OcTOBER 5, 1899] 
NATURE 
55! 
OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 
ASTRONOMICAL OCCURRENCES IN OCTOBER :— 
October 7. 10h. 18m. Minimum of Algol (8 Persei). 
g. 14h. Saturn in conjunction with the moon 
(kh 27’ N.). 
10. 7h. 7m. Minimum of Algol (8 Persei). 
10. 7h. 3m. to 8h. 1om. Occultation of 4 Sagit- 
tarii (mag. 4°6) by the moon. 
11. 5h. Mars in conjunction with Jupiter, g1° 11'S. 
14. Vesta (mag. 6°5) in opposition to the sun. 
15. Venus. Illumination portion of disc 
Mars, 0981. 
16. 6h. 3m. to 7h. 2m. Occultation of 16 Piscium 
(mag. 5°6) by the moon. 
16. Ith. 53m. to 13h. Occultation of 
(mag. 5°2) by the moon. 
18-20. Epoch of the October 
gI°+15°). 
21. 8h. 37m. to gh. 35m. Occultation of K! Tauri 
(mag. 4°6) by the moon. 
21. 8h. 38m. to 9h. 34m. Occultation of K? Tauri 
(mag. 5°5) by the moon. 
O°99I ; 
19 Piscium 
Meteors (Radiant, 
26. 6h. Venus in conjunction with a _ Libre. 
9 0 6'’N. 
29. 13h. Venus in conjunction with Jupiter. 
9 o 33'S. 
30. 8h. 50m. Minimum of Algol (6 Persei). 
Comet E. GIAcoBINI.—A telegram has been received from 
the Centralstelle at Kiel announcing the detection of this comet 
at the Nice Observatory for the first time during the present 
apparition. The observation was as follows :— 
R.A. 16h. 26m. 32s. 
Decl.—5° 10’ 
The daily motion in right ascension is + 2m. and in north 
polar distance — 10’, so that the comet is moving slowly in a 
north-easterly direction. The position at the time of discovery 
on September 29 was about 3° north of the 5th magnitude star, 
wv Ophiuchi. The comet is merely described as ‘‘ faint.” 
Previous appearances of this visitor took place in September 
1896 and June 1898. 
A later telegram from Kiel announces that the comet has 
been observed at the Konigsberg Observatory, the measured 
position being :— 
1899. Oct. 
1899. Sept. 29d. 8h. Nice Mean Time. 
R.A. 16h. 31m, 0°7s, 
Id, 8h. 075m. } Fc]. — 4° 30" 50" 
Two New VARIABLE Stars.—Dr. T. D. Anderson, of 
Edinburgh, announces in As/7. Mach. (Bd. 150, No. 3594) his 
discovery of two new variables. 
(1) Zz Herciules.—A star, not mentioned in the B.D., whose 
position is 
R.A. =17h. 53m. 27s. 
Decl. = + 19° 30’ (1855) 
was found in August to have a variation amounting to about 
0’9 ofa magnitude. The star is about 2’ or 3’ north- preceding 
the 9°2 magnitude star B.D. + 19°°34809. 
(2) Zn Cygnus.—A star, not mentioned in the B.D., whose 
position is - 
R.A: =2oh. 9m. 44s. | 
Decl. = + 30° 37’ J (1855) 
is at present (September 21) rapidly diminishing in brightness. 
Comparisons with the neighbouring stars B.D. + 30°:3958, 3963, 
3964 showed the variation in magnitude to be from 8°5 to 9°2. 
THE MELBOURNE OBpseRVATORY.—The thirty-third report 
of Mr. P. Barrachi, the Government Astronomer at the 
Melbourne Observatory, Victoria, has recently been distributed, 
showing the work undertaken and the progress made during the 
period July 1, 1898, to February 28, 1899. The observatory is 
reported in good order, the instruments well cared for and in 
good working condition. 
