218 
NATURE 
Fan. 5, 1882 
> 
she got to be half as tall as Iam, and then, sad to relate, with 
advancing age her temper did not improve; I am afraid if I 
spoke the truth I should have to describe it as savage. She 
became a perfect terror to many people, and she even attacked 
me once or twice. She was playful to the last when I had her 
alone, and often resumed many of her old quaint caressing 
ways that were indescribably fascinating from their childlikeness. 
But the funny thing was, that if the Bishop was near she would 
immediately turn upon me and scratch and bite me, and he had 
only to go out of sight for her good temper to return. At last, 
however, I felt she was becoming a nuisance to other people, by 
her habit of grabbing at everybody that passed, and her savage ges- 
ticulations ; so, seeing also how she longed to exercise those active 
wiry little limbs of hers—inventing all sorts of ludicrous games 
and gymnastics—I made up my mind to let her loose. There is 
a charming little island not far from the shore, which we 
thought would be just the place Judy would revel in. Mr. —— 
and Miss , and a number of our little boys, escorted her 
there. She came down to the shore to watch them off, and gave 
one cry of dismay at being deserted ; but we hope that the 
sweets of liberty have more than consoled Her for the loss of 
society. I missed the creature dreadfully at first. She was a 
constant amusement and interest with her quaint ways, and even 
her naughty tempers were ludicrous. Really if Mr. Buckland 
had been alive I think I should have sent her to him, I think 
he would have appreciated her intelligence and love of a romp, 
and she would never have been savage with him. She never 
once attempted to bite our Bishop; she always preferred him to 
any one else, and was always affectionate with him. T want 
very much to know whether other people have noticed that these 
baboons really laugh ; I have heard somewhere, I am sure, that 
the power of laughter is the distinction between man and animals. 
But Judy certainly used to laugh—not at a joke I confess; and 
nothing made her so savage as being laughed at. But when she 
romped with me she used to open her mouth and show all her 
white teeth, and regularly laugh like a child, especially when 
she was tickled. I shouldn't have parted with her if I had been 
living alone, but living with others, as one does here, it did not 
seem fair to keep a creature that really did frighten some of the 
household.” 
“ Tanganyika Shells” 
UNDER the above heading a paragraph appeared in NATURE, 
vol. xxv. p. 101, in which Mr. C. A. White, of Washington, 
states that certain species described by me in the Proceedings of 
the Zoological Society, 1881, pp. 558-560, from the great 
African Lake Tanganyika, ‘‘are without doubt, generically 
identical with the Pyrgulifera humerosa of Meek,” a fossil form 
from the Bear River Tertiary of North America. Mr. W. H. 
Dall, of the Smithsonian In-titution, had previously, in a letter 
to me, dated October 24, expressed a similar opinion, I have 
been unable to procure for examination and comparison a speci- 
men of the North American shell, and am consequently com- 
pelled to arrive at a conclusion from a study of Mr. Meek’s 
figure and description in the report upon the ‘‘ United States 
Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel,” vol. iv., pp. 
176-178, woodcut 6, and plate 17, figs. 19-19a. As a result I 
find it decidedly unadvisable at present to locate the two forms 
in question in the same genus. I admit that in regard to general 
outline and character of ‘‘ sculpture ” there is no distinction of any 
importance. However, when the aperture (which in univalve shells 
most frequently exhibits the main generic characters) is closely scru- 
tinised, features present themselves which incline me, until actual 
comparison is possible, to hold these two types generically distinct. 
The outer lip of Pyrguilifera is said to be ‘‘subsinuous at the 
termination of the shoulder of the body volution above,” and 
the basal margin of the aperture is described as ‘‘ faintly 
sinuous.” On the contrary, in Paramelania no trace of the 
latter character is present, and the upper extvemity of the labrum 
where it joins the volution, instead of being ‘‘ sudsinuous,” 1s 
actually frominent, But another equally important distinction 
is the prolongation of the body-whorl below the aperture, to- 
gether forming a more or less basal effusion. Independent of 
these actual differences, we must take into consideration certain 
probabilities and improbabilities. In the first place the differ- 
ence in geographical position militates to some exten: against the 
identity of these two forms. Then the vast lapse of ages surely 
must have evolved some differences in the animals as indicated 
by the dissimilar apertures, and again the operculum of Parame- 
Jania is very peculiar, and who shall say that this appendage was 
{ 
of a like nature in the Bear River shell. In conclusion, I shouid 
observe that the African form was considered of sub-generic rank 
by me, and not as a distinct genus, as stated by Mr. White. 
