378 
Date. Time of ob- Actual Meteors Perseids. Radiant. 
servation. length. seen. a 
Liane hrs. 5 é 
Aug. 9 10-127 2 38 26 44 + 57 
TO [TOy—16 he as 91 72) 4qni57 
II 10 -13% 3 go 68 °° 464 57 
12 10 -134 3 62 43 48 + 57 
13 10 —124 2 2 10 4°49 + 58 
14 10 —12} 24 29 12 50 + 56 
The meteors seen on the roth were, however, rather brighter 
on the whole than those on the 11th. The largest meteors 
were as follows :— 
No. Date. Time. Mag. Path. 
From To 
Te ATIC“ Gin Veli: v4 aye 15) Gas)! An Sen 
2 Ir 32 W& 2963 +57 278 + 364 
3 27, 2 239 +60 235 + 37 
4 Aug. 10 10 14 9 203 +60 271 + 38 
5 1054 WY 234+ 38 17 +29 
6 II 36 UU 40% +374 50% + 32 
7 nig) sy = lS Bo AR OY IS Fe 9/3 
8) Aug. iy ar 9 Y 184 + 51 5 +444 
9) Aug.a2 5 rom6) 2) 5¢+ 6 L. =3 56 
10 103906 Ss 326 «++ «4 318 — II 
II WS 2 44 + 43 347 + 274 
No. 3 was also seen by Prof. Herschel, and No. 4 by Mr. 
Astbury. The majority of the remainder were seen by various 
other observers, and their real paths will be calculated. 
On August 12 the shower had markedly declined, though it 
was tolerably active between roh. and 1th. The position of the 
radiant point exhibited the usual diurnal motion to the eastward. 
On July 29-August 2, eight meteors observed at Bristol denoted 
the radiant at 34° + 54°, and on August 6, six meteors fixed it at 
4o°+ 55. On August 12 it was in 48° + 57° and on August 14 
in 50° + 56°. 
Several remarkable meteors with very slow motion, and leay- 
ing trains of sparks, were recorded on August 12. One of the 
most striking of these appeared at 12h. 31m. It was of the Ist 
mag., and traversed a path of 33 degrees from 341° + 81° to 
124° + 64° in about seven seconds. As it fell almost perpen- 
dicularly down the northern sky the nucleus poured out a 
stream of yellow sparks. Probably the radiant was near the 
southern horizon, and it is hoped that other observers will send 
in reports of this curious meteor, and enable its true radiant to 
be found. 
Altogether the display seems to have been of average im- 
portance, and to have fallen below the observed strength of 
the shower on August 11, 1898. Many of the minor showers of 
the period made themselves apparent, though they were generally 
very feeble. The principal of them were at 41° + 20°, 333° 
+ 26°, 345 + O, 315° + 77°, 339 —I1 and17°+ 31. Itisto 
be hoped that at places where the photographic method has been 
applied the results have been successful. 
W. F. DENNING. 
UNITED STATES DEEP-SEA EXPLORING 
EXPEDITION. ° 
"THE announcement that the U.S. Fish Commission steamer, 
Albatross, would shortly be despatched on an exploring 
expedition to the Pacific Ocean, has already been noticed in 
these columns. Particulars of the main objects of the expe- 
dition, and the route to be followed, are given by Mr. I. M. 
Smith in the Wational Geographic Magazine, from which the 
subjoined account has been abridged. 
The Albatross is the best-equipped vessel afloat for deep-sea 
investigation, for which work she was especially constructed for 
the Fish Commission in 1882, at a cost of nearly 200,000 dol- 
lars. She is a twin-screw steamer of 384 tons burden, 234 feet 
long and 274 feet beam. A full account of the construction of 
the A/batross and her appliances for marine investigation has 
been given in the admirable work on ‘‘ Deep-sea Exploration,” 
by Commander Z. L. Tanner, U.S.N., under whose direction 
the vessel was built and who was in command from the date of 
her launching until 1894. The reputation long enjoyed by the 
Adbatross of being unequalled in effectiveness for marine research 
will be more than ever deserved on the approaching cruise 
NO. 1555, VOL. 60] 
INEA tke E 
[Aucust 17, 1899 
because of the extensive improvements and repairs she has 
recently undergone, including the installation of new boilers, 
ice-making machine, cold-storage plant, &¢., together with the * 
thorough replenishing of the scientific outfit. 
