January 3, 1896.] 



SGIENGE. 



21 



lish remains from the Yorkshire Coal-measures, 

 described and figured in his own writings. 



ASTRONOMICAL. 



In the Astronomical Journal, issued December 

 5th, Dr. Chandler publishes what we may call 

 an ephemeris of the motion of the earth's pole, 

 calculated for the years 1893 to 1896. This 

 ephemeris is arranged in a form admirably 

 adapted for the use of practical astronomers. 

 The simple rectangular coordinates of the in- 

 stantaneous pole are given for each date, so that 

 it is possible to calculate the instantaneous lati- 

 tude by means of the very simple formula : 



i> — <p^=ix sin ^ — y cos /- 

 where A is the longitude. 



The numbers in Dr. Chandler's ephemeris are 

 based upon his observational theory of the polar 

 motion. Similar rectangular coordinates of the 

 instantaneous pole, as obtained from actual 

 modern observations, have been computed by 

 Dr. Albrecht, of Potsdam, for the period from 

 1890.0 to 1895.3. Dr. Albrecht's results were 

 laid before the International Geodetic Commis- 

 sion, which met at Berlin in September. They 

 have not as yet been made generally accessible, 

 though a few copies of his paper were prepared 

 by a lithographic process for distribution among 

 the persons specially interested. 



Peoj\ Max Wolf recently published in the 

 Astronomische Nachrichten an interesting sum- 

 mary of his photographic minor planet work at 

 Heidelberg during the years 1892 to 1895. The 

 observations were made with a six-inch Voigt- 

 laender lens. The total number of plates is 

 179, with exposures in some cases exceeding 

 three hours. The number of planets found on 

 the plates was as follows : 



1892, 38 known planets, 18 new jjlanets. 



1893, 27 known planets, 9 new planets. 



1894, 15 known planets, 6 new planets. 



1895, 19 known planets, 3 new planets. 



So it would aln^ost seem that we are ap- 

 proaching the limit of discovery, for planets 

 exceeding the 12th magnitude in brightness. 



H. J. 



general. 

 We need in America a translation of the re- 

 cently published work of M. Ch. Letourneau 



on La Chuerre dans les diverges races humaines. 

 War is said to have had its origin as a variety 

 of hunting when food, other than human flesh, 

 was unattainable, and when it was compara- 

 tively justifiable. M. Letourneau takes for his 

 motto, as a definition of war: Le vol pour hut ; 

 le mentre pour moyen — and he might have added, 

 la folic pour cause. 



It is not always that a man during his life- 

 time learns in how high esteem he is held by 

 those most competent to judge. Dr.Dawson may, 

 therefore, not altogether regret the following 

 editorial article in the Journal of Geology: "For 

 the second time in the brief history of the 

 Journal of Geology, we are called upon to record 

 the loss of a member of its editorial staff. And 

 now, as before, it is one in the prime of life, in 

 the midst of a brilliant career, and in the enjoy- 

 ment of rare prospects. Dr. George M. Dawson. 

 Less than a year ago he was elevated to the 

 directorship of the Geological Survey of Can- 

 ada, a position which he had amply earned by 

 a score or more years of markedly successful 

 work on the Geology of the Dominion. His 

 'Geology and Resources of the 49th Parallel,' 

 prepared when he was yet a very young man, 

 gave him a recognized place in the scientific 

 world. It has been followed by a long list of 

 papers of unusual merit. It is to Di'. Dawson 

 especially that we are indebted for the geology 

 of the northern Cordilleras and the great north- 

 western plains beyond the national boundary. 

 His studies lay along many lines, and the wide 

 range of his abilities peculiarly fitted him for 

 the multitude of qviestions that were presented 

 in the exploration of his vast and varied field. 

 We hope to present- a more adequate notice of 

 his work in a succeeding number. ' ' 



Prof. Lloyd Morgan, the English biologist, 

 will lecture at Columbia on four Fridays in Jan- 

 uary, beginning January 10th. His subjects will 

 be: 1. 'Illustrations of Instinct.' 2. 'Some 

 Habits and Instincts of Young Birds. ' 3. ' The 

 Emotions in their Relation to Habit and In- 

 stinct.' 4. ' Some Instinctive Activities of the 

 Pairing Season.' The lectures include a dis- 

 cussion of his own experiments and opinions 

 upon the Darwin-Spencer theory of ' instincts 

 as inherited habit.' His lectures before the 



