SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



123 



sections in which the epidermis is somewhat de- 

 tached from the epithelium during manipulation 

 of the sections. From the nerve numberless fibres 

 are seen to enter the epithelium lining, but beyond 

 that I have been unable to trace them. By using a 

 more suitable stain the nerve-fibres may possibly be 

 traced through the epithelium, or the epidermis 

 itself may be endowed with the same con- 

 ducting power as the nerve-fibres. From this 

 rich supply of nerve-matter it is pretty clear 

 that the large hairs must be the seat of some 



Fig. 5. Anterior Thoracic Spir.^cle of Musca romiioria. 



sensation ; but what sense they represent is very 

 difficult to prove from experiment, because another 

 quite different sense-organ is intermingled with 

 them. It is highly probable that they are tactile, 

 though this term is very vague, for it implies the 

 suggestion of either cold or heat, humidity or 

 touch, etc. ; therefore further proof is wanting. 

 The most highly developed tactile hairs are those 



Fig. 6. Posterior Thoracic Spiracle op Musca eomitoria 



•on the lobes of the proboscis, where they end in a 

 large bulb in immediate connection with the nerve. 

 By their position they are, doubtless, organs of 

 touch. In a well-distended proboscis cut ver- 

 tically they are very distinct. Another feature 

 well developed in the third joint of the antennae 

 of the blow-fly and many of the domestic species is 

 £L somewhat spiral organ covei'ed on the exterior 

 with fine unpigmented hairs. These hairs penetrate 

 the walls of the organ, which is also lined on the 

 interior surface with epithelium, and receive a rich 

 supply of nerve-fibres. It is computed that there 

 are about eighty of these organs in one antenna of 

 the blow-fly, and from their position and the well- 

 known highly-developed sense of smell possessed 

 by this insect there can scarcely be a question that 

 they are other than olfactory. The extreme paucity 

 of these organs in other species of different habits 

 strengthens my conviction. 



(To be continued.) 



CONDUCTED BY F. C. DENNETT. 













Position at Noon. 





1901 



Rises. 



Sets. 



R.A. 



Dec. 





Sept. 



h.m. 



h.m. 



h.m.s. 



1 II 



Sun . 



2 





5.15 a.m. 



. . 6.45 p.m. . 



10.43.80 . 



8. 5.19 N. 





12 





5.30 a.m. 



. . 6.22 p.m. . 



11.19.35 . 



4.21. 8 N. 





22 





5.46 a.m. 



. . 5.59 p.m. . 



11.55.29 . 



0.29.22 N 









Rises. 



Souths. 



Sets. 



Age at Noon. 





Sept 





h.m. 



h.m. 



h.m. 



d. h.m. 



Moon . 



. 2 





8.9 p.m 



.. 2.40 a.m. . 



9.57 a.m 



.. 19 3.33 





12 





5.6 a.m. 



..11.32 a.m. . 



5.46 p.m 



.. 29 3.33 





22 





2.45 p.m 



.. 7.16 p.m. . 



. 11.52 p.m 



. . . 9 14.42 













Position at Noon. 









South 



«. Semi- 



R.A. 



Dec. 







Sept. h.m. 



diametei 



. h.m.s. 



' // 



Mercui 



y ■• 



2 



. 0.21-6 



p.m. .. 2-4" . 



.11. 5.21 . 



. 7.27.28 N. 







12 



.. 0.45'3 



p.m. .. 2-5" . 



.12. 8.26 . 



. 0.19.32 S. 







22 



.. 1. 1-9 



p.m. .. 2-6" . 



.13. 4.27 . 



. 7.35.57 S. 



Venus 





2 



., 2. 1-3 



p.m. .. 6-3" . 



.12.45. 1 . 



. 4.19. 3 S. 







12 



.. 2. 5-9 



p.m. .. 6-7" . 



.13.28.59 . 



. 9.21.37 S. 







22 



.. 2.11-3 



p.m. .. 7-0" . 



.14.13.54 . 



14. 5. 9 S. 



Mars 





12 



.. 2.57-7 



p.m. .. 2-4" . 



.14.il. 3 . 



.14.33.15 S. 



Jupiter 





12 



.. 6.50-9 



p.m. ..lS-8" . 



18.15.10 . 



.23.31.25 S. 



Saturn 





12 



.. 7.18-1 



p.m. .. 8-0" . 



.18.42.30 . 



22.44.36 S. 



Uranus 





12 



.. 5.22-5 



p.m. .. 1-8" . 



.16.46.34 



22.24.39 S. 



Neptune . . 



12 



.. 6.43-5 



a.m. .. 1-2" . 



. 6. 5.49 . 



22.16.44 N. 









Moon's Phases 













h. 



m. 





h.m. 



Zrd Qr. 



.. Sept 



. 5 .. 1. 



27 p.m. New . 



. Sept. 12 



.. 9.18 p.m. 



1st Qr. 





„ 



21 .. 1.33 a.m. Full . 



. „ 28 



.. 5.36 a.m. 



In perigee on September 1st, at 7 p.m. ; in 

 apogee on 17th, at 5 p.m. ; and in perigee again 

 on 29th, at 6 p.m. The September full moon is 

 usually known as the harvest moon. 



Meteors. 



Aug. 21 to Sept. 21 6 Perseids 

 „ 25 „ 22 y Pegasids 



Sept. 7 to 24 e Taui-ids 



„ 21 to 22 a Aurigids 



,, 27 a Ttiiu-ids 



h.m. '^ 



Radiant B.A. 4 8 Dec. 37 N. 



„ „ 0.20 „ ION. 



„ 4.16 „ 22 N. 



„ „ 4.56 „ 41 N. 



„ 5. „ 15 N. 



Conjunctions op Planets with the Moon. 



Sept. 10 



,. 14 



„ 16 



,. 1' 



„ 21 



„ 22 



„ 26 



.Tunc* 



4 p.m. 



. Planet 



1.15 S. 



Mercui-y*'t 



7 a.m. 





3.49 N. 



Venusf 



3 a.m. 





1.15 N. 



Marst 



4 am. 





0.11 S. 



Jupiter* . . 



3 p.m. 





4. 4S. 



Saturnt . . 



2 a.m. 





3.57 S. 



Pallas* t .. 



1 p.m. 





1. N. 



Daylight. 



t Below English horizon. 



OCCULTATION AND NEAR APPROACHES. 











Angle 



Angle 







Magni- 



Dis- 



from 



Re- from 



Sept. 



Star. 



tude. 



appears. 



Vertex. 



appears. Vertex. 









h.m. 



° 



h.m. " 



5 .. 



e Tauri 



3-7 . 



. 4. 2 a.m. 



.. 146 . 



. 4.58 a.m. .. 230 



23 .. 



j3 Capricorn i 3-4 



. 9.26 p.m. 



.. 326 



. near approach. 



28 .. 



5 Piscium 



4-6 . 



. 6.40 p.m. 



.. 18 . 



. near approach. 



The Sun still continues in a very quiescent 

 condition, although three tiny spotlets were visible 

 on August 2nd in high southern latitudes. Autumn 



