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NA TURE 



[April 30, 1885 



below is the reproduction of a Chinese drawing repre- 

 senting the light and a semaphore with a time-ball in the 

 French concession. It is taken from La Nature, and 

 originally appeared in a Chinese illustrated journal called 

 the Hn-pao, which described the illustration in the follow- 

 ing manner : — 



" On the French concession, at the end of the settle- 

 ments of the other foreign nations, a semaphore which 

 marks the hour and the wind was erected last autumn. 



Every day at 10 o'clock a flag is hoisted which denotes 

 the wind that is blowing on the sea at the mouth of the 

 river. Everyday at 11.45 a Da " is raised to half mast, 

 and five minutes before noon it is raised to the top. Pre- 

 cisely at noon it falls. In this way all the people of 

 Shanghai can know the exact hour. The flags vary in 

 form, in number, and in colour, according to the direction 

 and force of the wind. Truly, it is a very good thing." 

 The illustration represents the semaphore to the left, 



with the Chinese looking up at the ball which is about to 

 be raised. The semaphore was erected on September 1, 

 1884, at a cost of 28,000 francs, by the French Municipal 

 Council. It gives the hour at noon, and the force and 

 direction of the winds at the mouth of the Yang-tsze- 

 kiang. It is connected with the Zikawei Observatory, 

 which receives the observations respecting the wind from 

 GutzlalY Island, at the mouth of the river, and which the 

 director of the Observatory, Pere Dechevrens, passes on 



by telephone to the assistant in Shanghai. The time-ball 

 is in direct connection with Zikawei. The wires, poles, 

 and lamps of the electric light are also noticeable in the 

 illustration. The light, which was set up last year, appears 

 for some reason not to be successful, and when the last 

 mails left Shanghai the Municipal Council were in corre- 

 spondence with the gas company with the object of 

 coming to an arrangement for a return to lighting the 

 streets with gas. 



VARIABLE STARS 

 T N his stirring " Call to Friends of Astronomy" (Schu- 

 x inacliers Jahrbuch, 1S44) to aid the advance of the 

 science by taking up some definite department of work, 

 Prof. Argelander, among other points for investigation,drew 

 attention to the observation of variable stars as presenting 

 a fascinating field of inquiry in which much valuable work 

 might be done. Forty years have passed since this appeal 

 was made. The list of eighteen stars visible in these 



1 latitudes then certainly known to be variable has grown 

 I to at least ten times the number, while a new " instru- 

 . ment of precision " has been placed in the hands of the 

 observer in the form of the spectroscope, which has 

 largely increaced his powers. But, after all, it must be 

 acknowledged that we are still greatly in ignorance of the 

 causes which immediately underlie the striking pheno- 

 mena which are presented to our view. 



In taking a rapid glance at some of the phenomena 

 with which we have to deal, it may be convenient to 



