390 



NA TURE 



YFcb. 2 1, I i 



operate in the international work asking consent to the proposed 

 change. Favourable replies are being received ; and there is 

 little doubt that the change will be made, probably Jan. I, 1885. 

 It should be remembered that the international observation is 

 made largely by obsei'vers who kindly cooperate with the chief 

 signal oiilicer, but who are not under his orders : a change of this 

 kind cannot, therefare, be summarily ordered, but must be made 

 by mutual consent." 



The Commissioners on Technical Education have now practi- 

 cally concluded their labours, and are likely to have only one 

 more meeting to formally sign their Report, the greater jiart of 

 which is in type. It will consist of at least five octavo 

 volumes, it being found impracticable, even after careful con- 

 sideration, to bring the mass of evidence and information within 

 smaller compass. It is stated that any risumS of the series 

 of conclusions and recommendations at which the Com- 

 mission have arrived would not be useful or fully intelligible 

 to the public without the explanatory details with which they 

 vrill be accompanied. It is, however, hoped that the complete 

 Report may be presented soon enough to permit of the House 

 of Commons proceeding during the present session with such 

 legislation, based upon the recommendations, as may be thought 

 necessary. Meantime it is understood that technical training 

 will form an important part of the measures of which the Govern- 

 ment and Mr. A. O'Connor have given notice with regard to 

 education in Ireland. 



Messrs. W. Eagle Clarke and W. Denison Roebuck, 

 Leeds, are preparing a supplement to their " Handbook of the 

 Vertebrate Fauna of Yorkshire," and would be glad to have 

 notes of additions or corrections to that work, or notices of the 

 occurrence of any species of quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, or 

 fishes in Yorkshire which their friends may be pleased to com- 

 municate. As they wish to publish in the April magazines, it 

 is hoped that the desired information may be sent in immediately. 

 Communications may be addressed to No. 9, Commercial 

 Buildings, Park Row, Leeds. 



At the Royal Institution Prof. Tyndall will begin a course of 

 six lectures on " The Older Electricity — its Phenomena and 

 Investigators," on Tursday next (February 2$), illustrated by 

 experiments; and Capt. Abney, R.E., will begin a course of 

 six lectures on " Photographic Action, considered as the Work 

 of Radiation," on Saturday (March I). Prof. Hughes will give 

 a discourse on Friday evening next, on "The Theory of Mag- 

 netism," illustrated by experiments. 



We have already referred to the International Ornithological 

 Congress which is proposed to be held in Vienna on April 16-23, 

 under the protectorate of the Crown Prince Rudolf. It is now 

 announced that arrangements are in progress for an International 

 Ornithological Exhibition, which is to precede the Congress, 

 and which will occupy from April 4-14. Single specimens 

 and collections of living birds of all kinds, including domestic 

 birds ; all apparatus serving for the protection, cultivation, 

 breeding, and conveyance of birds ; implements used in bird 

 catching and bird shooting, falconry, carrier-pigeon-post ; 

 aviaries, and bird cages ; scientific objects and products which 

 originate in or refer to the feathered world, will all be included 

 in the programme of the Exhibition. All details will be fur- 

 nished to intending exhibitors or partakers in the Congress by the 

 Secretary of the Vienna Ornithological Society, Dr. Gustav von 

 Hayek, III. Marokkanergasse 3 Vienna. The main subjects to 

 be discussed at the Congi'ess are — (i) An international law 

 relating to the better protection of birds; (2) the establishment 

 of a system of ornithological observing stations all over the 

 inhabited globe ; and (3) investigations concerning the origin of 

 the domestic fowl, and measures for the amelioration of the 

 cultivation and breeding of domestic birds generally. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Macaque Monkey (Macacus cynomol^is i ) 

 from India, presented by Miss Furniss ; two Common Roe 

 (Capreohis capraa 9 9) from Dorsetshire, presented by Messrs. 

 Charles Hambro and J. C. Manuel Pleydell ; a Passerine Owl 

 {Glaucidiiim passennum), European, presented by Mr. G. R. 

