SCIENCE. 



34i 



SCIENCE: 



A Weekly Record of Scientific 

 Prog r ess. 



JOHN MICHELS, Editor. 



TERMS: 



Per Year, "... - Four Dollars. 

 6 Months, - Two 



3 " . - - - One " 



Single Copies, ... - Ten Cents. 



Published at 

 TRIBUNE BUILDING, NEW YORK. 



P. O. Box 3838 



SATURDAY, JULY 23, 1881. 



Professor Lewis Swift informs us that he has 

 been receiving letters claiming the Warner Prize, at 

 the rate of seventy per day for some time past ; it may 

 be convenient, therefore, if we state the conditions 

 on which Mr. Warner offers the reward for the discov- 

 ery of comets during the year 1881. 



In the first place the comet must be telescopic, 

 which is a bar to all naked eye observers, and the 

 comet must be unexpected. An exception is made to 

 this condition in favor of the comet of 181 2, the re- 

 appearance of which is expected. 



The first discovery of the comet must be made in 

 the United States or Canada. To secure the prize 

 immediate notification must be made by telegraph to ] 

 Professor Lewis Swift, of Rochester, Director of the j 

 Warner Observatory. This telegram must give the 

 time of the discovery, the position, direction and daily 

 rate of motion with sufficient exactness to enable at 

 least one astronomer to find it. 



A study of these conditions will prevent useless 

 applications and many disappointments. The first 

 condition, however, which appears to limit claimants 

 to the class who possess telescopes, should, in our 

 opinion, be construed to object to naked eyeobserva- I 

 tions only. A good opera or field binocular glass 

 could be used with good effect in a searcli fof comets. 

 Caroline Herschell used a very simple instrument, and, 

 IB the course of her life, discovered no less than eight I 

 comets. With a tube with two glasses, such as was 

 commonly used " as a finder," she used to "sweep" 

 Cox comets, writing down and describing all remark- 

 able appearances. 



We direct attention to a series of interesting draw- 

 ings of comet B, 1881, made by Professor Edward S. 



Holden at the Washburn Observatory, with the 15-inch 

 telescope, constructed for the late Professor Watson, 

 which will be found on pages 346 and 347 of this issue. 



Professor Holden has attempted to delineate the 

 appearance of the comet on six consecutive nights, 

 commencing on the 24th of June, and also on the 

 8th and nth of July. 



Messrs. S. E. Cassino & Co., of 299 Washington 

 street, Boston, are about to publish an international 

 directory of the names and addresses of all those who 

 are engaged in any of the departments of Science. 

 Such a work can only be arranged in a satisfactory 

 manner with the co-operation of scientific men. We 

 therefore cordially respond to a request from Messrs. 

 Cassino to make known their intentions in this direc- 

 tion, and we call upon all scientists at once to for- 

 ward their names and addresses to the publisher. 



This notice is not only intended for professional 

 scientists, but for the large class of amateurs, who may 

 be collecting, or giving their attention to any scien- 

 tific specialty. 



As the directory is partly prepared, prompt atten- 

 tion is essential to those who would have their names 

 included. 



AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE AD- 

 VANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. 



We remind our readers that the annual meeting of 

 the American Association for the advancement of Science 

 will be held this year at Cincinnati, commencing on the 

 17th of August next. The executive committee announce 

 that the sessions ol the Association will be held in the 

 Music Hall and Exposition Buildings, on Elm street. All 

 the meetings, general and sectional, will be under one 

 roof. Each section will have a room regularly assigned 

 to it, and every necessary facility in the way of tables, 

 blackboards, etc,, will be provided. The offices of the 

 Permanent and Local Secretaries, Reporters' Room, 

 Post Office and Reception Rooms will all be on the first 

 floor. Between the morning and afternoon sessions a 

 daily lunch will be served in the wing of the Exposition 

 Buildings known as Horticultural Hall. 



On the first day of the meeting, besides the general 

 session for organization, some of the official addresses 

 will be delivered. In the evening there will be a citizens' 

 reception. 



On the following days the usual routine business will 

 be transacted, papers will be read, and so on. A variety 

 of social entertainments will be provided, and an after- 

 noon is to be devoted to visiting the Zoological Garden. 



Members of the Sub-Section of Anthropology, and 

 others who are interested, will have an opportunity to 

 examine the excavations at Madisonville, and to visit 

 other localities of antiquarian interest near Cincinnati. 

 After the adjournment of the Association, excursions will 

 be organized on the Cincinnati Southern Railroad, and 

 also, it is hoped, to the Mammoth Cave. 



Beginning on the evening of August 16, and continuing 

 through the meetings of the Association, there will be an 

 exhibition of scientific apparatus, appliances, and collec- 

 tions. This exhibition is to be in charge of the Depart- 

 ment of Science and Arts of the Ohio Mechanics' Insti- 

 tute, and a large amount of valuable material will be 

 shown. Some of the leading dealers in chemicals, ap- 



