304 
The values of the mass of Neptune from his measmes at 
different oppositions, and from’ those of Lassell and Marth and 
of Holden differ sensibly. The mean result from Hall’s own 
observations is 
t ; he remarks that his distances are gene- 
2 
rally smaller than those of other observers, and believes that, in 
order to eliminate the effect of such personal equation from the 
determination of the mass of a planet, the only way will be to | 
increase the number of observers and to take a mean of their 
results. Hall’s value approaches nearly to that found by Prof. 
Newcomb, 
19380 ° 
On favourable nights examinations of the region about Nep- 
tune were made, but no other satellite was detected. 
VARIABLE Stars (1).—The following Greenwich times of 
geocentric minima of Algo] have been deduced from elements 
corrected by the later observations of Schmidt :— 
h. m. h. m. 
November 8 « 5 7 | December 7 7 16 
II II 56 18 xeoe S83 
14 8 45 21 15 22 
17 5 34 24 Laut 
28 16 49 27 9 0 
December I 13 38 30 5 49 
4 Io 2 
(2)R Leonis will now be approaching a maximum ; there would 
appear to be indications of a sensible perturbation in the period 
during the last twenty years or more. (3) V Piscium, one of 
Argelander’s supposed variables, is now favourably placed for 
observation ; his estimates vary from 6°7 m. to 9m. ; the posi- 
tion of this star for 18850 is in R.A. rh. 48m. 18s., Decl. + 
8° 12'9. (4) Argelander’s formula of sines makes a maximum 
of Mira Cet2 due on December 19, but it may probably occur 
earlier. 
ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 
WEER, 1885, OCTOBER 11-17 
(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 October 11 
Sun rises, 6h. 20m. ; souths, 11h. 46m. 418s. ; sets, 17h. 14m. ; 
decl. on meridian, 7° 11' S.: Sidereal Time at Sunset, 
18h, 36m. 
Moon (three days after New) rises, 9h. 4om. ; souths, 14h. 28m. ; 
sets, 19h. 13m. ; decl. on meridian, 15° 18’ S. 
Planet Rises Souths Sets Decl. on meridian 
. m, h. m. h. m. Bo 2, 
Mercury... 5 55 Hie) 17 15 4355 
Venus - £0 17, I4 23 18 2 21 2858. 
Mars Odd =. 7 40 15 27 17 44 N. 
Jupiter SibAly aa OUTS 16 38 3 38 N. 
Batu. .... 21 8*>... 5 a6 13 22 22 18N. 
* Indicates that the rising is that of the preceding day. 
Phenomena of Fupiter’s Satellites 
Oct. h. m. Oct. h. m. 
re 4 37 IV. ecl. disap.| 14 4 50 I. tr. egr. 
13 4 51 I. ecl. disap. | 16 A 7 II. testes 
The Phenomena of Jupiter's Satellites are such as are visible at Greenwich. 
Oct. h. 
[ie ig Venus in conjunction with and 6° 23 south 
of the Moon. 
16 fe) Mercury in superior conjunction with the 
Sun. 
17 2 Venus at greatest distance from the Sun, 
GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES 
ACCORDING to the report by Lieut. Wissmann on his last 
exploration in the Congo region, the Lower Kassai constitutes a 
magnificent fluvial artery, frequently of enormous breadth, and 
leads without obstacle into the heart of the new Congo State. 
Between the station of Kwamouth and the confluent of the 
Lulua and above the station of Luluaburg the Kassai, with a 
breadth of about 600 kilometres, is everywhere open for naviga- 
tion. It runs through a country of wonderful fertility, presenting 
NATURE 
[Oct. 8, 1885 
alternately plains and virgin forests, and inhabited by a dense 
population. With abeut one exception the travellers have been 
received everywhere with eagerness by peaceable tribes, all dis- 
posed to trade. During the forty-two days employed in the 
voyage from Luluaburg to Kwamouth the health of the expedi- 
tion was excellent. There was no loss of life, except that two 
natives were drowned in the rapids of the Lulua. Tke five 
white men and the 200 Negroes of the Expedition arrived all in 
good health at Léopoldville on July 16. 
