.368 



NA TURE 



[February 15, 1906 



ground level was necessary. Walking straight from 

 the circle to the first piper, the second piper was 

 exactly in a line, though at a much lower level. This 

 showed that the ordnance values were not quite 

 accurate, which was not to be wondered at as no 

 direct observation had been possible. I therefore 

 adopted the mean of the ordnance values as the true 

 azimuth : — 



Piper I.-N. 37 58 36 E. 

 Piper 2. — 38 52 36 



Mean 3 S 25 36 



The sky-line from the centre of the circle was 

 defined by the site of the vanished barrow, angular 

 elevation 20', and it is highly probable that the func- 



old one, but if we suppose it to have been used like 

 the Barnstone at Stenness for observations over the 

 circle its use at once becomes obvious. 



From the azimuth given, the declination of the star 

 was 5 24' N. Now this was the position of the 

 Pleiades B.C. i960, when they would have warned the 

 rising of the May sun. 



So that it is possible that the erection of the Pipers 

 and of Goon-Rith took place at about the same time, 

 and represent the first operations. 



The next alignment has an azimuth of S. 69 W. ; 

 from the circle, it would be the same within a degree 

 from the site of the one which has disappeared, alti- 

 tude of sky-line 18'; this line is to a stone cross on 

 rising ground, doubtless a re-dressing of an old 

 menhir, and on the line nearer the circle are the re- 

 mains of a barrow. 



ALTITUDES 



SUNRISE MAY(a^sD E c L: |6°20'NlUT50°N 



Fir.. 3.— Showing iheinflu 



AZIMUTHS 



: of the height of the sty-line en the appa 

 the tabular place of sun's o 



With these data 

 the star in question 

 was Antares, dec. S. 

 13 18', heralding the 

 May sunrise 1310B.C. 



There is another 

 stone cross defining 

 a line az. N. n° 45' 

 E. from the circle, 

 altitude of sky-line 

 about the same as 

 along the piper azi- 

 muth ; an interven- 

 ing house prevents 

 measurement. These 

 values give us N. 

 dec. 38 46', refer- 

 ring to A r c t u r u s 

 warning the August 

 sunrise in 1640 B.C. 



The three align- 

 ments already re- 

 ferred to, then, give 

 us the warning stars 

 for three out of the 

 four quarter days of 

 the May year, the as 

 tronomical conditions 

 of which in Cornwall 

 are shown in the 

 accompanying din- 

 grams. 



Norman Lot kyer. 



tion of the barrow whin built was to provide a new 

 sight-line when the star-rise place was no longer 

 exactly pointed out by the piper line. 



With these data the star in question was Capella, 

 dec. 29 58' N., heralding the February sunrise, 

 2 1 60 B.C. 



I next come to the famous menhir Goon-Rith. 

 I hi' conditions are as follows: — from the circle 

 ' Az.^ S. 8i° 35' W. Altitude of sky-line 34'. 



Concerning this alignment from the "circle, it may 

 lie stated 1l1.1t it cuts across many ancient stones, 

 including one resembling a rock basin or laver, and 

 another either a holed stone or the socket of ,1 stone 

 cross. 1 suspect also the presence in old days ol a 

 holy will attached to the circle, for there is a pool of 

 water in a depression which is shown in the 25-inch 

 map. 



I regard it as quite possible that we are here in 

 presence of the remains of a cursus, an old via sacra, 

 for processions between the circle and the monolith. 



I have not been able to find any astronomical use 

 for this stone from the circle or from the site of the 

 NO. 1894, VOL. 73] 



THE SERUM THERAPY OF PLAGUE. 

 T'HE discovery of diphtheria antitoxin and the 

 A excellent results obtained with it in practice, 

 which in the Metropolitan Asylums Board hospitals 

 has resulted in a reduction in the case-mortality from 

 about 20 to 11 per cent., raised hopes that a panacea 

 had at last been found for all microbic diseases. Bui 

 it must be confessed that expectations have not been 

 realised, and as regards other therapeutic sera none 

 has proved nearly so efficacious as the diphtheria 

 serum. 



Several reasons may be given for this. The anti- 

 toxic sera, i.e. therapeutic sera prepared by the injec- 

 tion of bacterial toxins, are much more potent than 

 anti-mii robic sera, and possess antidotal properties 

 proportional to their strength. But unfortunately 

 most micro-organisms do not produce an extra-cellular 

 toxin, like the diphtheria bacillus does; the toxic 

 substances are more or less intimately associated with 

 the bacterial cells, as in staphylococcic and strepto- 

 coccii (septic) infections, typhoid, plague, &c. Now 



