320 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. III. No. 61. 



Another fact of interest and significance 

 is that there are very few types of Gadids 

 in the Antarctic or cold temperate seas. 

 Their place is taken by representatives of a 

 family of acanthopterygian fishes appa- 

 rently related to the Chtenichthyids and 

 Harpagiferids already mentioned ; the Not- 

 otheniids, as they are called, are of many 

 closely related species, and in their mode of 

 occurrence and habits appear to be anala- 

 gous to the codfishes of the north. Their 

 distribution, however, does not throw the 

 least light on the question of an Antarctic 

 continent. 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS. 

 ASTRONOMY. 



The Astronomisches Jalirbuch for 1898 has just 

 been issued. It is volume No. 123 of the series, 

 and its preparation has been supervised by Dr. 

 P. Lehman, who was placed in temporary 

 charge of the Berlin computing bureau after the 

 death of Prof. Tietjen. 



The Astronomical Journal of February 17th 

 contains a determination of the elements of the 

 orbit of the binary star F. 99 Hercuhs, by Dr. 

 T. J. J. See. The orbit obtained is very re- 

 markable because of the fact that the inclina- 

 tion comes out exactly zero. It follows that we 

 see the orbit just as it is, instead of its being 

 projected on the sky with more or less fore- 

 shortening. Some uncertainty attaches to this 

 interesting orbit, however, because a former 

 orbit by Mr. Gore and one by Dr. See himself 

 agree in making the inclination more than 

 thirty degrees. H. J. 



Nature states that at the last meeting of the 

 Royal Astronomical Society, the Astronomer 

 Royal gave some particulars relating to the 

 progress at Greenwich of the international pho- 

 tographic star catalogue. A special staff for 

 dealing with this work has been organized under 

 Mr. Hollis, and already 130 of the plates taken 

 for the catalogue have been measured. It is 

 estimated that 180 plates can be measured, and 

 160 of them reduced in the course of a year, 

 so that at this rate the section allotted to Green- 

 wich, comprising about 150,000 stars, will be 



completed in five or six years. Assuming that 

 the other sixteen cooperating observatories are 

 proceeding equally well, the world will soon be 

 in possession of a colossal catalogue, compris- 

 ing between two and three million stars. 



EXTINCTION OF THE BUFFALO. 



Seceetaey Langley in his annual report, 

 just issued, makes the following appeal for the 

 preservation of the Buffalo in the National 

 Park: 



When the Yellowstone Park was organized 

 it was believed that a permanent place of refuge 

 • for the buffalo had been secured, and that out 

 of the natural increase of the hundreds then re- 

 maining representative herds would be pre- 

 served for future generations. It seems now 

 evident that the condition in the Yellowstone 

 region are such that the extermination of the 

 Government herd of buffalo may be anticipated, 

 and that it may be accomplished within a very 

 short space of time. The superintendent of 

 the Park appears not to have adequate means 

 for their protection, and there are on the border 

 plenty of persons whose respect for law is insuf- 

 ficient to keep them from poaching when the 

 prize is a buffalo head or skin which will read- 

 ily sell for several hundreds of dollars. The 

 temptation to these men seems to be irresistible, 

 and as the herd diminishes, the value of the 

 animals increases and the difiiculty of protec- 

 tion becomes constantly greater. 



Since, then, the extermination of the Yellow- 

 stone herd seems rapidly approaching, some- 

 thing should at once be done, that this may not 

 mean the extinction of the Government control 

 of the species, with the death of the few speci- 

 mens now in captivity. Only one course sug- 

 gests itself as completely efficient — ^transference 

 of the great part of the now few remaining ani- 

 mals to a region where they can be effectively 

 protected and increase normally under natural 

 conditions, in which case the bison need not 

 vanish from tlie face of the earth. Two years 

 ago there were supposed to be 200 in the Yel- 

 lowstone Park. The present estimate is one- 

 quarter of that number. The superintendent 

 reports them as being ' constantly pursued,' and 

 in another year there may be none left. If 

 these animals, or a majority of them, can dur- 



