2IO 



NATURE 



{Dec. 31, il 



and Levenensis trout. A very large yield of ova was obtained, 

 all of which presented signs of healthiness and complete im- 

 pregnation. Although the fish spawned have been in captivity 

 for four years, they shed their eggs with the same ease as those 

 subjected to natural conditions. 



A LARGE number of Salmonidos eggs are being incubated at 

 the Buckland Museum. It will be remembered that fish-hatch- 

 ing operations were carried out extensively here by the late 

 Frank Buckland, but after his death they subsided, and until 

 this year the apparatus used by him were not called into use. 

 The re-introduction of this feature will afford much gratification 

 to visitors, and especially to those having the interest of the 

 great naturalist's collection at heart. Besides, the authorities 

 have, by this act, shown their sympathy with fish-culture, and 

 have also set an example which might be emulated by the public 

 elsewhere. It may not be generally known, but the Museum 

 does not contain nearly all the exhibits comprised in the Buck- 

 land Collection, which cannot be adequately shown to the public 

 in the limited space allotted to the exhibits. 



The Dutch Government has instituted Christmas telegraphic 

 messages at a reduced rate, containing merely the name and 

 address of senders and receivers. 



The numbers of that valuable periodical, the Indian 

 Antiquary for 1S85, though of course mainly occupied with 

 papers on the special field of Indian scholarship, contain also 

 many of general scientific interest. Thus a considerable space 

 is devoted to folk-lore : there are four papers on the folk-lore of 

 Southern India ; one on that of Western India ; a paper on the 

 omens from the falling of house-lizards, which is curious from 

 the minuteness with which every part of the body, even the 

 smallest, on which a lizard could fall is provided with its appro- 

 priate omen, that for men and women being different. The 

 modes by which evil omens may be averted are added. There 

 is also a selection of Kanarese popular ballads. There are also 

 two learned articles by Prof. V. Ball, in which he seeks to 

 identify the animals and plants of India which were known to 

 early Greek authors. One result of his interesting investigations 

 (as indeed of all similar investigations into the works of early 

 writers, Marco Polo, for example), is to show that most of the 

 statements of these writers, usually ridiculed as extravagant 

 or fictitious, rest on substantial bases of fact. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Macaque Monkey (Macacus cynoinolgus) 

 from India, presented by Mrs. A. Murray ; an American Robin 

 (Turdus mi^ralorius) from North America, presented by Mr. 

 A. Saunders ; two Hybrid Ruddy Sheldrakes (between Tadorua 

 rutila and Chenalopex itgyptiaca], bred in France, deposited ; a 

 Sing- Sing Antelope {Colms sing-sing i ) from West Africa, 

 received in exchange. 



OUR astronOaIIcal column 



Effect upon the Earth's Motion Produced by Small 

 Bodies Passing near it. — Prof. H. A. Newton has published 

 a paper on this subject in the American jfoiirnal 0/ Science for 

 December, 1S85. He points out that the space through which 

 the earth travels is traversed also by small bodies or meteoroids. 

 The impact of these bodies upon the earth and the consequent 

 increase of the earth's mass have their effect upon the eartli's 

 motions both of rotation and revolution. The moon's orbit and 

 the length of the month likewise suffer change. Prof. Oppolzer 

 (Aslron. NachricJiten, No. 2573) has considered the amount of 

 these actions, and has computed the density which the meteoroid 

 matter must have in the space which the earth is traversing in order 

 to account for the observed and unexplained acceleration of the 

 moon's mean motion. But a body that passes near the earth 



has also an action of like character by reason of the attraction of 

 gravitation alone, and the conclusion at which Prof. Newton 

 arrives is that these latter bodies do not have an effect at all 

 comparable with that produced by those which actually come 

 into the earth's atmosphere. In fact hir, investigation shows 

 that the effect upon the earth's motion of the meteors that come 

 into its atmosphere exceeds at least one-hundredfold that of the 

 meteors that pass by without impact. 



