SCIENCE. 
223 
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, 
NEW YORK. 
The customary autumn reception at the American Museum 
of Natural History, Seventy-seventh street, near Central 
Park, took place on the 27th instant, from two to five 
o’clock in the afternoon. The attendance was not so large 
as upon former occasions. Among the trustees present 
were noted Mr. Robert L. Stuart, President ; Messrs. Rob- 
ert Colgate, Benjamin H. Field, Adrian Iselin, Morris K. 
Jesup, fames M. Constable, Joseph W. Drexel, Frederic 
VV. Stevens, Hugh Auchincloss, Oliver Harriman, ex-Gov- 
ernor E. D. Morgan, John H. Sherwood, R. H. Keene, 
Professor Eggleston, Rev. Dr. Trimble, Arkansas ; Profes- 
sor Daniel S. Martin, Rutger’s College, with many others. 
The additions and improvements since the last reception, 
in May of the present year, may be briefly summarized as 
follows: In the lower hall the Binney and Bland collection 
of land and fresh water shells formed a new feature. It 
contained the typical specimens that are to be met with in 
the works of those authors, and was presented by twelve 
members. The whole was enclosed in a desk case, plac- 
ed between cases R and K. Besides this the skeletons of 
three Australians were there to challenge the attention of 
scientists. These interesting specimens were the gift of 
Mr. Morris K. Jesup, and may be inspected in case A. In 
the main hall, the Maximilian collection of birds, attracted 
the attention of visitors ; they have been re-mounted on the 
new stands described in an article in “ Science,” October 
7 last, under the title of “Bird Furniture, by Dr. Holder, 
the Assistant Superintendent. We direct the attention of 
those making collections of Natural History specimens, to 
these stands ; they are inexpensive, and possess many ad- 
vantages. The North American collection was increased 
by six hundred specimens. 
The gallery stairway showed a detailed ethnological map 
of Africa, drawn on a large scale by Professor Bickmore. 
The additions to the Ethnological Collection from the South 
Seas consist of a war canoe (case No. 1), New Zealand 
weapons and carvings (case No. 3) and stone axes from New 
Guinea (case No. 4). The set of ornaments and carvings 
from British Columbia, presented by Mr. H. R. Bishop 
(case M), proved to be interesting, as many items were in- 
cluded which appeared unfamiliar to most people present. 
The Geological Hall received seven geological maps of East- 
ern North America, some Encrinites and other fossils from 
various formations. Cases A, B, C, D and E were re-ar- 
ranged and labelled. In the desk cases specimens were 
placed which served to illustrate Dana’s “ Manual of Geol- 
ogy.” The rearrangement and labelling of the portions 
alluded to are a considerable improvement. 
Altogether the several collections and their belongings pre- 
sented the appearance of being well kept and arranged accrd- 
ing to the best scientific principles. The trustees say that the 
elevated railroad has brought agreatly increased number of 
visitors to the Museum, and they hope to make it still more 
attractive as a place of instructive amusement. It has been 
suggested that such advanced classes of the higher schools 
and colleges as are making a regular study of natural his- 
tory could find in this collection an excellent opportunity 
for advancing themselves in their chosen branch of educa- 
tion. If professors or teachers would accompany their pu- 
pils periodically through the Museum, giving progressive 
lectures on the different subjects presented for considera- 
tion, it is believed that the results would, under all aspects, 
be most beneficial. 
ASTRONOMICAL NOTES. 
Dr. W. L. Elkin has made a re-discussion of the various 
series of observations of a Centauri for the determination of 
the value of its parallax. These include the observations 
of Henderson, Maclear, Moesta and E. J. Stone. Besides a 
recomputation of the absolute parallax, Dr. Elkin has se- 
lected the observations which were made on nights when 
both a and (i Centauri were observed, and from these de- 
termined their relative parallax. The discussion includes 
a new determination of the orbit of a considered as a double 
star, as well as a discussion of the relative proper motions 
of a and p. From a careful examination of each series he 
concludes that Maclaer’s is the only one worthy of confi- 
dence. He finds that, although the probable error of 
Moesta’s series is small, the annual variation may be ac- 
counted for as the effect of changes in temperature. Mac- 
lear’s observations give for the relative parallax of a and 
P: o'.5o + o".o8. 
