May ly, i8Si] 



NA TURE 



65 



case the Congress of Electricians comes to any conclusion relating 

 to this most important object, he i . ready to send a circular to 

 the several Governments on the opening of an international 

 conference on the matter. Thi official correspondence Vi'ill be 

 published in full in the next number of VElectricite. 



We take the following from the Colonies and India : — " To 

 say that a train had been stopped by caterpillars would sound 

 like a Yankee yarn, yet such a thing (according to the Raiigitikd 

 Advocaii) actually took place on the local railway a few days 

 ago. In the neighbourhood of Turakina, New Zealand, an 

 army of caterpillars, hundreds of thousands strong, was march- 

 ing across the line, bound for a new field of oats, v\hen the train 

 came along. Thousands of the creeping vermin were crushed 

 by the wheels of the engine, and suddenly the train came to a 

 dead stop. On examiiiation it was found that the wheels of the 

 engine had become so greasy that they kept on revolving without 

 advancing — they could not grij) the rails. The guard and the 

 engine-driver procured sand and strewed it on the rails, and tlie 

 train made a fresh start, but it was found that during the stop- 

 page caterpillars in thousands had crawled all over the engine, 

 and over all the carriages inside and out." 



A SHOCK of earthquake is reported from Mottling (Carniola) 

 on April 26, at 4.55 p.m., direction from north to south. At 

 Tiiffers (Styria) a smart shock was felt on May 6, at 7.41 p.m., 

 duration three seconds, direction north-east to south-west. 



On Tuesday last week, the Princess Cliristian of Schlesuig. 

 llolstein presented the prize> and certificites adjudged to candi- 

 dates in a competitive examination on "Domestic Sanitation," 

 following a course of lectures delivered on the subject by Dr. B. 

 W. Richardson. With regard to the course of lectures he had 

 given at the request of the Ladies' Sanitary Asiociation, Dr. 

 Richardson stated that nearly 300 pupils attended, of whoai 

 seventy-five competed for the prizes offered by Mr. Edwin 

 Chadvvick and others. Of the papers sent in, he could say that 

 all the writers showed a sound knowledge of four subjects, viz. 

 the relative values of the substances used .xs foods, the circulation 

 of the blood, the process of breathing, with the conditions w hich 

 produce a pure and healthy dwelling, and the management of a 

 sick room. Dr. Richardson announced that, by desire of the 

 Ladies' Sanitary Association, he should deliver another course 

 of lectures, beginning in October next, on the nervous .system. 

 This would raise questions concerning education and other 

 iuteresting and, at present, debatable matters. 



In the Revue Scinitifique iox May 14 is the conclusion of a 

 long paper on the Physiological Immunities enjoyed by the 

 Jewish race, in which the nature of these immunities is examined 

 and the probable reasons for them given. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include an Indian Fruit Eat (Ptcropus medius) from 

 India, presented by Mr. Edwin II. Maskell ; a Wood Brocket 

 {Cariacus nemorivagns) from South America, presented by Capt. 

 Mackenzie, s.s. Severn; an Egyptian Gazelle (Gazella dorcas) 

 from Egypt, presented by Mrs. J. J. Jones ; a Common Hare 

 (Lepus europaus), British, presented by Mr. Wormald, F.Z.S. ; 

 two Hawfinches {Coccothrausles vulgaris), British, presented by 

 I'r. Bree ; three Viperine Snakes {Tropidonotus vipeiinus) fioja 

 North Africa, presented by Mr. J. C. Church ; a Common 

 Adder (Vipera berus), British, presented by Mr. G. H. King; 

 a Three-striped Paradoxure {Paradoxurus ti-i-jirgatus) frjm 

 India, a Javan Adjutant (Lepioptilus javanicus) from Java, 

 received in exchange ; six Rose-colourel Pa tors (Pastor roseus) 

 from India, two Mandarin Ducks (Aix gaUriculata) from China, 

 purchased ; a Blue and Yellow Macaw (Ara araraiina) from 

 South America, deposited ; a Geoffroy's Dove {Peristera gefffroii), 

 three Red-crested Whistling Ducks {Fuligiila rujina], bred in 

 the Gardens. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN 



Variable Stars. — Mura Ceti, whioh was at its minimum 

 on March 20, according to Prof. Schonfeld's formula in his 

 second catalogue of variables, will attain a maximum by the 

 same on July S, and may therefore be observed as it approaches 

 that phase. The next maximum takes place on April I, 1882, 

 and will not be observable. 



