, or fang, may 

 be compared with the needle of a hypodermic syringe ; under 

 the microscope it is flat, elliptic, sharp-pointed, and curved 

 inward. In treating the wound, external applications are use- 

 less. In eating, the mamushi does not make use of its poison 

 fangs, refusing even to eat anything that is killed with its venom, 

 It is a reptile of nocturnal habits. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include two Macaque Monkeys (Macacus cynomolgus 

 i 9 ) from India, presented by Mr. A. J. McEwens, a Camp- 

 bell's Monkey (Cercopitkecus campbelli ?) from West Africa, 

 presented by Miss Lyster ; a Wild Boar (Sus sere fa 9 ), 

 European, presented by the Rev. Horace Waller ; an Emu 

 (Dromivus novcehollandid) from Australia, presented by Capt. 

 J. E. Erskine, R.N. ; two Gouldian Grass Finches (Poephila 

 gould'ue) from Australia, presented by Mr. Chas. N. Rosenfeld, 

 two Turtle Doves (Turtur communis), British, presented by 

 Miss Reinhold ; a Common Badger (Metes taxus), British, a 

 Toco Toucan (Ramphaslos toco), two Guira Cuckoos (Guira 

 piririgua), a Brazilian Caracara (Polyborus brasiliensis) from 

 Brazil, a Short-tailed Albatross (Diomedea brachyura) from 

 Antarctic Seas, four Pintails (Dafila acuta $ 6 9 ? ), European, 

 four Summer Ducks (CEx sponsa 6 i 9 9 ) from North America, 

 two Spotted-billed Ducks (Anas pcecilorhyncha i 9 ) from India, 

 deposited ; two Summer Ducks (CEx sponsa <J 9) from North 

 America, four Mandarin Ducks (CEx gatericulata S i 9 9 ) from 

 China, a Swinhoe's Pheasant (Euplocamus swinhoii i ) from 

 Formosa, a Common Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia), European, 

 purchased ; three Black Swans (Cygnus atratus), bred in the 

 Gardens. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN 

 IIalley's Comet in 1456.— " This comet cannot exhibit a 

 greater degree of brightness than when it passes the perihelion 

 in the month of June ; it may then be observed some days 

 before perihelion ; it is visible at perihelion itself, and, when it 

 has passed that point, it continues to approach the earth, and its 



brightness consequently increases for some days." In these 

 terms Pingre introduces his account of the appearance of 

 IIalley's comet in 1456, when, from the vague notices in the 

 European chronicles which were available to him, he fixed the 

 perihelion passage on June 8 at 22I1. 10m. Paris mean time. 

 The comet was observed in China en the morning of May 27. 



A recent discovery of contemporary documents has led to our 

 being put in possession of a much closer approximation to the 

 elements of the orbit of IIalley's comet at this return than it was 

 possible to deduce from the published records of European his- 

 torians and the Chinese description of its track given by Edouard 

 Mint in the Connaissance des Temps for 1846. Prof. Uzielli a 

 few years since found in the National Library at Florence a 

 manuscript of Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, with a chart upon 

 which the positions of the comet and neighbouring stars are 

 shown between June 8 and July 8, of which he forwarded 

 a facsimile to Prof. Celoria of the Royal Observatory at 

 Milan, who has utilised it for the determination of the comet's 

 orbit. There are in all, positions on twenty-four days. Prof. 

 Celoria first compared the places of twenty-one stars read oft" 

 from the chart, with their places reduced from modern positions 

 to 1 456 '5, and found a mean correction of + 26' to Toscanelli's 

 longitudes and + 24' to his latitudes — a rather surprising agree- 

 ment for that epoch. Whether Toscanelli obtained his places 

 from the catalogue of the Almagest, from that of Ulug Beigh, 

 or some Arabian catalogue that 'had reached him, does not 

 appear. The corrections named were applied to Toscanelli's 

 positions of the comet, and, assuming the semi-axis major to 

 have been 179676 (this value corresponding to the mean period 

 between 137S and 1835), Celoria obtains a first set of elements, 

 which are used in the formation of normal places and differential 

 equations, the solution of which leads him to the following most 

 probable elements of the comet's orbit, depending on Toscanelli's 

 observations : — 



Perihelion passage 1456, June 8 '20875, Paris M.T. 



Longitude of perihelion 298 56 47 1 E Qumox 



ascending node ... 4346 4^ of 4 ..,./:.,. 



Inclination 17 37 27 ) w ■> 



Log. excentricity 9 98580 



Log. perihelion distance 976363 



Motion — retrograde. 



On May 26 266 Paris M.T., about which time the comet was 

 detected in China, the above elements give its position in R.A. 

 35° 43', Decl. +23° 53', distance from the earth I"I40, and 

 from the sun 0646. On June 17333, m R.A. io6" - 5, Decl. 

 + 40°'7, it was at its least distance from the earth (o'446), and 

 having then passed the perihelion about nine days, it was doubt- 

 less near this time that the c unet created so much alarm by its 

 brilliancy and magnitude. On July 8 339, when it was last 

 ob, eivcd by Toscanelli, its position was in R.A. 166 34', 

 Decl. + 7°'o', distance from the earth, 1 051, and from the sun 

 0865. 



The latest translation of the Chinese description of the track 

 of the comet will be found in Williams's well-known volume, 

 p. 77- 



In addition to the observations of Halley's comet, Toscanelli's 

 manuscripts supply observations of the comets of 1433, 1449, 

 1457 (I. and II.), and 1472, and Prof. Celoria has published 

 elements deduced therefrom of all, except that of 1472, in the 

 Aslronomiscke Nachrichten. It appears beyond question, to use 

 Prof. Celoria's own words, " Che le osservazioni in esso contenute 

 sono assai preziose, danno a Toscanelli il vanto di avere prima 

 d'ogni altro fatte intorno alle comete osservazioni propriamente 

 dette, e rivelano in lui un osservatore abile non che 111a 

 conoscenza sicura ed intera del cielo." 



Irving represents Toscanelli as the correspondent and adviser 

 of Columbus. Montucla's account of him chiefly relates to his 

 erection of the gnomon in the Church of S. Maria del Fiore, at 

 Florence, of which Ximenes published an account in 1757, 

 wherein Montucla thought he claimed for Toscanelli more than 

 was his due. As, however, Prof. Uzielli is engaged on re- 

 searches respecting him, we may soon be more fully informed 

 as to the works of one who certainly claims an honourable place 

 in the history of observational astronomy. 



The Total Solar Eclipse on September 9. — It may be 

 remembered that during totality in the eclipse of Decemb 1 -2, 

 1S70, the planet Saturn was situate within the coronal limits, 

 but we are not sure that it was anywhere distinctly remarked. 

 At the time of totality in the eclipse of September next in Xew 



