April 2, 1908] 



NA rURE 



515 



The disturbed area on the sun was situated near tlic 

 south pole in the eastern quadrant. Two photo- 

 graphs of this region were secured, one at 3I1. 14m. 

 p.m., G.M.T., and the other at 3h. 50m. p.m., 

 G.M.T. In the first (icc Fig. i) the arches are 

 clearly visible and complete, but in the second they 

 are less discernible and partially broken up, in spite 

 of the fact that the second photograph had the 

 better exposure. 



The most conspicuous feature of the whole dis- 

 turbed area, shown in Fig. i, is the series of three 

 concentric arches, which nearly reach down to the 

 chromosphere. Their heights, as measured from the 

 chromosphere, are i''5, 2'\), and 3''6. The radii of 

 the arches photographed and measured by Prof. 

 Dyson for the 1901 eclipse were i'"2, 2''4, and 3''7. 

 It will thus be seen that both are of about the same 

 order of magnitude. 



It will be noticed further that the intensity of the 

 arches is not uniform; thus the outside one has five 

 points of increased intensit}', while the next in order 

 has three such maximum points. On the eastern 

 side of these arches there is another distinct semi- 

 oval which intersects two of the three main arches. 

 On the southern side are some minor projections 

 from the chromosphere which by their curvature 

 seem to indicate that they form part of the whole 

 disturbance. 



The magnitude of this very active region will be 



Fig. I. — A prominence in tlie form of "arclies" ptiotographed in " K" ligtit on July 

 at the Solar Physics Observatory, South Kensington. 



more readily grasped when it is stated that the 

 extreme portions were separated by I2''7 and the 

 highest point from the chromosphere measured 3''6. 

 Thus the breadth extended 353,000 miles, or more 

 than three-quarters of a solar radius, and the height 

 was about 101,600 miles. 



It is interesting to note that there is apparently no 

 large prominence underlying these envelopes, but 

 whether there is one just on the near or far side of 

 the limb cannot be stated. 



The above photograph demonstrates that "arches " 

 similar in form and magnitude to those secured 

 during eclipses have now been photographed in the 

 light of calcium vapour. This indicates that at any 

 rate one of the components of the material of which 

 they are built up is calcium. As the spectrum of 

 the corona has no line at this wave-length, the deduc- 

 tion may be made that the arches photographed- 

 during eclipses are most probably of " prominence " 

 and not of " coronal " material. 



\\'c have, therefore, another link in the chain to 

 show the dependence of the form of the corona on 

 prominence activity. 



Since the above paper was communicated to the 

 Royal Society, M. A. Hansky has published 

 the results of his discussion of the corona pictures 



NO. 2005, VOL. ']']'] 



he secured at the total solar eclipse of .-Xugust, 1905, 

 and one of the conclusions which he has arrived at 

 is as follows : — 



" II est tr^s probable que la forme et la direction 

 des ra3'ons coronaux dependent de la form et la direc- 

 tion des protuberances au-dessus desquelles ils se 

 trouvent " (Mitt. d. Nikolai-Haiiptstennuartg zu 

 Pulkoxva, Band ii., 1907, No. 19, p. 118). 



William J. S. Lockyer. 



DR. A. W. HOW ITT, C.M.G. 

 TJY the death of Dr. A. W. Howitt, recorded in 

 -'-' Nature of March 12 (p. 443), a link has snapped 

 between the old days of the perilous exploration of 

 Australia and the detailed scientific investigations of 

 the present day. As early as 1858, Mr. Howitt's 

 knowledge of bush-craft was such that a syndicate 

 in Melbourne appointed him head of an expedition to 

 acquire a tract of the " Promised Land " in Central 

 Australia, of the existence of which Warburton had 

 recently confirmed the report of Stuart. In i860 he 

 conducted a prospecting e.xpedition in Gippsland. The 

 following year he was selected to lead a party in 

 search of the ill-fated Burke and Wills Expedition, of 

 which John King, the last survivor, was rescued ; 

 later Mr. Howitt penetrated into the Great Stony 

 Desert. Thus for many years Mr. Howitt had a 

 wide personal acquaintance with 

 the physical characters of southern 

 and south-eastern .Australia. On his 

 numerous expeditions and journeys 

 he came into close and friendly 

 contact with the natives, some of 

 whom were in a condition of com- 

 plete savagery, and, later on, cir- 

 cumstances enabled him to acquire 

 considerable influence over tribes in 

 south-east Australia, so much so 

 that he was even permitted to be 

 present at their sacred ceremonies. 



In 1S73, Mr. Howitt joined the 

 late Dr. Lorimer Fison in investi- 

 gating the classificatory system of 

 relationship which obtains among 

 certain tribes, as well as the tribal 

 class system and the rules of 

 marriage and descent connected therewith. These 

 investigations were published in 18S0 in their memor- 

 able book, " Kamilaroi and Kurnai," which laid the 

 foundations of a truer conception of Australian 

 scciology than was previously possible. Of similar 

 joint authorship were papers " From Mother-right to 

 Father-right " and " On the Deme and the Horde," 

 in the Journal of the Anthropological Institute (1882, 

 1884). In the same journal, from 1883 to 1908, Mr. 

 Howitt published a series of papers of great value 

 dealing with Australian sociology, initiation cere- 

 monies, religion, and other phases of native customs 

 and beliefs. In the production of these Mr. HowitJ: 

 w as assisted by some sixty correspondents from 

 various parts of the continent ; these informants were 

 subjected to continued questioning, which elicited 

 more detailed knowledge. Mr. Howitt also published 

 in the annual report of the .\ustralasian Association for 

 the Advancement of Science (1890, 1891, 1901), papers 

 " On the Use of Gesture Language in Australian 

 Tribes," " .\nthropology in Australia," and " On 

 Trade Centres in Australian Tribes." On the occasion 

 of the meeting of the British Association in Cam- 

 bridge in 1904, the L'niversity of Cambridge presented 

 Mr. Howitt with the honorary degree of Doctor in 

 Science, in recognition of his ethnological investiga- 