X Cygni, by the recent observations of Prof. Julius Schmidt, 

 may also be expected to reach its maximum about July 10, per- 

 haps a few diys later : the last maximum occurred on May 30, 

 1880, when the star w-as 6ni. ; it has occasionally attained 4m. 

 at maximum. The perturbations in this case appear to be 

 considerable. 



The position of the variable usually designated Nova 1848 

 may be identified by means of Prof. Schmidt's observations of 

 neighbouring stars. In Astron. Nach., No. 1 708, he gives the 

 following places for 1855 o : — 



Mag. R.A. Decl. 



Further, the variable follows the star, Lalande's star 30,853 

 a ninth magnitude, I4"8i., and is n )rth of it iS' 21". 



Prof. Winnecke's star of the twelfth magnitude, in close 

 proximity to the place of Ke]iler's Nova 1604, deduced from th" 

 observations of Kabricius, and apparently in the position of astai 

 marked lOJi. by Chacornac, but not since observed of that 

 brightness, well deserves watching, and it would be interesting to 

 possess a carefully-formed map of all stars visible in the vicinity 

 of Kepler's celebrated star, with the aid of one of our most 

 powerful telescopes — .si'-nilar t > that prepared by D' Arrest with 

 the Copenhagen refractor for the vicinity of Tycho's Nova 1572 

 in Cassiopea. Prof. Winnecke's star precedes the 9in., No. 

 16872 in Oeltzen's Argelander 33'2s., and is 2' north of it. 



The Satellites of Satitrn. — Observations of these satel- 

 lites are still followef up at the Observatory of Toulouse, and 

 M. Baillaud h.;s communicated a series made about the last 

 opposition of the planet to the Paris Academy of Sciences. 

 Amongst them are a number of o'lscrvations of Mimas, consist- 

 ing mainly of elongations, but with several attempts to fix thj 

 moments when the satellite was on the tangent to the extremity 

 of the ring. M. Baillaud does not appear to regard the latter 

 observation with favour, on account of the difficulty atte.iding 

 it, but proposes to g.iin furtlier experience of the degree of 

 precision of which it admits. The later observations of Mimas 

 are as follows : — 



1880 h. m. s. 



6 59 40 

 12 58 17 

 10 33 13 



times at Toulouse, 3m. 29-9 •. west of the 

 Observatory of Paris. The observation of November 25 relates 

 to the passage of the satellite by the tangent to the extremity of 

 the ring. 



Dr. M. W. Meyer of Geneva publishes elements of Ence- 

 ladw, Tcthys, Dione and Rhea, obtained on a new method, 

 from observations made with the loinch Geneva refractor. 

 By the way he terms the second of these satellites Thetis, not 

 the only time that Sir John Herschel's proposed designation has 

 been mistaken of late. Thetis, as is well knovn, is appropri- 

 ated for one of the minor planets discovered by Dr. R. Luther. 



Swift's Comet (1881 a).— M. Bigourdan has calculated the 

 following elements of this comet, from the Dun Echt observa- 

 tion on May 2 and observations made at Paris on May 5 

 and 7 : — 



Perihelion passage 1881, May 21-0613, Paris M.T. 



Longitude of perihelion 



,, ,, ascending n )de 



Inclination 



Log. distance in perihelion 



Motion — direct. 



Though observations will not be longer practicable in ttese 

 lititudes the comet may perhaps be observed in the southern 



297 S4 43 \ M- Eq. 

 119 24 5 S i88i-o 

 81 40 56 

 975568 



