XATURE XOTES 
heat were a desirable factor. On the other hand, remembering the aromatic 
fragrance of the birch leaves in spring, so delicious on the Scotch hills, I have 
sought it vainly in any plantation of these trees in the South. They are apparently 
quite scentless. The bog-myrtle loses its wild moorland scent when transplanted 
to a garden, and a primrose in a sheltered nook in the North Country is sweeter 
by far than this flower — say in a border in Ealing. It would be interesting to 
hear from some e.xpert among your contributors of the why and wherefore of these 
changes. L. C. 
152. Spring Flowering of Erigeron aeris. — Have any of your readers 
noticed a spring flowering of Erigeron aeris ? For some years I have noticed on 
the Dover Cliffs a small purple “ daisy,” stem simple, of 2 to 3 inches, which 
experts told me was Erigeron alpinus, saying it must have been sown at some 
time. This year 1 brought three of the small plants home and kept them under 
observation. They have all, to my astonishment, developed into the ordinary 
Erigeron aeris. Thinking that, if this is not a well-known fact, it may be of 
interest to lovers of Nature, I venture to send you this note. 
3, Clarenee Lawn, Margaret Baggallay. 
Dover, Kent, 
Alay 8, 1908. 
ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR SEPTEMBER, 1908. 
Vemts will be a brilliant morning star, rising at about 1.30 a.m. and some four 
hours before the sun. She will reach an elongation of 46 degrees west of the 
sun on the 14th, and may be seen 5 degrees S. of the moon on the 21st. 
Jupiter, situated in Leo and near the bright star Regulus, becomes visible 
at the close of the month, rising at 2.48 a.m. on the 30th, or more than three 
hours before the sun. During the ensuing autumn this planet, and his more 
lustrous rival Venus, will make a fine display in the morning twilight. 
Saturn will be situated in a position highly favourable to successful observa- 
tion, being visible during the whole night. His beautiful rings are now apparently 
opening, so that the telescopic aspect of this magnificent object is improving. 
He will be due south on the 1st at 2.0 a.m., and on the 30th at midnight, at an 
altitude of about 39 degrees above the horizon. 
Uranus will be perceptible in the evenings as a faint star in Sagittarius, but 
for satisfactory observations of this distant orb a telescope is necessary. 
The variable star Algol will decline to minimum lustre on September 1 1 
at 11.42 p.m., and on September 16 at 8.31 p.m. 
Shooting stars are tolerably numerous in September, and the more brilliant 
class of these objects, known as fireballs, are frequently noticed. In all cases 
where meteors are observed, their paths amongst the stars in their region should 
be recorded as e.xactly as the conditions allow. 
W. F. D. 
REVIEWS AND EXCHANGES. 
Nature Rambles in London. By Kate !M. Hall. With Illustrations from photo- 
graphs by Henry Irving, and a Preface by Beatrice Harraden. x 5 in. 
Pp. 325. Hodder and Stoughton. Price 3s. 6d. net. 
Few teachers have a more thoroughly practical knowledge of how Nature- 
study may be brought home to the child-mind of our towns than Miss Hall, the 
skilful Curator of the Stepney Museum. Arranged by seasons, and dealing mainly 
with plant life, her book keeps strictly to the London area. Teachers and pupils 
alike will rejoice in Mr. Irving’s excellent illustrations, and the full list of trees 
in the various parks — commendably free from misprints — is a good notion. The 
format, and especially the rounded corners of the pages, suggest the use of the 
volume as a reading-book in town schools. Is the Magpie-moth (Abraxas pros- 
