December 22, 1898] 



NA TURE 



185 



,>tirps. There are also notes by Mr. R. South, on British Lepi- 

 \'ioplera occurring in Japan ; and liy Mr. A. H. Jones, on some 

 Lsouth European Lrpidof'tera, with remarks on the genera Thais 

 knd Emiiloe. The only paper relating to a diflerent order is 

 |,by Mr. E. Saunders, on collecting British Hemiptera. 



\ The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 

 ftias sent us the twenty-ninth annual volume of "The Animal 

 '"World," and a new volume of the "Band of Mercy." Both 

 ^volumes are profusely illustrated with pictures of animals, and 

 f'hey will assist the educational work of the Society. Children 

 Pinterested in animals or natural history — and what children are 

 not ?— would regard either of the volumes as an acceptable 

 [present for Christmas or the New Year. 



I) The twenty-first volume of Knowledge, containing the monthly 

 parts published during the current year, has been received. The 

 ;irticles in the volume deal with many scientific subjects, but the 

 fiiost prominent features are astronomy and natural history. The 

 ':hief contributors are Mr. R. Lydekker, who writes on vaiious 

 'Zoological matters ; Prof. Grenville Cole, who deals with a number 

 '3f geological structures and problems ; Mr. A. Vaughan Jennings, 

 who contributes a series of botanical studies ; and Mr. E. W. 

 Miunder, who writes on interesting astronomical objects and 

 events. Numerous illustrations, many of them full-page plates, 

 ,ind including reproductions of several of Dr. Roberts's marvellous 

 photographs, adorn the pages of the voluine. 



1 Mr. William .M.^rriott informs us that on January 2, 

 1.(1899, the offices of the Royal Meteorological Society will be 

 removed to Princes .Mansions, 70 Victoria Street, Westminster, 

 l,p.W. , to which address all communications, on and after that 

 date, should be forwarded. 



\i The Tidal Survey branch of the Department of Marine and 

 {Fisheries of the Dominion of Canada has issued a collection of 

 itide-tables for Halifa.s, Quebec, and St. John, for the year 1S99, 

 with tidal differences for the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, and 

 |for the St. Lawrence River, from Three Rivers to Gaspe. 



li Psychologists and students of the philosophy of science 

 will be interested in the announcement that, under the title of 



!'" Truth and Error, or the Science of Intellection," Messrs. 



!|Kegan Paul, Trench, Trlibner, and Co., Ltd.. will shortly pub- 

 lish a new book by Mr. J. W. Powell, the Director of the 

 'United States Bureau of American Ethnology, and sometime 

 ■Director of the United Slates Geological Survey. 



II The Tuesday evening penny science lectures will be resumed 

 rat the Royal Victoria Hall, Waterloo Bridge Road, on January 

 3) when the Rev. R. H. Whitcombe will discourse on " Science 

 Jottings in Switzerland." On January 10, Mr. R. A. Gregory 

 .will lecture on "Astronomy before Telescopes"; and on 

 'January 17, Prof. Farmer will lecture on " Plants as Engineers." 

 lOn January 24, Mr. C. W. Andrews will give an account of his 

 |Work on " Christmas Island" ; and on January 31, Prof Frank 

 iClowes will lecture on " Old Father Thames." 



j A NUMBER of forthcoming works on scientific subjects appear 

 yin the Book Circular (No. 69, Scientific Series), just issued by 

 •Messrs. Williams and Norgate. Among the volumes announced 

 |We notice the following :— The second volume of Dr. F. Danne- 

 mann's " Grundriss einer Geschichte der Naturwi.ssenschaften," 

 ' entitled "Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften aller Volker und 

 ;Zeiten." — Prof Ernest Haeckel's lecture to the Fourth Inter- 

 ! national Zoological Congress at Cambridge will be issued, 

 I with notes and tables, under the title " Unsere gegen- 

 iwartige Kenntniso vom Ursprung des Menschen." — Another 



(work by Prof Haeckel, which is announced for publication in 

 January, is " Kunstformen der Natur." — A work by Prof; O 

 NO. I 521, VOL. 59] 



