502 



NATURE 



\_March 25, 1880 



May 13, "The Optical Properties of Crystals, and some of their 

 Practical Applications," by Prof. W. G. Adams, F.R.S. The 

 course of Cantor Lectures, which will be delivered during the 

 same period, will be the third for the present session. It will 

 consist of six lectures by Mr. R. W. Edis, F.S.A., on "Art 

 Decoration and Furniture," to be given on the following dates :— 

 April 5, 12, 19, 26 ; May 3, 10. 



In a report which he has addressed to the Department of 

 Finance and Commerce at Calcutta, Mr. E. Colborne Baber, 

 lately H.M.'s Consular representative at Chungking, furnishes 

 some very interesting information respecting the western frontier 

 of China, to one part of which, however, we can only allude. 

 During his travels in the mountainous region west of Kiating-fu, 

 in Szechuen, Mr. Baber discovered two kinds of tea of a very 

 unexpected nature. In the monasteries on Mount Omi (or 

 Ngomi) he was given an infusion of tea which is naturally sweet, 

 tasting like coarse congou with a plentiful addition of brown 

 sugar. It is only grown by the monks on the slopes of the 

 mountain, and two days' further west its exigence was unknown. 

 The other variety, odd as it may appear, has a natural flavour of 

 milk, or perhaps more exactly of butter. What is most interest- 

 ing is the fact that it is wild tea, grow ing in its native elevated 

 habitat without cultivation, and an unimpeachable instance of a 

 wild tea-plant has, Mr. Baber affirm?, never yet been adduced in 

 China. This wild tea is found in the uninhabited wilderness 

 west of Kialing and south of Yachow, at heights of 6,000 feet 

 and upwards, and was described to Mr. Baber as a leafy shrub 

 15 feet high, with a stem some 4 inches thick. Every part of 

 the plant, except the root, is used for making the infu ion ; the 

 wood is chopped up and put into a kettle of water with the dried 

 leaves and twigs, and being boiled yields a strongly coloured but 

 weak tea, possessing a buttery flavour, which gives it some 

 resemblance to the Thibetan preparation. Mr. Baber only found 

 it in the Hwang-mu-chang plateau, a terrace perched among the 

 stupendous gorges of the Tung river. 



The letter on the " Tay Bridge Storm," which appeared in 

 Nature, vol. xxi. p. 413, was written by the Hon. Ralph 

 Abercromby, and not by Sir Ralph Abercromby, Bart., as 

 erroneously stated. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Grivet Monkey {Cercopithccus grisee-viridis) 

 from North-East Africa, presented by Mr. W. C. Gordon ; a 

 Sykes's Monkey (Cercopithecus albogularis) from East Africa, 

 presented by Mr. E. S. Savage; a Malbrouck Monkey {Cerco- 

 pithccus cynosurus) from West Africa, presented by Mrs. Ladell; 

 twoSpanish Ichneumons (HerpeslcswidJringtoni) from Andalu ia, 

 presented by Mr. J. C. Forster ; a Caffer Wild Cat {Kit's caffra) 

 from South Africa, presented by the Rev. G. H. R. Fisk, 

 C.M.Z.S. ; three Impeyan Pheasants {Lophophortis impcy anus) 

 from the Himalayas, a Square-spotted Snake {Oxyrrhopus 

 doliatus) from South America, deposited ; four Concave ca qued 

 Hombills (Buccros inarms) from India, a Brazilian Canada 

 (Cariama cristata) from Brazil, two White-backed Trumpeters 

 {Psophia Icucoptera) from the Amazon', a Redshank {To/anus 

 caladris), British, purchased; two Common Badgers {Melts 

 tajcus), born in the Gardens. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN 



