July 18, 1884.1 



SCIENCE, 



<o 



platinum points is produced in the focus of this in- 

 strument by a small Rhumkorff coil; and the light of 

 the spark, emerging from the collimator, is reflected 

 by the small mirror of the Newtonian, and thence to 

 its large mirror. On pushing the collimator-eyepiece 

 and platinum points a little inside the focus, the 

 beam of light will, if every thing is in perfect adjust- 

 ment, retrace its steps after reflection by the large 

 mirror, and, re-entering the collimator, form an im- 

 age coincident with the spark ; and any want of 

 adjustment is at once betrayed by the image in the 

 field of view of the collimator not being coincident 

 with the spark. Mr. Stoney represented this entire 

 process of completing the adjustment as occupying 

 less than half a minute, and as being so easy of ap- 

 plication that he is in the habit of repeating it every 

 time the telescope is turned upon a new object. 



— In a lecture, May 23, at the Royal institution of 

 Great Britain, on recent researches on the distances 

 of the fixed stars, and on some future problems in 

 sidereal astronomy, Dr. David Gill, her Majesty's 

 astronomer at the Cape of Good Hope, summarized 

 as follows the late investigations at that place on the 

 parallax of stars in the southern hemisphere: — 



Name of star. 



Observer. 



Parallax. 



Years. 



a Centauri .... 



G. & E. 



0.75* 



4.30 



Sirius 



G. & E. 



0.38 



8.6 



Lacaille 9352 . . . 



G. 



0.28 



11.6 



e Indi 



G. & E. 



0.22 



15 



0-2 Eridani .... 



G. 



0.17 



19 



e Eridani .... 



E. 



0.14 



23 



C Tucanae .... 



E. 



0.06 



54 



Canopus 



E. 



Insensible. 



- 



(3 Centauri .... 



G. 



Insensible. 



_ 



The last column contains the star's distance in 

 light-units, or number of years in which light from 

 the star would reach the earth. The observers are 

 Dr. Gill and Dr. Elkin, now of the Yale college ob- 

 servatory, New Haven. 



— Oberlin college, in Ohio, has acquired the botani- 

 cal collection of Dr. Beardsiee of Painesville, contain- 

 ing not far from three thousand species. The main 

 part of the collection consists of the phanerogams 

 of northern Ohio; but it also has many plants from 

 the United States generally, especially sedges, grasses, 

 and willows, with over six hundred species of mosses. 



— The New- York Sun for June 25 gives an instance 

 of ingenuity on the part of some orioles in Central 

 Park, which, finding the twig on which they were 

 building their nest too weak for its support, fastened 

 it by a long string to the branch above. 



— Mr. Arthur R. Hunt read a paper to theLinnean 

 society of London, on June 5, on the influence of 

 wave-currents on the fauna inhabiting shallow seas. 

 The author refers to various physical data, among 

 others quoting Professor Stokes and Mr. T. Stevenson ; 

 the latter stating that a current of 0.6819 of a mile 

 per hour will carry forwards fine gravel, and that of 

 1.3638 will roll along pebbles an inch in diameter. 



From this and other facts, Mr. Hunt argues that wave- 

 currents do materially influence the marine fauna 

 inhabiting shallow water, not only those of the tidal 

 strand, but likewise those inhabiting the deeper sea- 

 bottom. He adduces instances of animals living 

 among or on rocks, and of those frequenting sand or 

 other deposits, enumerating species of starfish, mol- 

 lusks, shrimps, grabs, and fish. He says that even 

 the flat fishes (Pleuronectidae) seem to have changed 

 their original forms and habits for the purpose of 

 being able to live in shallow waters agitated by waves. 

 Referring more particularly to species of Card i urn, 

 he endeavors to show how, under the influence of 

 wave-currents, the variation of species may be pro- 

 moted, and even their local extinction brought about. 



— Professor Sir William Thomson, of the Univer- 

 sity of Glasgow, and Prof. E. Frankland, have been 

 elected honorary members of the Academy of sci- 

 ences, Vienna. 



— Professor Ayrton has been formally appointed 

 professor of physics at the Central institution of the 

 City and guilds' institute, London. 



— Mr. Carl Pearson has been appointed professor 

 of applied mathematics at the University college, 

 London. 



— Professor Edward Hull of the geological survey 

 of Ireland, and his party, sent to Arabia Petraea un- 

 der the auspices of the Palestine exploration fund, 

 have made a complete traverse of the TVady el Ara- 

 bah, and constructed a special geological map of this 

 grand valley, as well as a general one of the whole 

 region between the Red Sea and the mountains of 

 Edom and Moab, — the latter on a small scale, thirty 

 miles to the inch, to accompany the personal narra- 

 tive which is to appear in November next: the former 

 on a larger scale, for the scientific report, which will 

 appear later. The scientific report will be chiefly 

 geological, but will probably contain zoological and 

 botanical chapters by Mr. H. C. Hart, and meteoro- 

 logical data by Mr. Lawrence, together with a beau- 

 tiful hill-shaded map of the Wady el Arabah, 

 constructed by Major Kitchener and his assistants. 



— It is proposed to organize, under the auspices 

 of the American social science association, during 

 its next annual session at Saratoga, Sept. S-12, an 

 American historical association, consisting of profes- 

 sors, teachers, specialists, and others interested in tin* 

 advancement of history in this country. Arrange- 

 ments will be made for the presentation of a few 

 original papers, in abstract, at the first meeting of 

 the American historical association, which will be 

 held in Putnam hall, Saratoga, Tuesday. Sept. 9. at 

 four p.m. 



— Before the section of physiology of the inter- 

 national medical congress of Copenhagen will be 

 brought the following problems and communications : 

 Professor Hammarsten of Upsala, the mucous sub- 

 stances, and their relation to the albuminoid sub- 

 stances ; Prof. R. Norris of Birmingham, and Professor 

 Hayem of Paris, the role of fugitive corpuscles in the 

 formation of fibrine and coagulation, and the relation 



