282 
landscape in a remarkable manner, and seemed to glow with a 
peculiarly steady light.” Mr. C. G. Osborne, who saw the 
meteor at Godalming, says that the light was so brilliant that 
people ina large hall thought a flash of lightning had occurred. 
The trail, which was about 10° long and lasted for 15-20 
seconds, is described as being of a violet and blue colour, and 
before extinction it became quite sinuous. 
The Rev. F. J. Jervis-Smith, who observed the meteor 
at Iffley, near Oxford, sends the following notes of his ob- 
servation :—‘‘ Time, 10.30 p.m., July 13. Approximate angle 
subtended by total length of luminous path about 15°. Line of 
flight downwards and nearly vertical. Bearing E.S.E. Angle 
between its highest point and the horizon about 45°. Time of 
duration about 2} seconds.” 
Mr, Walter E. Besley, director of the meteoric section of the 
British Astronomical Association, states in the Zzes that the 
course of the meteor was from R.A. 311° and north declination 
21° to R.A. 3104° and north declination 163°. 
DISCOVERER OF NovA PERSEI.—At a meeting of the Société 
Astronomique held on July 4, M. Flammarion informed the 
members that it was one of their number, M. A. de Borissiak, 
a student at Kieff, who first observed Nova Persei. This ob- 
server recorded the Nova as being equal in magnitude to 
‘8 Geminorum at $ p.m. February 21, 1901 (Pulkowa time), 
and, taking into account the difference of longitude, this was 
about Sh. 4om, before Mr. Anderson discovered it. 
The Russian Government has presented M. Borissiak with 
a special medal for this discovery (Budletin de la Soctélé 
Astronomigue de France, July). 
Nova PERSEI.—The fourth report (June 1902) of the Variable 
Star Section of the British Astronomical Association, is devoted 
to a memoir in which Colonel Markwick has gathered together 
all the observations of the members on the magnitude, colour, 
light curve and spectrum of Nova Persei. The memoir contains 
several maps and charts of the region about the Nova, some 
very good light curves compiled, from many observations, by 
Mr. J. E. Gore and a series of excellent photographs of the 
Nova itself obtained by Mr. Alex. Smith at Dalbeattie, using a 
52-inch doublet at various foci, sometimes with full aperture 
and sometimes with only half (z.e. a semicircular) aperture. 
Hone Kone Double STAR OBSERVATIONS.—Nos. 3798-99 
of the Astronomische Nachrichten axe mainly devoted to the 
observations of 200 double stars made by Mr. W. Doberck at 
Hong Kong. 
Mr. Doberck describes his instrument, which seems to be an 
ancient one, and shows how the somewhat necessarily large 
errors have been eliminated. He insists that observations of the 
same double star should be separated by fairly long intervals in 
order to render them quite independent of each other, and 
contends that stellar objects should always be designated by the 
initial and number of the discoverer, and not by any reference 
to a general catalogue. 
OBSERVATIONS OF THE VARIABLE STAR x” CYGNI DURING 
1899.—M. Blum publishes in the Bzletin de la Société Astro- 
nomigque de France an account of the observations of this star 
made during 1899 by MM. Ed. de Perrot and P. Sella. 
The two sets of results and the curves plotted therefrom show 
very fair agreement, and M. Sella deduces the following con- 
clusions from them :— 
(1) The star is visible to the naked eye 3 days before and 30 
days after the theoretical times. 
(2) It increases to maximum (4°7) very rapidly, viz. in 17 
days, but decreases very slowly. 
(3) There exists a second maximum (4°8) about 28 days after 
the first, a third maximum (5°0) 16 days later than the second, and 
a fourth maximum about 18 or 19 days later than the third. 
The respective dates of observation were May 10, June 7, June 
23 and July 11-12. 
The complete range of variability of this star is about 8 
magnitudes. 
ROTATION OF THE BRIGHTER FIXED STARS, AS A WHOLE, 
WITH RESPECT TO THE FAINTER STARS.—In No. 3800 of the 
Astronomische Nachrichten, Sir David Gill communicates a 
preliminary note on the apparent rotation of the brighter fixed 
stars, taken as a whole, in regard to the fainter fixed stars, 
taken as a whole. 
