1867.] Astronomy. 379 



year in the Bulletin of the Colroar Natural History Society. The 

 human bones consist of a frontal and a right parietal, almost entire, 

 belonging to the same skull ; and they were found associated with 

 remains of the Bison, Elephas primigenius, &c, in the Lehm or 

 Loess of the valley of the Upper Bhine. From their discovery the 

 author infers that man existed in Alsace prior to those changes 

 which, coming after the deposition of the diluvium, gave to the 

 country its present outline. 



An International Congress for Anthropology and Prehistoric 

 Archaeology is announced to be held in Paris, under the Presidency 

 of M. Lartet, from the 17th to the 28th of August inclusive. 



EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE, 



Fig. 1. Inscribed slab of a cromlech near Eathkenny, Co. Meath ; copied from 

 the Proceedings of the Eoyal Irish Academy, vol. ix., plate 12. 



Fig. 2. Side-view of the inscribed cromlech near Eathkenny, Co. Meath, 

 showing the inscribed circles on the under surface of the inclined slab (Fig. 1), 

 copied from the Proceedings of the Eoyal Irish Academy, vol. ix., plate 11, Fig. 4. 



Fig. 3. Tracing of an inscription on a cromlech at Macroom, Co. Cork, 

 copied from the Proceedings of the Eoyal Irish Academy, vol. ix., plate 11, Fig. 3. 



Fig. 4. Ogham Stone from Dunbel, Kilkenny, copied from Professor Stephens's 

 ' Eunic Monuments,' part 1, p. 57. 



3.— ASTBONOMY. 



(Including the Proceedings of the Roijcd Astronomical Society.) 



Observation of the meteor-shower of last November, and a careful 

 discussion of the phenomena, have resulted in one of the most 

 interesting discoveries which has for many years been effected by 

 astronomers. In our last Chronicle we pointed out that the want of 

 observations determining the velocity with which the meteors 

 travelled, left us, apparently, no choice but to select the most 

 probable period of revolution, out of several which accounted for 

 the observed recurrence of maximum displays. For reasons there 

 discussed, astronomers selected a period falling short of one year by 

 one-33rd part. The most natural explanation of the well-marked 

 period of 33J years — the supposition, namely, that this interval is 

 the true period in which meteors complete a revolution around the 

 sun — was looked on as far less probable. The objections to this 

 view are : — (i) The a priori improbability that an orbit of such 

 eccentricity as the supposition implies, should intersect the earth's 

 orbit; (ii) the further improbability that the intersection should 

 fall so near the perihelion of the meteor's orbit as to account for 

 the position of the radiant-point ; and (hi) the difficulty of con- 

 ceiving that an orbit of such extent should be so plentifully 



2 c 2 



