Nov. 8, 1883] 



NATURE 



45 



History of the Development of Vegetable Organs." No. 17 of 

 the second part of the total work concludes the first volume of 

 the "Alphabetical Manual of Chemi-try," edited by Ladenburg, 

 and begins the second volume with a series of valuable articles ; 

 one by Biedermann, on the "Atmosphere," taking up by itself 

 as much as two and a half printed sheets. No. 18 brings the 

 "Alphabetical Manual of Mineralogy, Geology, and Palaeonto- 

 logy " as far as the letter " I," and supplies treatises by Kenn- 

 gott, Lasaulx, and RoUe. Lasaulx's work on " Glaciers " should, 

 especially, be of interest. 



"Universal Geographies" are appearing on all hands. 

 There is M. Reclus' magnum opus and Stanford's Compendium ; 

 a new edition of Balbi is appearing in Vienna, and we believe of 

 Make Brun in Paris. Now the first parts of an Italian " Uni- 

 versal Geography " have been sent us, " La Terra," by Signor 

 G. Marinelli, and published by Dr. F. Vallardi of Milan. It 

 begins at the beginning, with the earth as a member of the solar 

 system, and enters into considerable astronomical detail, and into 

 the composition of the sun and the results of recent solar research. 

 It is abundantly illustrated, and seems to us to deserve a large 

 circulation, which we hope it will have in Italy. We have also 

 the first part of a new German work of this class, " Unser 

 Wissen von der Erde, Allgemeine Erdkunde, " editeJ by Drs. 

 Hann, Baron von Hochstetter, and A. Pokorny. These names 

 are a guarantee that this work will be up to a high scientific 

 standard, and it is evident that scientific geography will occupy 

 a large space. The illustrations are good. The publisher is 

 Freylag of Leipzig. 



Mr. G. K. Gilbert has recently, according to Science, given 

 some rather disturbing suggestions to the people of Salt Lake 

 City {Salt Lake Weekly Tribune, September 20) concerning the 

 probability of destructive earthquakes there. He describes the 

 slow and still continuing growth of the ranges in the Great Basin 

 by repeated dislocation along great fractures, the earth's crust on 

 one side being elevated and tilted into mountain attitude by an 

 upthrust that produces compression and distortion in the rocky 

 mass, until the strain can no longer be borne, and something 

 must give way. Suddenly and violently there is a slipping of 

 one wall of the fissure on the other, far enough to relieve the 

 strain, and this is felt as an earthquake ; then follows a long 

 period of quiet, during which the strain is gradually reimposed. 

 Such a shock occurred in Owen's Valley, along the eastern base 

 of the Sierra Nevada, in 1872, when a fault-scarp five to twenty 

 feet high and forty miles long was produced. A scarp thirty or 

 forty feet high is known along the western foot of the Wahsatch 

 Range, south of Salt Lake, and other scarps of similar origin 

 have been found at the bases of many of the Basin ranges. The 

 date of their formation is not known ; but it must be compara- 

 tively recent, because they are still so little worn away. Wher- 

 ever they are fresh, and consequently of modern uplift, there is 

 probable safety from earthquakes for ages to come, because a 

 long time is needed for the accumulation of another strain suffi- 

 cient to cause a slipping of one wall of the fissure on the other. 

 Conversely, when they are old and worn down, the breaking 

 strain may even now be almost reached, and an earthquake may 

 be expected at any time. This is the case at Salt Lake ; for, 

 continuous as are the fault-scarps along the base of the Wahsatch, 

 they are absent near this city. From the Warm Springs to 

 Emigration Caiion they have not been found, and the rational 

 explanation of then: absence is that a very long time has elapsed 

 since their last renewal. In this period the earth-strain has 

 been slowly increasing. Some day it will overcome the friction, 

 lift the mountains a few feet, and re-enact on a fearful scale the 

 catastrophe of Owen's Valley. 



The Aristotelian Society is exerting itself, we hear, to widen 

 its sphere of action, so that it may be to philosophy what the 



scientific societies are to science. Very encouraging support has 

 already been obtained from those interested in philosophy and 

 the relations between philosophy and science. 



