Nov, 11, 1869] 
NATURE 
De 
of the system has now travelled nearly a thousand millions 
of miles away since in 1866 he passed his perihelion; and 
it will be interesting to learn whether the character of his 
train of followers is at all dependent on their distance 
from him. 
R. A. PROCTOR 
[To this note we add the following extract of a letter from 
ie which appeared in the 7zmes of Tuesday.— 
D. 
“The elements of the orbit in which the November 
meteors revolve are as follow, according to the last calcu- 
lations of the Italian astronomer Schiaparelli, founded 
upon the accurate data obtained during the grand display 
in 1866. Heliocentric longitude of perihelion or of the point 
nearest to the sun, 56° 26’; crosses the plane of the earth’s 
path from north to south in 51° 28’ ; inclination of orbit to 
the plane of the earth’s path, 17° 45’; eccentricity of orbit, 
0°9046 ; distance from sun in perihelion, 0°9873 (the earth’s 
mean distance being taken as unity); semi-axis major of the 
orbit, 10°340, similarly expressed ; period of revolution, 
35°25 years; motion retrograde or opposite to that of the 
earth. At its nearest approach to the sun the orbit is 
therefore situate close to the earth’s, while in aphelion it is 
not far distant from that of Uranus. It is well known that 
these numbers are almost identical with those applying to 
the orbit of the first comet of 1866, and I have lately ascer- 
tained beyond reasonable doubt that the comet of 1366, 
which became visible three days after the memorable 
meteoric exhibition in October of that year, when ‘ there 
was a movement of the stars such as men never before 
saw or heard of, and ‘those who saw it were filled with 
such great fear and dismay that they were astounded, 
imagining they were struck dead, and that the end of the 
world had come,’ as the exaggerated language of the time 
has it, also moved in a similar orbit. It was, doubtless, 
visible during the shower on the confines of Ursa Major 
and Leo Minor, but the Chinese did not perceive it till 
three nights later. It was not seen in Europe.” 
PENNY SCIENCE CLASSES 
Ts opening the session of the Birmingham and Midland 
Institute recently, the President, Mr. Charles Dickens, 
referred to the “ penny system ” of instruction as “one of 
the most remarkable schemes ever devised for the educa- 
tional behoof of the artizan ;” and as this system, so far as 
we know, is adopted only at the Birmingham institution, 
we have made inquiries respecting its working there. We 
learn that, soon after the opening of the Science Classes 
in 1854, the teacher, Mr. Williams, observing that after a 
few terms the attendance fell off, suggested the establish- 
ment of Penny Lectures, as introductory to systematic 
scientific instruction. This plan answering well, an 
arithmetic class was commenced by Mr. Rickard, to 
which students were admitted on payment of one penny 
at the door. Subsequently other classes were started un the 
penny system, and now among others even chemistry and 
physical geography are taught in penny lessons. The 
chemistry class was formerly conducted on the quarterly 
plan, the fee being 3s. per term of twelve lessons. 
Though the fee was low, the attendance seldom reached 
more than 40 or 50 per night ; while since the introduction 
of the penny system it is about 100 during the winter 
months. The persons attending the class are of all 
grades of society; but since the change to the penny 
system the proportion of artizans has much increased. 
We are not surprised at this, in fact it is what we should 
expect. The wage-paid class receive their earnings 
weekly, they pay their rent weekly, their “settlings” are 
made weekly, and their books they take in in weekly 
numbers. Itis not to be surprised at, then, that a science 
class in which the fee is paid weekly should be popular with 
artizans, Where the fee is so low as one penny we do not 
see how a class can pay ; but such institutions as that of 
Birmingham are not intended, and never were intended, to 
pay in a commercial sense. The promoters and sub- 
scribers are only too pleased to find their efforts 
successful in inducing attendance at the classes. Viewed 
in this way we believe the penny system to be the best of 
any ; and the Birmingham and Midland Institute deserves 
all honour for having introduced it. 
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 
[Zhe Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed 
by his Correspondents. 
Scientific Education at Cambridge 
I NOTICE a paragraph at page 26 of NATURE, in which, 
while the facts are correct, a wrong inference is drawn from 
them. Two gentlemen at Cambridge have been appointed to 
lecture on subjects in natural science, and one of these has 
been appointed to lecture on electricity, magnetism, and botany. 
These facts are correct, and your informant congratulates the 
University on the increased desire for instruction in these subjects 
manifested among the members of the University, but says, 
“is the number of men in the University competent to teach 
them so small, that it has been found necessary to entrust 
electricity and botany to the same lecturer?” But the real state 
of the case is, that in the University there is not a want of 
those able to teach Natural Science, but a want of those 
desiring to learn it. In fact, there are so few who want 
to learn these matters of science, that we cannot afford to 
pay, and have no need to appoint, more than one man to do 
the work. The lectures which we have in these subjects 
are insufficiently attended. The University is not behind the 
age in the power of teaching these matters, but before the age. 
If there had been many people coming here desiring to be taught 
certain subjects, and we had been unable to supply that teaching, 
we should in that have been behind the age. but we are offering 
teaching which those to whom we offer it have not yet learned, 
or do not yet care, to appreciate. I am not saying that we have 
the power of showing all the wonders that the astronomers 
of the present day can watch with their spectroscopes. We are 
not well supplied with apparatus; but our want of it does 
not arise so much from the inefficiency of our teachers as 
from the apathy of those who are taught. We have quantities of 
excellent apparatus exhibited and lectured about daily by several of 
our professors well able to deal with these matters, and yet these lec- 
tures are taken advantage of by only a very few. If these lecture- 
rooms were once crowded, the University would only be too 
happy, and would immediately have at its command abundant 
means to increase the staff of competent teachers. We have in fine 
more than a sufficient number of people who can teach, and, 
what is more, are willing to teach, natural science, if only there 
are those who care to be taught. 
But it would seem as if the classes, from whom the University 
is recruited, were behind the age in their desire to be taught 
these matters; for if we turn away from the University we 
find a very different state of things. There can be no doubt 
that throughout England there is a great demand for scientific 
education. This demand exists more or less among all classes, 
and it exists among the working-men of this country to an 
extent which could hardly be believed by those who have not 
had some experience in the matter. Among these there is a great 
desire for scientific instruction, and there is no one to supply it. 
The case of the University is exactly reversed. There are 
1,500 undergraduates at Cambridge, and there are more men able 
to teach them science than there is any need for. But look to 
the non-uniyersity classes of England; there are a thousand 
times that number eager to learn, and not all the men who 
come forward to teach them unite the qualifications of willing- 
ness and of competency. That there is a great demand for 
scientific education, and that not of a desultory kind, among vast 
numbers of the various uneducated classes of England, is a most 
certain fact. If anyone doubts this, let him go to some of 
our great workshops, and let him give a series of careful lectures 
on some scientific subject, and I will venture to say he will be 
simply astonished at the numbers who will come. I have seen 
crowding toa weekly lecture on Astronomy, or on Li, ht, hundreds 
of workmen who had all been working for at lea t ten hours 
