SCIENTIFIC SUMMARY. 
515 
water more and more. Near the end of December the plant had seven 
or eight leaves, and was about eight inches high. The water roots were 
vigorous, very long, and beset with numerous fibres and buds. In the 
funnel tube the roots made a perfect tissue of fibres. In the dry earth of 
the funnel the roots were less extensively developed, yet exhibited some 
juicy buds. The stem and the young auxiliary leaf buds were also full of 
sap. The water roots being cut away, the plant was put into garden soil, 
and placed in a conservatory, where it grew vigorously, and in May pro- 
duced two offshoots. 
This experiment demonstrates in the most incontestable manner that 
certain plants extend a portion of their roots into the subsoil chiefly for 
the purpose of gathering supplies of water. It is, therefore, an additional 
argument in support of Baron Liebig’s explanation of the cause of what 
is known to practical farmers as clover sickness. — Vide Henneberg’s 
“ Journal fur Land-wirthschaftf 1863, p. 280 ; and the “ American Journal 
of Science and Artf vol. xxxvii. p. 136. 
ASTRONOMY. 
The New . Planet . — The planet stated to have been discovered by Mr. 
Pogson in February last, which was supposed to be the eightieth of the 
group, and which had already received the name of Sappho , turns out to 
be the same as that detected in October, 1862, at Copenhagen, known as 
the seventy-sixth, or Freici. Such mistakes must be unavoidable at 
present, from the great number of those little objects, whilst the ephe- 
merides are not always exact. Another case of the same kind occurs in 
the observations of the asteroid observed by Mr. Pogson for Concordia , 
but which it has also been found by M. Oppolzer are those made of the 
planet Freia. 
Satellite of Sirius . — Numerous observations of this interesting object, 
supposed to be the almost obscure body which disturbs the larger star, 
have been made during the last spring months by MM. Lassell (at Malta), 
Struve, Dawes, &c. By Struve’s observations it would appear, however, 
that the two stars are only placed in accidental juxtaposition. That 
observer, however, thinks that this conclusion is doubtful, as in that case 
the small companion could scarcely have escaped the attention of Sir W. 
Herschel at the close of the last century, when, if not physically con- 
nected with Sirius, it would be one minute distant to the south-west. As 
Sirius was frequently observed by Sir W. Herschel as a test object, 
M. Struve thinks that the companion could not be overlooked, unless there 
is a great variability in its light. According to M. Struve, it is not much 
below the eighth magnitude, as it could be seen quite distinctly a few 
minutes after sunset, at a low altitude, whilst stars of the ninth magnitude 
at high elevations were seen with difficulty. Mr. Lassell states that the 
small star did not appear to him as a very small point, but was deficient 
in brilliancy, and like the fifth star in the trapezium of Orion, which has 
a dull reddish hue. Mr. Dawes was also surprised to find in what a strong 
