October io, 1907] 



NATURE 



599 



observations of the zodiacal light made by him whilst at 

 Ura-tyube. 



Daniel's Comet.— Thif spectrum of fJaniil's comet 

 (1907(1) was photographed, with an objective-prisiii camera, 

 at the Nice Observatory on several nights during July 

 and August by MM. H. and \,. Chr<Stien, and is discussed 

 by the former in .N'o. 13 of the Comptes rmidui (p. 545, 

 September 23). A prism of 62" was employed, mounted 

 in front of an objective of 10 cm. aperture and 47 cm. 

 focal length, the spectrum of Capella beinj; photographed 

 on each plate for the purpose of comparison. 



The following sets of bands were found, quite sharp 

 and easily measurable, on plates secured on August 16 

 and 18: — 3870, 388-2; 398-9; 401-2, 402-0; 411-1, 413-8, 

 419-0; 420-0, 4213; ^2^M, 427-5; 430-1, 431-0, 433-s; and 

 450-3, 4S4-2 ; those at 401, 426, and 450 are very similar 

 in character. The spectrum of the tail comprises three 

 groups of radiations, the mean wavc-lenglhs of which are 

 401-6, 426-7, and 4522 respectively. An examination of 

 the plates shows that each of these is composed of two 

 condensations, the separation of each couple being I-9, 

 1-7, and 3-9 nn respectively. 



Mr. Gillman, of Aguilas 

 (Spain), has forwarded to us 

 another chart depicting the re- 

 sults of his eye-observations 

 made on September 4, 5, and 

 II. On the last-nanied dale he 

 was able to trace the tail of 

 the comet to a distance of 

 about i7i° from the head in a 

 direction a little north of west. 

 The Spectboscoi'ic Binary 



Draconis. — Since July, 1906, 

 a Draconis has been under 

 observation at the Dominion 

 Observatory, Ottawa, for 

 radial-velocity determinations, 

 and in No. 4, vol. i. (p. 237, 

 July-.\ugust), of the Journal of 

 the' R.A.S. (Canada), Mr. 

 Harper discusses the observ- 

 ations, with those _ of other 

 observers, and derives a set of 

 elements for the orbit of this 

 binary. The observed velocities 

 range from —54 km. to 

 + 56 km., and Mr. Harper's 

 elements are as follows ; — 

 period = 5i.38 days, velocity of 



the system= — 16-7 km., eccentricity = 042, longitude of 

 oeriastron (»), from descending node = i98'', T = i9o6 July 



1 id. oh., and semi-major 3x15 = 30,057,900 km. 



long and distlnguish/-d connection of I'rof. Silvanus- 

 Thompson and Prof. .Meldola with the college, and in 

 conclusion expressed the pleasure of the company at the 

 presence of the Lx)rd .Mayor and Sheriffs to open the new 

 wing. 



The Lx)rd Mayor, who was received with great 

 enthusiasm, then declared the building open, and delivered! 

 an address to the students on the development of character. 



-Mr- Yarrow, in proposing a vote of thanks, briefly 

 referred to the advantages which the two-year course at 

 I'insbury offered to students, especially those who bad 

 siirved an apprenticeship in an engineering works, and said 

 that in his opinion the Finsbury Technical College fills a 

 special need, which is not supplied by other existing institu- 

 tions, excellent though many of these are. 



Sir John Wolfe-ISarry, chairman of the executive com- 

 mittee, seconded the vote of thanks, and after acknow- 

 ledgment by Sir William Treloar the company proceeded' 

 to view the building. On arriving at the engineering 

 laboratory, the Lord .Mayor pressed a button, setting the 

 machinery in motion, and afterwards ma)\<- a tour of in- 

 spection with the company, which induded Sir Itdward 



ENGINEERING AT THE FINSBURY 

 TECHNICAL COLLEGE. 



'THE completion of a new wing of the City and Guilds 

 Technical College at l-'insbury was the occasion, on 

 Wednesday, October 2, of a large gathering of dis- 

 tinguished members of the city companies to witness the 

 opening ceremony. -Mr. Baker, chairman of the Colleges 

 Extension Commitlee, in» inviting the f>ord Mayor to 

 declare the new wing open, gave an interesting account 

 of the history of the City and Guilds of London Institute, 

 which, founded in 1878 and incorporated by Royal Charter 

 in 1900, has raised and expended nearly three-quarters of 

 a million pounds for the promotion of technical education. 



TTie growth of the Finsbury Technical College has for 

 some years necessitat<fd the work being carried on in three 

 unconnected buildings, and in order to bring all depart- 

 ments under one roof, with greatly improved facilities for 

 their work, the institute set aside 10,000/. from its reserve 

 fund, and the Corporation and Guilds of London con- 

 tributed an equal amount, while a generous friend of the 

 college contributed lo.otjol. lor equipment. With this sum 

 the committee was able to carry out a long cherished 

 scheme of centralisation and extension, and it was 

 particularly fortunate in having Sir William White as one 

 of its number to advise on all matters relating to the 

 engineering equipment. Mr. Baker also referred to the 



NO. 1980, VOL. 76] 



L— PUn c( ihe EogiiKcring Laboralcry £lfe City tr.£ CuiVs Ticll ;(ilColUge, Finsbury. 



Clarke, Sir William White, Sir John Watney (secretary of 

 the institute). Sir A. B. W. Kennedy (president of the 

 Institute of Civil Engineers), Sir Philip .Magnus, M.f'., 

 Mr. A. C. Morion, M.P., Prof. Unwin, IVof. Dalby, Mr, 

 T. H. Blakesley, Mr. Ralph Palmer, Mr. S. S. Gladstone, 

 and Mr. .Soper (assistant secretary of the institute;). 



The engineering laboratory, shown on the accompany- 

 ing plan, is about 100 feet long and 45 f<^;t wide, and is 

 a well-lighted room having walls faced with white tiles 

 from the window levels, those below being brown glazed. 

 Along one side a cast-iron channel of square section, 2 fejrt 

 wide and 80 feet long, is sunk into the floor. This 

 channel is free from end to end, so that, when occasion 

 requires, the whole length can be utilised for experiments 

 on towing, wave motion, and the like. There are also 

 two smaller channels, parallel to the main one, for drain- 

 ing water into the measuring tanks without disturbing the 

 main channel. 



The measuring tanks are six in number, having a com- 

 bined capacity of alx>ut 4000 gallons, and all the water 

 collecting therein can be raised to a tank on the roof by 

 a centrifugal pump delivering 200 gallons a minute 

 against a head of 90 feet ; the water is distributed anew 

 by a 5-inch falling main and branches. The usual arrange- 

 ments of weirs, float gauges, and the like are provided 

 for measuring the wattr in the rhannel, and a Venturi 

 meter can also be inserted in the pipe line. 



At the other end of the channel is a hydraulic cylinder 

 of special design, capable of giving horizontal and vertical 

 jets up to 2 inches in dianvrter under any head not exce*^- 

 ing 300 feet. This cylinder is suspended by cross girders 



