fluid ounce should be added to give greater consistency. One thing is certain, if it be not coarse-grained under the microscope it will not be sensitive to the required region, and moreover it will be found that on an average it should be about twice as coarse as the average form of bromide which is generally obtained in collodion emulsion. Here let me interpolate a remark. It has been assumed that because an emulsion in gelatine has a bluish colour after it has been boiled, that in this case we have the same form of bromide as that described above. It is a very different form : let me show how. Suppose we throw a spectrum on a gelatine plate it will be found that G requires about of a second with a very narrow slit, whereas to obtain B it will require the best part of a minute, and to obtain rays of lower refrangibility very much more; and that any amount of exposure will not make an impression much below A. With the blue-green bromide in collodion to obtain an impression about G will take some eight or ten seconds, and it will be found that at the same time we have an impression of B. A minute's exposure to the prismatic spectrum will under similar circumstances give an impression as much below A as D is above it, measured not in wave-lengths but along the photograph. I point out this because a leading continental photographic experimentalist has expressed himself satisfied as to the identity of the two forms of sensitive salt. They are totally distinct as if he tried to work with a gelatine plate in the infra-red region he will soon own. Now in reference to the coarseness of grain it is right to call attention to its disadvantages. Its advantage we know. In spectrum work we often come across close pairs of lines. Now suppose each pair happened not to be separated by a larger interval than the grain of the sensitive salt, we shall be unable to resolve such a pair, for the action of either component of the pair, and much more both, if they fell on it would be to cause, on development, a reduction to metallic silver of the whole grain. Thus evidently such a close pair would be unresolved. When a photograph of the spectrum on the finest grained plate is examined under the microscope it will be found that the metallic image is composed of grains of silver and nothing else; and that instead of the lines having sharp edges as seen by the eye that they shade. Part of this shading is due to the grain, though the greater part is due to proper absorption, which the eye is incap 3. 4. Special bromide emulsion, as before described. Wet plate developed by pyrogalic acid. It will thus be seen that for delicate work the dispersion with the wet plate process and the special bromide emulsion must be larger than when using a gelatine plate if equal resolving power be wished for. The above plate is an instance of this. In it we have the solar spectrum in approximate wave-lengths from AX (7,600) to about λ 10,500. The general impression to the eye is the extraordinary width of the lines compared with those in the visible spectrum. No doubt they are as a rule broader, but their breadth is also to be accounted for in other ways. First, the slit used was not quite as fine as might have been when the photographs were taken. Secondly, the dispersion used was the first order of a Rutherford grating 17,200 lines (about) to the inch, and a camera lens of a focus of about fifteen inches. In later photographs nearly all the broad lines have been resolved into pairs or triplets, as have also some of the lines of medium breadth. There are lines, however, like the 3 broad lines between 8500 and 8700 which remain unchanged whatever dispersion was used. This resolution was effected by using a finer slit and dispersion of the second order, the fine slit alone will not give it. If we take an example in the visible spectrum, and examine the B line with the eye, it will be found to be made up of a series of doublet flutings, each component being apparently of equal intensity. These pairs it is impossible to secure on the photographic plate, unless the second order of the grating spectrum is used; but when secured it will be found that the more refrangible component is more intense, as is the case in certain hydro-carbon flutings. The sole reason why the first order is useless to cause resolution is that the pairs are so close they can both fall on the diameter of the grain of the sensitive compound. On the other hand, with a gelatine plate I have been able to see on one inch and a half every line and more than given in Angström's map from G to F. In this case the grain is almost invisible. The development of the plate is greatly more difficult than the preparation of the emulsion. A strong developer it will not stand, and I may say also that a very new one is also inadmissible when using the ferrous oxalate development. To make the developer a saturated solution of neutral