THE current number of Pefermann’s Mittheilungen contains 
the conclusion of M. Thoroddsen’s paper on a lava desert in the 
interior of Iceland. It supplies certain geographical and scien: 
tific observations of the writers, such as the superficial dimen- 
sions, height, &c., hydrography, climate, geology, volcanoes, 
glaciers, botany, and zoology of the interior of Iceland. Herr 
Has-enstein describes, with a large map, Bohndorff’s journeys 
in Central Africa between 1874 and 1883. The usual geo- 
graphical information for the month, and account of the litera_ure 
concludes the number. 
THE most interesting contribution, however, to /e/ermann 
this month is a short prefatory sketch on the history of the great 
geographical house of Perthes of Gotha, September 11 being the 
centenary of its foundation. In 1801 the first geographical 
work was published by Perthes, and in 1809 he published a 
large atlas by Prof. Heusinger. Under the second proprietor, 
Wilhelm Perthes, who was head of the establishment between 
1816 and 1853, the publications of the house assumed their geo- 
graphical and cartographical character. In 1817 appeared the 
first edition of Stieler’s Atlas, consisting of fifty maps, and 
between 1823 and 1831 a supplement of twenty-nve more was 
added. This Atlas has now for nearly seventy years been the 
principal work published by the house of Perthes. It has been 
kept up to date, and the number of the maps, which in 1862 
was 84, grew in 1871 to 90, and in 1879 to 95. The total 
number of maps, old andnew, amountsto 197. Besides Stieler, 
Berghans (1797-1884), Spruner and Sydow supported Perthes. 
In 1832 Berghans’s great atlas of the extra-European countries 
appeared, It was a financial failure, but it carried the name of 
the house abroad, and laid the foundation of its world-wide 
fame. In 1838 the publication of the same author's Physical 
Atlas in 93 maps was completed. Between 1837 and 1852 
Spruner’s Historical-geographical Atlas appeared, and was fol- 
lowed by various editions. Wilhelm Perthes died in 1853, and 
Bernhardt Perthes reigned in his stead for only four years, 
leaving a posthumous son, the present Justus Perthes. Peter- 
mann, who died in 1878, commenced his celebrated Aittheii- 
ungen in 1855. The publications of the house since that date 
are well-known to all geographers; Behm’s ‘‘ Geographical 
Year-Book,” and Behm and Wagner's ‘‘ Population of the 
Globe,” are works of world-wide celebrity. 
On Fiiday last, after an absence of nearly three years, the 
Danish exploration expedition to the east coast of Greenland, 
under Lieutenants Holm and Garde, returned to Copenhagen in 
the ship Cons/ance from Godihaab. We have from time to time 
given particulars of the progress of this exptdition, the chief 
object of which was to penetrate as far north along the east 
coast as possible, and to attempt to reach certain native settle- 
ments known to exist between latitudes 65° and 66° N. The 
expedition has fulfilled all expectations, besides the collection of 
a valuable scientific material, Lieut. Holm having wintered in 
lat. 65°-66°, the highest point reached being lat. 66°08° N., the 
northernmost ever reached by Europeans. Lieut. Holm is 
stated to have made some very valuable geographical and ethno- 
graphical discoveries, having spent last winter among East 
Greenlanders never before visited by Europeans. He hasnamed 
the stretch of coast explored, King Christian [X.’s Land. 
A WRITER who has travelled widely through Tonquin and 
Southern China describes, in a recent number of the Republique 
Francaise, the route from Lao-Kai, on the Red River, to Meng- 
tsze in Yunnan. Premising that the river from the mouth to 
Lao-Kai, on the Tonquin border, is tolerably well known, he 
refers to the various routes for getting into South-Western 
China, but is far from enthusiastic about any of them, although 
he thinks that France in Tonquin has as much chance of getting 
the China trade as any of her rivals in the south. The wniter 
then describes the route along the river from Lao-Kai to Manhao, 
the head of the Red River navigation. From this point the 
road to the plateau of Yunnan is said to be mountainous and 