Dr. Henry Draper has succeeded in photographing the 
bright part of the nebula in Orion in the vicinity of the 
trapezium. The photographs show the mottled appearance 
of this region distinctly. They were taken by the aid of a 
triple objective of eleven inches aperture made by Alvan 
Clark and Sons, and corrected especially for the photographic 
rays. The exposure was for fifty minutes. A detailed de- 
scription of the negatives has not yet been published, but 
will be soon. O. S. 
SWIFTS’ COMET. 
By Ed. E. Barnard. 
The large comet discovered by Prof. Lewis Swift on the 
night of Octer 10th in R. A. 21 h. 30 m. north declination 
17 30', is now in excellent position for observation. On 
October2ist it followed the fourth magnitude — star k Pegasi 
by somewhat less than 1°. At 8 h. Washington m. t., I de- 
termined its position by the aid of a ring micrometer, R. A. 
21 h. 42 m. Dec. + 25 0 1'. The following night, October 
22d, its position was at 10 h. 20 m. R. A. 21 h. 44 m. 3 sec- 
Dec. 4- 26° 2'. It is moving moderately fast in a north, 
easterly direction. It was observed again on the nights of 
October 23d and 24th. The comet is perfectly transparent. 
At each observation it passed over a number of small stars, 
8 or 9 mag., these were seen through its very centre ; they 
were slightly dimmed by the material of the comet. 
It appears large and diffused with a slight condensation 
at the middle or the preceding side, with probably faint 
evidences of a diffused tail. 
It can be seen with a very small telescope, being plainly 
visible on the 24th in my 1% in. finder. 
Nashville, Tenn., October 25. 
BOTANY. 
The first annual Report upon Useful and Noxious Plants, 
presented by Professor T. J. Burrill to the Illinois State 
Board of Agriculture, contains a paper suggesting the more 
general cultivation of the Catalpas ( Catalpa bignonioides .) 
Professor Burrill states : “ I write ‘these trees’ advisedly, 
believing that the two kinds now known as the common and 
the hardy, or the eastern or southern and the western, are 
really different species. The wonder is that botanists had 
not long ago detected this difference and that in our manu- 
als of botany the two had not been given under specific 
names. 
At Urbana, 111 ., in 1880, the one came into flower 
the first week in June ; the other was nearly three weeks 
later, being in full flower about June 24th. They differ in 
other respects quite as much as well recognized species of 
oak, ash and cotton-wood ; much more than described 
species of willow. But Catalpa bignonioides , Walt., is the 
only name to be found in the ordinary books, devoted to 
the flora, in whole or part, of North America. In 1853 Dr. 
Warder, of Ohio, noticing the showy flowers of some trees 
at Dayton, Ohio, and supposing these to be a variety of the 
well known species with this peculiarity, named the 
variety speciosa. It now appears that this large flowered 
kind is the common indigenous form found in the States of 
Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Ar- 
kansas, etc., and botanists will doubtless henceforth write 
Catalpa speciosa , Warder, as a distinct species. Contrasted 
with Catalpa bignonioides the flowers are earlier and larger ; 
the seed pods are larger ; the bark is darker, and does not 
scale off, giving quite a different aspect to the trunk of a 
mature specimen ; the growth is more erect, causing a bet- 
ter bole and finer head, and the tree is not so liable to be 
killed by the severities of winter. Added to all this the 
trees are so characteristically different that anyone can 
readily distinguish them. In C. bignonioides they are nar- 
row and the fringe of the wing is close and pointed ; in C. 
speciosa the larger seed has a wider wing, terminated at 
each end with abroad fringe of softer hairs. Unfortunately 
most of the cultivated Catalpa trees in Illinois haye been of 
the tender species, and, although the wonderful durability 
