4 
Fune 25, 1885] 
NATURE 
183 
I a paper read at the last meeting of the Librarians’ Associa- 
tion, Mr. J. R. Boosé describes the progress of Colonial public 
libraries. Commencing with those in the Dominion of Canada, 
he stated that as far back as 1779 there was a public circulating 
library at Quebec. He then traced the progress of the public 
library system up to the present, giving a detailed account of 
the Parliamentary Library at Ottawa, and also referring to the 
recent establishment of free public libraries. He then traced 
the progress made in the Australasian colonies, dealing separately 
with the libraries of Victoria, and stated that the establishment 
of public libraries in those colonies only dated from the second 
decade of the present century. Their growth, however, had 
been of extraordinary rapidity ; the statistics for Victoria showed 
that there were 143,073 volumes in the public library of Mel- 
bourne, 317,295 in the libraries of the colony, and that these 
institutions were visited in 1883 by 3,100,000 persons. Mr. 
Boosé, after describing the libraries of the other Australian 
colonies, referred to those of the Cape Colony, Natal, Singapore, 
Jamaica, British Guiana, Trinidad, the Bahamas, &c., and, in 
conclusion, observed that it was scarcely possible to overrate the 
advantages of these institutions, inasmuch as, in addition to their 
existing collections of books, every effort was made to enrich 
them by such valuable works of reference as were too costly to 
be purchased privately, and were only presented to libraries 
having a recognised status. He thought therefore that the 
Colonial Governments should provide means annually for their 
proper maintenance, and not throw the cost of them on the 
municipal authorities. 
THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the 
past week include two Barbary Apes (MMacacus tnuus) from 
North Africa, presented respectively by Mrs. Allison and Mrs. 
D. Fox Tarratt; two Common Marmosets (Hafale jacchus) 
from Brazil, presented by Col. Howell Davis; two Brown 
Bears (Ursus arctos) from Russia, presented by Mr. Walter 
Holdsworth; two Bandicoot Rats (Mus bandicota) from India, 
presented by Col. C. S. Sturt, C.M.Z.S. ; an American Robin 
(Turdus migratorius) from North America, presented by Mr. 
H. Keilich ; two Partridges (Perdix cinerea), British, presented 
by Mr. H. J. Snelgrove ; an Azara’s Fox (Canis azare) from 
South America, a Pleasant Antelope (Zragelaphus gratus 2 ) 
from West Africa, six Common Chameleons (Chameleon vul- 
garis) from North Africa, purchased ; a Japanese Deer (Cervus 
sika 6), three Canadian Beavers (Castor canadensis), a Chiloe 
Wigeon (Mareca chiloensis), seven Australian Wild Ducks (Axas 
superciliosa), bred in the Gardens. 
OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN 
THE PERIODICAL COMETS OF DE VICO AND BARNARD.—As 
was first pointed out by Prof. Weiss, there is a certain degree of 
resemblance between the elements of the comet discovered by 
Barnard in July, 1884, and those of the comet of short period 
detected by De Vico in August, 1844, which Leverrier con- 
sidered was probably identical with the comet observed by 
Lahire at Paris in 1678, though not known to have been seen in 
the long intervening period. It appears from Briinnow’s minute 
investigation of the orbit of De Vico’s comet that the mean 
motion at perihelion passage in 1844 is not determinable from the 
observations within very narrow limits, as might rather have 
been expected, considering the degree of precision with which 
that comet was observed from the beginning of September to 
the end of December, Mr. Otto Struve’s observations in par- 
ticular being of remarkable excellence. According to Briinnow’s 
later calculations, the results of which were published in his 
*€ Ann Arbor Notices,” the mean motion was close upon 650” 
daily, but he considered that it might be as small as 640” or as 
large as 660”, or, in other words, that the period of revolution 
at perihelion passage in September, 1844, might be as long as 
2025 days, or it might not exceed 1964 days. Dr. Berberich 
finds the period of Barnard’s comet 1959 days, and Mr. Egbert, 
of Albany, U.S., 1970 days, so that the periods of the two 
comets are pretty accordant ; but the interval 1844-1884 does 
not correspond thereto, and the differences that exist in the 
other elements, notwithstanding the general similarity remarked 
by Weiss, point to considerable perturbation in this interval, 
supposing the identity of the comets. De Vico’s comet in the 
orbit of 1844 could not have approached near to the planet 
Jupiter, to which body we are accustomed to look, as the great 
disturber of cometary orbits, but there is the possibility of a very 
close approach to the planet Mars, and this is also the case in a 
striking degree with Barnard’s comet, which, in Dr. Berberich’s 
last ellipse, is less than 0°008 of the earth’s mean distance from 
the orbit of Mars in about 350° 50’ heliocentric longitude ; as 
already pointed out in this column, there may have been a close 
approach of the two bodies at the end of 1873 or beginning of 
the following year. The nearest approximation of the orbits of 
1844 and 1884 is 0'043 in heliocentric longitude 310°, and there 
is another approximation, 0'065, in 143°. At present, however, 
the identity of the comets of De Vico and Barnard is to be 
regarded as at least doubtful. 
