December 11, 1885.] 



SCIENCE. 



517 



sunsets following the Krakatoa outburst (whose 

 explosion of 1883, Aug. 27, drove whole cubic miles 

 of dust and steam, if not clear through our atmos- 

 phere, at least many times higher than the clouds 

 ever float) indicated by their successive appearances 

 at different places a probable upper equatorial cur- 

 rent moving rapidly westward, i.e., rotating slower 

 than the earth. We do not think the discussion of 

 these red sunsets is, from this stand-point, by any 

 means exhausted, and hope that Professor Kiessling 

 of Hamburg, who has so well exi^lained the physical 

 causes of the phenomena, wiU publish the thou- 

 sand or more records he has of the first appear- 

 ances of the red sunsets aU over the world. The 

 only other occasions when these upper currents 

 can be observed are the rare chances when the 

 drift of a long-continuing meteor-streak might be 

 determined from two or more observatories. If 

 workers ^vith equatorials would endeavor, on those 

 rare occasions when a meteor-train remains visible, 

 quickly to begin a series of pointings (using the 

 loTvest power) alternately upon the two ends of the 

 streak, noting the times and reading the hour and 

 declination-circles as rapidly as possible, we might 

 in time accumulate some valuable data about the 

 upper currents in our latitudes ; but observatories 

 near the equator are scarce. However, the knowl- 

 edge thus gained of the heights at which meteors 

 appear would be much more accurate than from 

 the ordinary alignement among the stars, and 

 these observations ought to be made on every pos- 

 sible occasion by asti'onomers. 



Two new comets. — Two new comets have 

 already been discovered during the present month. 

 The first was found on Dec. 1, at Paris, the 

 name of the discoverer not being given in the 

 telegram. The comet was readily picked up by 

 Professor Frisby of the Naval observatory with a 

 2i-iQch finder, and the following observations 

 were obtained with a 9.6-inch equatorial : — 



Date. 



Wash.M.T a 



logp. A 



5 



logp. A 



1S85. 



Dec. 2 



" 3 



" 6 



'• 7 



9h20m 2s 

 8 10 56 

 6 27 6 

 6 58 54 



Oh 36mlls.ll 

 33 53 .93 



27 7 .81 

 24 50.81 



9.285 

 8.798 

 9.079 n 

 8.593 n 



4-21° C'2C".2 

 20 58 46 .7 

 20 54 3 .5 

 20 52 35 .7 



0.460 

 0.433 

 0.443 

 0.434 



It has been described as ill-defined, and slightly 

 condensed towards the centre, — without a tail. 

 The second comet is announced in a telegram 

 from Prof. Lewis Swift, who states that the comet 

 was discovered by Mr. E. E. Barnard of Nash- 

 ville, Tenn., on Dec. 3, its position being at 9^ 37"^ 

 (probably Washington mean time) R.A., # 21"i 

 57s ; Dec, 4- 4° 45'. The motion is given as 35 

 minutes, but the direction of the motion is made 

 unintelligible by the ambiguous term ' north west.' 



In the position just given, the comet would pass 

 the meridian a few minutes before the bright 

 star Aldebaran, but nearly twelve degrees farther 

 south. 



NOTES AND NEV/S. 



The work of the Henry Shaw school of 

 botany, St. Louis, outside of the university classes, 

 will begin with the formation of a class for the 

 study of grasses. For the accommodation of teachers 

 in the schools of the city, this class will meet from 

 9 to 1, on Saturday mornings. A class in analyti- 

 cal botany will take up the study of spring flowers 

 on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, and Satur- 

 day mornings, from April 6 till June 12, 1886. 



— Those interested in composite photographs 

 will find a plate of four of members of the Na- 

 tional academy, in Science of May 8, I880 ; another, 

 from a composite photograph of several skulls, in 

 the number for June 19 ; a third, of the officers 

 of the American association at the Philadelphia 

 meeting, in the issue of Aug. 28 ; and a fourth, 

 showing the racial characteristics of Jews, in Sci- 

 ence of Oct. 9. 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



♦** Correspondents are requested to be as brief as possible. The 

 writers' name is in all cases required as proof of good faith. 



Newcomb's * Political economy.' 



Professor Newcomb objects, in the last number of 

 Science, to certain things in my recent notice of his 

 work on political economy, charging me with ' atro- 

 cious misrepresentation ' of his views. The quotation- 

 marks enclosing two sentences in the first paragraph 

 of my review should not have been there, and, so far 

 as they led my readers to think that they indicated 

 Professor Newcomb's own words, they were mislead- 

 ing ; and an apology is due Professor Newcomb from 

 me, which is hereby tendered. I may simply say, by 

 way of explanation, that the proof of my article was 

 not submitted to me in time to receive any corrections 

 at my hands before it was printed, or the offending 

 marks, as well as the word always, to which the author 

 objects later in his letter, would certainly have been 

 expunged. 



As to the chief point at issue, however, vi2., 

 whether my article presented a correct view of 

 Professor Newcomb's theories, I have nothing to 

 take back or change. I have again examined 

 Professor Newcomb's book, in connection with his 

 strictures on my review, and do not see wherein I 

 have misrepresented him. The point in dispute, of 

 course, is not what Professor Newcomb desired or 

 tried to do, nor even what he claims to have done, 

 but simply what he actually did do in the work 

 reviewed. It is true that he expressly disclaims any 

 intention of doing what I maintain he has done ; but 

 this is no evidence, of course, that my view of his 

 actual work is erroneous. The notice contained my 

 opinion of the real work, and not of the author's 



