Notes and Memoranda. 479 



actions might have been observed in certain species, many pedicel- 

 larias were so situated as not to be capable of performing these 

 functions, and that their real purpose was still undecided. 



H. J. Slack, Esq., Sec. R.M.S., read a paper on a microscopic 

 ferment found in red French wine, and probably being the same as 

 M. Pasteur's mycoderma vini, though larger than that gentleman's 

 measurements as given in " Comptes Rendus." The mycaderm he 

 examined consisted of minute cells, which, when the wine was 

 poured out, rose to the surface like a fine powder. It had not 

 turned the wine sour. He succeeded in growing the penicillium 

 glaucum from it in abundance, by simply exposing the wine to the 

 air in a tumbler. Some of the cells placed in moist sugar and 

 water occasioned a butyric fermentation, which seemed to be caused 

 by their decay. After a few weeks the butyric acid and other 

 compounds of nauseous odour disappeared, and the remaining cells 

 then increased in number, and excited a vinegar fermentation. A 

 mixture of the wine containing the cells with treacle and water, 

 kept in a warm place, produced penicillium glaucum, and the fluid 

 became only slightly acid. 



NOTES AND MEMORANDA. 



Comet III., 1867. — M. Hoek, of Utrecht, writes to the " Astronomische 

 Naehrichten" as follows : — " In my researches on cometary systems, I instanced 

 Comets III. and V., of 1859, as probably belonging to the same system. I did 

 not hesitate to attribute to them this character, on account of the extreme resem- 

 blance of their elements, and the short interval between their appearances. 

 Now, all of a sudden comes a new comet to supply un unexpected confirmation of 

 these views ; for the circles which represent the planes of these three orbits cross 

 each other at the same point in the heavens. The three planes cut each other in 

 the same line of intersection. Thus this line is necessarily parallel to the direc- 

 tion of the initial movement common to the three bodies at the moment they 

 entered into the sun's sphere of attraction." M. Hoek then gives the elements 

 of their orbits, and states his belief that they had one common origin. Their 

 aphelion points are situated at a considerable distance from the common 

 point of intersection, or rather from the radiating point of their orbits. Their 

 aphelion points are all on the same side of the line of radiation. Captain Jup- 

 man, who observed this comet at Portsmouth, in October, found it equal to a star 

 of 8.0 or 8.1 mag., with faint coma and no tail. 



New Planet (flisY — This body was discovered by Dr. Luther, at Bilk- 



Dusseldorf, on the 23rd Nov., 1867. It appears of 10 to 11 mag. 



New Stabs near a Lyra. — Mr. Buckingham reports the discovery of three 

 very minute stars near Vega. One, c, is in a line between the well-known B and 

 the great star; e is in the same direction, on the other side of it ; d is like c, near 

 Yeo-a, but to the left of B on the meridian. The observations were made with the 

 large object-glasses made by Mr. Wray, one of which (new) is 2l£ inches in 

 diameter, and, according to Mr. Buckingham's report, works well with powers 

 up to 1800. c and d, in the large object-glass, are little brighter than the com- 

 panion of Polaris, seen with an aperture of 1.7 inch. (See "Monthly Notices" 

 for November.) 



Conflagration Colours and Moonlioht.— On the night of the 6th of 

 December, the burning of Her Majesty's Theatre in _the Hay market occasioned 



