NA TURE 



[April 19, 1906 



New Spot on Jupiter. 



1 >n April io 1 observed Jupiter in sunshine and noted 

 the red spot central at 5I1. 43m., longitude = 30 0. I soon 

 thai the north equatorial belt curved abruptly 

 north in the region north of the red spot and hollow, and 

 that at the following end of this slanting attachment there 

 was a wn conspicuous dark spot which was quite new to 



me. li bee; 1 central at 6h. 58m., longitude = 75° ;, and 



seemed nearh as plain as the shadow oi a satellite. 



On April 12 the same region oi Jupiter came under 

 review. The red spot was central at 7I-1. 25m., longi- 



tudi , 1 6, -aid 1I1. nev th tropical spot at 8h. ;;m., 



longitude = 72°. 7. The shadow of the first satellite was 

 projected mi the disc at the following end of the dark 

 material forming the south tropical disturbance, and ii 

 appeared very little darker than the north tropical spot. 



Observations were made on April 10 with 10-inch VVith- 

 refiector, power about 220, and on April 12 with 12 '-inch 

 Calver-reflector, power 315. 



During the present opposition ol Jupiter the north 

 equatorial and north temperate hells have been extremely 

 I. out, but the former recently developed .1 much deeper 

 tone, .md particularly in that section lying north of the 

 I'd spot. The late outbreak of dark material in the 

 north tropical /one «i]| probably lead to the further in- 

 tensification of the belts in this region. 



It 1- hardly necessary to suggest thai the new marking 

 should Lie followed as critically and as long as possible 

 during the short period remaining available for such 

 observatii ns before Jupiter's conjunction with the sun. 



tts rate ol lion probably differs liitle from thai oi lie 



nd sp,,|, and it max be looked for near the planet's 

 central meridian on April 22 at Oh. 4S111., April 24 at 

 Nil. 20m., and April 20 at 7b. 37111. \Y. I . Denning 



Bristol, April 14. 



Oscillation of Flame Cones. 



I.IKE Prof. Smithells, who endeavoured to explain the 



I'be nena described in Mr. Temple's letter to Xurm 



(.March 29, p. 5121, I have made many experiments will) 

 sl-'s and air mixed by mechanical means and otherwise 

 (Proc. Roy. Soc, vol. \xi\\. and elsewhere), but am 

 unable to agree with his conclusions in thi- case. 



Assuming the mixture .ascending the tube to contain 

 20 per cent, ol gas by volume, and the relative densities 

 ol tie- aii and gas to I,,- as , to 0-5, then the head which 

 l"' duces the current is equal to a column ol air 48 inches 

 (04 footi high, and, disregarding friction, tie velocity = 

 v'-'c 04 5 feet per second. 



Again, assuming tie- average absolute temperature of the 

 gases above the dame, when the lattei ha- descended to a 

 depth of 2 feet, to be 1500 F., and the corresponding 

 temperature ol the air entering the tube from In-low to be 

 520 F., the head becomes 18 inches u 5 foot) and the 

 velocity = v^2.g i 5 = 98 le, t per second. 



According to Mallard .md Le Chatelier (" Annales des 

 Mines, ' 8""-' Serie, Tome iv., p. 326), the maximum 

 velocit) oi translation of flame in a perfectly motionless 

 mixture of lighting gas and air, contained in a glass tube 

 of similar dimensions to that used by Mr. Temple, is 

 4 feet per second, but when the mixture is moving or 

 agitated the velocity of translation increases, and maj 

 evi 11 assume the form of an explosive wave. The maxi- 

 mum velocity of 4 feet per second was obtained when the 

 mixture contained 175 per cent, of gas, or, according to 

 the authors, 25 per rent, more than is necessarj foi com- 

 plete combustion. 



Variations in the velocity ol the current on th.. one hand, 

 and ol the flame on the other, appear to me to account for 

 all the phenomena observed by Mr. Temple. 



62 Park Place, Cardiff. VV. Galloway. 



Interpretation of Meteorological Records. 