oxalate of potash is saturated in the cold, with : ferrous oxalate and then the deep red solution decanted off. When freshly prepared it is useless to attempt to develop a plate with it unless the precaution be taken of adding to it an equal part of a saturated solution of ferric oxalate in the oxalate of potash. Such a mixture may be employed by adding to it immediately before all an equal volume of a solution of potassium bromide (twenty grains of the salt to thirteen of water). The plate may then develop without fog or it may not: if it does fog, the developer must have more bromide solution added to it, and another trial made. On some days a clean picture seems an impossibility, whilst on others, every one will be perfect. It is not the emulsion that is in fault, since, on a "clear day" and on a "foggy day" the identical emulsion may be used, showing that the developer is at fault. This year this trouble seems to have increased, and I can only lay it down to the different preparations of the oxalates. Of one thing care should be taken, viz., that the developer never shows alkalinity; a drop of dilute sulphuric acid or nitric acid may be added to the developing cup just before development with advantage. With prisms the photography with the rays of low refrangibility is simple, with one great drawback, and that is the difficulty of obtaining a true focus for the plate. This must all be done by guess-work, and plates exposed till the focus is obtained. When once obtained it is a good plan to mark the camera to show the focus, and at the same time accurately to mark the table on which it stands, so that the same portion of the lens receives the same rays. This is more particularly necessary to attend to when using an achromatic lens. I believe it to be easier to use the uncorrected lens than a corrected one, provided always that the camera has a proper horizontal swing back, which can be shifted through a very large angle at least 30° when using three prisms. If a spherical mirror be used in the collimator and in the camera instead of the lenses, the same difficulties of focusing do not present themselves. The disadvantage of this method is that the edges of the spectrum based are diffused and not straight, and this is awkward when making comparison of different spectra. With a grating nearly the same difficulty arises when using lenses, but not quite to such a degree. If "a" and A be got in focus at the end of the plate, the swing back being used till this results, and if the lens be placed close to the grating, the whole of the infra-red region will be fairly in focus. This of course only applies to my own grating which may have a slight curvature. In using the grating we must not forget that the second order overlaps the first order, and the third order the second order and so on: and if a plate were exposed without any artifice being adopted to get rid of this overlap the plate would show two or three spectra. There are several methods of accomplishing this separation, the simplest being to use the absorbing medium in front of the slit. At first I used stained red glass which cuts off all radiation above the green, leaving thus the tails of the different spectra intact. At present, when wishing to go no further down the scale than A 10,000, I have found that a deep coloured solution of iodine of potassium in water about one-tenth of an inch in thickness is very excellent. The objection to the red glass is that it exercises a certain amount of general absorption in the infra-red region, but with the white glass of the cell holding the solution, and the solution itself, this general absorption is minimized. To get down still further, very thin stratum of a blue dye in tetrachloride of carbon is efficacious in conjunction with the iodine solution. With the above solutions À 13,000 can be reached. Beyond this limit it is necessary to use other means of eliminating the higher orders of the spectrum. The simplest plan is to place behind the collimator a couple of prisms, and some two feet from the prisms, the grating so that it only receives those rays which it may be desired to im press. Thus one side of the grating may catch the limit of the red whilst the rest will be filled with the dark rays. The most difficult plan is to place a prism according (as Frauenhofer did) in front of the grating, in such a way that the axis of the prism is at right angles to the ruling and parallel to the plane of the grating; this causes a complete separation of all the different orders of spectra. But the resulting photographs are inconvenient to measure, since they are curved, and the position of the camera is also awkward. Another plan is to use a prism in front of the slit, but this too, I have found inconvenient for the same reasons as given above. For ordinary work the absorption method is decidedly the most elegant, but then it limits the operations with