With the 8-inch transit circle 1571 observations have been 
made in right ascension, for determinations of azimuth, clock 
corrections and catalogue stars ; also 1017 observations in north 
polar distance have been made in connection with latitude 
determination, catalogue stars and special zodiac stars, The 
catalogue stars were intended chiefly to be used in the reduction 
of the plates for the astrophotographic catalogue. The zodiacal 
NO. 1562, VOL. 60] 
stars have been observed at the request of Dr. Gill, of the Cape 
Observatory, in connection with his heliometer observations of 
Neptune and the other major planets at opposition. All the 
reductions are well in hand. 
Astrophotographic Catalogue.—The series of plates for the 
catalogue is now completed, and 387 plates for the Chart 
have been passed as satisfactory. Special series have been 
taken for the region round the South Pole, and seven plates have 
been exposed for the Oxford chart type. The measurement of 
the plates is being undertaken by six young ladies, using three 
micrometers. The probable error of a measured coordinate is 
now no more than 0”'I, which is within the prescribed limit. 
The progress of this part of the work is rather slow, but trials 
with Prof. Turner’s scale, as adopted at Greenwich and Oxford, 
although permitting of much greater speed, showed the error 
to be as great as 0”°5, and therefore all the measurements are 
to be made with the filar micrometer. A new instrument, 
similar to that designed by Dr. Gill for the Cape, has been 
ordered from Messrs. Repsold and Sohne. 
The various operations connected with the time service, 
meteorological observations, and inspection of outlying depéts: 
have been carried out as in previous years. 
Terrestrial Magnetism.—The photographic registration of the 
horizontal and vertical components and of the magnetic declin- 
ation have been continued, absolute measurements and rede- 
terminations of scale zeros being made five times. The measure- 
ment and reduction of the curves obtained since 1867, numbering 
some 30,000, have been commenced. 
The photo-heliograph has been employed on sixteen days for 
solar pictures ; 264 pairs of cloud photographs have been ob- 
tained with cameras placed at different points round the 
observatory buildings. 
The great telescope and south equatorial have been used for 
comet and planetary observation, and for the use of visitors, 
189 persons being admitted on Wednesday afternoons and 195, 
at night during the year. 
STR ANDREW NOBLE ON THE BEST 
EDUCATION FOR ENGINEERS.* 
WHEN your Dean first did me the honour to ask me to 
address you on the opening of your session, I had grave 
doubts as to whether I was a proper person to accept the in- 
vitation. On the one hand, I have had little or nothing to do 
with the education of others, and in some points my views, at 
all events so far as regards primary education, are at variance 
with much that is being done at the present day, but as, on the 
other hand, I have had exceptional opportunities of observing, 
both in this and other countries, certain points which seem to. 
me to be of importance to those who propose to uphold the in- 
dustrial supremacy of this country in the struggle which year by 
year other countries are rendering more and more severe, you 
therefore see me here to-day, and I shall consider myself amply 
rewarded if I can tempt but one of you to enter, for the sake of 
knowledge itself, the boundless fields which science day by day 
is opening up to you. I can promise that the pursuit will give 
you happiness. I hope it may give you wealth and distinction ;. 
but I remember the words of the Preacher, that riches are not 
always given to men of understanding, nor favour to men of 
skill, but that time and chance happen to us all. 
Technical education is a phrase that has been so often mis- 
used, perhaps so often misunderstood, that many of those who, 
like myself, are engaged chiefly in trying to solve the practical 
problems of engineering are in the habit of hearing it either 
with impatience or of regarding it as a fad of lay theorists, or 
sometimes, I fear, as a cloak for educational shortcomings in. 
other directions. And I am bound to confess, if their experi- 
ence has been the same as mine, that there is some excuse for 
them. You can form but little idea of the number of persons. 
of both sexes who have assured me that their sons had no 
taste for books, but had shown a marvellous talent for 
engineering. I need hardly tell you that the marvellous 
talent generally turns out to be an incapacity, possibly from. 
defective education, for seriously applying the mind to any 
subject whatever. ; 
But technical education, properly considered, is of the highest 
1 Inaugural Address of the Session 1899-1900 of the City and Guilds 
Central Technical College, given at the College, Exhibition Road, by Sir 
Andrew Noble, K.C.B., F.R.S., on Tuesday, October 3. 
