345) 
‘NATURE 
[ Aug: 28, 1870 
om the: reth, but! the only thing’ remarkable was the’ great 
contrast! of shade between the darker and brighter pentimbree. 
I say penumbree, for I! suppose the real umbra:of the’ earth’s 
shadow falls within'the moon’s orbit. The darker interior cone 
of shadow obscured the edge of’ the: moon \and' the object’ on its 
surface as it! passed over'them almost entirely, but! its\own edge 
didi not’ seem to» be’ nearly’ so: regularly’ round! as* the: lighter 
enveloping’ cone of shade.”—The* Rew’ J: J! Johnson, of 
Crediton, reports: —*‘ On'theevening of the 12th Thad a very 
favourable view of the lunar'eclipse: The'sky was clear’ at'first, 
with a\small'amount of'sttatus® wear’the* horizon) I first caught 
sight of ‘the moon at'8:41; but’ ittwas’8.49 before it got clear of 
the clouds. I paid ‘particular attention to the degree of distinct- 
ness with which the eclipsed ‘portion could be seen. When about 
four digits -were covered I just noticed the copper tin through the 
telescope, I'fancy this would be a little sooner than in the last 
eclipse I observed (September 1867) but in that of October 4, 
1865, which was only of 4 digits, the copper tint was very decided 
in the telescope at the time of the greatest obscuration! When 
about six digits, or half the disc, was covered, the copper’ colour 
could be clearly seen with the naked eye. Icould not make out 
any particular parts of the*moon’s surface until 9:35, when I 
noticed the Mare Tranquillitatis and the Mare Serenitatis showed 
with beautiful distinctness through the earth’s shadow in'the tele- 
scope. A few minutes after the total was attained, I was struck 
with the obscurity of the eastern side of the moon being ‘so much 
morethan J had expected. At 9.55 atleast half of its surface 
was as if blotted out even when seen through the telescope, 
although I applied two different powers—7o and 150. Three of 
the seas at.the western side were all I could make out. Possibly 
a thin coating of cirrus cloud which ‘covered ‘all 'the sky‘ about 
this time «might account in ‘some ‘measure for the ‘invisibility 
of the moon. By 10:30. this’ had’ entirely’ cleared away, 
and the. sky was everywhere covered with’ stars) The 
Milky Way very near the moon was’ about as distinct as 
it usually »appears*on a*dark clear’ night: At this period, 
being the middle ofthe eclipse,’ the upper portion of the 
moon was ‘the invisible part, all those regions lying round 
the margin of the dise being alone ‘to ‘bé seen; except at the 
vertex, where the margin itself was not discernible. At 11.23 
the first streak of light was'-breaking forth at theeastern edge. 
At 11.45 the red colour was nearly gone, and the eclipsed part: 
appeared of a ‘grey colour. At ‘11.58 I noticed there was no 
trace of the Milky Way; at12.24 the lunar circle was again com= 
plete.”—Mr, Oliver J. Lodge, of ‘Hanley, reports that ‘the 
colour of the moon during the totality was of a most peculiar 
copper hue, giving very little light indeed. But during’ the 
egress of the shadow it was almost as white and silvery as it 
usually is, although ‘still under the penumbra.” Mr. Edmund 
Neison, of London, says:—‘‘ The colour of the eclipsed disc 
was during the whole time a dull, yellowish olive-green, both in 
the: telescope and: out, but was’ never dark enough to prevent 
many of the chief markings and craters being seen. From To. 444, 
when the lunar dise was fairly above the fog-banks, Aristarc/eas 
was’ quite distinct as» a bright crater, and even before eleven 
Grimaldi was plainly discernible.” ‘ At Bristol, Mr. William F: 
Denning observed the phenomenon, and remarks that even at 
the time of ‘totality many of the most conspicuous objects ‘on 
the disc were distinctly visible. The copper tint was also very 
evident. During a portion of the time the moon was over ¢ast 
with clouds. - 
Venus.—Mr. Henry Ormesher, of Manchester, observed ‘this 
planet with 5¢in, equatorial refractor, on July 23, at 5d... 
“‘The definition was excellent. I observed three dusky s pots 
om the disc, one of which was of very considerable magnitu de.” 
, Satur#.—Mr. H, Michell Whitley, of Penarth, write 5 :-— 
‘July 7th, 10% 11™ power 208—the ball of the planet ‘dull 
yellow colour. N.. equatorial*ruddy belt conspicuous, + and 
another of same colour between it and pole; pole bluish : grey ; 
edges of disc fainter than centre; sky in ans much b) acker 
a vires plgiets alte ring across ball nearly as de wk «as 
$ dension, e 3 crape ring i ' 
line of light heiween tt anew” a eo ts ee ae 
Occultation.—Mr. J. C. Lambert, of Sleaford, witness ed the 
occultation of B.A.C. 5954 on July 10, and found the exact 
time of disappearance to be r2" 40™ 415 mean time, 
Meteors.—Mr. J. C, Lambert ‘observed a very 1 prilliant 
meteor at 11° 40m, July 21. Course froma little below y Cassio- 
peiz to ~ Persei. Nucleus appeared as a star -of I°5, mag.; 
tail nearly 2° “long ;° colour, yellowish“Wwhite ; dura fion 2°: 
During the time of observation'(11" to’ 12" 30") observed'nd less 
than eleven small rieteorites: The coutsé of one of these was’ 
from ¢ Bootis to'43 Come Berenicis, atid'immediately afterwards’ 
one from alittle below 43 Come Berenicis to 7 Bootis. Could 
this have béen one aid the same méteor describing an arc?” 