Biitschli, Professor of Zoology at Heidelberg, being a continu- 

 ation of the same author's " Untersuchungcn iiber micros 

 kopische Schiiume," of which an English translation has been 

 issued. — The second part of the second volume of Dr. Paul 

 Knuth's '• Handbuch der BUiten biologie," containing Lobeli- 

 ace^ to Conifer*. — M. Rib.An, of the University of Paris, 

 has prepared a "Traitc d'analyse chimique quantitative par 

 I'Electrolyse." — "La photographie ahiniee," by E. Trutat, 

 Director of the Natural History Museum of Toulouse. — A work 

 by Prof. Lebon, of the Lycee Charlemagne, Paris, entitled 

 " L'Histoire abregee de 1' Astronomic." — A volume by M. E. 

 Bouty, Professeur de la Faculie des Sciences, on " Electricite 

 a ondes Herziennes. Rayons X." 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include two Red-bellied Squirrels (Sciiirits vari- 

 egatiis) from Trinidad, presented by Master Lawrence; a Palm 

 Squirrel [Sciiirtts palmanim) from India, presented by Dr. G. 

 Lindsay Johnson ; a Pluto Monkey (Cercopitheciis leucampyx, i ) 

 from Congoland, deposited ; a Nutcracker {iVticifraga caryoca- 

 tai-les), a Common Sheldrake ( Tadorna cornuta) European, 

 purchased. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 



A Total Eclipse ok the Moo.n.— On Tuesday next 

 (December 27) the moon will pass entirely into the shadow of 

 the earth, and be totally eclipsed. The following are some of 

 the particulars which may be useful to those who wish to 

 observe this phenomenon, but fuller information, together with 

 a list of stars to be occulted, will be found in the Naitlical 

 Almanac and the Companion lo the Observatory. 



h. m. 

 First contact with the penumbra, Dec. 27, S 265 G. M.T. 



,. ,, shadow ... 9 39'4 



Beginning of total phase ... 10 49'o 



Middle of the eclipse ... ... '■ 337 



End of total phase ... ... 12 184 



Last contact with the shadow ... 13 280 



,, ,, penumbra ' 14 409 



The moon meets the shadow at a point on her limb which is 

 112" from her north point towards the eastern side, and passes 

 out at a point 95° towards the west. 



The magnitude of the eclipse is represented as I '383, the unit 

 representing the case when conditions are such that the moon is 

 only just able to be totally immersed for an instant. 



Comet Chase — This comet, which is gradually brightening, 

 is situated in the constellation of Leo Minor, and lies slightly to 

 the north of the 6th magnitude star 50 in Leo Minor. The 

 following is the ephemeris to the end of the present month. 



1898. R.A, (.ipp.) 



Dec. 22 ... 10 55 II 



24 ... 56 44 



26 ... 58 11 



28 ... 10 59 31 



30 ... II o 43 



Decl.(.-.pp.) 



-f26 59'8 

 27 19-0 

 27 38-8 

 27 59 -o 



-I- 28 J97 



•39 



Co.METS / 189S AN1> 18S1 I\'. — Writing in the Aslronomiial 

 yciurnal {Nos. 448-450), Dr. Perrine, of the Lick Observatory, 

 points out a distinct relationship between the comet i 189S and 

 1881 IV. The similarity of the orbits is strikingly seen from the 

 following comparison ol the orbits : — 



1881 IV.... 



Dr. Perrine states that although it is not possible for Brooks's 

 comet to be a return of Schaeberle's, yet the resemblance is so 

 close that a strong family connection is indicated. If we may 

 be permitted to make a sviggestion, might not there be two 

 comets pursuing the same path? Just as comets are thinned 

 out by their component parts lagging behind and following, so 



