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> BWATURE i 
. [Dec. 22,1 881 
186 
vs. 
the interior of the continent they are bent at a right angle, 
extending east and west, and moving to the north. In the map 
for 9° the influence of greater heating of land than of sea is 
apparent. The isotherms are nearly straight lines east and west, 
and move from south to north, For 12° they extend west-south- 
west to east-north-east, and move towards north-north-east, 
In the wave of administrative economy which has passed over 
Japon during the past three years, education has, we regret to 
notice, suffered. The allowance to the Education Department 
for the current year is only 914,601 yen against 1,181,100 yen 
last year—a reduction of 266,499 yen, or nearly 25 per cent, 
The expenditure on working the mines has also been diminished 
nearly 50 per cent. It is right to observe, however, that the 
estimates of every department have been largely cut down, and 
that much of the decrease under the head of education may be 
attributed to the substitution of native teachers for highly-paid 
foreign professors. 
Mr. H. TRUEMAN Woop, Secretary of the Society of Arts, 
asks us to draw the attention of our readers to the Exhibition of 
Photographic Apparatus which the Society proposes to open 
next month. They hope to be able to include in the Exhibition 
apparatus illustrating some at least of the many applications of 
photography to scientific purposes, and Mr. Wood will be very 
grateful to any person who will entrust the Society with any 
such apparatus to be shown during the short time the Exhibition 
will remain open, Mr. Wood will gladly send full particulars 
of the Exhibition to anybody sufficiently interested in the matter 
to apply for them, 
Prof. R. S. BALL, Royal Astronomer of Ireland, will give 
the first of a Course of Six Lectures on the Sun, the Moon, and 
the Planets (adapted to a juvenile auditory), at the Royal Insti- 
tution on Tuesday next, the 27th instant. 
A VIOLENT shock of earthquake is reported from Agram on 
November 20, at 8.27 a.m. The duration of the shock was 
two seconds, its direction perpendicular, and its intensity so 
great that a panic was caused, and the schools remained closed 
for the day. Earthquakes are reported (1) from Stassfurt, where 
a violent shock occurred on December 2 at 4.18 a.m., causing 
considerable damage in the salt-mine of Leopoldshall ; (2) from 
Siders (Valais), where a strong shock was noticed on December 
4 at 2.55 a.m. ; (3) from Agram, where a shock of two seconds 
duration occurred on December 9 at 9.55 a.m. 
THE annual meeting of the Geographical Society of Paris bas 
been held for the first time under the presidency of M. de 
Lesseps. The meeting was numerous and enthusiastic. M. 
de Lesseps gave an address in which he eulogived his prede- 
cessor, Admiral La Ronciére le Nourcy, who died recently. On 
the following evening the usual banquet took place at the Hotel 
Continental. 
THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the 
past week include a Chacma Baboon (Cynocephalus porcarius) 
from South Africa, presented by Capt. Wyld; two Squirrel 
Monkeys (Chrysothrix sciurea) from Demerara, presented by 
Mr. F. N. Apthorp; a Black-backed Jackal (Canis mesomelas) 
from South Africa, presented by Capt. C. Hollard Smith ; two 
Ferrets (Mustela furo) from Japan, presented by Mrs. J. F. 
Faed ; a Bosch-bok (7ragelaphus sylvaticus) from South Africa, 
presented by Mr. E. W. Berryman; a Rose-colourcd Pastor 
(Pastor roseus) from India, presented by Mr. F, Lubbock ; a 
Herring Gull (Zarus argentatus), a Greater Blacked-backed Gull 
(Larus marinus), European, presented by Mr. E. W. Ebsworth; 
six Dwarf Chameleons (Chameleon pumilus) fom South Africa, 
presented by Col, Hassard, R.E. ; a Green Monkey (Cercopithecus 
callitrichus), a Mona Monkey (Cercopithecus mona) from West 
Africa, a Cerastes Viper (Vifera cerastes) from Algefia, depo- 
sited ; four Snow Buntings Plectrophanes nivalis), two Common 
Siskins (CArysomitris spinus), British, purchased. 
OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN 
A VARIABLE OF THE ALGOL TyPE.—A telegram to the Earl 
of Crawford’s Observatory at Dunecht, notifies that Mr. Sawyer 
of Boston, U.S., has detected a variable of the comparatively 
rare type of Algol, witha period of 5°24 days, its brightness 
varying between 6°0 and 6°7, and 1881, November 30°84 being 
an epoch of minimum. It is number 854 of Sir J. Herschel’s 
third series of observations with the 20-feet reflector, publi-hed 
in Vol. iii. of the Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society ; 
it is there called 5m. with a minute companion 88° n.p. 25”, and 
a note says, ‘‘not in Piazzi”: these observations were made in 
1827-28. The star is Lalande 31384, observed 1797, May 24, 
and estimated 64; Bessel calls it 7m. in July 1822, and Santini 
has the same magnitude at the end of July or beginning of 
August 1838. Lamont has two observations at which it was 
estimated 7m, and 8m. In the Durchmusterung it is 5*5, and 
on the Atlases of Argelander and Heis 6m. Schjellerup called 
it 7°7 on-1863, June 9, and in his catalogue of 1864 he 
pointed out the differences in the estimated magnitudes of 
previous observers. Dr, Gould. in the Uranometria Argentina 
mentions that a series of comparisons between August and 
October 1871, indicated ‘‘an oscillation of magnitude from 6°0 
to 6°5, but exhibiting no regular law in the variation” ; in the 
catalogue he has ‘‘6°7 var.?” Taking into consideration the 
estimates of various observers it might be inferred the true 
limits of magnitude may be somewhat wider than assigned above. 
The position of the star for 18820 is in R.A, 17h. 10m. 33s. 
Decl. + 1° 20'6. 
A PROBABLE VARIABLE-STAR.—-The follow ing is a case which 
appears to be worthy of attention :—D’Agelet observed a star in 
1783, on July 26, 27, and 29, which he estimated on the three 
nights 6, 6, and 6°5 respectively. It is No, 5057-59 in Dr. 
Gould’s reduced Catalogue, and there called Avonyma: in fact 
it is not found, so far as we know, in any modern catalogue 
except the Durchmusterung, where it is +17°, 3997, and esti- 
mated only 9'4. The place of the star from D’Agelet, brought 
up to 1880'0, is in R. A. 19h. 27m. 22°10s., Decl. +17° 29' 28’"0" 
THE BINARY STAR 7 CAssIOPEI#.—The elements of this 
beautiful revolving double-star, which had been already caleu- 
lated hy Duner, Doberck, and Gruber, in 1875 and 1876, have, 
been newly investigated by Ludwig Strave, son of the present 
director of the Imperial Observatory at Pulkowa. The princi- 
pal characteristic of the new orlit consists in its depending 
entirely upon the measures of Bessel and the two Strvves be- 
tween 1830 and 1878, the early data of Sir W. Herschel, which, 
if taken into account, would exercise an influence much greater 
than is due to their degree of accuracy, being left out of con- 
sideration. The resulting elements are as follow :— 
Periastron passage ... 1905‘02 | Inclination 56° 22’ 
Node kevin) dos Sees) 45* 3° || Eccentricity, 0°6206 
Node to periastron... 238°17 | Semi-axis major _8""786 
For Eq. 1850°0 | Period of revolution 149°90 yrs. 
Duner had found the period 176, Gruber 195, and Doberck 222 
years. A comparison with the measures of Dembowski (1856- 
76) and Duner (1868-75) exhibit constant differences, upon 
which M, O. Struve remarks at some length in a note to his 
son’s memoir (Bulletin del’ Acad, des Sciences de St. Petersbourg, 
tome v.). 
According to the above orbit the components close in until 
the year 1907, when their apparent distance is at a minimum of 
1"9 on an angle of about 305°. To test the longer and shorter 
periods we have: 
In Doberck’s Orbit. In L. Struves’s Orbit. 
° a“ ° a” 
18820 1621 5°54 165'8 544 
1883°0 164°6 ep ee es 5°40 
M. Otto Struve’s observations gave for the parallax of this 
star 0”"1543 + 00450, whence the mass of the two components 
results 8°33 times that of the sun, and the author of the memoir 
further concludes that the larger star has a mass 6°57 times, and 
the smaller one 1°76 times the solar mass, Prof, Auwers finds 
the proper motion of 7 Cassiopeize + 0°1346s. in right ascen ion, 
and — 0"-481 in declination, or 1*196 in great circle, in the 
direction 113°°7. 
