be 
Fune 4, 1885 | 
the perturbations are not likely to have been material, and 
should the comet arrive at its least distance from the sun early 
in May the chances of reobservation will be very small indeed, 
the longitude of perihelion being in 43°, and the inclination of 
the orbit to the ecliptic less than 54°. 
ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 
WEEK, 1885, JUNE 7-13 
(For the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at 
Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24, is here 
employed. ) 
At Greenwich on June 7 
Sun rises, 3h. 47m. ; souths, 11h. 58m. 35°58. ; sets, 20h. Tom. 5 
decl. on meridian, 22° 48’ N.: Sidereal Time at Sunset, 
13h. 15m. 
Moon (New on June 12, 23h.) rises, oh. 56m. ; souths, 7h. 3m. ; 
sets, 13h. 22m. ; decl. on meridian, o° 41’ N. 
Planet Rises Souths Sets Decl. on meridian 
. m h. m. h. m. ae 
Mercury... 259 ... 10 34 13 9 17) LOIN 
Menus 2. 4 17 ... 12 38 20 59 23 57 N. 
Mars 2.34 <2, IO’ 14 17 54 17 58N. 
Jupiter OBE no TU Mo ob OPT LORE IN Ic 
Saturn meotee | 12040) |.:.) 20149 22 26N. 
* Indicates that thesetting is that of the following day. 
Phenomena of Fupiter’s Satellites 
June h. m | June h. m. 
7... 2042 J.ecl. reap. | 11 ... 20 36 II. occ. disap. 
Seeee.) 0) 2 LV. tr. ing. Ney aah 2 1) Ie petty: 
The Phenomena of Jupiter's Satellites are such as are visible at Greenwich, 
June h, 
11... I... Mars in conjunction with and 3° 51’ north 
of the Moon. 
tie...) 10 Mercury in conjunction with and 2° 47’ 
north of the Moon. 
aR 6 Saturn in conjunction with and 4° 3’ north 
of the Moon. 
Wegteresst) (Li7 Venus in conjunction with and 5° 48’ 
north of the Moon. 
GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES 
THE Pamir is the subject of another contribution, by M. 
Tvanoff, to the last issue of the /zvestza of the Russian Geo- 
graphical Society. Several objections having been made to his 
views on the Pamir, already mentioned in Nature, and 
especially to his tendency of limiting the name of Pamir to the 
eastern part of the great Central Asian mountain mass. M. 
Ivanoff answers by a paper accompanied by a map of the Pamir, 
on which the whole of the region is represented ; the chains of 
mountains being drawn, however, merely schematically, which 
circumstance is a great obstacle to catching on the map 
their real characters. He insists on the fact that the denomina- 
tions ‘‘Great” and “Little Pamir,” introduced by Messrs. Gordon 
and Trotter, are not known to those natives who are best 
acquainted with the region, and they lay altogether too much 
stress upon the names in use among Kirghizes. He thus limits 
the discussion as to what must be considered as the Pamir, which 
discussion had been so very well put by his former orographical 
papers on its proper ground—that of physical’geography—where it 
obviously must remain. Wenotice in the same issue a paper by 
M. Wolter on the Prussian Lithuanians ; and a preliminary 
report, by M. Sorokin, on his journey in Russian Tian-Shan. 
THE new and promising route to Central Asia from the 
Mortvyi Kultuk Gulf of the Caspian via the Ust-Urt to 
Kungrad is the subject of an interesting paper read by M. 
Belayskiy before the Russian Geographical Society, and analysed 
in the last issue of the Zevestia (xxi. 2). Until lately the Mortvyi 
Kultuk was considered too shallow for navigation, east winds 
being said to reduce its depth to 3°5 feet. Kecent soundings 
proved, however, that, the usual depth being about 9 feet, no 
winds reduce it more than to 44 feet; in fact, flat steamers 
freely navigate the gulf. Those which do not take more 
than 4% feet of water approach the shores for 60 to 230 
yards at Ayrakly. From that port, which has sweet-water 
wells, the route goes on to the Ust-Urt plateau. The 
Ust-Urt was formerly considered as quite dry, and as having 
‘ 
NATURE 
E13 
a very severe climate. But this belief was exaggerated. Water 
is found at each Io to 13 miles; there are also pasture-grounds, 
and neither the cold in winter nor the heat in summer is 
excessive. This last is moderated by winds. The saksaou/, 
brushes, and the excrement of camels give the necessary fuel. 
