464 
NATURE 
| Sept. 10, 1885 
ASTRONOMICAL NOTES 
New CoMET.—A new comet, discovered by Mr. Brooks, 
has been observed by Mr. Wendell, of Harvard College Ob- 
servatory, and Mr. Ainslie Common, of Ealing. On Friday 
night its approximate position was R.A. 13h. 53m., and N.P.D. 
52 20’. Its R.A. isincreasing and N.P.D. decreasing ; diameter, 
g minutes of arc, and getting brighter. 
New MINor PLANET.—On the evening of the 3rd inst. Herr 
Palisa, of Vienna, discovered a minor planet, thus bringing the 
number of these bodies to 250. The following are the particu- 
lars of the discovery :—September 3, 9h. 53s. (Greenwich mean 
time) ; right ascension, 23h. 34m. 44s. ; north polar distance, 
106° 9/ 35”; daily motion in right ascension, 48s. decreasing, in 
polar distance 3’ increasing ; magnitude, 11th. 
GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES 
Tue Caroline Islands, which are attracting so much political 
attention now, are described at some length in the Gazette 
Géographigue. It is generally acknowledged that they were 
discovered by a Portuguese navigator in 1526, and during the 
rest of the sixteenth century they were frequently visited by 
Spanish and Portuguese explorers. They were called the 
Carolines about 1686 by a pilot named Lezcano, who saw many 
islets there, but could not tell to what group they belonged, or 
indicate their exact position. The name was given to them after 
Charles II. ; they have also been called the New Philippines, 
but this has never prevailed. Towards the end of the seven- 
teenth century the Spaniards in the Philippines and Mariannes 
learned something of the Carolines, and in 1705 an imperfect 
map of the group was sent to Pope Clement XI., and then the 
Jesuits of the mission at Manila resolved to establish a branch 
in the Carolines. In 1710 the missionaries and a few soldiers 
set sail, but on arriving at the Pelews were all massacred. Up 
to 1817 the Carolines were visited by navigators of all nations, 
but the number of the islands, their exact position, and the 
hydrography of the seas in which they were situated, was 
totally unknown. In that year Kotzebue, and subsequently 
Freycinet, Duperrey, Dumont d’Urville, and others, visited the 
whole of the Archipelago, and from them we got our first 
accurate accounts of the Carolines and their inhabitants. The 
Caroline archipelago forms part of Micronesia, and is situated to 
the south of the Ladrones, to the west of the Marshalls, and to the 
north of New Guinea. It consists of about 500 islands, of which 
the greater number are only afo//s. The number of real islands 
is only forty-eight, but as each of these is surrounded by a certain 
number of islets, it may be said that the archipelago consists of 
forty-eight groups ; forty-three of these are low coral islands, 
while five are composed of basalt with coral at the base. The 
superficial area over which the archipelago is spread is about forty- 
five square leagues. Geographically it may be divided into 
three main groups, separated by two large channels : the eastern 
group, of which the principal island is Ascension or Ponape ; 
the central group, and the western group, the principal island 
being Eap or Jap, of which much is being heard just now. 
Ponape is between 50 and 60 miles round, and has a peak in 
the centre which rises to a height of 2860 feet. At one part of 
its coast there are curious ruins which are still a problem for 
ethnologists ; they are apparently the remains of a large building 
constructed of huge blocks of basalt. The archipelago, although 
close to the equator, enjoys a temperate climate; there are two 
rainy seasons—one in January, the other in August. The islands 
are of astonishing fertility ; the principal productions are the 
bread-fruit, cocoa-nut, the palm, bamboo, orange, and clove 
tree, sugar-cane, beetle, sweet potato, &c. The population is 
generally estimated at 18,000 to 20,000, and belongs ethno- 
logically to the Micronesian family. The principal elements are 
Malay and Maori; but there is also a mixture of Negrito and 
Papuan, to which in later times was added a Chinese and Japan- 
ese element. The language is as mixed as the race ; the gramm- 
atical constructions are the same as those of the Maori, but 
Malay influence is also evident. In some of the islands there 
are two languages, as in Java—the vulgar and polished. They 
haye no religion properly so-called ; they believe in spirits, which 
are the souls of their deceased ancestors, and they have a great 
respect, a kind of cult for their dead, whom they preserve till 
the body falls to pieces. As in all the islands of the Pacific, 
tabu is practised. Each group of islands is governed by a chief 
or king. His power in time of peace is purely nominal, but 
he enjoys the respect of all ; but in the frequent bloody wars 
his authority is unbounded, and all submit blindly to his will. 