the spectrum. It was from photographs obtained in this manner that the above map of the solar spectrum was obtained, and as it is before us, it may be well to make a few remarks on it. As to what the lines are due to we are at present absolutely uninformed, except as to some very few. A notable exception to this is the line lettered about 8600, which is one of the strongest lines in this part of the spectrum. Colonel Festing and myself found that this line coincided absolutely in position with what we call the radical absorption band of benzene, that is to say, that by diminishing a thin layer of benzene placed between the slit of the spectroscope and a source of light giving a continuous spectrum, this absorption-band, amongst many others, was the last to disappear, and that it also was the key-note as it were of the absorptions of all benzene derivatives. A coincidence of this kind would not be fortuitous any more than that the vapour of sodium gives lines coincident with the D lines; and hence we were forced to ascribe this line to benzene or some of its derivations. When first we made this announcement it was facetiously level of the sea. remarked that we had been photographing London smoke; and no doubt had not other localities for photographing the spectrum been chosen, the reproach (for such it was) might have been just. My visit last June to the Riffel, 8,500 feet high, showed that not only was this said line present, but that it was more intense even than at the There was more unfolding of the spectrum at that high altitude, and lines faint indeed, which had almost escaped registration below, were well marked on the photographs obtained there. The brilliancy of this infra-red spectrum can scarcely be surpassed. When examined at an elevation of 10,000 feet, the general absorption due to water almost vanishes, and with the exception of two congeries of lines which lie beyond those given in the diagram, the whole of the lines shown are stronger than I have ever had them before. Colonel Festing and myself have also shown the presence of some alcohol derivative, somewhere between ourselves and the sun, and the presence of the absorption lines at a high altitude place it outside our atmosphere. This I was not wholly prepared for, since lately we have been told that alcohol exists in rain water, and rain water can only derive it from the air. The fact, however, remains that it probably exists beyond the limits of our atmosphere. The region disclosed by photography has by no means been exhausted; beyond the region given in the diagram lies one in which we have a breadth of continuous spectrum, and beyond that again beautiful groups of lines, all of which require and deserve careful study. Of one thing we may be fairly certain, that none of them are due to metallic vapours, but are probably due to vapours of non-metallic compounds in some form or another, and these at a comparatively low temperature. It is not unlikely that amongst these will be found oxygen compounds, and if so it would be interesting in more ways than one. As a suggestion in which direction to look, I have annexed a diagram of the absorptions (Fig. 2), in the infra-red of a few liquids, by which it will be seen, that by a study of these we may perhaps throw some light on the solar spectrum. The bands in some instances where the liquid is vaporized are split up into lines and flutings, whilst the radical bands, to which I have already drawn attention, seem to remain constant. When it is remembered that one-tenth of an inch of a liquid, such as benzene, will give a definite absorption, it will be seen that a manageable length of vapour may be placed between the slit and the source of light, for its proper investigation. Colonel Festing and myself are at work at it at the present, but the field of investigation is so large that it requires more workers before any general theory can be brought to bear on the subject. It is partly to aid such would-be workers that I have penned the above, and shall be glad if it stirs up some few to aid in this research, which not only has a bearing on solar physics, but even still more largely on physical chemistry. NOTES W. DE W. ABNEY WE have received a communication from Prof. Hildebrandsson, director of the Meteorological Observatory, Upsala, so well known for his researches into the upper currents of the atmosphere, in which, with reference to the proposed observatory on Ben Nevis, he remarks that "the erection on Ben Nevis of a permanent meteorological observatory is of the utmost importance for the development of modern meteorology. No better situation for a mountain observatory can be imagined. I have for a special purpose discussed the few observations published from Puy de Dôme. They are of great importance, but unfortunately this mountain, as well as the station of Gen. Nansouty on the Pic-du-Midi, has a bad situation in relation to