March 6, 1902] 



NA TURE 



4^3 



admirable maps on natural curvature produced recently under 

 M. Rectus' direction), and a report by Dr. E. von Drygalski, 

 dated Cape Town, on the progress of the German South Polar 

 Expedition. 



The Queensland Geological Survey, under the direction of 

 Mr. William H. Rands, has forwarded Bulletins Nos. 13 to 17 

 (igoi). In these we have additional notes on the Cretaceous 

 fossils of Queensland by Mr. Robert Etheridge, jun., and reports 

 on mining districts by Mr. Rands and Mr. B. Dunstan. Refer- 

 ring to the Mount Morgan mine, Mr. Dunstan remarks that it 

 is impossible to tell by appearances whether the stone is rich or 

 poor, as of two samples which might be absolutely the same in 

 texture, colour, structure, specific gravity and visible mineral 

 constituents, one would perhaps yield as many ounces of gold 

 to the ton as the other would pennyweights. In an account of 

 Diglum Creek, in the Gladstone district, Mr. Dunstan describes 

 the production of garnet, wollastonite, epidote and chert where 

 granite has come in contact with limestone. We have also 

 received folio reports on the Gympie gold field by Mr. Rands, 

 and on the Hamilton, Coen and Jordan Creek gold fields by 

 Mr. Lionel C. Bill. Permo-Carboniferous coal-bearing beds 

 occur in the valleys of the Dawson and Mackenzie rivers, and 

 outcrops of anthracitic coal have been traced by Mr. Dunstan. 

 The Dawson coal, which is a ten-foot seam, is reported to be 

 suitable for general purposes and as absolutely smokeless. In 

 central Queensland there is an area of upwards of 5000 square 

 miles which may be coal-bearing ; hence a closer and more 

 detailed examination of this region is desirable. 



Messrs. Casseli. and Co. have commenced the publication, 

 in fortnightly parts, of " Familiar Wild Flowers," by Mr. F. E. 

 Hulme The complete work contains 280 coloured pictures, 

 including 40 which have been specially prepared for the new 

 edition, and will be completed in twenty-four parts at sixpence 

 each. 



Mr. W. Wesley, of Essex Street, Strand, sends us a "Cata- 

 logue of Zoological Literature " (No. 140, in two parts). As it 

 includes the late Mr. S. P. Hanley's conchological library, as 

 well as the entomological library of Mr. H. Christoph and the 

 works on Coelentera collected by the late Prof. G. J. Allmann, 

 it is worth careful attention on the part of those interested in 

 .such subjects. 



More than forty years after his first determinations of the 

 transport numbers of the ions in the passage of electricity 

 through solutions of electrolytes, W. Hittorf describes, in the 

 Zeitsckrift fiir physikalische Chemie, some interesting experi- 

 ments relating to the influence, exercised by the diaphragms 

 separating the anode and kathode solutions, on the measured 

 values of these transport numbers. When a porous clay 

 diaphragm is used, the volume of the solution at the anode 

 decreases in all cases investigated. When, however, an animal 

 membrane separates the anode and kathode solutions, it is found 

 that with solutions of the chlorides of potassium, ammonium and 

 sodium, cataphoresis takes place in the direction of the current, 

 whilst with dissolved chlorides of the alkaline earth metals and 

 of cadmium, the cataphoric effect is in the opposite direction. 

 In the latter case, the volume of the solution at the anode 

 increases. At the animal membrane, apparently a separation of 

 the original solution into a solution more concentrated and one 

 more dilute takes place. This behaviour of animal membranes 

 results in considerable errors in the determination of transport 

 numbers, and Hittorf is able to account for the deviations 

 between the results obtained by himself in the late fifties and those 

 more recently obtained by other mvestigators who have no' 

 made use of animal membranes in their experiments. 

