May 27, 1886] 
NATURE 
85 
ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 
WEEK 1886 MAY 30—F$UNE 5 
( OR the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at 
Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24, 
is here employed.) 
At Greenwich on May 30 
Sun rises, 3h. 52m. ; souths, rth. 57m. 15°7s. ; sets, 20h. 2m. ; 
decl. on meridian, 21° 48’ N.: Sidereal Time at Sunset, 
12h. 35m. 
Moon (New on June 2) rises, 2h. 37m. ; souths, gh. 20m. ; sets, 
16h. 14m. ; decl. on meridian, 7° 36’ N. 
Planet Rises Souths Sets Decl. on meridian 
h. m. h. m. h, m. omy 
Mercury 3 20 TORS Siar cue lS. 3 Ours ti TES ONE 
Venus ... 2022 9 5 15)-48) we 7) ASUNE 
Mars nie BY) 18 35 TeIg* 3) 6ra4eNe 
Jupiter... D205 ne eho el DPSS ease edz SORNG 
Saturn .. EPSON cen TA) 22 12 22 46 N. 
* Indicates that the setting is that of the following morning. 
May h. 
BOMec cc el Venus in conjunction with and 1° 18’ north 
of the Moon. 
June 
i ey UG) Saturn in conjunction with and 4° 1’ north 
of the Moon. 
Variable Stars 
Star R.A. Decl. 
hom. ones h. m. 
wiGephei, <-: © 52:2)... 89 16 N. ... May 30, 2 57 m2 
June's; 2) 37/7 
S Cancri - 8 374... 19 17 N. ... May 31, 22 12 7 
S Bootis Bec VAN LMR ek 5420 Nepeesn memes M 
6 Librae --» 14 54°99... 8 4S. ... May 30, 1 16 m 
U Coronz ... 2 LS LetOms se) UNS ee pee eV Ss) See 
R Herculis ... 16) fr... 18 40 N.... June 2; M 
U Ophiuchi... W7ALOi8 25) TN2ONN -2, Mayigr) 3) ou 
and at intervals of 20 8 
X Sagittarii... ... 17 40°4...27 47S. .. June 5, 220M 
W Sagittarii 3 WW SYPtS ors 22) IS, Sb ons py BE BIO) aie 
ORS 2pittariieecseesnelS 025)2)07. 10) T2iSaeen0y,) | lv oNeOwys 
8 Lyre... 3, HES ZI Reno ge) LING Goya IS HNL 
M signifies maximum 3 7 minimum, 
Meteor Showers 
The shortness of the nights at this season of the year greatly 
interferes with meteor observation, and no great periodical 
shower occurs at this time. Meteors from the following radiants 
amongst others have been observed. Near Cor Caroli, R.A. 
206°, Decl. 39° N. ; near e Coron, R.A. 240°, Decl. 25° N. ; 
near 8B Lyre, R.A. 280", Decl. 29° N.; near « Cephei, R.A. 
289°, Decl. 80° N. 
Stars with Remarkable Spectra 
Name of Star R.A. 1886'0 Decl. 1886'o Type of 
ns ig ° ; spectrum 
407 Birmingham 5 By) ivy 2 15°4 N. IIl. 
D.M. + 17° 3241 D7EZ2ONAD) oo Lise DAN ee eS 
2 Sen) oie ouch 
Arg. Oeltzen 17681 ... 18 I 7 ... 21 16°3S. ‘Ve dines 
D.M. +43° 2890 ErnGine S| 20... s4ge2O53NE Ill. 
458 Birmingham ..._ ... 18 38 51 ... 36 50°7 N. IV. 
464 Birmingham ... ... 18 43 43... 8 2°0S. ... IV. 
8? Lyre . ese) L8)50) 30)"---) 30) 4502 IN III. 
RlLyre . i LO Ge h20n Asia cOuNe IIT. 
222¢ Schjellerup 18 58 18 G Gas, IV. 
GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES 
In his presidential address at the annual meeting of the Royal 
Geographical Society on Monday, the Marquis of Lorne, 
referring to the matter of geographical education, said that the 
interest excited in the subject by the Society’s recent action has 
been so great, and the expectation that the Society will con- 
tinue it by taking some positive ste, s towards encouraging im- 
provements in the position of geography in schools and Univer- 
Sities is so general, that the Council have felt encouraged and 
indeed bound to carry the scheme further. The Educational 
Committee of the Society therefore made certain suggestions to 
the Council, which are now under consideration, and will pro- 
bably be adopted. The principal of these suzgestions relates to 
the appointment of a lecturer in geography to deliver courses 
where the Council may direct, In this matter the Council will 
take suitable steps to obtain the co-operation of the Universities 
of Oxford and Cambridge. In order still further to encourage 
the scientific study of geography at the Universities, the Com- 
mittee suggest that a prize or travelling scholarship be given 
every alternate year to a student who has shown marked ability 
in geographical subjects, and who may desire to visit one of the 
less-known districts of Europe, or the Mediterranean or Black 
Sea shores, and any results be communicated to the Society. 
One or other of the annual grants which are at the Society's 
disposal might be devoted to this purpose. Another suggestion 
is aimed at reaching the intelligent middle and working classes 
through the medium of the University Extension Scheme. For 
this purpose a small annual grant is proposed. Another is that 
a medal be given by the Society to the student reported by the 
examiners to have done best in physical geography in the first 
part of the Natural Sciences Tripos (Honours Examination). 
And finally, in order that all classes of schools may be reached, 
it is proposed that prizes be offered for competence in geography 
to the students at the various training-colleges. ‘*Here we 
reach the fountain-head of education, and if we can secure ade- 
quate attention to geography in the institutions which send forth 
yearly troops of teachers to our Board and elementary schools, 
the Society will have accomplished much. It is evident, then, 
that the Society has already accomplished a great deal. The 
mind of the public has been aroused and greatly enlightened on 
the subject ; our best schools and Universities have expressed 
their willingness to co-operate as far as possible in carrying out 
improvements ; and there can be little doubt that our proposed 
further action will bring results which the Council and all in- 
terested in geography have long desired.” 
IN a paper contributed to the Bulletin of the Moscow Society 
of Naturalists (1885, No. 2) M. Smirnoff continues his most 
valuable delimitation of the vegetable zones of the Caucasus, 
which forms an introduction to a flora of the vascular plants of 
the region. He subdivides Transcaucasia into several zones, 
the central zone extending east to the meridian of Shemakha. 
This limit does not correspond to any orographical features, but 
separates from the remainder of Transcaucasia the region sub- 
ject to the influence of the Caspian Sea. The littoral of the 
Black Sea in Transcaucasia is distinguished fron the rest of the 
region by high winter temperatures. As far as lat. 44° N., and 
even at an altitude of 150 metres, the winter is as mild as in 
Provence or in Central Italy, only the setting in of warm 
weather in spring being a little later. But as soon as the chain 
is crossed we find a rapid decrease of the winter temperature, so 
that Yekaterinodar, on the northern slope of the chain, although 
only 20 miles further to the north and 1° of longitude more to 
the east than Novorossiysk, has an average temperature during 
December and January 4° lower. Baku and Lencoran have 
winters very much like those of the Venetian littoral, but 
Derbent shows a sudden decrease of 3°°5 of temperature in 
January, probably due to the influence of ice gathering in the 
northern part of the Caspian Sea, while Petrovsk, only 70 miles 
further north on the same coast, shows a further sudden decrease 
of temperature in January. The ranges of the monthly average 
temperatures of different places show a still greater difference of 
climate. Thus, on the Black Sea coast, south of lat. 44° N., 
and even at Kutais, the difference between the warmest and the 
coldest months does not exceed 18° to 19°; it is the same as at 
Trieste and Athens. But in Ciscaucasia it reaches 25°, and on 
the Caspian littoral it varies from 22°°4 at Baku to 29°°8 at 
Petrovsk. It is still greater on the Armenian plateau (30° to 
35); while in Central Transcaucasia it is generally less than 
25°, and rapidly diminishes with the altitude of the place, 
reaching no more than 19°°5 at Shusha. These few data, to- 
gether with a map of isotherms prepared by M. Smirnoff, give a 
broad general idea as to the climatic conditions of the Caucasus, 
and the consequent distribution of different regions of vegetation 
through the country. 
TELESCOPIC OBFECTIVES AND MIRRORS: 
THEIR PREPARATION AND TESTING } 
Ht 
would probably lend an additional interest to a technical 
subject such as I have to bring before you to-night, could I 
preface my description of the processes now employed in the 
* Lecture given at the Royal Institution on Friday, April 2, 1886, by 
Mr. Howard Grubb, F.R.S., F.R.A.S. 
