NATURE 



IMay s, 1 88 



few minutes it seemed as though they had succeeded ; but this 

 only lasted for a very short time, and it was soon seen that 

 something had gone hopelessly wrong. 



The following excursions have been arranged] for by the 

 Geologists' Association : —To Croydon, Shirley and the Adding- 

 ton Hills, May 7 ; to Grays, Essex, May 14 ; Sheppey, May 23. 



Mr. Lant Carpenter asks us to state that in his article on 

 Niagara in Nature, vol. xxiii. p. 511, he attributed the article 

 on the " Music of Niagara," in Sirihter's Mai;aziiie for February, 

 1881, to Mr. Eugene Schuyler, whereas the author was Mr. 

 Eugene Thayer, of Tremont Street, Boston, Mass. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Silver Fox (Caiiis fulvus, van argentata) 

 from North America, presented by Mr. Robert Hunt L. B. 

 Lydston Newman ,- a Vulpine Phalanger {Phalanghta vulfiua) 

 from Australia, presented by Mrs. J. S. Henderson ; a Gold- 

 finch {Carduelis elcgans), British, a Snow Bunting (Plcctrophanes 

 nivalis), European, presented by Mr. John Fletcher ; an Eyed 

 Lizard (Laceita oa-llata), South European, presented by Mr. 

 James Wellford ; an Indian Cobra (Naia iripudians) from India, 

 presented by Mr. A. H. Jamrach ; a Ludio Monkey {Cerco- 

 fithecus ludio) from West Africa, on approval ; two Humboldt's 

 Lagothrix (Lagothrix humboldti), two Matamata Terrapins 

 (Chelys matamata) from Upper Amazons, a Green -billed Toucan 

 (Ramphastos dicoloriis) from Guiana, three Saddle-billed Storks 

 (Xenoi-liync/nts senegalensis) from West Africa, three Roseate 

 Spoonbills {Platalea ajajo) from South America, a Japanese 

 Teal [Qtierqucdula fotmosa) from North-East Asia, three 

 Magellanic Geese [Bernicla magdlanica) from the Falkland 

 Islands, purchased ; a Reeves' Muntjac [Cervuliis ivezrsi 6 ) 

 born in the Gardens. 



067? ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN 

 The Intra-Mercurial Planet Question. — It may be 

 remembered that when the late Prof. Watson claimed to have 

 seen an unknown object near the star fl Cancri during the totality 

 of the eclipse of July 29, 1S78, it was objected with respect to 

 his supposition as lo its being an intra-Mercurial planet, that he 

 had not anywhere mentioned his having seen the object at the 

 same lime as the star, or as well as the star, consequently that 

 his circle-reading may have really applied to the latter. From 

 Prof. Watson's official report on his observations, just published 

 with many others, by the Superintendent of the Naval Obser- 

 vatory at Washington, it appears that this objection is no longer 

 valid. Prof. Watson writes : "Between the sun and 6 Cancri, 

 and a little to the south, I saw a ruddy star whose magnitude I 

 estimated to be 4^. It was fully a magnitude brighter than 

 e Cancri, which I saw at the same time, and it did not exhibit 

 any elongation, such as might be expected if it were a comet in 

 that position. The magnifying power was 45 and the definition 

 excellent. My plan did not provide for any com| arison dift'er- 

 entially with a neighbouring star by micrometric measurement, 

 and hence I only noticed the relation of the star to the sun and 

 e Canci." It is difficult to understand how the observation can 

 be explained, except by admitting the existence of an unknown 

 body in the vicinity of the star, or by imputing to the deceased 

 astronomer a want of bona fides, for which we do not believe 

 there is the slightest excuse ; he was too well known and respected 

 to allow of such an imputation. 



The solar eclipse of May 17, 1SS2, will afford the next oppor- 

 tunity of repeating observations of the kind made by Prof. Watson 

 in 1878, but the duration of totality will nowhere exceed ini. 48s., 

 and in the most accessible portion of the central line will amount 

 to Im. 15s. only. 