storm tracks, being almost constantly placed on the north-westerly or south-easterly slope of a high pressure. On the contrary, Ben Nevis is situ ated almost in the middle track of the depressions or storms of north-western Europe. Hence observations made there must be of far greater importance in their relation to the theory of cyclones than the mountain observations in the south of France. I hope the Scottish Meteorological Society will find the means of carrying on this work." With these views of Prof. Hildebrandsson we heartily concur, and hope that the Council of the Scottish Meteorological Society will succeed in the patriotic effort we understand that they are now making to raise the necessary funds, viz. 5000l., for the erection and partial endowment of this truly national observatory. WE are glad to learn that Sir Edward Reed is so far recovered that he may be able in the course of a few days to give occasional attendance in Parliament. THE International Electrical Conference which has been sitting in Paris for the last fortnight, has, after passing several resolutions, adjourned to the first Monday of October, 1883. In regard to electrical units it was resolved that at present there is not a sufficient concord of view to enable the numerical value of the "ohm" in the mercurial column to be definitely fixed, and that all governments be appealed to by France to encourage further research on the subject. The section for "Earth Currents and Lightning Conductors" resolved that Government shɔuld be reques'ed to favour regular and systematic observations of atmospheric electricity upon their telegraphic systems; that it is important for the study of storms to be extended to every country; that wires independent of the telegraphic system should be provided for the special study of earth currents; and that, so far as possible, the great subterranean telegraphic lines, particularly those running north and west, should be utilised for the same purpose, observations being instituted on the same day in the various countries. The section for fixing a standard of light expressed the opinion that the light emitted by a square centimetre of melting platinum would furnish an absolute standard. In closing the Conference M. Cochery, the Postal Minister, assured the Members that the French Government would endeavour to give effect to their Resolutions by representations to the various Governments concerned. It is hoped that the twelve months for which the Conference is adjourned will be sufficient for the searches in the various departments in question to be completed. England is indebted solely to the private enterprise and spirit of Sir William Thomson for being represented at all. Between the French Government, the Foreign Office, and the Science and Ait Department a sad mess has been made. The Post Office Telegraph Department was never asked to send a representative, nor have any of those who took such an active part in the Conference last year been asked to take any part in this. A more disgraceful muddle has never previously distinguished our "how not to do it" system. M. MIGNET, Perpetual Secretary of the Academy of Moral Sciences, has just resigned the office held by him from the reorganisation of the Academy in 1835, up to the present time. Having been born at the end of the last century, his plea of old age may be said to be fully justified. It is stated on good authority that he will be succeeded by M. Jules Simon, who is now temporarily filling the office of secrétaire perpetuel. THE annual meeting of the five French Academies, sitting as one body in the capacity of the French Institute, was held on October 25. M. Dumas, as director of the Académie Française, was in the chair. He opened the proceedings by an address, which quite fulfilled the expectations that had been raised. M. Dumas gave an elaborate history of the several academies of Paris, of their suppression in 1793, and their reopening in 1795 as the five classes of the Institute. The regu lations adopted at the time were altered by the several monarchical governments, but have gradually resumed their former provisions, so that the present Institute may be said practically to exist as it was at the end of the last century. The subject was treated with wonderful eloquence and expression. M. Dumas derived the origin of modern scientific societies from the Academia di Lincei ; the Museum of Natural History, with the hope that, in all our large towns eventually, the Free Library will become the centre of instruction in all knowledge. THE Electrician learns that the improvements in the storage of electric energy and in electromotors have so far advanced, that tricycles can not only be lighted, but also propelled solely he showed that the Academy of Sciences of Paris and the Royal by electricity, as was seen from the tricycle ridden last week by Society of London came into existence about