236 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XX. No. 507 



As their early name implies, these swifts are all wings; ac- 

 cordingly the swiftness of their flight is such that the best shots 

 make many misses and few hits. It took several rounds of am- 

 munition for the five just added to the State collections. These 

 specimens are all males, and inasmuch as their measurments dif- 

 fer slightly from published measurements, i. e., length 6.50-7.00 

 inches; extent, 14.00; they are given below for each bird: — 



No. 2. No. 3. No. 4. No. 5. 



No. 1. 



Length, 6| 6f U 6f 6i 



Expanse, 14 Ui IH 14| 14 



From the foregoing measurements it will be seen that, while 

 the length is less, the expanse is greater than those published. 

 These swifts were first observed by Professor Bruner while on a 

 government entomological expedition in the summer of 18H1. At 

 the direction of Professor Bruner his ornithological assistant, Mr. 

 J. B. White, shot and prepared the above specimens this past 

 summer. Being in charge of the Morrill geological expedition 

 sent to this region by the University, I had occasion to fall in 

 with Professor Bruner's party, and to observe these swifts per- 

 sonally. We must have seen several hundred at Squaw Canon 

 flying in and out among the buttes which rise with nearly verti- 

 cal walls five hundred to twelve hundred feet above the Hot 

 Creek Basin. 



Having occasion to visit this region several times annually with 

 parties of students, it is to be hoped that we may obtain data for 

 further notes, and that it may be possible to secure their nests and 

 eggs, in spite of their inaccessible abodes. 



Erwin H. Barbour. 



University of Nebraska, Sept. 30. 



Star 1830 Groombridge. 



In Science for Sept. 30, I note the letter of Professor A. W. 

 Williamson, in which he propounds an hypothesis, admitted by 

 himself to be forced and unwarranted by any natural facts, to 



account for the incredible velocity attributed to the Star 1830 of 

 Groombridge's catalogue. It is not necessary to resort to such 

 untenable speculations to explain the phenomena referred to. The 

 only reason for assigning such an extreme velocity to the star in 

 question is the fact that it exhibits quite a large proper motion 

 and no appreciable parallax. Ic may be, however, merely a case 

 of masked parallax. If we suppose the star to have a large dark 

 companion (numerous instances of which are known, as Algol, 

 Procyon, etc.), we only need to assign to it a period and radius of 

 revolution closely approximating that of the earth in its orbit, and 

 a favorable position of orbital plane, to render the parallax quite 

 imperceptible by the old methods. In such case the spectroscope 

 might solve the problem by determining the orbital velocity, and 

 thence the other elements, in case the plane of the orbit lay in our 

 direction, and thus show that this star is really one of the nearest 

 in the heavens to our system. Henry H. Bates. 



Washington, D.C., Oct. 5. 



Dr. Brendel's Photographs of Auroras. 



In your issue of July 3S, 1893, you copied from The Scottish 

 Oeographical Magazine an interesting notice of the expedition 

 made by Dr. Martin Brendel and Herr O. Baschin to Bossekop on 

 the northern coast of Norway, last winter, to study the northern 

 lights and attendant phenomena. Therein mention was made of 

 the photographs of the aurora obtained by Dr. Brendel. 



By his courtesy copies of some of these pictures are before me. 

 Dr. Brendel modestly regards them as valuable chiefly for what 

 they promise for the future. He hopes to visit the Arctic regions 

 again with a much better equipment. But he has already achieved 

 a great feat in securing even these photographs, the first of the 

 kind ever taken. Tromholt's attempt in 1885 cannot be regarded 

 as a success. The faintness of the light, the quivering and shift- 

 ing of the auroral rays, and the non-actinic quality of certain 

 colors, combine to make this a very difficult task. Dr. Brendel 



Reading Matter Notices. 



Ripans Tabules : for torpid liver. 

 Ripans Tabules banish pain. 



M I M [ D A I C Cabinet Specimens, Collections, and 

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THE LABRADOR COAST. 



A JOURNAL OF TWO SUMMER CRUISES 

 TO THAT REGION. 

