6o 



NA TURE 



[May 28, 1874 



corona to a minimum. The spectrum of the reversing 

 layer was again seen, thus confirming Young's and Pye's 

 observation of 1870, and the hydrogen lines were seen 

 high up, as in 1S70 and 1S71. The most important obser- 

 vation, perhaps, made by Mr. Stone is that referring to 

 visibility of the Fraunhofer lines in the spectrum of the 

 coronal atmosphere, showing thereby that that reflects 

 the light of the photosphere. 



In a letter to Mr. Solomon, written the day after the 

 eclipse, Mr. Stone states on this point : — " The corona 

 presented a spectrum of a mixed character. I have a 

 strong opinion, amounting almost to certainty, that traces 

 of Fraunhofer's lines were visible, but very difficult to 

 observe, on account of the faintness of the spectrum. 

 The other part of the spectrum of the corona was dis- 

 continuous, consisting of three bright lines." 



The fact that Mr. Stone has been fortunate both in his 

 weather and in his observations, makes us regret all the 

 more that, the observatory station being so accessible, 

 more efforts were not made in other directions, especially 

 in the direction of photography. A series of photographs 

 taken during the totality, which lasted over 3^ minutes, 

 would have been a precious boon to Science, as the 

 coronal condition of the sun at the periods of maximum 

 and minimum sun-spots could then have been compared. In 

 solar physics, however, we must at present be thankful 

 for small mercies. We willingly agree that a Transit of 

 Venus is a phenomenon to be observed at all cost, but we 

 also affirm that a total eclipse of the sun is, in the present 

 state of knowledge, a phenomenon not second in impor- 

 tance, and we trust that our scientific leaders will not 

 forget that there is a very favourable recurrence of the 

 phenomenon next year. 



We are sorry to see that there is a chance of Mr. Stone 

 being left to defray, out of his own pocket, the ex- 

 penses of an important series of observations, un- 

 dertaken on his Eclipse journey, on terrestrial mag- 

 netism. The Cape Argus properly points out that 

 they should be defrayed out of Colonial funds. They are 

 a contribution to Colonial knowledge, and we cannot doubt 

 that the Colonial Government will readily place on the 

 estimates the amount required to meet the cost of trans- 

 port, which is all that is asked. Mr. Stone gives his own 

 invaluable services and scientific skill without charge ; 

 the cost of his journey, so far as the eclipse is concerned, 

 goes to Imj^erial account ; and all that is asked from the 

 Colony is his expenditure on additional journeys, viz. as 

 far as the Orange River, for the magnetic observations 

 referred to. We were very much surprised to hear that 

 any hesitation should have been shown by Government 

 in giving their sanction to the application when first made, 

 and are almost still more surprised to find that it has not 

 been formally acceded to since then. We admire economy, 

 but do not admire parsimony ; and we are perfectly cer- 

 tain that no sort of vote would be passed more heartily 

 and unanimously by Parliament than that for the paltry 

 amount of some sixty or seventy pounds sterling required 

 to defray the expenses of these magnetic observations. 



The same number of the Cnpc Argus gives us some 

 information also as to the effect of the eclipse upon the 

 na'.ives. A digger at the diamond-fields told his natives 

 that if they did not find a big stone that day ihey would 

 see something in the firmament that would frighten 



them. Just as the darkness was commencing a Kafir 

 brought a 45-carat diamond that had been found a few 

 hours previously. In Natal the Zulus stopped work 

 when the eclipse began, and resumed v/hen it was over, 

 demanding two days' wages, the eclipse, in their opinion, 

 having been a short night. The general effect on the natives 

 at the diamond-fields is thus described in a local paper : — 

 " The natives rushed out of their claims horror-stricken, 

 and said that the sun was dying. The grandest living 

 tableau ever seen was the great gathering of horror-stricken 

 nudes on the Colesberg Kopje, watching, with fearfully 

 rounded and glaring eyes, mouth open and fingers pointed 

 at what they believed to be the dying moments of the 

 Almighty luminary whose majesty is the only God they 

 know. The effect of the eclipse on the imagination of the 

 natives, as depicted in their countenances, is described as 

 terrible. They grouped together upon the heights of the 

 Kopje and on the top of Mount Ararat, silent and awe- 

 stricken. The natives knew nothing of the meaning of 

 the ghastly light that preceded the darkness ; gloom came 

 upon their labours silently as a thief in the night, and it 

 was not until the whole of the mines presented a sulphu- 

 reous appearance that they left their work. When they 

 did leave it they left it with a rush, crying one to the 

 other, ' The sun is dying.' " 



FOOD AND DIETETICS 

 A Treatise on Food and Dietetics. By F. W. Pavy, M. D., 

 F.R.S. (J. and A. Churchill.) 



THE want of a scientific work on Food and Dietetics 

 has been much felt for some time. Experiments 

 in various directions, both physiological and pathological, 

 have been long accumulating, and| have much needed 

 arrangement and satisfactory condensation. Dr. Pavy 

 has supplied the deficiency, and in the work before us 

 gives an excellent account of all the most important ob- 

 servations which have any bearing on the subjects he 

 discusses, tempered by the results of his own extended 

 and judicious experience. 



Our knowledge of foods in the chemical, zoological, 

 and botanical point of view, that is as far as composition 

 and derivation are concerned, is considerably in advance 

 of our acquaintance with the true physiological bearing 

 of the facts ; and in this section of the subject Dr. Pavy 

 does not attempt to do more than give the well-known 

 analyses and descriptions of previous workers. His 

 object, in the portion of the book devoted to the alimen- 

 tary principles and the principles of dietetics, is to show 

 how the tendency of modern experiment is to modify and 

 almost subvert the ingenious theories of Liebig as to the 

 functions of the different constituents of our customary 

 diets. 



After some introductory remarks on the dynamical 

 relations of food, in which a simple explanation is given 

 of the results obtained by Grove, Mayer, and Joule, as 

 far as they affect the physiology of alimentary principles, 

 the constituent elements of food are discussed both theo- 

 retically and practically. Physiologically the separation 

 of the ingesta into " food" and " drink" is shown to be 

 unsuitable. " The two material factors of life arc food 

 and air ; and food may be considered as comprising that 

 which contributes to the growth and nutrition of the body, 