 HO. 1688, VOL. 65] 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Pluto Monkey {Cercopitheats leucampyx, i ) 

 from Uganda, a Leopard Tortoise (Testudo pardalis) from 

 British East Africa, presented by Major C. Delme Radcliffe 

 a Vulpine Phalanger (Trichosurus vttlpecula) from Australia, 

 presented by Mr. T. W. Dye ; three Bengal Red-vented 

 Bulbuls (Pycitoiiottts bengalensis) from India, presented by 

 Mr. Frank Finn ; a Ludio Monkey (Cercopitkecus ludio) from 

 West Africa, two young Lions (Felts leo, S 9 ) from British 

 East Africa, four Prjevalsky's Horses (Eqiitis prjevalski, 

 is, 9 9) from Mongolia, a Red Lory {Eos rtihra) from 

 Moluccas, a Green Conure {Conurus leucopthalintis) from 

 Trinidad, an Angulated Tortoise ( Testudo angulata) from 

 South Africa, deposited ; an English Wild Cow (Bos taurus) 

 born in the Gardens. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 



The Spectrum of the Chromosphere.— At the recent 

 meeting of the Astronomical and Astrophysical Societyof America, 

 held at Washington, Mr. S. A. Mitchell read a paper on the 

 observations made during the total solar eclipse in Sumatra on 

 May 18, 1901. The spectrum photographs were obtained with an 

 objective grating spectrograph ; the grating had a ruled surface 

 3i X 5 inches, with 15,000 lines to the inch, the objective being a 

 quartz lens of a little more than },\ inches aperture and about 

 72 inches focal length. Light from the eclipsed sun was reflected 

 into this instrument by a ccelostat. The adjustments were such 

 as to ensure a " normal " spectrum, this being the case when 

 grating and photographic plate were each perpendicular to the 

 diffracted beam. The first order was employed, from \ 3000 to 

 K 6000. Although the sky was'never clear during the period of 

 totality of 5 min. 41 sees., eight exposures were made — one before 

 and one just after totality for the cusp spectra, one at first and 

 one at second flash, and four with varying exposures during the 

 total phase. The second flash appeared fully exposed, and the 

 plate has been carefully measured. The dispersion is such that 

 from Hp lo He occupies a length of 95-4 mm., i.e. I tenth- 

 metre correspjnds to about o"i mm. In the region men- 

 tioned, Hp to He, 363 lines have been determined. Of these, 

 269 have been identified with lines on Rowland's map. 



Tables have been made of the ratios between the intensities 

 of lines in this flash spectrum and in the ordinary Fraunhofer 

 spectrum, and also of the ratios of the number of lines of each 

 element identified to the whole number of solar lines for that 

 metal. Both these sets of ratios appear to show systematic 

 variation, and they are grouped into three classes, their 

 behaviour being considered in conjunction with the atomic 

 weights of the elements. 



The variations in intensity are considered as chiefly due to the 

 various heights to which the different metals ascend in the 

 chromosphere. It is thought that the metals of group II. 

 extend very high and are nowhere very condensed, and their 

 flash lines will be true reversals of the corresponding solar 

 lines. The metals of groups I. and III. are denser near the 

 sun's surface and do not extend so high, and hence their flash 

 lines are to be regarded as only partial reversals of the Fraunhofer 

 lines. These facts lead the author to conclude with a renewal 

 of faith in the existence of the " reversing layer." 



Photographic Determination of Longitude. — In the 

 Comptes rendus, vol. cxxxiv. pp. 3S7-3S9, M. G. Lippmann 

 describes a new method for the photographic determination of 

 longitude, using an apparatus originally designed by M. Fabry 

 (Bulletin Astronontijue, p. 148, 1895) for visual observation 

 only. The arrangement was extended by M. Lippmann so as 

 to permit of photographic registration, and described in Comptes 

 rendus, cxxxiv. pp. 205-208. The principle of the method con- 

 sists of making simultaneous records of the zenith at each 

 station, the required longitude being the difference in right 

 ascension observed. The apparatus is similar to that employed 

 for nadir observations. Light from an adjustable horizontal 

 collimator falls on a half-silvered mirror inclined at 45° to the 

 vertical, and is reflected to the surface of a bath of mercury. 

 After its reflection from the merciiry, the light is again reflected 

 from the mirror into the collimator, giving an image ofthe slit or 

 cross-wires which may be adjusted to coincide with the source. 



