February 8, 1906J 



NA TURE 



Artillery, who has given a masterly discussion of not only 

 longitudinal but also lateral stability, and has arrived 

 at a large number of important simple and practical con- 

 clusions relating to both the conditions of stability and 

 the trajectories of aeroplanes the motion of which is stable. 

 The paper constitutes by far the most important recent 

 advance in the study of artificial flight. 



Messrs. Percival Marshall and Co. have published a 

 popular essay entitled " Electric Power. What it is and 

 what it can do," by Mr. Alfred W. Marshall. The price 

 of the pamphlet is 3d. net. 



Mr. Nasarvanji Jivaxji Readvmoney has issued a re- 

 vised edition of his " Nature-history Museum and De- 

 scriptive defining Nature-history Tables," the first edition 

 of which was noticed in our issue for March 30, 1905. 

 Several changes and additions have been made in this 

 painstaking piece of work. 



Nos. 16, 17, and iS of " Materials for a Flora of the 

 Malayan Peninsula," by Sir George King, F.R.S., and 

 Mr. J. Sykes Gamble, F.R.S.— which Messrs. West, New- 

 man and Co., of Hatton Garden, are reprinting from the 

 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal — have been 

 received. In addition to an account of the rubiaceous 

 genus Psychotria, the first fasciculus contains descriptions 

 of the Malayan members of eleven natural orders, including 

 48 genera and 81 species, of which two genera and 17 

 species are new to science. The second, of the present 

 parts describes five natural orders, Myrsinaceae, Sapotacea;, 

 Ebenaceas, Styraceae, and Oleaceae. These five orders 

 comprise 24 genera and 221 species. There are no new 

 genera, but the number of new species reaches 103. The 

 last of the three instalments deals with nine natural orders 

 containing 53 genera and 150 species, none of which are 

 described for the first time. Among the orders of which 

 accounts are given may be mentioned Boragineae, Con- 

 volvulaceae, Solanaceae, Scrophulariaceae, and Lenti- 

 bulariaceae. When all the fasciculi are available, we hope 

 to review the complete work. 



The Cambridge University Press is publishing, under 

 the title of " Cambridge Tracts in Mathematics and 

 Mathematical Physics," a series of short works on various 

 topics in pure mathematics and theoretical physics. The 

 chief purpose of the undertaking is to assist in the mainten- 

 ance of a high standard in English mathematical teaching 

 by the continued infusion of new methods and more 

 accurate modes of treatment, and by the extension of know- 

 ledge of recent mathematical research. The first of the 

 series, a tract on " Volume and Surface Integrals used in 

 Physics," by Mr. J. G. Leathern, has already been pub- 

 lished, and a second, on " The Integration of Functions 

 of a Single Variable," by Mr. G. H. Hardy, will be 

 issued very shortly. The Press has also ready for 

 immediate publication a new and revised edition, in one 

 volume, of Prof. A. E. H. Love's " Treatise on the Mathe- 

 matical Theory of Elasticity," and a third edition of Prof. 

 Horace Lamb's " Hydrodynamics." 



The fourth year-book, that for 1905, of the Carnegie 

 Institution of Washington has been received. The titles 

 alone of the publications bearing upon the work done 

 under grants from the institution fill eight closely printed 

 pages, and it is impossible here to do more than direct 

 attention to a few of the researches of outstanding import- 

 ance. Prof. G. E. Hale, as director of the solar observ- 

 atory at Mount Wilson, California, provides an excellent 

 illustrated account of the astrophysical work done at Mount 

 NO. 1893, VOL. 73] 



Wilson under his supervision. Prof. Lewis Boss, director 

 of the Dudley Observatory, Albany, New York, describes 

 his investigations of stellar motion. Mr. Charles B. 

 Davenport, who is in charge of the station for experi- 

 mental evolution at Cold Spring Harbour, New York, 

 classifies the work in progress there, which is largely what 

 he describes as of the " time-consuming " order, and gives 

 a full report, with illustrations and results, of the experi- 

 ments conducted during the year. Marine biology is well 

 represented in the year-book by Mr. A. G. Mayer's account 

 of what has been accomplished in connection with the 

 laboratory at Tortugas, Florida. This report includes con- 

 tributions from the numerous experts working in the 

 laboratory. Several investigators were at work in the 

 Desert Botanical Laboratory, Tucson, Arizona, and sub- 

 stantial progress in numerous directions was made during 

 the year. Prof. T. C. Chamberlin, of the University of 

 Chicago, continues his contributions to solutions of the 

 fundamental problems of geology, and gives a full dis- 

 cussion of the deformations of the earth and of climatic 

 oscillations. Mr. Bailey Willis, of the U.S. Geological 

 Survey, describes his geological studies in Europe, and his 

 attempts to determine the geographical condition of each 

 continent at successive geological epochs. The magnetic 

 survey of the North Pacific Ocean, undertaken by the 

 U.S. Department of Research in Terrestrial Magnetism, 

 and carried out by Mr. J. E. Pratt's party in the Galilee, 

 is described by Dr. L. A. Bauer. These annual reports 

 should be a source of gratification to Mr. Carnegie, and 

 it is to be desired that wealthy men in this country could 

 be led to follow an excellent example in the direction of 

 encouraging scientific research and providing for the publi- 

 cation of results. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 

 Comet 1905c (Giacobini). — The following is a continu- 

 ation of the ephemeris published in No. 4067 of the Astro- 

 nomische Naclirichten by Herr A. Wedemeyer : — 

 Ephemeris 12/*. M.T. Berlin. 



Feb 8 



e) 



h. m. s. 

 23 31 16 

 23 49 14 

 o 5 58 

 ° 2 > 33 

 ° 36 3 

 o 49 32 



a (true) 



- 21 9 



-19 40 



-18 7 

 -16 33 

 -14 59 



- 13 26 



97704 

 9 S05S 

 9 8379 

 9-8672 

 9-8942 

 99192 



The accompanying chart shows, approxi 

 apparent path of the comet among the 



. 00694 



• 0755 

 . 0-0830 

 . 0-0918 

 . 0-1016 

 .. 0-1123 

 nately, the 

 stars from 



February 7 t 

 ephemeris. 



Although still fairly bright, the comet is a difficult object 



