380 
in favour of the former view. As regards people who are able 
to contemplate with admiration the world around them, the 
belief is expressed that ‘‘ much of their appreciation of beauty 
or aversion to the ugly is obtained from the necessary physical 
laws governing all objects, although they themselves may be 
unconscious of the fact.” 
The additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the 
past week include a Bonnet Monkey (AZacacus sénicus) from India, 
presented by Mr. H. G. B. Whitehead ; a Lesser White-nosed 
Monkey (Cercopithecus felaurista) rom West Africa, presented 
by Mr. J. Hoatson ; two Chinchillas (CAznchzl/a lanigera) from 
Chili, presented by Captain B. Dixon, R.A. ; two Kinkajous 
(Cercoleptes caudivolvulus), two Cocoi Herons (Ardea coco?), 
four American Jabirus (J/ycterza americana), an Anaconda 
(Zunectes murinus) from Brazil, presented by Dr. E. A. Goeldi ; 
a Common Squirrel (Sczrus vulgaris) British, presented by 
Miss Rice ; two Graceful Ground Doves ( Geopelia cuneata) from 
Australia, presented by Mrs. C, A. Thompson ; a White Stork 
(Ciconta alba) European, presented by Mrs. A. Gregory ; 
a Bennett’s Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus bennettianus) from 
Queensland, presented by Mr. Winkley Smith ; a Cocoi Heron 
(Ardea cocoz) from Brazil, presented by Mr. W. A. Churchill, 
H.B.M. Consul, Para; two Coquerel’s Mouse Lemurs 
(Chirogaleus coguereli) from Madagascar, two Red-masked 
Conures (Conurus rubrolarvatus) from Ecuador, a Blue-winged 
Siva (S¢va cyanouroptera) from India, deposited ; two Graceful 
Ground Doves (Geopelza cunea/a) bred in the Gardens. 
OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 
ROTATION PERIODS OF THE SUPERIOR PLANETS.—In the 
Comptes rendus of the Paris Academy of Sciences for July 28, 
M. Deslandres gives the results of his experiments in determining 
the rotation of superior planets by means of the spectroscopic 
method based on the Fizeau- Doppler principle. 
The method, which was described in detail in Comp/es rendus, 
vol. exx. p. 417, depends upon the differential displacement of 
the opposite ends of the equatorial diameter, which causes this 
diameter to appear inclined to its normal direction, and thereby 
gives, instead of a circular image of the planet in the spectrum, 
an inclined ellipse, the axis of Which is inclined more or less 
depending upon the speed of the planet’s rotation ; the relative 
direction of the major axis of the ellipse depends upon the 
direction of the planet’s rotation. 
M. Deslandres uses a spectroscope of moderate dispersion 
and a wide slit, and emphasises the fact that the entire light of 
the planet may thus be used, and still very useful, though less 
accurate, results may be obtained. He points out that one 
advantage of this method is that the apparent displacement is 
double the real displacement due to the rotary motion, for, of 
course, both ends of the diameter are equally displaced, there- 
fore a high degree of accuracy may be obtained. Experiment- 
ing on the rotation of Jupiter, two forms of instrument were 
used, first a small spectroscope with a wide slit and then a 30° 
prism mounted in front of the object-glass of a telescope of 
Om.°55 aperture. In each case three exposures were made, the 
first with the slit, or the edge of the prism, parallel to the 
equator of Jupiter, and the second and third after having turned 
the complete apparatus through 90° and 180° respectively ; thus 
the displacement of the equatorial extremities was made evident 
on both sides of their normal position, thereby giving greater 
accuracy to the measurements, and in the case of Jupiter in- 
dicating for the linear equatorial velocity of 12 km. an equatorial 
velocity, according to the displacement, of 48 km. The results 
obtained show very good accordance, and M. Deslandres claims 
a greater degree of accuracy for this method than is obtainable 
by the ordinary method. During this year the method has 
been applied to the determination of the rotation of Uranus, 
and it has already been shown that the planet rotates in a 
retrograde direction, but the detailed results will be given in a 
later communication. 
