434 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. IX., No, 222 



mittee on public finance on 'Municipal public 

 works,' paper by Frank J. Goodnow on the ' Ad- 

 ministrative aspect of municipal franchises and 

 finance in Europe and America ; ' (afternoon), 

 joint session of both associations (Saunder's the- 

 atre, Cambridge), papers by Hon. Carroll D. 

 Wright on ' The study of statistics in colleges,' by 

 Prof. E. J. James on ' Our legal tender decisions,' 

 and by Dr. A. B. Hart on ' Finances of the Amer- 

 ican revolution ; ' (evening), meeting in Boston, 

 paper by Professor Folvrell on ' Economic theory,' 

 paper by Prof. Richmond Smith on ' Wage sta- 

 tistics,' report on the Connecticut valley branch 

 of the American economic association by Dr. E. W. 

 Bemis (secretary), report of the secretary on the 

 ' Condition and prospects of the American eco- 

 nomic association ; ' May 35, both associations will 

 go to Plymouth, and dine together at the Samoset 

 House. 



— A letter from Mr. Tebbutt in the April num- 

 ber of the Observatory states that the ' great south- 

 em comet,' to which we have already referred in 

 Science, was first seen at Windsor, New South 

 Wales, on the evening of the 28th of January. 

 The tail was many degrees in length, and ex- 

 tended as far as the star Achernar in the constel- 

 lation Eridanus, but no nucleus could be detected 

 ou that evening or on the evening of Jan. 30, On 

 Feb, 1, although the sky was pretty free from 

 cloud, not the slightest trace of the tail could 

 be seen, owing to the brilliancy of the moon. No 

 accurate observations were obtained, and the 

 comet was not seen again. The Eevista do 

 observatorio for February, published by Dr. 

 Cruls at Rio Janeiro, gives a sketch of the 

 comet made on Jan. 24, 1887. The nucleus 

 was then somewhere beyond the bright star 

 a Gruis, invisible in the haze of the horizon ; and 

 the tail stretched up beyond /? Hydrae, a narrow 

 ribbon fifty-two degrees in length and about half 

 a degree in width. At Cordoba no accurate ob- 

 servations could be made on account of the lack 

 of a definite nucleus. Dr. Thome has expressed 

 the opinion — though, as he says, the evidence is 

 not such as would be accepted by astronomers as 

 conclusive — that the comet is identical with the 

 great comet of 1880, to which it bears a strong 

 resemblance in its physical characteristics. The 

 great comets of 1843, 1880, and 1882, and the 

 comet discovered during the total eclipse of the 

 sun of May, 1882, all seem to be moving in similar 

 orbits, and doubtless belong to the same family, 

 having formed at some earlier stage parts of a 

 single body. The Melbourne comet is now, with- 

 out doubt, to be added to the family, and there 

 may be many other large comets in this stream, 

 which pass by the sun unobserved. Dr. Meyer's 



recent investigations show, that, if any one of 

 these brilliant comets had passed perihelion in 

 May, its position with respect to the sun would 

 have insured its escape. Dr. Meyer is not inclined 

 to admit the identity of the comets of 1843, 1880^ 

 and 1882. 



— Commander F. E. Chadwick, of the navy, 

 contributes to the May number of Scribner^s maga- 

 zine an important article, entitled ' The develop- 

 ment of the steamship,' in which he describes the 

 first experiments in steam-navigation, the early 

 lack of faith in its possibilities, the obstacles that 

 were overcome, the rapid improvements in steam- 

 ships, the growth of ocean transportation, and 

 the establishment of the great transatlantic lines. 

 An especially interesting feature of the article is 

 the description of the most famous of modern 

 steamships, 



— The publication of The journal of education 

 for New Brunswick has met with such encourage- 

 ment that it has been determined to enlarge it to 

 a twenty-four page paper, to be published month- 

 ly, in the interest of teachers and students of the 

 maritime provinces of Canada, The first number 

 of this periodical will be published about the first 

 of June next, 



— Within three months of the appearance of 

 the first part of the new series of his ' Butterflies 

 of North America ' (see Science, ix. 122), Mr. W. H. 

 Edwards issues another, which is even more inter- 

 esting than that, for two of the three quarto plates 

 furnish abundant details of the early stages of but- 

 terflies, heretofore unknown, and including many 

 not usually given by naturalists. The first of 

 these is Colias harfordi of southern California, 

 which the author has been able to raise in the 

 east from eggs sent by Mr. Wright of San Bernar- 

 dino, — a collector Tvho has done much to develop 

 our knowledge of the butterflies of that region. 

 The other is Neonympha gemma, a southern in- 

 sect, not uncommon in West Virginia. This last 

 plate contains also N. henshawi of New Mexico, 

 of which the egg also is given ; and the whole 

 plate, in delicacy of drawing and faithfulness of 

 coloring, is matchless, and reflects the greatest 

 credit upon all concerned. Argynnis comes in 

 again for its share, one species, A. coronis, being 

 figured, and another, A. calippe, having a page of 

 its history recorded from the notes of Mr. Wright, 

 from which it appears, that, in contrast to our 

 eastern species, it flies in spring, and in spring 

 only. It is much to be hoped that the Boston 

 publishers (Houghton, Mifiiin, & Co.) will be able 

 to assure the author in a substantial manner of 

 the growing appreciation of the public for such 

 excellent work and costly outlay. 