The Transit of Mercury, November 7, 1S81. — With 

 the positions of the Sun and Mercury given in the Nautical 

 Almanac from Leverrier's Tables, and the diameters of those 

 bodies obtained by the same astronomer from the di-cussion of 

 former transits, the following will be the geocentric Greenwich 

 times and the reduction-formula; for the internal contacts during 

 the transit of Mercury on November 7 in the present year : — 



First internal contact, Nov. 7, loh. i8m. I5s.'8-f [r4205] ?-sin ^ 

 -[i-5404];-cos/cos(L-f55° 34'-2). 



Last internal contact, Nov. 7, I5h. 35m. 28s.'2 + [o'9i36]rsin/ 

 + [l '6302] ;- cos / cos (L - 35° 23''2). 



Where r is the radius of the earth at the place, / its geocentric 

 latitude, and L the longitude from Greenwich, reckoned towards 

 the east. The quantities in square brackets are logarithms of 

 seconds of lime. 



It will be seen that the transit will be invisible in this country, 

 and will be best obsen'ed from the Australian observatories. At 

 the Cape of Good Hope the sun will not rise till about four 

 minutes after the second internal contact has taken place. At 

 Madras he will be aliove the horizon before the middle of the 

 transit, which ends there about 2oh. 59m. 



As an example of the use of the above formulae we may com- 

 pute the local mean time of first internal contact for the Obser- 

 vatory at Melbourne. The longitude of this observatory is 

 9h. 39m. 54s. S E., or in arc 144° 58''7, and the geographical 

 latitude is - 37° 49''9. From Bessel's Table iii the Berliner 

 yahrhuch for 1S52, we find log. r = 9'9999, and the reduction 

 of latitude, il''l, so that I — - yf 38''8. 



Constant -H'4205 Constant -I- 55° 34'"2 Constant -i'5404 



'■ 99999 Long.,.. 144° 58' 7 r 9"9999 



sin/ ... -97859 cos/ ... ^-9•8986 



— A 200° 32''g cos A ... -9'97I5 



I -2063 



-1- 1 •4104 



+ 255.73 

 - i6s.-oS 



Geocentric time 



G.M.T. ... 

 Longitude E. 



Melbourne mean time 19 58 20'3 



A New Comet. -The Smithsonian Institution telegi-aphs the 

 discovery of a comet by Mr. Lewis Swift on the morning of the 

 2nd inst. in the constellation Andromeda ; motion slow, south- 

 wards. 



GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES 



We understand that the Council of the Geographical Society 

 have recently voted a contribution of 100/. towards the expenses 

 of the Palestine Exploration Fund's Expedition to Eastern 

 Palestine. 



The May number of the Geographical Society's Proceedings 

 contains Mr. James Stewart's pajjer on Lake Nyassa and the 

 water-route to the lake-region of East Africa, with a map of the 

 north end of Nyassa. A note afterwards given embodies recent 

 information from Livingstonia as to a serious depression in the 

 level of the lake, which threatens to make the south end, as 

 well as the Upper Shire, unnaviijable, and by consequence 

 detract very seriously from the value of this route. Col. Tan- 

 ner's paper on Kafiristan is abo given, with a map of that and 

 the adjacent region. Some account is furnished of Dr. Junker's 

 journey in the Nyam Nyam country from the traveller's letters 

 to Dr. Schweinfurth and Si'^nor Gessi. Reference is again 

 made in the Geographical Notes to the late Capt. Wybrants' 

 expedition to South-East Africa, but complete details of its 

 diastrous ending are still wanting-, which seems the more re- 

 markable as thelamented leader died as far back as November 

 29.1880. An interesting note deals with Dr Kirk's recent visit 

 to the Dar-es-Salaam district of East Africa, and it is also stated 

 that the Rev. T. 1. Comber is about to make another attempt to 

 reach Stanley Pool by the Makuta route, while one of his com- 

 panions will follow the line of the Congo. The remaining notes 

 refer to Major y. Bidduli h's work on tlie tribes of the Hindu 

 Rush, and Pere Desgodins' labours in the cause of geography 

 on the eastern and southern frontier of Tibet. 



At the evening meeting of the Geographical Society on 

 Monday next Mr. E. Whymper will read a paper describing 

 the geographical results of his journey among the Andes of 

 Ecuador, 