The Temperature of the Surface of the Moon. — Tno 

 important memoirs on this subject have recently been published 

 in a separate form. Of these the first is one by the Earl of 

 Rosse and Dr. Otto Boeddicker on " The Changes of the Radia- 

 tion of Heat from the Moon during the Total Eclipse of October 4, 

 1S84," communicated to the Dublin Royal Society. It will be 

 remembered that Dr. Boeddicker gave a summary of his obser- 

 vations in a communication to Nature, vol. xxx. p. 589, and 

 stated that the minimum of heat was observed later than the 

 minimum of light. As, however, the diminution of heat was 

 very rapid, and amounted to %% of the entire amount received 

 from the unobscured full moon, the conclusion from these obser- 

 vations would appear to be that the amount of heat radiated to 

 us from the moon itself as distinguished from that merely 

 reflected or diffused by it, is almost insensible. 



The second memoir is by Frof. Langley (the conclusions 

 of which will be found on p. 2H), and was communi- 

 cated to the American National Academy of Sciences, October 

 17, 18S4. It commences with a review of previous researches, 

 Lord Rosse's papers being carefully summarised. The diatherm- 

 ancy of glass for solar and lunar rays respectively, is next 

 investigated, and it was found, as Lord Rosse had previously 

 done, that a much larger percentage of the solar than of the 

 lunar rays was transmitted through glass. Prof. Langley next 

 endeavoured toascertain whether this effect was due to a general ab- 

 sorption resulting in a heating of the moon's soil with a consequent 

 radiation of heat of a much lower refrangibility than that received, 

 or to a selective absorption by the moon of the more refrangible 

 rays. His observations convinced him that the latter condition 

 prevails to a remarkable extent, so that there is "a preponder- 

 ance in the lunar spectrum of the rays of long wave-length, and 

 hence a tendency to cause a smaller percentage of lunar rays to 

 be transmitted by glass than of solar, and this independently of 

 any effect from heat re-radiated by the lunar soil." 



It had been generally assumed, prior to Prof. Langley's bolo- 

 meter researches, that our atmospliere was most transparent to 

 the visible portion of the spectrum. Prof. Langley has shown, 

 on the contrary, that the coefficient of transmission steadily in- 

 creases towards the extreme mfra-red, up to the point \ = 3,11, 

 where the solar spectrum ceases to give any further evidence of 

 its existence. The present research seems to show that this 

 sudden termination of the spectrum is not due to our atmo- 

 sphere, for Prof. Langley has been able to form a heat-spectrum 

 from the lunar rays, which he is able to trace considerably 

 further in the longer wave-lengths than that of the sun. 

 This lunar spectrum shows two maxima, one fairly corre- 

 sponding with "the solar curve maximum, the second in- 

 definitely lower down in the spectrum, corresponding to a 

 greater amount of heat at a lower temperature." This latter 

 portion of the spectrum Prof. Langley considers as being 

 clearly due to the moon itself, and as revealing its real tempera- 

 ture. This temperature, he concludes from his study of the 

 spectra of cold bodies, is lower than that of melting ice. In a 

 further paper read before the National .\cademy in November 

 last, Prof. Langley states that a comparison of the spectra ob- 

 tained from the moon in summer with those obtained in winter, 

 shows that a much greater amount of heat is received in the 

 latter season than the former, a dift'erence probably due to 

 the greater amount of aqueous vapour in our atmosphere during 

 summer. He also mentions that he has made the first attempt 

 to determine the temperature of space by direct experiment. 



New Comet. — A telegram from Prof. Krueger, Kiel, an- 

 nounces the discovery of a new comet by Mr. W. R. Brooks, 

 Red House Observatory, Phelps, New York. The following 

 places have been obtained at the Harvard College Observa- 

 tory : — • 



Cambridge M.T. E.A. Decl. 



1S85 Dec. 27, 8 II -6 

 28, 6 300 



19 55 40 

 1959 J 



4 8-0 N. 

 4 31-6 N. 