Lunar Observations. Myr. TH. Michell Whitley has’ very care-" 
fully examined many interesting lunat objects, and the’ results 
he obtained have been forwarded to Mr. W. R. Birt. 
PARIS 
Academy of Sciences, Aug. 16.—M. Yvon Villarceau com- 
municated some remarks on’ the decimal division of angles and 
of time, in reference to M. l’Abbadie’s communication’ of the 
previous week.—M. Sainte-Claire Deville made a final reply to 
M. Jamn‘on the subject of the sepecific heat of mixtures:—M. 
Wurtz presented'a’ note by MM. Ad. Lieben and A. Rossi’ on 
normal amyl alcohol. The same authors recorded last year the” 
manufacture of a néw butyl alcohol differing from the alcohol’ 
of fermentation, and representing the fourth’ term in’ the homo- 
logous series of normal alcohols. Taking this alcohol for'a ‘point 
of departure, and applying the’same synthetical methods, they” 
succeeded in obtaining a néw amyl alcohol, which they’ call! 
normal, and bearing the same relation'to the amyl alcohol! 
already known as the new butyl alcohol does to the butyl alcohol’ 
of fermentation. In order to obtain it cyanide of normal butyl” 
is first obtained, and the valeric acid corresponding to it made» 
by the oxidation of! ordinary amyl alcohol. The lime-salt of 
normal valeric acid is mixed with the formiate, and the’ mixture’ 
submitted to dry distillation. Valeric aldehyde is thus obtained, 
boiling at about 102°, and isomeric with valeral. This aldehyde, 
treated with nascent hydrogen, yields the alcohol. Normal amyl 
alcohol bears a strong resemblance to the amyl alcohol of fer- 
mentation. It is distinguished by its higher boiling point, 137°- 
By oxidation it yields valeric acid—M. Wurtz also presented a 
note by M. F. Papillon on modifications in the immediate com- 
pesition of bones, proving that the normal lime contained um the 
bones of animals may be partially replaced by alumina, magnesia, 
or strontia, by including these substances in their food.—M. Cave 
cantributed a note on the formative zone of the foliar organs in’ 
monocotyledonous vegetables. This he found to occupy the 
same position as in his previous researches on dicotyledonous 
jplants. In the leaves of endogenous plants the inferior tissue is 
the older ; the layer nearér to the superior epidermis is the 
younger. In'the fruits, also, the author has invariably found the 
formative zone occupy the same place in those belonging to the 
two divisions of flowering plarits.—M. Jamin presented a note 
by M. W. de Fonvielle’ on the astronomical discoveries of the 
ancients. 
CONTENTS 
Science AND MILirary SURGERY*.*. -°. 5+ + + ete’ ee 
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS .*. . «*+ | 330° 
By Prof. G. Croom RoBERTSON  . *. ; 
OUR BOOKS SBELES, 6. ef, 0 Ba Me ‘ie lic is) Sets Soe tin eeromnE 
PsycHoLoGy 1N ENGLAND. 
LETTERS TO THE EpiTor ‘— 
The Gulf-Stream.—Dr. W, B: CarrenTer, F.R:‘S. . «0. 
Dr. Hooker's ‘‘ Student’s Flora,”—H. REEKS. . . . «e's + 
On Supersaturated Solutions.—C. Tomiinson, F.R-'S. 2°. + 
Astrology.—Reyv. C. J. ROBINSON. . 25. + *e 0 2 2 eee 
On Volcanoes.—D: ForsBes) F.R:S. . 2 0 2 2 fe 0 eee 
A Vivid Mirage.—S. B. Je SKERTCHLY. « « + + 2 es e's 
Mirages made Easy.—C. T. WHITMELL  « «+ ee eee 
Science and the Government.—A. W. BenneTT, F.L.S.. . . . 
AromAtic Gtycot. By Atrrep NAQUET. . 
SpEcrroscoric Notes. SpecrRuM oF A SoLar Spor. By Prof. 'C. 
A. YouNG,; Ph.D! (With Wilustration.) . 1°. %s «7s ee % 
Tue Science oF War. I. Capt. Moncrierr’s HypRO-PNEUMATIC 
Gun-CARRIAGE FoR SEA Service. (With Illustration.) ~.~. 
(NOTES c cejttMerMerie: Ms. Te Nel Vols No Me Ve Polma Melita ‘eM nuncl ols 
Tue CominG TRANSITS OF VENUS. By Prof. NEwcomMB ... . 
Nortu OF ENGLAND INSTITUTE ‘oF MINING AND MECHANICAL EN- 
GINEERS—MEETING AT GLascow.’ By JOHN MAYER. *. . . ° 
346° 
347 
SCIENTIFIC DERIALS = 9. ss \e te “a ee) a2 0 ete te = elo 
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