Notes and Memoranda. 79 



noon on October 24th, 1864. The Jupiter spots are arranged conformably with the 

 equatoreal winds of that planet, and the sun spots appear in like manner influenced 

 bv the rotation of that luminary. We have in a former number given an account 

 of M. Chacornac's views regarding the sun spots as indications of eruptive action, 

 and lie ihinks the Jupiter spot of October 13 "the probable result of a jet of 

 vapour from a volcano reaching up into the region of clouds." 



Airey ok A Polar Expedition. — The Astronomer Eoyal writes a letter to 

 the President of the Geographical Society, proposing that the new expedition 

 should be towards the South Pole instead of the Worth. He points out the 

 importance of observing the transit of Venus in 1882 from a good southern, 

 station, and recommends a previous investigation of the coast, between Sabrina 

 Land and Repulse Bay. So eminent an authority as the Astronomer Royal 

 ought to be favourably listened to by the Government, and the information which 

 he desires should be obtained ; but we cannot see the slightest reason for putting 

 the projects in competition. For geographical and other purposes no approxi- 

 mation towards the South Pole could possibly diminish the desirability of reaching 

 the North Pole. As Mr. Markham showed in the excellent paper we recently 

 published, the expense and risk of such expeditions are both trifling, and for 

 a, country that is in the habit of flinging away millions in experimenting, often 

 rashly, with ships and guns, to refuse fifty thousand pounds for a couple of 

 scientific expeditions is neither wise nor truly economical. 



A New Anemone. — Mr. Gosse describes in tlie Annals of Natural History 

 a new anemone, the Mgeon Alfordi, discovered by the Rev. D. P. Alford, M.A., 

 Chaplain of the Scilly Lies. It has a red basal disc and pea-green column, suffused 

 with purple, and the. whole covered with red riots so minute ns to be distinguished 

 only by the aid of a lens." The column of the genus Mgeon, formed by Mr. 

 Gosse to receive its one known species, the M. Alfordi, is " longitudinally fluted, 

 as if composed of a multitude of slender vertical cylinders placed side by side. 

 Each cylinder studded with a single vertical row of minute warts. No suckers 

 or loop-holes. The tentacles are numerous in several rows, and scarcely retractile, 

 those of M. Alfordi being of a lustrous green, each bearing a faint line cf grey 

 a ] ong its outer side. When fully expanded it is sometimes 4 inches in height 

 by If in diameter. At other times it will be 2 inches in each direction. Expanse 

 of flower 6-| inches. It possesses a wonderful tenacity of life, and does well in an 

 aquarium." Mr. Gosse's specimen was sent to him by post on the 4th of April. 

 On the 12th he received notice from the post-office that it could not leave 

 Plymouth till repacked, as sea-water was exuding from the tin case. Ibis was 

 accomplished, but the creature did not ivach Mr. Gosse till the 17th, and then 

 manifested its vitality by soon adhering and expanding in all its beauty. 



Lawson on the Optical Adjustment oe the Ete. — Dr. Lawson publishes 

 a very important paper in the Ophthalmic Review, No. 5, on the accommodation 

 power of the eye. He controverts the theory commonly adopted (without proof), 

 on the authority of Helmholz and others, that the crystalline lens is rendered 

 more convex for near vision, and less so for distant vision. Dr. Lawson points to 

 the absence of any anatomical evidence that such action can take place, and he 

 disputes the conclusiveness of certain optical experiments from which it has been 

 assumed. A careful examination of the eye of an emu convinced Dr. Lawson 

 that the ciliary muscle had no attachment to the ciliary processes or to the lens, 

 and he observed that the ciliary muscle was so placed that its contraction must 

 alter the form of the cornea, lie argues that if such a mode of focussing the eye 

 is provided in the case of the emu, it is probably so with man. Dr. Lawsou 

 further contends that the experiments of Helmholz are consistent with his 

 theory of the action of the eye. The subject is too technical for us to pursue ifc 

 at length, but we think Dr. Lawson invalidates the opinions that have been 

 usually received, and he substitutes an explanation so probable as to deserve the 

 most careful and candid investigation. 



Artificial Fecundation op Grain Crops. — In a former number we gave 

 an account of M. Hooibrenck's plan of artificially distributing the pollen of grain 

 crops by sweeping over them when in flower strings having tufts of wool attached 