Suspected VARIABLE Stars. — Mr. Tebbutt, of Windsor, 

 N.S.W., has drawn attention to the variability of the star 

 B.A.C. 2472, which he appears to infer from its occurrence as a 

 sixth magnitude in the occultation list of the Nautical Almanac, 

 and his ineffectual attempt to observe its occultation on April 

 22, 1874, added to the circumstance of its present brightness not 

 exceeding the eighth magnitude. But it seems probable that the 

 supposed variability arises from an oversight of Taylor's in hi-^ 

 observations either in 1834 or 1S35. In vol. iii. of the Madras 



Observations it is certainly rated 6m., and Baily has followed 

 Taylor in the British Association Catalogue, whence the Nautical 

 Almanac estimate of magnitude was no doubt taken. I.alande, 

 who observed the star twice, rated it 8 and Si, D'Agelet, Piazzi, 

 Bessel, and Argelander in the Durckmusterung, 8'0 ; so that 

 observers, with the exception of Taylor, agree, and as he did 

 not observe the star closely preceding on the parallel 65 

 Geminorum in 1S34 or 1835, we may suspect that the magnitude 

 of this star was inadvertently attributed to B.A.C. 2472, though 

 his position undoubtedly refers to the latter star. Mr. Tebbutt 

 also mentions that he has reason to think the neighbouring star, 

 Lalande 14571, is variable ; in this case there are not published 

 data to guide us: it is SJ in the " Ilistoire Celeste," 8 and 89 in 

 Bessel, and S'l in the Durchmiislei ting. 



The Southern Comet. — Mr. Gill, in a letter dated — Royal 



Observatory, Cape of Good Hope, February 24, incloses an 



approximate orbit of the great southern comet, calculated by 



Mr. Finlay, the first assistant. The elements are as follows : — 



Perihelion passage, January 27'5S G.M.T. 



Longitude of perihelion 280 16 



,, ascending node 123 24-5 



Inclination 75 12 



Logarithmofperiheliondistar.ee 7"9 3'5 



Motion — direct. 



It will be remarked that this orbit is entirely different to that 

 we published last week, which was deduced from the only 

 positions available for the purpose — the very rough ones 

 forwarded by Mr. Gill on February 17. From the same 

 approximate data an orbit was al o calculated at Lord Lindsay's 

 ob ervatory, with re-ults almost identical with those in Nature, 

 but which were received too late for insertion la-t week. It is 

 to be presumed that Mr. Finlay will have availed himself of the 

 accurate places which were obtained at the Cape on February 

 II, 13, and 15, but s . far as we know have not yet been transmitted 

 to Europe; hence it maybe anticipated that his elements will 

 prove to be the true ones at d we shall have, in the case of this 

 comet, a similar 1 ne to that of the comet of 1533, for which two 

 orbits by Douwes md Olbers, bearing no resemblance, a. pear in 

 our cal 1 igues, having been deduced from rough observations 

 extending over a limited period. We have already had occasion 

 to point out in this column that the comet of 1686 presents a 

 similar difficulty if only the European observations are employed, 

 but the correct orbit is assigned when we introduce in the com- 

 mutations the positions observed at Amboyna and in Siam. 



Calculating from Mr. Finlay's elements we have the following 

 places of the comet for Sh. Greenwich M.T. 



R.A. N.P.D. distance from 



h. m. „ , Sun. 



March 27 ... 5 7'9 ••• 9° 20 ... 0-2347 ... 02237 



28 ... S 101 ... 96 3 



29 ... S 12-2 ... 95 47 ... 0-2492 ... 0-2334 



30 ... 5 14-3 - 95 3« 



31 ... 5 16-4 ... 95 16 ... 0-2633 ... 0*2427 

 April 1 ... 5 iS-4 ... 95 1 



2 ... 5 20-4 ... 94 47 ... o 2769 ... 0-2516 

 It is right to state, that from the greatly diminished intensity of 

 light which the c >uiet is likely to present at this time, Mr. Finlay 

 doubted if it would be pos ible to observe it in Europe, and Mr. 

 Gill adds that in stro ig moonlight on February 23 he failed to 

 disc vcr the least trace of it, and was not sanguine with his 

 optical means that he would see it again. Nevertheless as 

 instruments of much s;rcat. r capability can be brought to bear 

 upon a search for the comet in these latitudes, the above places 

 may be found of service. 



We are indebted to correspondents in Australia, Tasmania, 

 and South An, erica for various notices of this line comet, chiefly 

 enacted from the public journals. Hie Launceston Examiner oi 

 February 3 states that attention had been called the previous 

 evening to what appeared to be the tail of a very Urge comet, 

 which "extended from thirty to foity degrees above the horizon, 

 and was letting almost in a line with the sun, which prevented 

 the nucleus and brighter part of the tail being seen earlier ; " it 

 is added "if it were now winter instead of summer it would 

 present a glorious spectacle about dark." At Melbourne the 

 tail was seen on February 2 soon after sunset, but the nucleus 

 had not been vi.ible at the Observatory up to February 5 ; no 

 doubt Mr. Ellery will give a go_xl account of it later, and should 

 nolhin" prevent the great reflector from being brought to bear 