After comparing the common data given in the Cape Cata- 
logues of 1880 and 1900, Newcomb’s Fundamental Catalogue 
NO. 1707, VOL. 66] 
NATURE 
NN 
[JuLy 17, 1902 
for 1900, Taylor's and other catalogues, and carefully correlating 
and eliminating the personal errors therein, the author arrives 
at the conclusion that the remaining discrepancies can only be 
accounted for by supposing the above-mentioned rotation. 
The author urges that the greatest care should be taken to 
eliminate all the errors in reducing plates for the Astrographic 
Chart, and suggests that the Repsold-Struve method for magni- 
tude correction, described by Cohn in the Astronomische 
Nachrichten, No. 3766, should be used. 
PHOTOGRAPHIC MAGNITUDE OF STARS.—In a note to the 
Paris Académie des Sciences, M. Prosper Henry points out the 
effect of the influence of magnitude in causing errors, small but 
effective, in the reduction of stellar negatives. 
Dissatisfied with the final utility of the method proposed by Sir 
David Gillin the Budletin du Comité de la Carte du Ciel, he pro- 
poses a method where duplicate images of the same region are 
obtained very near together on the same negative, the one with a 
very short exposure, the other with a long exposure, and then 
by means of a formula in which the only variables are 7, g’ 
and g, he finds the quantity — ” which is the variation of 
thetscale fora difference of one magnitude in the scale of magni- 
tudes adopted, ¢’ — g being the difference in magnitude between 
the images obtained by the two different exposures. One advan- 
tage of this method is that it is mot necessary to reduce the 
coordinates of the plate to right ascension and declination, 
neither is it necessary to correct for refraction unless the two 
exposures were made very far apart, and at some distance from 
the meridian. 
MARINE BIOLOGY IN WALES. 
S announced last week, Mr. G. W. Duff Assheton-Smith, 
of Vaynol Park, Bangor, who has for many years taken a 
warm interest in the zoological department of the University 
College of North Wales, has offered a site to the College for 
a marine zoological station, on condition that the maintenance of 
the station when erected is assured. The fine zoological 
collection at the College bears ample testimony to Mr. 
Assheton-Smith’s interest, as he has frequently enriched it with 
valuable specimens from his menagerie at Vaynol. The site 
spoken of is on the Menai Straits, about midway between 
Bangor and the suspension bridge. Sheltered and beautifully 
situated, it is from every point of view the best site in the 
locality on which to place such an institution. Besides giving 
the site with his rights to the foreshore, Mr. Assheton-Smith 
will also give the necessary facilities of access through his 
property. In the laboratory, aquarium and enclosures, which 
will be features of the station, investigations and experiments 
in connection with our fisheries will be instituted and carried 
out. The Menai Straits possess a peculiarly rich fauna, and 
material is always available for investigation and experimental 
purposes. 
A brief note on the steps which have led up to this 
development may not be out of place. When, in 1892, the 
Liverpool Marine Biological Committee decided to vacate the 
station on Puffin Island and to take up its headquarters at 
Port Erin, Prof. Herdman offered, on behalf of his committee, to 
dispose of the Puffin Island station to Prof. White. Being un- 
willing to allow an institution of this nature so near to his 
college tolapse, and at ithe same time being desirous of con- 
tinuing the work of the station as far as possible, Prof. White, 
with the cooperation of some of his colleagues, provided the 
money to acquire it. With the assistance of friends he also 
raised a small income for the maintenance of the building, for 
carrying on the work and for the publication of reports. A com- 
mittee for investigating the fauna and flora of the coast of 
North Wales, and for spromoting the sea fisheries, was formed 
and the work began. An account of the work accomplished is 
given in the various reports which have been issued. 
The inaccessibility of the island, and other obvious difficulties 
connected with an isolated position, frequently presented them- 
selves, and these led Prof. White to cast round for a more suit- 
able situation, with the result as noted. 
In addition to the promise of a site, the College obtains 
the professional services of an accomplished architect—Mr, 
Harold Hughes, of Bangor—free. Mr. Hughes took much in- 
terest in the Puffin Island station, and both he and Prof. White 
made some interesting excavations to elucidate the past history 