 Lake ; a Naked-necked Iguana (/gtiaiia delicatissimus), a'Banded 

 Basilisk (Basilictts vitla/us) from Nicaragua, presented by Mr. 

 Albert Vidler ; two Prairie Marmots (Cyiwmys ludovinanus) 

 from North America, a Shaw's Gerbille {Gcrhillus sliawii) from 

 North Africa, a Military Macaw (Am iiiilitaris) from South 

 America, two Iceland Falcons {Hierofalco islandus) from Sweden, 

 deposited; a Red-eared Monkey (Cercopil/urus ojthrotis ^) 

 from Fernando Po, two Slow Loris [Nyctkebus tardigradus) from 

 the Malay Countries, a Red-eyed Ground Finch (Pipilo eiythro- 

 ptlialmus) from South America, an Eyebrowed Weaver Bird 

 {Hyphantornis superciliosiis) from West Africa, four Asiatic 

 Quails {Perdiada asiatka <J ,5 9 9 ) from India, purchased. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN 



Australian Observatories. — The eighteenth Annual Re- 

 port of the Director of the Observatory at Melbourne to the 

 Board of Visitors (wlio in their turn report to the Governor of 

 Victoria) has been issued. The new transit-circle was expected 

 in a short time, and would find the new circle-room ready to 

 receive it, but the instrument which had been in use for twenty 

 years continued to give excellent and trustworthy results ; never- 

 theless each year had forced upon Mr. Ellerj' the necessity of 

 greater ojitical scope for the meridian work. The Inevitable 

 loss of reflective power in the great telescope increases a little 

 year by year, but does not yet sensibly affect the work npin 

 which it is employed. Indeed. Mr. Ellery says, " Some photo- 

 graphs of faint objects obtained lately are clear evidence of the 

 immense light-gathering power it still possesses, and of the 

 trivial lo'^s occasioned so far by the slight tarnish apparent." 

 The instrument had not been kept quite so closely to its special 

 work — the revision of the southern nebulx — as before, owing to 

 the number of nights occupied -with the great comet and in 

 experimenting in celestial photography. Among the subjects 

 of observation Mr. Ellery refers to the transit of Venus, the 

 Port Darwin Expedition for determination of longitude of Aus- 

 tralian observatories, and measures of differences of declination 

 of the minor planels Sappho and Victoria for determination of 

 the solar parallax, according to the scheme arranged by Mr. 

 Gill. The great comet of 1882 was kept in view for 250 days, 

 or until April 26. A large portion of the work connected with 

 the telegraphic determination of the longitude of Australian 

 observatories from Greenwich fell upon the Melbourne esta- 

 blishment, which is now assumed to be in longitude gh. 39m. 

 53'37s. E., subject perhaps to some vei-y small correction. As 

 soon as the new transit-circle was properly adjusted, it was Mr. 

 Ellery's intention to devote it to the revision of a rather lar.e 

 catalogue of stars at the request of the " Astronomi-che Gcsell- 

 schaft, "besides its more special work. The great telescope would 

 be applied more exclusively to the continuation of the revision 

 of Sir John Herschel's nebulae, several of which, by the way, 

 the Melbourne observers have not been able to find. 



Mr. H. C. Russell sends us an historical account of the 

 Observatory at Sydney and of the observations whicli preceded 

 the erection of the present one in that colony. With the details 

 of the actual observatory the reader will be probably acquainted 

 tlirou^h the volumes of results which have been issued there- 

 from ; that for 1877-78 contains a general view of the building ; 

 but Mr. Russell mentions circumstances attending the erection 

 of the first observatoiy on Australian soil which are perhaps 

 little known. He extracts from the " History of New Souih 

 Wales," by Col. Collins, the following note: — "Among the 

 buildings that were undertaken shortly after our arrival [that of 

 the first colonists in 1788] must be mentioned an observatory 

 which was marked out on the western point of the cove, to 

 which the astronomical instruments were sent, which had been 

 sent out by the Hoard of Longitude for the purpose of ob; erving 

 the comet «hich was expected to be seen about the end of this 

 year. The construction of this building was placed under the 

 direction of Lieut. Dawes, of the Marines, who, having made 