THE Pelews or Palaos Islands are quite distinct from the 
Carolines ; they are the most western islands of Micronesia, and 
are situated about 600 miles east of the Philippines. The archi- 
pelago consists of ten principal islands anda number ofislets. The 
principal one, called Babelthuap, is 30 miles long, the southern 
part being very mountainous. All the islands are covered by 
thick forests, the trees of which are used by the natives to con- 
struct their large canoes. Besides the yam and the cocoa-nut 
there are also bananas, oranges, and a large number of nutritious 
roots. The population is about 3500 souls, belonging to a race 
which is quite distinct from the Caroline Islanders. They pre- 
sent all the characteristics of the Malay and Papuan races, and 
are probably the result of the mixture of a superior Malay tribe 
with an inferior aboriginal people. Old travellers speak very 
well of these natives : they are said to be in every way superior 
to the inhabitants of the Caroline Islands. Here also there are 
two languages : one for addressing superiors, the other inferiors ; 
possibly it would be more correct to say that there is only one 
language, with copious honorific forms. The king has insti- 
tuted an order, which he gives or withdraws at his pleasure : 
the insignia is the first cervical vertebra of the fish dugong. 
THE Rundschau fiir Geographie und Statistik for September 
reproduces a forgotten discourse of Alexander yon Humboldt. 
It was never published, although it was privately printed for the 
use of the members of the Society before whom it was delivered. 
It deals with the primitive peoples of America and the monu- 
ments which they have left behind them, and was delivered 
before the Philomatic Society of Berlin in January, 1806 ; that is 
a few months after his return from his travels. It had grown to 
be a bibliographical curiosity ; part of its contents was after- 
wards reproduced in his ‘‘ Ansichten der Natur” and ‘‘ Vues 
des Cordilléres,” and later investigations have materially altered 
some positions taken up; but the discourse is otherwise very 
interesting, especially after its disappearance for nearly eighty 
years. 
CONTENTS PaGE 
Our Present'Needs\. 2 5 5 29202) +) eee 433 
The ‘“‘Decomposition” of Didymium ...... 435 
Our Book Shelf :— 
Dagincourt’s ‘‘ Annuaire géologique universel et Guide 
du Géologie autour dela Terre”. ..... 436 
Letters to the Editor :— 
The Meteoric Cycle and Stonehenge. —R. Edmonds 436 
Nebula in Andromeda.—Lord Rosse, F.R.S. - 437 
Sunsets. —R. McLachlan, F.R.S. ...... - 437 
Pulsation in the Vein.—S. W. ...... 437 
Red Hail.—Prof. Theodore Schwedoff. .. . 437 
On the Terminology of the Mathematical Theory of 
Electricity.—Henry Muirhead ........ 437 
The British Association . MPM Ss 
Inaugural Address by the Right Hon. Sir Lyon 
Playfair, K.C.B., M.P., F.R.S., President . . 438 
Section A—Mathematical and Physical Science— 
Opening Address by Prof. G. Chrystal, M.A., 
F.R.S.E., President of the Section . ... . - 446 
Section B—Chemical Science—Opening Address b 
Prof. Henry E. Armstrong, Ph.D., F.R.S., 
Sec.C.S., President of the Section ...... 449 
Section C—Geology—Opening Address by Prof. 
J. W. Judd, F.R.S., Sec.G.S., President of the 
econ ost g-ca ala ob © eke pes) Ce > 455) 
Notes for the Opening of a Discussion on Electro- 
lysis, to be held in Section B, at the British 
Association in Aberdeen, September, 1885, by 
Professor Oliver Lodge ..... os eS) 
NOTES sonic en meee 3 oot So) on 7) 460 
Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1885, 
September,13-19/ 5 = =.) <5 sue nen eS 
Astronomical Notes :— 
New: Gomet <3: cig oc cen ok 464 
New Minor Planet . ioe eS 0 es Joey Caen 
Geographical Notes) 5 5.06 2. = = -)-) cue 