THE DousLe-STAR 19 (HEv.) CAMELOPARDI.—The annual 
proper motion of the principal component of this double-star, 
which is & 634, resulting from a comparison, of Groombridge’s 
Catalogue (mean year of observation 1808°4) with the Greenwich 
Catalogue of 1872, appears to be — 0297 in right ascension, 
and +0/164 in declination, the accurate trigonometrical formula 
being employed. For the relative motion of the smaller com- 
ponent with respect to the principal one, we may compare 
Struve’s epoch for 1834 with a mean of the measures of 
Dembowski, Flammarion, and Asaph Hall between the years 
1875 and 1879, viz.— 
° u 
1834°15 Pos. 348°57 Dist. 34°042 
ES 77620 tenn 5 TT ys. 3) _ 205303 
Whence we find for the annual relative motion in right ascension 
+ 07858 and in declination — 0’°302, and we have thus a con- 
firmation of the opinion expressed by M. Flammarion in his 
“Catalogue des Etoiles Doubles et Multiples en Mouvement 
relatif certain,” that the smaller component has a real motion, 
more rapid than that of the principal star, of contrary sign, and 
not far from parallel to it. 
A DayLicHr OccULTATION OF ALDEBARAN.—On July 9, 
civil reckoning, Aldebaran wiil be visibly occulted in this 
country about noon, If the distribution formulz of Littrow 
and Woolhouse are applied, the following expressions result for 
finding the Greenwich mean times of disappearance and re- 
appearance, and the angles from north point— 
Disappearance ... July 8, 23h. 26°7m. —[0°2369] L+ {9°5144]M 
Reappearance ... July 9, oh. 15°3m. +[9°1126] L+[9'4189] M 
Angle at Disappearance 49°°3+[0°542] L —[8'004] M 
oo Reappearance 3217-6 —[0°528] L —[8*701] M 
Here the latitude of the place is put =50°+L, and M is the 
longitude in minutes of time, osit7ve towards the east. If we 
apply the formule to Oxford, we have L =+1°'76, and 
M= —5'043 m., and hence 
Disappearance, July 8, 23h. 22°om. at Siro 
Reappearance July 9, oh. 14'2m. at 316°. 
It should be added that the above quantities within square 
brackets are logarithms. 
ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 
WEEK, 1885, JUNE 28 TO JULY 4 
(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 28 
Sun rises, 3h. 48m. ; souths, 12h. 2m. 58°7s. ; sets, 2oh. 18m. ; 
decl. on meridian, 23° 16’ N.: Sidereal Time at Sunset, 
14h. 46m. 
Moon (one day after Full) rises, 19h. 58m.*; souths, oh, 27m. ; 
sets, 4h. 58m. ; decl. on meridian, 18° 1 S. 
Planet Rises Souths Sets Decl. on meridian 
bust, h. m. h. m. co 
Mercury... 3 43 12 8 20 33... 24 33N. 
Venus 4 50 13 8 2020". 22°55) Ne 
Mars I 50 9 53 Ty) BS con BB ING 
Jupiter Bas oo Uh 59 eco 2 OB po ewe CA 
Saturn SI0m Hine 742) 5 19 39 22 31 N. 
* Indicates that the rising is that of the preceding day. 
