20 



NATURE 



[July 6, 191 1 



counties, where the deficiency for the six months amounts 

 to 3-30 inches. The greatest deficiency is in Ireland, 

 amounting to 3-97 inches in the north and 3-88 inches 

 in the south. In the south-east of England, which includes 

 the London area, the aggregate rainfall was 997 inches, 

 which is 1-38 inches fewer than the average. The greatest 

 number of rainy days is 106, in the north of Scotland, and 

 the least 73, in the Midland counties. The total duration 

 of sunshine was nowhere very different from the average ; 

 there was an excess in all districts except in the north- 

 east of England, the Midland counties, and the Channel 

 Islands, but the deficiency nowhere exceeded twenty hours. 

 The rainfall for the first month of summer was generally 

 in excess of the average; but the difference from the 

 normal was nowhere very great except in the north-east 

 of England, where the excess amounts to 2-20 inches. 

 The duration of bright sunshine for June was generally 

 in excess of the normal. At Greenwich the mean tempera- 

 ture for June was 6o-8°, which is 0-5° above the average 

 of the previous sixty years ; the first half of the month 

 was much warmer than the latter half, and the rain 

 during the latter half was very much heavier ; the aggre- 

 gate for the month was 01 inch more than the normal, 

 whilst the duration of bright sunshine was about twenty- 

 five hours more than usual. 



Some interesting photographs are described by M. 

 Flammarion in the June number of L'Astronomie. 

 Apropos of Prof. R. W. Wood's recent experiments in 

 photographing the lunar surface in ultra-violet light, M. 

 Flammarion shows pictures of ordinary objects taken with 

 the sun's invisible radiations, infra-red, and ultra-violet. 

 In one set, taken in full sunlight with the less refrangible 

 rays, white trees are seen projected against a dead-black 

 sky, giving the appearance of a nocturnal snow scene. 

 Another pair of photographs, one ordinary and one ultra- 

 violet, are simultaneous photographs of a man standing ; his 

 shadow, very pronounced in the ordinary photograph, has 

 disappeared, through lack of contrast, in the second. But 

 perhaps the most striking pictures are a similar pair in 

 which the camera was pointed towards a landscape so that 

 a part of the latter is seen through a glass window. In 

 the ultra-violet picture the window and the landscape 

 beyond have both disappeared, the window-glass being 

 entirely opaque to the shorter radiations solely transmitted 

 by the screen and the quartz objective. 



As a preliminary to the study of the magnetic properties 

 of some slightly magnetic alloys, Mr. H. C. Hayes, of the 

 I on Physical Laboratory of Harvard University, has 



investigated the errors to which the cooling curves taken 

 in the metallurgical study of an alloy are subject. As 

 these errors are obviously greater the more rapid the cool- 

 ing, Mr. Hayes has constructed a new crucible which 

 allows the process to be accelerated at will. It is of steel, 

 and to prevent contamination of the melt is lined with 

 a thin coating of lime, which is applied in a special way. 

 Mi. 1 rucible and its contents can I" quickly transferred 

 from the furnace to a tank of wal 1 in an Einthoven 



string willi th' r 1 1 m .-junctions of copper-con- 



i lie author finds that with the usual arrangement 

 of the couple in a protecting tube of, quartz or porcelain 



ol the thermo-junction behind the tempi 

 ill. in. h may, during a rapid cool, 10 C. By 



'■opper tube deposited electrolytically on the end 

 of the constantan wire, and protecting it by means ol a 

 thin coating of lime, he finds that the lag is reduced to a 

 very small quantity, even for the most rapid 

 XO. 2175, VOL. 87] 



A copy of a report on the analysis of potable spirits by 

 the Government analyst for Western Australia has reached 

 us. Its chief feature is a table setting out in detail the 

 analytical results obtained in the examination of eighty- 

 seven specimens of whisky, of known origin and age, 

 selected from distilleries and cither places in Scotland. The 

 author considers, in reference to the evidence given before 

 the recent Royal Commission on Whisky, that there is 

 really less difficulty than was supposed in forming 

 analytical standards for distinguishing between various 

 classes of whisky, namely, " pure malt, pot still " whisky, 

 " grain, patent still " whisky, and " blended " whisky, a 

 mixture of the two. He suggests that definitions should 

 be based, not upon any one constituent, but upon three 

 taken conjointly, the furfural, esters, and higher alcohols 

 being the three chosen. Further, not only should the 

 quantities of each of these reach a stipulated minimum, but 

 the three should bear a certain proportional relation to one 

 another. On these principles definitions are formulated 

 for (1) pure malt pot-still whisky, and (2) for blends con- 

 taining, respectively, not less than 75 and not less than 

 50 per cent, of the pure malt pot-still product. The actual 

 figures proposed as standards presume that the particular 

 analytical methods described are employed, and it is 

 admitted that they would exclude' some spirits from their 

 proper classes, though the number would be few. There 

 is nothing new in the principle of forming a judgment on 

 the character of a spirit by considering all three of the 

 constituents indicated ; probably most alcohol analysts do 

 it, and certainly some have done so for years past. The 

 data now given, however, obtained as they are from a 

 considerable number of whiskies all analysed under strictly 

 similar conditions, will be very useful in any discussion of 

 standard values, whether the particular limits suggested by 

 the author are accepted or not. A similar series dealing 

 with Irish whiskies would be valuable. 



The first part of the fifth volume of the Journal of the 

 Institute of Metals has been received. The first section of 

 the book, which runs to 423 pages, contains a full account 

 of the annual meeting held on January lS last, and re- 

 ported in the issue of Nature for January 26 (vol. lxxxv., 

 p. 429). The report of the council for the year 1910 is 

 included, and the presidental address by Sir Gerard A. 

 Muntz, Bart., entitled " ' The Reason Why ' : the Quest 

 of the Institute of Metals," is printed in full. The second 

 section is devoted to abstracts of papers relating to the 

 non-ferrous metals and the industries connected therewith ; 

 while the third contains the Memorandum and Articles of 

 Association and a list of members. 



Messrs. J. and A. Churchill have in preparation, for 

 publication early next year, a new annual entitled " Who's 

 Who in Science," to be edited by Mr. H. H. Stephenson, 

 and to 1 out. mi tin names of leading representatives of 

 science throughout the world, as well as statements of 

 their chief works. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 

 Wolf's Comet, 1911a. — In No. 450S of the 



fachrichten Prof. Max Wolf states that he redis- 

 covered his comet, on June 20, on a plate taken for that 

 purpose. The position, lor 1855-0, was l.sh. 43.7m., 

 + 13° 25', at 12I1. 4. mi. Konigstuhl M.T., on June 19. 

 i8h. 437m., +13° 25', at 12I1. 4.9m. Konigstuhl M.T. 

 tin object has a stellar nucleus oi magnitude 15. or 

 brighter, lying eccentrically in an extren 

 losity of 20' diameter. According to M. Kamensky's 



||. 1 . I ■ llllll.). 



+ 15° 0-5', and i8h. 24.5m., + 15 15', re 1 



