20 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
New British Species of Mucorini. —I have had the pleasure of 
finding on some specimens, which I was cultivating, of Thamnidium 
elegctns —itself one of the Mucorini, the Ascopliora elegans of the Hand- 
l 30 ok—a parasitic species, Clmtocladmm Brefeldii, Van Tieghem, not 
hitherto recorded in Britain.—W. B. Grove, B.A. 
Heneage Gibbs’ Mode of Staining the Germs of Bacillus tuber¬ 
culoses.— Obtain fresh sputum or phlegm, coughed up in the morning; 
spread a small portion upon one surface of a thin cover glass and dry 
in the air. Filter a few drops of the magenta fluid into a watch-glass 
and place the cover with the sputum downwards upon its surface. 
Leave for thirty minutes and then wash in nitric acid (diluted with 
distilled water, 1 to 3) until all colour perceptible to the eye has dis¬ 
appeared. Wash in distilled water to remove all traces of the acid, 
then float the glass, sputum downwards, for two or three minutes upon 
a few drops of filtered chrysoidin. Again wash in distilled water and 
immerse in absolute alcohol for a few minutes to remove all trace of 
water. Dry thoroughly in the air. When dry place a drop of pure 
Canada balsam on the cover glass and lay it carefully on a glass 
slide. When set, it may be considered finished.—F. H. Collins. 
The Transit of Venus.— The transit of Venus was observed by me 
on December 6th, at Fort William, under very favourable circum¬ 
stances, considering the low altitude of the sun and the effects of 
atmospheric refraction. The weather was very fine, and an uninter¬ 
rupted view was obtained from the external contact until the planet 
had well advanced upon the sun’s disc. I employed a telescope of 
2| inches clear aperture. The external contact took place at 
2h. 3m. 15sec., Greenwich mean time, and the internal contact at 
2h. 22m. 40sec. At this time I observed and sketched a small dark 
ligament stretching from the edge of the planet to the sun’s limb. At 
2h. 23m. 47sec. separation had taken place between the edges of Venus 
and the sun. Mr. Livingston, of the Public School, was observing near 
my station independently, and we both agree to the very second that 
19m. 25sec. elapsed between external and internal contact. The 
spectroscope in the morning showed a fairly dry atmosphere. For my 
full account, with six sketches, see Nature, of December 14th.— 
Clement L. Wragge. 
Ben Nevis Observatory, 1882.—The conditions of weather by 
November 1st had become such as to render it hazardous and im¬ 
practicable to continue satisfactorily the daily observations on the 
mountain. I therefore judged it best to discontinue them, after a very 
successful season, under the auspices of the Scottish Meteorological 
Society, of five months—June 1st to November 1st inclusive—without 
the break of a single day. Observations were taken every half-hour 
on the summit from 9 till 11 a.m. inclusive, and at fixed times during 
the ascent and descent at six intermediate fixed stations. Simultaneous 
readings were of course taken at the base or sea-level observatory at 
Achintore, Fort William, where the times of observation were nearly 
every half-hour from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. inclusive, with extra sets also at 
6 p.m. and 9 p.m., the latter being in connection with a self-recording 
clock-work hygrometer fixed on the Ben—a most valuable instru¬ 
ment, kindly placed at my disposal by Messrs, Negretti and Zambra, 
