366 Analyses oj Books. [June, 
fornia are certainly not under estimated by the writer or his 
authorities. Thus we find it asserted that “ there can be little 
doubt but the bulk of the wines turned out in this State will, in 
the course of a few years, be superior to those produced in any 
other part of the world,” — a bold saying. It is admitted that the 
attempts at growing coffee, tea, and tobacco have not been 
successful. The first of the three is injured by frosts, whilst the 
leaf of the two latter is wanting in flavour. The American cran- 
berry here mentioned is, we hope, an essentially different fruit from 
that of central and northern Europe, the flavour of which may be 
admirably imitated by adding to the sourest red currants a de- 
coction of oak-bark. We are sorry to find that the cultivation of 
chicory is extending. It is to be regretted that whilst the coffee 
tree and the vine are decimated by parasites the chicory plant 
and the sugar-beet have comparatively escaped. 
Letter of Mr. W. H. Pickering, entitled “An Attempt to Photo- 
graph the Corona .” Reprinted from “ Science,” No. 113, 
April 3rd, 1885. 
Copy of Reply addressed to the Editor of “ Science.” April 
22nd, 1885. 
In the former of these, two letters Mr. Pickering states, that on 
occasion of a late partial solar eclipse, he attempted to repeat the 
experiments of Mr. Huggins on photographing the corona. He 
describes the arrangements adopted and the results obtained, 
and draws the following conclusions : — “ The conclusions I 
should draw from my experiments are (1), that, though it is very 
easy to obtain a corona-like image, one may readily be deceived 
in such matters, and the same effedt obtained by our atmosphere, 
without the aid of the solar-corona, combined with little defedts 
in the gelatine film (this, I think, is conclusively shown by the 
extension of the pseudo-corona in front of the moon) ; (2) that 
chloride plates are more suitable than bromide for obtaining an 
atmospheric corona, just as Mr. Huggins has claimed that they 
are more suitable for taking a solar one ; hence I think one must 
not rely too much on the ultra-violet region sensitiveness of the 
chloride plate for a separation of the two ; lastly, though my 
experiments fail to corroborate Mr. Huggins’s results, they do 
not, of course, show that his corona may not be solar, but merely 
indicate that under very favourable circumstances I could obtain 
no trace of it.” 
He adds that he has before him a print made from a negative 
by Dr. O. Lohse, in Odtober, 1878, showing effedts very similar 
to those obtained by himself (Mr. Pickering.) He further adds 
that Dr. Lohse considers that the halo is wholly atmospheric 
and not coronal. 