The Albatross will pass through the Golden Gate on August 
21 and begin her long voyage to certain groups of islands in the 
middle of the Pacific Ocean, both north and south of the equator, 
whose local fauna is almost unknown, while in the adjacent 
waters little or no scientific investigation has been carried on. 
The Society islands will be first visited, although the vessel will 
touch at the Marquesas islands for coal. Between San Fran- 
cisco and Tahiti, a distance of 3500 miles, dredging and sound- 
ing will be carried on at regular intervals on a section of the 
sea-bottom almost wholly unexplored. Tahiti will be the head- 
quarters while the Society islands and the Paumota islands are 
being explored. In the latter archipelago, which is about 600 
miles long, six or eight weeks will be spent and important 
scientific discoveries should be made. In the Tonga or Friendly 
islands, distant about 1500 miles from the Society group, a 
week or ten days will be passed. The vessel will then proceed 
to the Fiji islands, where a short stay will be made, and thence 
1700 miles to the Marshall islands, in which interesting archi- 
pelago, of whose natural history almost nothing is known, six 
or seven weeks will be devoted to exploration. The Ellice and 
Gilbert islands, lying between the Fiji and Marshall islands, 
will also be visited. It was originally the intention to have the 
Albatross proceed from the Marshall islands to the Hawaiian 
islands and thence to San Francisco, running a line of deep-sea 
dredgings along the entire route ; but, owing to the prevalence 
of head winds at the time when the vessel will be ready to leave 
the Marshall islands, this plan has been abandoned, and instead 
the vessel will sail for Japan, making frequent use of the dredge 
and the deep-sea tow-net and setting the trawl in the moderately 
deep water off the Japan coast, where the fishermen are contin- 
ually bringing up curious forms. The voyage of nearly 20,000 
miles will come to an end at Yokohama, where the A/batross 
will arrive in April 1900, and refit for a summer cruise to Alaska 
to resume the systematic examination of the salmon streams 
begun several years ago. 
The leading features of the expedition will be deep-sea dredg- 
ing, trawling, and sounding, and some special appliances for 
such work have been constructed. A wire dredge-rope 6000 
fathoms long has been made to order, and to accommodate this 
enormous quantity a special drum has had to be prepared. It is 
expected that both the dredge and the beam-trawl will be 
hauled in deeper water than heretofore. One of the novel pieces 
of collecting apparatus is a beam-trawl of unprecedentedly large 
size, especially designed for the capture of larger animals than 
can be taken with the usual apparatus. 
While the deep-sea investigations will receive the most 
attention, surface and intermediate towing, shore-seining, and 
fishing trials with lines, gill-nets, and other appliances will be 
regularly carried on and will undoubtedly yield rich collections. 
The region to be visited abounds in atolls and elevated reefs, 
many of which will be visited and studied for the purpose of 
obtaining data bearing on the disputed question of the origin of 
coral reefs. 
The A/satross is manned by about ten officers and seventy 
petty officers and enlisted men of the United States Navy. The 
commanding officer is Lieutenant Commander Jefferson F. 
Moser, U.S.N. Thecivilian staff on this expedition consists of 
Prof. Alexander Agassiz, in charge of the scientific work, who 
will be accompanied by his son and his personal assistants ; 
Dr. W. McM. Woodworth and Dr. A. G. Mayer, of the 
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Mass. ; Dr. 
H. F. Moore, chief naturalist of the A/datvoss ; Mr. Charles. H. 
Townsend, formerly naturalist, now chief of the fisheries division 
of the U.S. Fish Commission; Mr. A. B. Alexander, fishery 
expert, and Mr. H. G. Fassett, photographer, both of the U.S. 
Fish Commission. 
Opportunity will undoubtedly be aflorded for conducting a 
number of important collateral inquiries without detriment to 
the regular scientific work. Advantage will be taken of every 
chance to obtain for the National Museum specimens of the 
mammals, birds, insects, and other land animals of the various 
islands visited. A study of the aboriginal fishing methods, 
apparatus, and boats, and the collection of specimens of the 
native fishing appliances will be in charge of the fishery expert. 
The Smithsonian Institution has specially requested that the 
Fish Commission make an effort to trace the origin of some of 