Epcar A, SMITH 
The Growth of Trees 
Just fifty years ago I was at school in Salisbury. I have only 
visited it once since until last week. when I had the unique 
pleasure of rambling over the old but familiar haunts, of course 
including Old Sarum, On mounting the outer ring of the well- 
known mound from the Stratford side, a beech tree in the bottom 
of the ditch reminded me that it was just there our usher carved 
with his knife on such a tree ‘‘ Tempus Fugit.” On going down 
to look for the motto, I only found unreadable abrasions on the 
bark, but on the north side of the same tree ‘‘ 1817” was dis- 
tinctly engraved. On examining a tree near, I found on the 
bark ‘*Carpe Diem, 1831.” This recalled to my memory the 
fact that our usher’s ‘* Tempus Fugit” was suggested by some 
such motto carved by the usher of another school. Is it worth 
recording that this carving on the bark of a beech tree is quite 
legible after an interval of fifty years, while the date ‘‘ 1817” 
on another is also probably genuine? If so, perhaps it is worth 
noticing that both legible carvings are on a north aspect not 
reached by the sun, while the lost motto ‘‘Tempus Fugit” 
would be exposed to the sun with an easterly aspect. 
Barnstaple, January 2 W. Symons 
INDIAN FosstLs.—Mr. Richard Lydekker, of the Geological 
Survey of India, asks if any of our readers can give him 
information as to the whereabouts in England of collections of 
fossil bones from the Siwaliks of India. He is aware (beside 
the British Museum collection) of collections at Ludlow, Cam- 
bridge, and Edinburgh, but he believes there are others in the 
country. A large collection was sent home some years ago by a 
Major Hay, the destination of which is unknown to him. Mr. 
Lydekker is now engaged in working at Siwalik fossils, and as 
he intends spending some months in England next summer, he 
wishes to look up all the collections then. 
OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN 
Comer 1881 4.—Notwithstanding some statements to the 
contrary, the orbit of this comet when the later observations are 
brought to bear upon it, is sensibly different from a parabola, 
aud from two independent investigations, the first by MM. Dunér 
and Engstrom, the second by M. Bossert (from eight normal 
places, based upon 423 observations), the period re-ults about 
2955 years. An observation at Marseilles on October 24 gave 
at gh. 39m. 4s. mean time, R.A. 18h. 44m. 58°12s., N.P.D. 
20° 24’ 23°2, corrected for parallax. 
The following positions are given by Dr. Dunér :— 
At 12h. Berlin M.T. 
R.A. Decl. N. Distance 
hes a 7 from Earth, 
January 10 22 58 11 57 28°3 37118 
12 23 3 4 S¥f NS 
14 a ESS 57 (333. ap nogS 
16 — 12 39 56 51°5 
18 — 17 22 56 40°3 3'274 
20 =| 22 PT ay GOO a5 
22 23.26 38. 56 19°2 3°354 
The student of this branch of astronomy will be aware that 
comets have been followed to greater distances; the extraordinary 
comet of 1729, which never approached the earth, indeed could 
not approach her, within three times the earth’s mean distance 
from the sun, and yet was visible with small telescopes, still 
affords a unique case, it must have been a body of an altogether 
exceptional character. 
THE MINOR PLANETS IN 1882.—The supplement to the 
Berliner Astronomisches Fahrbuch for 1883, containing epheme- 
rides of the small planets for 1882 has been circulated in advance 
of the publication of the volume as usual for some years past. 
Of the two hundred and twenty members of the group detected 
up to the present time, we find approximate places for every 
twentieth day of 217, and accurate opposition ephemerides of 
41. The approximate ephemerides include No, 220. Three 
only of the planets approach the earth at opposition, within the 
, earth’s mean distance from the sun, viz. No, 12, Vicforia, in 