the same period, their meetings having been foreshadowed or instigated by the conversazioni held by the friends or followers of Descartes. M. Dumas insisted most on the grand spectacle exhibited by these institutions surviving monarchy, nobility, established churches, and finding in political revolutions a new field for their activity. He might have added, that even under the disorderly reign of the Commune, the sittings of the Academy were unmolested, and the editor of the Journal Officiel de la Commune did his best to report the sittings. The Academy of Sciences was represented in the addresses delivered by M. Alphonse Milne-Edwards, who gave a graphic account of the really good work done by the Travailleur in the Mediterranean and Atlantic. The large hall was crowded, and the whole proceedings were of high interest. THE anniversary meeting of the London Mathematical Society will be held on the evening of Thursday, November 9, at 8 p.m., at 22, Albemarle Street. Mr. S. Roberts, F.R.S., has chosen as the subject of his valedictory address, "Some Remarks on Mathematical Terminology and the Philosophical Bearing of Recent Mathematical Speculations concerning the Realities of Space"; his principal aim will be to show that mathematics are neutral in philosophy. Inter alia he will report to the Society the fact of the establishment of the De Morgan memorial medal and the conditions of its being awarded. The following changes are proposed to be made in the Council for the ensuing session : Prof. Henrici, F.R.S., President, Sir J. Cockle, F.R.S., and Mr. Roberts, F.R.S., Vice-Presidents, and Messrs. E. B. Elliott and Dr. J. Hopkinson, F.R.S., to be new members in the place of Prof. Rowe and Mr. H. W. Lloyd Tanner, who retire. THE Japan Gazette of August 21 contains a long and curious description of a bear festival among the Ainos. The writer, Dr. B. Scheube, is, we believe, the only European who has ever been actually present at this ceremony, the descriptions of it given by Miss Bird and other writers being derived from hearsay. The bear receives the title of Kimui-Kamui. The true derivation of this latter title-which is generally and incorrectly said to come from the Japanese Kami, a divinity-has been explained by Mr. Keane in NATURE (vol. xxvi. p. 525). The festival is now rarely held, and there is small reason to regret this, as it has degenerated to a brutal orgy. It commences with drink, every change in ceremony begins and concludes with drink, until finally every one in the village is intoxicated, while their hands, faces, and clothes are smeared with the gore of the sacrifice. Dr. Scheube says: "I had much difficulty in keeping off the drunken crowd that wanted me to partake of the blood and liver (the latter is eaten raw); and I can say that though hardened in these things by the practice of my profession, the sight of these drunken people with their bodies smeared over with blood filled me with a loathing that made me feel glad that the day and the feast were coming to an end together." Dances, many of them of an obscene nature, also form part of the ceremony. A VERY business-like Annual Report from the Sheffield Free Libraries and Mu-eum Committee has been sent us. Though complaint is made of the heavy cost of two of the branches, it is satisfactory to find that one of these rivals the Central Library in its number of volumes circulated. A new catalogue of the Central Library, which has been issued lately, we shall hope to notice more fully shortly. Besides the new branch of a musical department we may call attention also to the Observatory and Prof. Ayrton in the city. The Faure accumulators in which the energy was stored for the lighting and drawing, were placed on the footboard of the tricycle, and the motion was produced by one of Professors Ayrton and Perry's newly-patented electromotors placed under the seat of the rider. Using one of these specially-made tricycle electromotors and the newest type of the Faure accumulators, the total dead weight to be added to a tricycle to light and propel it electrically, is only one and a half hundredweight, a little more than that of one additional person. WE wish to call the attention of our readers to the "Feuille des Jeunes Naturalistes," published monthly in Paris, with a London agency at 110, Leadenhall Street. Founded at Mulhouse in Alsace in 1870, the young journal was hardly launched before the national troubles began; the publication was removed to Paris, where the two first editors both perished during the war at the age of about twenty. The object of the journal is to establish a medium of communication between young naturalists, to encourage them to publish their earliest essays in a serial where they will be sure to find readers to be instructed and competent judges to guide them in their future studies. Every kind of trustworthy observation is welcomed; and the editors undertake