Dec. 8, 1881] 
NATURE 
I4I 
double star 61 Cygni, his result being 0’°468, which agrees more 
nearly with Struve’s value than with Bessel’s. 
The Cape catalozue of upwards of 12,000 stars is the out- 
come of Mr. Stone’s labours during nine years, as Her Majesty’s 
Astronomer at the Cape, and is the most important catalogue of 
stars which has yet been formed in the southern hemisphere. 
Another important contribution to stellar astronomy has been 
made by Prof. Newcomb, who has recéntly prepared a catalogue 
of the places of nearly 1100 standard stars compiled from the 
best authorities. 
In connection with his photometric researches Prof. Pickering 
has discussed the causes of the variability of stars of short period. 
Taking the various hypotheses which have been proposed, he 
finds that for Algol and stars of that type the hypothesis of an 
eclipsing satellite or cloud of meteors revolving round the star is 
the only one which satisfies the observed phenomena. In the 
case of 8 Lyrz and similar variables the fluctuations of light 
would be explained as due to rotation round the axis, the two 
hemispheres being of unequal brightness and the form more or 
less elongated, Prof. Pickering has very carefully investigated 
the conditions in each individual case, and has brought together 
the most important facts bearing on the subject. It may be 
mentioned that on Prof, Pickering’s initiative a committee of 
American astronomers has been formed to co-operate with 
European astronomers in selecting a series of stars to serve as 
standards of stellar magnitude. 
The present year has been remarkable for the appearance of 
two bright comets simultaneously visible to the naked eye. The 
first comet was first seen in the southern hemisphere before its 
perihelion passage, and burst upon our view in its full splendour 
soon after perihelion, The most important point in connection 
with this comet was that photographs of its spectrum were ob- 
tained by several physicists, and in particular by Dr. Huggins, 
who found on his photographs two strong bright lines in the 
ultra-violet corresponding to a group in the spectra of com- 
pounds of carbon, and also a group of lines between G and 
agreeing in position with another carbon-band. The photo- 
graphs also showed a continuous spectrum extending from F to 
some distance beyond H, on which the dark Fraunhofer lines 
were seen—an indication that part of the light from comets is 
reflected solar light. 
In the visible portion the continuous spectrum was so bright 
when the comet was first seen after perihelion that it almost 
obliterated the ordinary cometary bands, These, however, be- 
came afterwards very conspicuous, and five bands were noted 
which were found to coincide sensibly with the carbon band as 
given by the flame of the Bunsen burner. On the brightest 
band, three bright lines corresponding to three lines in the 
carbon band were seen by several observers at Princeton, U.S. 
These observations show conclusively that the spectrum of this 
comet is identical with the first spectrum of carbon, and not 
with the second. 
In the telescope this comet showed striking changes from day 
to day, and even, according to some observers, from hour to 
hour, and the head was remarkable for its unsymmetrical appear- 
ance. Another point of interest is that the orbit presents a 
remarkable resemblance to that of the great comet of 1807. As, 
however, the period of this latter was found by Bessel to be 1540 
years, the question arises again, as in the case of the comets of 
1843 and 1880, whether there are not two comets travelling 
along the same path. 
The second bright comet was first discovered with the tele- 
scope, and gradually increased:in brightness till it became visible 
to the naked eye, though by no means so interesting an object as 
the preceding comet. Besides these two bright comets, several 
telescopic comets have been discovered, raising the total for this 
year to eight. The last but one of these has proved to bea 
periodic comet, revolving in the short period of about eight 
years. it was discovered by an Englishman, Mr. Denning, 
being the first instance of sucha discovery in this country for 
many years. 
The Copley Medal has been awarded to Prof, Karl Adolph 
Wurtz, For. Mem. R.S. Prof. Wurtz has, for many years past, 
been one of the most distinguished leaders of the progress of 
chemistry, and is now the most eminent of active French che- 
mists. The younger generation of French chemists were, for 
the most part, his pupils. His writings have been the medium» 
by which most of the knowledge of the more modern theories 
of chemistry has been disseminated in France. His discoveries 
have been fruitful of the greatest results, not merely in the way 
‘ 
of enriching the science with a knowledge of many previously 
unknown compounds and classes of compounds, but more espe- 
cially in extending and improving our knowledge of the laws of 
chemical combination. 