In the interesting discussion of the records of Lander 

 and Smith's instruments tit Canterbury (Nature, 

 March [5) both Dr. Aitken (pp. 485, , .■ . 1 and Mr. Omond 

 Ip. 512) .appear to have overlooked the fact that no rain 

 fell, but only snow to the depth of more than 1 inch. 

 i\\ was mixed with a little hail at the commence- 



menl of the storm, but no rain fell as assumed by both 



your correspondents. The re Is stale that the 020 inch 



of rainfall consisted of snow melted as it fell. The first 

 sign of the storm was distant thunder and a darkening of 

 the sky ill the north-west. The gh,,,!,, 1 .,, . tPr com- 

 menced its usual sharp rise before tie- first bail arrived 

 and the storm was directly overhead. It is a curious fact 

 lb. 11 the rain or snow with a thunderstorm occurs with 

 the sharp barometric rise, and not with the fall as one 

 might expect. I think the great fall in temperature was 

 due to the snow, and not as described bv vour corre- 

 spondents. The rainfall curve did not begin first as 

 -uggested In Dr. Aitken, bal the barometer as explained 

 above. It is .another curious fact that, although my house 

 is the highest here, and has my anemometer on top ol 

 ,io feet of iron tubing above roof, and wireless telegraphy 

 aerial 80 feet above street (with which I was busv at 

 time ol storm), yet no damage was done; but within loo 

 yards much lower houses had chimneys and walls thrown 

 down and roofs split, &c, and people were seriously injured. 

 Many bouses, windmills, and a church in the district were 

 set on fire. \ L\xi>f.r. 

 ( Canterbury. 



Effect of Solar Eclipse on Fish. 



During the partial solai e, lipse observed in England on 

 August 30, 1005, I was taking a holiday, and fishing in 

 Slapton Ley (Devonshire) All the morning the sport had 

 been indifferent, but as the eclipse neared its maximum 

 the fish suddenly became ravenous, and 1 took more in 

 that hour than all the rest of the day. My experience was 

 also that of all the other boats out there at the time. 

 The explanation, I presume, would be that the fish 

 imagined night was approaching, and therefore prepared 

 i' 1 supper; I a- even fisherman knows, the last half- 

 hour, when dusk is gathering, is the time that fish are 

 mostly on the feed, and will readilj take any bait. 



A. MOSELY. 



Union Hank Buildings, Eli Place, London, E.C., 

 April 10. 



Seasickness and Equilibration of the Eyes. 



I\ connection with the above subject (p. 511) it may 

 perhaps interest your readers to know that German sailors 

 recommend as a cure for sea-sickness to take a looking- 

 glass and look steadily at vour own eyes in it. Every 

 motion of the ship is shared by the looking-glass, and 

 consequently by so doing your own eyes follow the motion 

 of the ship. Geoffrey Martin. 



Edinburgh, April 13. 



AN ETHNOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE 

 PHILIPPINES.' 

 \\nTH characteristic energy, the Americans have 

 * * made a g r ood beginning with the study of the 

 multifarious natives of the Philippine Islands. Dr. 

 V E. Jenks, who is chief of the Ethnological Survey 

 tot tin Philippine Islands, has recently published a 

 substantial volume of 266 pages, and 154 plates, on 

 the Bontoc [gorot, who live in the centre of the 

 northern end of Luzon. Judging from the short 

 account of their physie.il characters, they, like so many 

 other peoples in the East Indian Archipelago, .ire a 

 mixture of Indonesians and Proto-Malays ; a few are 

 distinctly narrow-headed, about three times as many 

 are broad-headed, .and somewhat, less than two-thirds 

 ate intermediate. The average stature of the men 

 is 5 feet 4; inches; the women average nearly 7 inches 

 shorter. There is no tr.no of Negrito blood. The 



1 "The Bontoc Igorot." Bv Alhert Ernest Jenks. Department of the 

 Interior. Ethnological Survey Publications, vol. i. (Manila, 1005.) 



"Negritos of Zamabales " By William Allan Reed. Ibid., vol. ii., 

 part i. (Manila, 1Q04.) 



"The Nabaloi Dialect." By Otto Scbeerer. Ibid., vol. ii., parts ii., iii. 

 (Manila, ,905.) 



" The Bataks of Palawan." By Edward V. Miller. (Bureau of Public 

 Printing.) 



NO J 903. VOL. 73] 