On the whole stretch, 270 miles long, from the Mortvyi Kultuk to 
Kungrad, there is no difficulty in crossing the Ust-Urt in carriages, 
and want of water is felt only near Kungrad. From this town 
steamers may ply on the Amu-daria ; a steamer has already gone 
up the river to Khodja-Sala. Moreover, a route, available 
for carriages, runs along the left bank of the river. On the 
whole this new route has already proved to be more advantageous 
for the transport of merchandise from Bokhara to Russia than 
he old one via Orenburg. 
FROM a communication to the Russian Geographical Society, 
made by Dr. Dyboyskiy, it appears that the Commodore Islands 
—Behring, Copper, and two smaller ones—situated 300 miles east 
of Kamschatka, ought to be regarded in a better light than they 
have been hitherto. Behring Island is covered with excellent 
prairies, and Dr. Dybovskiyis sure that agriculture could be carried 
on it. The southern part of this island is hilly, and reminds 
one of the alpine regions of Kamstchatka. No forests, but 
only shrubs of the Rhododendron Sorbus, and so on, grow 
on the islands; but the explorer’s experiments of planting 
forest-trees proved quite successful. The higher tracts offering 
excellent grazing grounds for reindeer, a number of these last 
were imported in 1882, and the experiment of acclimatising them 
on the is'and proved also quite successful. The narrow valleys 
of Copper Island are also considered quite suitable for agri- 
culture. The islands are formed of crystalline rocks covered with 
Tertiary deposits ; they contain copper ore and brown coal, of 
course unworked. Fuel is brought from Kamtschatka, The 
climate is far milder than on the peninsula, and while in May 
snowa yard thick lay at Petropavloysk, vegetables are freely 
grown on the islands. Snow is altogether so scanty that horses 
brought on to Behring Island were feeding throughout the 
winter on the prairies. The fauna of the islands has been well 
explored by M. Dybovskiy. The flora is much like that of the 
alpine regions of Kamtschatka. The inhabitants, all Aleutes, 
514 in number, live in wooden houses. They are all Christians, 
and can read. 
THE attention of geographers and men of science ought to be 
called to several numbers of the Archiv fiir die naturwissen- 
schaftliche Landesdurchforschung von Bohmen, which have 
recently been issued (Prague: Franz Rzuonatz). The numbers 
of most interest to geographers pure and simple are those form- 
ing the first division of the third volume, and containing a list 
of the heights in Bohemia trigonometrically determined by the 
Imperial Institute of Military Geography in the years 1877-79. 
Numbers 2 to 6 of the fourth volume deal with the geology and 
botany of Bohemia, and numbers 1 to 3 of the fifth volume are 
also devoted to geology. The monographs composing this work 
are said to constitute a real treasury of information concerning 
the physical conditions and natural resources of the Austrian 
Crownland of which it treats. 
AT the last meeting of the Paris Geographical Society a com- 
munication was read from Capt. Sorensen respecting his visit 
last year to Spitzbergen. It contained numerous observations 
on climatology and the configuration of the coasts (especially in 
correction of the English charts). His remarks with regard to 
the state of the ice during the spring are of special interest. 
He found the ice around Spitzbergen very different from what 
he had observed in previous years. Usually the western side is 
accessible at the commencement of the season, viz., May and 
June. Drifts are to be met with, but they disappear about the 
middle of June, or, at the latest, in the beginning of July. 
Last year, on the other hand, the west coast was blocked by ice 
the whole summer through. No captain can recollect having ever 
encountered such a mass of ice on this coast. The Norwegians 
have observed that for three years past the melting of the ice 
has grown later year by year. On the east coast the sea is 
generally full of icebergs, but it was wholly free from them last 
year. Off Barentz Island also the sea was free from ice, and 
one of the captains who penetrated farther to the east discovered 
two islands. Capt. Sorensen suggests, therefore, that Spitz- 
bergen and Franz-Josef Land form parts of a vast archipelago, 
and not two wholly distinct territories, as has hitherto been 
believed. He promises during coming years to continue his 
meteorological observations in his annual visits to these regions. 