to translate communications sent to them in English. The Journal is believed to have been instrumental in the formation of several local natural history societies. THE St. Petersburg Society of Gardening is taking the necessary steps to prepare the International Botanical and Gardening Exhibition and Congress, which will take place in the Russian capital. Professors Beketoff, Borodin, Famintzin, Marklin, and Maximowitsch, and Messrs. Annenkoff, Gobi, Iversen, Semenoff, and Wolkenstein are elected members of the scientific committee; three other committees-for the Exhibition, for the erection of buildings, and for the reception of guests-were appointed at the last meeting of the Society. We have received a copy of the syllabus of the Yorkshire College Students' Association. The society was founded in 1877, and is now in its sixth session. The number of members is large, and the meetings have hitherto been very successful An Attention is devoted to literature as well as to science. excellent programme of papers is down for the present session which began on October 24 with an address by the president, Prof. Thorpe, on "The Story of the Origin of the Metric System." THE German Ornithological Society held its annual meeting at Berlin recently under the presidency of Baron Homeyer. Mr. Schalow (Berlin) read a paper on the progress of ornithology during the last five years; Prof. Landois (Münster) on egg shells considered from a histological and a genetic point of view; Mr. Mützel (Berlin) on the call of the Tragopan; and Prof. Blasius the report of the stations for observing the migrations of birds in Germany. TELEGRAMS from the south-east of Europe report that there was an earthquake in the northern part of the Balkan Peninsula on October 25. At 1.26 p.m. the shocks were felt severely at Preboi, in Bosnia. They lasted fully three seconds, the direction of the vibrations being from west to east. THE first General Meeting of the Members of the Parkes Museum, since the incorporation of the Museum, was held on Saturday last. Capt. Douglas Galton, C. B., was voted to the chair. It was unanimously resolved that H.R. H. Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, who had graciously consented to accept the presidency, be formally elected to that office. Capt. Douglas Galton, in replying to a vote of thanks for presiding, said that the Museum had now entered on a fresh phase of existence, and had established itself as an independent institution in premises which, after necessary alterations had been completed, bid fair to serve its purpose, for the present at least, admirably. The Council contemplated making the sanitary arrangements necessary for the Museum itself as perfect as possible, and it was intended that all such arrangements should be useful for teaching purposes; the drainage, for instance, had been carefully considered by Prof. Corfield and Mr. Rogers Field, M. Inst. C. E, and the latter gentleman had generously undertaken to bear the whole expense of carrying it out. Mr. Twining had undertaken the whole trouble and cost of arranging, and for the most part of providing the Food Collection; the Warming, Lighting, and Ventilating have been referred to a Special Committee, whose endeavour it would be to insure that every appliance was the best of its kind. The general collection was to be carefully weeded and re arranged, and it was hoped that the Museum would be opened to the public soon after Christmas. THE name isanemones has been recently applied by M. Brault to curves of equal velocity of wind, and he has made a drawing of such curves for the North Atlantic in summer, using for the purpose 240,000 ob ervations on board ship. It is shown that an approximate numerical value may be attached to each of the ordinary terms used in ship's logs to denote the wind's force. M. Brault's map, which appears in Comptes Rendus, is remarkable in that it reproduces almost exactly the map of mean isobars. Thus, during summer, that is to say, when the atmosphere is most stable over the great North Atlantic basin, the mean isane mones and the mean isobars are the same, presenting only differences that are nearly equal to possible errors of observation and of construction. It remains to be seen in what measure this important law is general; M. Brault believes it to be so for every surface of the globe which is under what he calls fundamental maxima and minima (such as the maximum and minimum of Asia, the maximum of the Azores), the fixity and permanence of which are such that they form together, and at six months' interval two distinct sy-tems which suffice to define the two great phases of the annual circulation. (Ephemeral maxima and minima are such as appear and disappear daily in our latitudes; while mobile or tempestuous minima such as cyclones or squalls, are grouped as a third cla s.) galleries from rain, and to afford a breathing place for