_THE Durcu Ec.ipse EXPEDITION OF 1901.—In a _pre- 
liminary report published by the Eclipse Committee of the 
Royal Academy of Sciences, Amsterdam, Profs. Julius, Wilter- 
NO. 1711, VOL. 66] 
NATURE 
[AucusT 14, 1902 
dink and Nijland give an account of the proceedings of the 
expedition which was sent out to Sumatra, by the Dutch 
Academy, to observe the total solar eclipse of May, 1901. 
Elaborate preparations were made. Government help in the 
matters of transport and manual labour was obtained, and a 
number of officers and men belonging to the Dutch ironclad 
Sumatra was told off to assist in making the observations. 
The programme of the expedition was divided into four 
parts: (1) the coronagraphs, (2) the spectrographs, (3) the 
physical observations, and (4) the collection of amateur obser- 
vations, and the results of the observations made in each section 
are treated separately in the report. 
The coronagraph negatives were mostly spoiled by cloud-fog, 
only those obtained by short exposures and on slow plates giving 
good results. Using the 40-feet coronagraph, kindly lent by 
the U.S. Naval Observatory, and a ‘‘Lumiére jaune” plate 
measuring 24 x 30 inches, some very fine prominences and 
details of the inner corona were obtained on the negative. 
Of the five spectrographs used, only one gave results which 
are of any use, and in the negatives obtained Prof. Julius makes 
a special point of the doubling of all the chromospheric crescents, 
which he assigns to the phenomenon of anomalous dispersion of 
the chromospheric light, afterwards pointing out the improb- 
ability of the doubling being of instrumental origin. 
In the physical observations the clouds interfered seriously, 
so that little weight may be attached to the heat-radiation 
observations, but in the observations of the polarisation of the 
coronal light it is shown that the light at some distance from the 
sun’s limb is more strongly polarised than that which is near to 
that limb, whilst the polarisation decreases again as the distance 
from the limb is increased. 
The results of the amateur observations are various; 39 
drawings and 69 photographs of the corona have been secured, 
and 37 of the latter are described as ‘‘ good,” ‘‘ very good,” or 
*excellent.” Reports on the observations of the shadow-bands 
were received from seventeen stations. 
THE SATELLITES OF SATURN AND URANuUsS.—Dr. J. J 
See gives the results of his observations of the satellites of 
Saturn and Uranus, made with the 26-inch refractor of the U.S. 
Naval Observatory, Washington, in No. 3806 of the Astrono- 
mische Nachrichten. 
The “Clark Micrometer II.,” with magnifying powers of 388 
for the satellites of Saturn and 606 for those of Uranus, was 
used, and the observations are based on the method of relative 
measures adopted by Prof. H. Struve at Pulkowa. The micro- 
meter is so constructed that in measuring the position of Japetus 
it can be directly referred to Titan by means of a sliding eye- 
piece, thus probably giving more correct results than by the 
usual method. 
Dr. See points out that the statement in his paper on the 
satellites of Uranus, 4.4. 3676, that the places given in the 
American ephemeris are 37° in advance of the observed places, 
is an error due to the ambiguous wording of the ephemeris. 
AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN’S GAMES} 
YN certain amount of attention has been paid of late years to 
the subject of the games of primitive peoples, but so far 
we are only in the preliminary stage of the inquiry ; indeed, a 
vast deal more evidence must be collected before sound generali- 
sations can be made. A few suggestions have been thrown out 
by various students which must be regarded more as trial 
hypotheses than as definite conclusions, indeed they should be 
looked upon rather as ‘‘ kites.”’ 
So few travellers think it worth their while to mention games 
and toys, especially those played by children, that the record for 
any country is imperfect, and for most peoples there is no 
information to hand. When there is any information it is nearly 
always simply a bare enumeration of the games played or of the 
toys employed ; very rarely is a description given of the method 
of playing. 
We are slowly learning the lesson that many of those activities 
which appear to be merely trivial have, or have had, an im- 
portant significance in the evolution of human culture. The 
physiological, psychological and sociological aspects of playing 
have been dealt with by Karl Groos in his book ‘‘ The Play of 
1 North Queensland Ethnography : 
‘©Games, Sports and Amu-emeuts.” 
tary’s Department, Brisbane, C A. 
Bulletin No. 4, March, 1902, 
By Walter E. Roth, Home Secre- 
8—r19g02. 
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