It was he who first discovered compound ammonias contain- 
ing alcohol-radicals in the place of hydrogen—a family of com- 
pounds which has since acquired enormous development. It 
was he who first made those remarkable alcohols called glycols, 
and thus gave the key to the explanation of glycerine, erythrite, 
mannite, and the sugars, Many other discoveries of his might 
be quoted ; but those who know the influence which these two 
have exercised on the progress of chemistry can feel no doubt 
that the author of them is deserving of the highest scientific 
honour, 
One Royal Medal has been awarded to Mr, Francis Maitland 
Balfour, F.R.S. Mr. F. M. Balfour’s investigations in embryo- 
logy and comparative anatomy have placed him, thus early in 
life, in the front rank of original workers in these branches of 
science. His ‘* Monograph upon the Development of Elasmo- 
branch Fishes,” published in 1878, embodies the results of 
several years’ labour, by which quite a new light has been 
thrown upon the development of several important organs in the 
Vertebrata, and notably of the genito-urinary and nervous 
systems. More recently Mr. Balfour has published a most im- 
portant work on ‘‘ Comparative Embryology” in two large and 
fully illustrated volumes, which stands alone in biological litera- 
ture, not only as an admirable and exhaustive’summary of the 
present state of knowledge respecting the development of 
animals in general, but by reason of the vast amount and the 
varied character of the original researches which are incorporated 
in its pages, 
A second Royal Medal has been awarded to the Rev. John 
Hewitt Jellett, F.R.S., Provost of Trinity College, Dublin. 
Dr, Jellett is the author of various papers on pure and applied 
mathematics ; but the award is more directly connected with his 
invention of the analyser known by his name, and for the 
elaborate optico-chemical researches which he has made with it, 
This analyser was introduced by its inventor into the instrument 
by which he has carried on his researches on the state of combina- 
tion of mixed solutions, as evidenced by the changes in their 
power of rotating the plane of polarisation consequent upon a 
change in the proportion of the active ingredients which enter 
into the solution. This is a problem towards the solution of 
which ordinary chemical methods can contribute but little, A 
single instance will suffice to give an idea of the nature of the 
results. It is known that quinine forms with many acids two 
series of salts, one having twice the quantity of acid of the 
other for the same quantity of base, while with other acids only 
the less acid salt has been obtained ; so that the ordinary chemi- 
cal methods fail to give evidence of the existence of the more 
acid salt. Now,.by examining the rotatory power of a solution 
of a given quantity of base with different doses of acid, Dr. 
Jellett was able to obtain evidence of the existence of two, and 
but two, salts of the base, no matter whether the acid were or 
were not one which yields two crystallisable salts. A slight 
deviation in the amount of rotation when the more acid salt 
began to be formed in tolerable quantity, from what it ought to 
have been, on the supposition that the whole of the acid intro- 
duced was combined with the quinine, was naturally attributed 
to a slight partition of the acid between the base and the solvent, 
regarded as a feeble base; but the smallness of the deviation 
indicated that a solution of the more acid salt mainly existed as 
such, and that it was not, as some had supposed, decomposed 
into free acid and the less acid salt. 
The Davy Medal has been awarded to Prof, Adolf Baeyer. 
Prof. Baeyer was already known-as the author of many masterly 
researches in organic chemistry, among which those on uric acid 
and on metallic acid deserve special mention, before his latest 
and most remarkable discovery. The process for the artificial 
formation and manufacture of indigo is the result of long-con- 
tinued efforts, directed by singularly clear and accurate views of 
the order and mode of combination of its constituent-elements, 
and of the conditions requisite for obtaining reactions indicated 
by theory. 
The work of the Royal Commission on Accidents in Mines 
during the past year has been of such great interest, both from 
a scientific and from a practical point of view, that I venture to 
note at length some notes upon it, furnished to me by our 
Fellow, Mr. Warington Smyth, the Chairman. 
A preliminary report was presented before the end of the 