the worms, where they are not seen by birds. WE learn from the Rivista Scientifico-Industriale that Baron V. Cesati has resolved to sell his botanical collection. This consists of a herbarium of about 32,000 phanerogamic species, also a special cryptogamic herbarium containing at least 17,000 species; altogether more than 350,000 plants. There is also a collection of autographs of 2500 botanists. Any one wishing to purchase is desired to apply to the owner, at the Botanical Gardens of Naples. Full particulars of the herbaria will be given. IN the construction of a railway bridge recently over the Ticino, electric illumination has been used instead of that with stearine candles (previously preferred for the compressed air caissons). The hygienic conditions of the workmen in the caissons is thus greatly improved; as stearine candles impregnate the atmosphere with smoke. Eight lamps of the small Swan type are used to light the working chamber; a Siemens' dynamɔ of about 30 lamp-power supplying the current. A secon i dynamo is kept in reserve, to be used in case of breakdown or excessive heating. The additional cost of the system is regarde l as largely compensated by the increased comfort in working. THE additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the past week include a Vervet Monkey (Cercopithecus lalandii 8 ) from South Africa, presented by Mr. G. H. Jones; nine Hairyfooted Jerboas (Dipus hirtipes), twenty-four Gerbille: (Gerbillus —) from Arabia, presented by Lieutenant Paget, R.N.; a Laughing Kingfisher (Dacelo gigantea) from Australia, presented by Mr. H. G. Austin; a Ceylon Jungle Fowl (Gallus stanleyi 8) from Ceylon, presented by Mrs. Dick Lauder; a Spinose Land Emys (Geomyda spinosa) from Borneo, presented by Miss C. G. Robson; two Sharp-headed Lizards (Lacerta oxycephala) from Madeira, presented by Mr. H. J. Clements; three European Tree Frogs (Hyla arborea), European, presented by Miss L. Burness; a Rhesus Monkey (Macacus erythræus ♂ ) from India, a Malbrouck Monkey (Cercopithecus cynosurus) from East Africa, deposited; two Canadian Beavers (Castor canadensis) from Canada, an Eyra (Felis eyra 8), two Sun Bitterns (Eurypyga helias), a Brown Gannet (Sula leucogastra) from South America, two Globose Curassows (Crax globicera ¿?) from Central America, a Razor-billed Curassow (Mitua tomentosa) from Guiana, a Greater Shearwater (Puffinus cinerus) from Lincolnshire, six Knots (Tringa canutus), a Lapwing (Vanellus cristatus), British, a Matamata Terrapin (Chelys matama'a) from the Amazons, purchased; a Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata) from South America, received in exchange. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN SCHMIDT'S COMETARY OBJECT.-We have received a circular (No. 48) of the Imperial Academy of Sciences of Vienna, con 14, in which he notifies his discovery of a nebulous object not far from the head of the great comet, which will be best given in his exact words. He writes:-"Seit October 9, 16.5h. liegt in S.W. neben dem Kometen eine der Form nach stark variable cosmische Nebelmaterie, welche die scheinbare Geschwindigkeit des grossen Kometen zwar etwas übertrifft, doch im Ganzen der Bewegung desselben entspricht." Dr. Schmidt appends the following places, the first and last being from measures, the second deduced from a star-chart. IN his work on wo rms, Darwin has described some towerlike dejections which he never saw constructed in England, but which are attributed to an exotic species of Perichata, from Eastern Asia, naturalised in the environs of Nice. M. Trouessarttaining a letter from Dr. Julius Schmidt, dated Athens, October has lately observed sin ilar dejections in gardens near Angers. Having collected a large number of worms from where the towers were made, he found no species of Perichata, nor of any other exotic genus. In two or three cases he surprised the worms at work, and they were Lumbricus agricola. It was the anterior part of the body that was lodged in the tower. After the rainy period at the end of September all the tubular interior of each tower (forming a continuation of the subterranean gallery) was quite free; but a few days later it was obstructed by recent dejections. M. Trouessart supposes that the calotte or cap of the tower, getting hard in air, a time comes whe the worm can no longer burst the upper wall as before, to place its dejections outside (so increasing the height of the tower), but deposits them within. Thus a long period of rain is necessary for these towers to rise regularly. The towers probably serve to protect the 1882. Oct. 9 10 II ... M.T. at Athens. h. m. 16 54 16 36 ... 16 37 ... Apparent Apparent Dec. R.A. h. m. S. 10 15 53 10 10 26 10 5 51 Dist. from nucleus of principal comet. 1253 3924 12 43 4 25 - 14 33 - On submitting these positions to calculation by the ordinary method of Olbers for a parabolic orbit, Mr. Hind has found the |