May 13, 1915] 

NATURE 301 

Heath. One of these, observed on May 6, at 2h. 52m. 
a.m., was as brilliant as the planet Jupiter, and 
travelled. over an extensive arc from E. to W. (Kent 
to Wiltshire). Its height according to Mr. Denning’s 
computations, was from sixty-nine to fifty-nine miles, 
its luminous flight extended over eighty miles at a 
velocity of about forty miles per second. The radiant 
point was at 339°—2°. Another fine meteor from the 
same system was seen by Mrs. Wilson on May 6 at 
3h. 23m. a.m., and a smaller one, also observed by 
M. de Roy, appeared on May 3 at 3h. 2m. a.m., with 
a height from forty-eight to forty miles. Radiant 
335°—2°. These new materials are interesting as 
affording further corroboration of the identity of the 
comet and meteors. 
Comer 1915a (MeELLIsH).—The following ephemeris 
is a continuation of that given last week : 
R.A. (true) Dee. (true) Mag. 
Its ink Sh 2 A 
May sT4e eee IQ) 9) 32 —22 42-1 
HO} opts 14 29 25 19:2 59 
TKS) BSD 20 2 28 15-4 
20m lO 20) 22 —31 32-7 5:6 
The comet is rapidly moving southwards, and on 
May 18 will be found a little to the eastward of 
z Sagittarii. 
THe AUSTRALIAN SOLAR OBsERVATORY.—The March 
number of the Scientific Australian contains a short 
communication by Mr. P. H. Baracchi on the demand 
tor an Australian Solar Observatory. Mr. Baracchi 
enumerates the several steps that have been taken to 
secure such an observatory for Australia, and directs 
attention to the selected site known as Mount Strombo, 
the highest summit of a group of hills situated about 
6:5 miles west of the centre of the Federal capital 
and about 2500 ft. above sea-level. For the purpose 
of testing the ‘‘seeing”’ at the site for the period of a 
year, Mr. Baracchi and his assistant, Dr. Baldwin, 
erected in 1911 a g-in. refracting telescope on the site 
and built a 19-ft. dome to house it. The result of the 
observations showed that the local conditions fulfilled 
the most essential requirements for any class of deli- 
cate astronomical work. As yet nothing is very 
definitely known concerning the future of the observa- 
tory, but Mr. Baracchi states that ‘tthe Common- 
wealth authorities seem well disposed to expand the 
Mount Strombo Observatory, and make it a permanent 
astronomical institution, including a solar department, 
but no further steps have, as yet, been taken.” 
PHOTOGRAPHING THE CORONA.—Writing in the May 
number of the Observatory, Mr. E. B. Knobel directs 
attention to the subject of whether the best means 
are employed in photographing the solar corona, and 
whether our knowledge of the structure of the corona 
has advanced since the introduction of the photo- 
graphic dry plate. He is of the opinion that ‘no 
results have been secured comparable in value to the 
photographs of the corona in 1871, which were ob- 
tained with wet collodion plates. . ..” and that the 
time has arrived when the whole question should be 
investigated and the results of this investigation made 
use of on the next occasion of a total solar eclipse. 
In his communication he considers the merits of the 
three processes—daguerreotype, wet collodion, and 
dry plates. He refers to the difficulty in the 
daguerreotype process requiring much practice and 
experience, and to the principal drawback to its em- 
ployment for the corona in that the image is only 
visible by reflected light, and that long exposures are 
necessary. He points out, however, the perfection of 
the resulting image. Mr. Knobel advocates strongly 
a serious attempt to revive the wet collodion process. 
He says: ‘‘There are no difficulties that cannot be 
NO. 2376, VOL. 95] 


surmounted.... All the procedure . . . requires 
practice and experience, and the assistant should have 
some familiarity with chemical operations. It ought 
not to be difficult to find a suitable man to train up 
for eclipse work among process-workers in collodion, 
as he would already be practised in some of the 
operations.” It is hoped, as Mr. Knobel suggests, 
that some of the funds provided by the Joint Per- 
manent Eclipse Committee may be utilised to defray 
the expense of the necessary training in what is 
almost a lost art, so that the process may be brought 
into use again for eclipse work. 
CIRCULARS CF THE UNION OBSERVATORY, JOHANNES- 
BURG.—A batch of circulars of the Union Observatory, 
Johannesburg, has just come to hand dealing with 
a great number of varied observations. Circular 
No. 19 deals with the proper-motion stars south of 
declination —19°, and contains three tables of great 
interest. The first is a list of all stars for which the 
proper motion is known to exceed a fifth of a second 
of arc in either right ascension or declination. It 
includes also many double stars the proper motions 
of which exceed 0-1", and a few stars of small. proper 
motion. Table II. consists of those stars for which 
radial velocities have been published. The third table 
indicates groups of stars showing community of 
motion. The six groups given are the sun group, or 
group nearly stationary with regard to the sun, the 
61 Cygnus, Taurus, z Mensa, a Centaurus, andé Lepus 
groups. Circular No. 20, among other communications, 
gives an account of the discovery of variable stars, etc., 
with Pulfrich’s blinkmicroscop, with remarks upon its 
use in astronomy. Circular No. 21 is devoted to 
observations made of the transit of Mercury in Novem- 
ber last, a g-in., two 6-in., and a 4-in. telescope being 
employed. In Circular No. 22 an orbit and observa- 
tions of comet 1914e are given. This comet, as men- 
tioned in this column last week, was discovered in- 
dependently by several widely distributed observers. 
Observations of the Galilean satellites of the planet 
Jupiter made during the period April 8 to December 
31, 1914, form the subject of Circular No. 23. These 
observations are in continuation of the series com- 
menced in 1908. The present series has been com- 
pared with the times given in the American ephemeris, 
which are founded very closely on Damoiseau’s tables, 
but the 1915 comparisons will be made with the 
Nautical Almanac, as Samson’s tables have now been 
adopted. 


SHELLFISH AND SEWAGE. 
Wes is perhaps only by chance that the conclusion of 
the work of the Royal Commission on Sewage 
Disposal should almost coincide with the Shellfish 
Regulations issued by the Local Government Board. 
Nothing like the task performed by the Sewage Com- 
mission had ever been attempted by a similar body. 
It met throughout three reigns, during which time 
its personnel underwent notable changes. It inter- 
preted liberally its ‘terms of reference,” and con- 
ducted an inquiry which was most comprehensive in’ 
scope. It employed a scientific staff who carried out 
investigations of quite the best kind, and made 
reports which, for a long time to come, must. be re- 
garded as authoritative. It suggested legislation 
based on great knowledge of the conditions that were 
to be improved. 
After all this it was with a kind of shock of sur- 
prise that those interested in the development of the 
inshore fisheries read the Shellfish Regulations of the 
Local Government Board, which were published on 
February 16, and came into force on March 1. For 
