Great astronomical marvels are being displayed by the gigantic 

 telescope at Lick, California, where the King Nebula, in the 

 constellation " Lyra," has been under observation. It plainly 

 reveals a corner of the universe, where the great work of creation 

 is now actually in progress. In the cosmic workshop of Lyra are 

 scattered raw materials and finished solar bodies, rows of suns 

 ablaze with pristine light, and masses of unformed vapour, in whose 

 bosom the carbon atoms may be floating, which in time may 

 assume forms of beauty and life." 



In France M. Perrotin has been making most interesting obser 

 vations of Mars, in which at one time Libya, a continent greater 

 than France, disappeared beneath a deep blue sea, but which, after 

 a few weeks, partially re-appeared. The lake Ulaeris has also 

 vanished, and a new chann 1 is visible, running from the Equator 

 to the North Pole, and may be traced right up to its snow-cap. 



Messrs. Hutchings and Ilolden believe that they have found 

 platinum among the metals in the sun ; they also confirm the 

 presence of bismuth, cadmium, and silver. The spectroscope, how- 

 ever, by means of which these metals were discovered, does not 

 seem to be equally satisfactory in demonstrating with certainty the 

 existence or non-existence in the sun of the non-metallic elements 



Interesting work has been done by Sir Howard Grubb in connec- 

 tion with a clock-driving apparatus, which enables a telescope used 

 for astronomical photography to be kept aucomatically pointed to 

 the same star, and to follow its apparent motion across the sky. 

 If any error exceeding the fortieth of a second is introduced, a 

 correcting apparatus is brought into action, which brings back the 

 telescope into its required position. He has also introduced a 

 delicate contrivance to allow for refraction, so that the image of a 

 star can be kept perfectly steady and round on the photographic 

 plate for an hour together. 



An ingenious machine, designed by Mr. Isaac Roberts, called 

 the Pantograver, has been made to transfer star pictures on a glass 

 negative direct to a copper plate, from which they can be printed 

 without being retouched by hand. From the copper-plate any 

 number of accurate copies can be re-produced for observations and 

 measurements. 



Much light is being thrown on the chemistry of geology by the 

 researches of Mr. W. Spring, who has shown that under great 

 pressure copper and zinc filings may be completely amalgamated 

 and so become brass ; also lead and tin to form pewter. Sulphides 

 of alkalis and alkaline earths may be similarly formed, whereas 

 it was previously assumed that heat was necessary. He had also 

 operated with moistened substances, under a pressure of 6000 

 atmospheres — that is, about the sa^me pressure to which the crust 