We have received the first number of The Science Monthly 

 (Bogue), neatly got up and well printed. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Sykes's Monkey {Cercopithecus albigularis) 

 from East Africa, presented by Mr. Thomas L. M. Rose ; a 

 Black-eared Marmoset {Hapale penicitlata) from South-EaH 

 Brazil, presented by Mr. S. Sandbach Parker ; a Globose 

 Curassow (Crax gloiicera ?) from Central America, presented 

 by Miss Beale ; a Red-throated Diver {Colyinbus septentrionalis), 

 British, presented by Mr. T. E. Gunn ; a Dwarf Chameleon 

 (Chanuclcon pmnilus) from South Africa, presented by Capt. J. 

 C. Robinson ; a Common Heron (Ardea cinerea), European, a 

 Common Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), a Gannet {Sula 

 bassana), British, deposited ; a Common Otter {Lulra vulgaris) 

 British, two Crested Screamers {Chauna chavaria) from Buenos 

 Ayres, purchased. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN 

 Pons' Comet. — We continue our ephemeris of this comet 

 from the provisionally -corrected orbit of MM. Schulhof and 

 Bossert : — 



At Greenwich Midnight 

 „„ R.A. Decl. Log. distance from 



"'^3- h. m. s. . , Earth. Sun. 



Nov. 21 ... 17 57 16 ... 4-48 49-1 ... 0-1079 ■•• o'i44S 



23 ... 18 4 12 ... 48 23-6 



25 ... 18 II 30 ... 47 568 ... 0-0839 ... 01276 



27 .. 18 19 II ... 47 28-4 



29 ... 18 27 18 ... 46 579 ... 0-0583 ... 0-1102 

 Dec. I ... 18 35 51 ... 46 250 



3 ... 18 44 51 ... 45 49-0 ... 0-0311 ... 0-0923 

 5 ... iS 54 20 ... 45 9-4 

 7 ... 19 4 19 ... 44 25-5 ... 0-0023 ■■• 0'0738 

 9 ... 19 14 48 ... 43 36-5 



II ... 19 25 47 ... 42 41-5 ... 9-9721 ■•• 00549 



13 ■■ 19 37 17 ••• 41 39'5 



15 ... 19 49 17 ... 40 29-3 ... 9'9409 •■• 0-0356 



17 ... 20 I 47 ... 39 9-8 



19 ... 20 14 45 ... 37 39-8 ... 99093 ■■• 0-0161 



21 ... 20 28 9 ... 35 57-8 



23 ... 20 41 54 ... 34 2-8 ... 9'S7S4 ■•• 9'996S 



25 ■•■ 20 55 57 ... 31 53-6 



27 .. 21 10 13 ... 29 29-3 ... 9-S500 ... 9-9772 



29 ... 21 24 37 ... 26 49-5 



31 ... 21 39 4 ... -f23 54-9 ... 9-8263 ... 99585 

 On the evening of November 4 the comet as viewed in one of 

 the larger-sized comet-seekers of Martins of Berlin, was con- 

 spicuous enough, with traces of a tail. On October 29 Mr. 

 Talmage, observing with Mr. Barclay's lo-inch refractor at 

 Leyton, considered it made about the ^ame impression upon the 

 eye as the annular nebula in Lyra. 



Tempel's Comet, 1S73 II. — According to the calculations of 

 NL L. Schulhof, of Paris, this comet will arrive at perihelion on 

 the 20th of the present month. Its position on the evening of 

 the previous day will be approximately in R.A. iSh. 33m., 

 N.P.D. 114° o', distant from the earth 1-93, and fro u the sun 

 I -34, so that the theoretical intensity of light expressed in the 

 usual way will be 0-15, under which condition it will be of the 

 last degree of faintness, judging from the experience of lS7'>. 

 Still as the comet sets more than 2h. 20m. after the sun, it 

 would be well worth while to search for it where there is a clear 

 sky near the horizon, especially in the South of Etirope. 



A New Star Catalogue. — Prof, van de Sande Bakhuyzen 

 states that the catalogue of positions of stars contained m the 

 first sixty-six volumes of the Astrononiische Nachrichten, com- 

 menced by the late Prof. Hoek and continued by Dr. Kam, 

 formerly of the Observatory at Leyden, has been completed and 

 is ready for the press. It contains the places of nearly 5000 

 stars reduced to 1855-0, with their annual precessions, aiid the 

 secular variations, the epoch of ob.servation, &c. It is not 

 mentioned in what way the publication of the catalague is to be 

 effected. 