 WITH NOTES ON ITS EARLY DISCOV- 

 ERY, ON THE ESKIMO, ON ITS PHY- 

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 A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WORKS, ARTI- 

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 THE CIVIL AND NATURAL HISTORY 

 OF THE LABRADOR PENINSULA. 



By ALPHEUS SPRING PACKARD, M.D., Ph.D. 



Sportsmen and ornithologists will be interested in 

 the list of Labrador birds by Mr. L. W. Turner, 

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 Macoun, of Ottawa, Canada, has prepared the list of 

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Much pains has been taken to render the bibliog- 

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 cana. 



It is hoped that the volume will serve as a guide 

 to the Labrador coast for the use of travellers, 

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513 pp., 8^ $3.50. 



H. D. C. HODGES, 874 Broadway, New York. 



Exchanges. 



[Freeof charge to all, if of satisfactory character. 

 Address N. D. C. Hodges, 874 Broadway, New York.l 



For Exchange—" The Birds of Kansas,"— Goss. for 

 Gray's Anatomy, or Medical Dictionary. Must be 

 in good condition. Address, J. H. SIMPSON, Buch- 

 tel College. Akron, Ohio. 



For Pale or Exchange.— The subscriber would 

 like to receive cash offers, or an offer in exchange 

 for the earlier volumes of Poggendorfs Annalen 

 and the later volumes of Silliman"s Journal, upon 

 the following list: C'benn — Manuel de Conchylio- 

 logi6. y vols. Nearly 5,000 figures, some hand-col- 

 ored Paper. Paris, IHSQ. Edwards.— Butterflies 

 of N. A. 2 vols. Plates hand-colored. Vol. I., half 

 calf Vol. II. in parts. Leyman, Agassiz, Hagen. — 

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 Ophiuridae. No. II., Acalephae. No. HI., Astaoidae. 

 All bound in one volume. American Naturalist. 

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 Binney.— Terrestrial MoUusks of N. A. Colored 

 plates. 4 vols. Stretch.— Zygaenidae and Bomby- 

 cidae of N. A. Colored plates. Also a considerable 

 library of monographs, reports, and scientific 

 books, and a large number of duplicates of fossils, 

 minerals and shells. E. A. STRONG, Ypsilanti, 

 Mich., Sept., 1892. 



Exchange.— I have the finest shells of Anodonta 

 corpulenta, C'p'r, and Suborbiculata, Say, in the 

 world. Will exchange for fresh water, land, and 

 marine shells, in large or small quantities. Have 

 also for eschange 50 varieties of fresh water and 

 land shells from Spoon River, 111. Dr. W. S. 

 STRODE, Lewistown, 111. 



To exchange for books on birds or insects, or 

 fo- back volumes of American Naturalist : Ecker's 

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 Quyot's "The Earth and Man," Rnckhiirs, "The 

 Land of the Lamas," Parker's "Biology," Shoe- 

 maker's "Heredity, Health and Personal Beauty," 

 Dexter's "The Kingdoms of Nature," all new. M. J. 

 ELROD, 111. Wes. Univ., Bloomington, III. 



Wants, 



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 well as to their uses. Address " METALLURGIST," 

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WANTED.— By well - qualified and experienced 

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A GRADUATE of the University of Pennsylvania 

 and a practical mineralogist of twenty years' 

 experience desires to give his services and a cabi- 

 net of 25,1 00 specimens, all named, with about the 

 same number of duplicates, in minerals, crystals, 

 rocks, gems, fossils, shells, archeeological and ethno- 

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The American Geologist for 1892. 



Edited by Prof. S. Calvin, University of Iowa; Dr. E. W. Claypole, Bachtel College; John Etebman, 

 Lafayette College; Dr. Pkrsifor Prazkr. Penu. Hort. Soc; Prop P. W. Cragin, Colorado College; 

 Prof. Robt T. Hill, U. S. Irrigation Survey; Dr. Andrew C. Lawson. University of California; R. D. 

 Salisbury, University of Wisconsin; Joseph B. Tyrrell, Geol. Sur. of Canada; E. O. Ulrioh, Minnesota 

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 of Minnesota. Now in its IXtfi volurae. ©3 50 per year. Sample copies, ao cents. Address 



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