LORENZO RESPIGHI

DURING the last forty years the Eternal City has possessed two astronomical observatories. It was at the old building, connected with the Collegio Romano, that Scheiner collected the principal materials for his famous work on the sun, called from its dedication to Prince Orsini, the Duke of Bracciano, "Rosa Ursina"; and though it is with some justice that Delambre speaks disparagingly of its contents as compared with its bulk, the observations of the solar spots show with what care they were made, and they afford the first indication of the now familiar fact that their rotation varies in duration in different heliographical latitudes, though Scheiner's idea seems to have been that it was not the same in the two solar hemispheres. But it was not until 1787 that the present observatory of the Collegio Romano was commenced, nor until 1804 that the general interest felt in the great eclipse of February II in that year induced Pope Pius VII. to provide G. Calandrelli with the means of furnishing it with suitable instruments. Another astronomical phenomenon, the appearance of the great comet of 1843, led his son Ignazio Calandrelli, to wish to form a new observatory on the Capitoline Hill; but it was not until five years later that Pius IX. was able, in 1848, to provide him with the means for carrying out this design. Meanwhile Calandrelli continued his observations at Bologna, ably assisted by the subject of our notice.

Lorenzo Respighi was born at Cortemaggiore, in the province of Placentia, in 1824. His first studies were made at Parma, from which town he proceeded, to the University of Bologna, where he obtained high honours in the departments of mathematics and philosophy in 1847. Nominated Professor of Optics and Astronomy in 1851, he subsequently succeeded Calandrelli as Director of the Observatory. On the retirement of the latter in

netizing forces in the direction of the tension, tension increases the magnetization; for large forces, diminishes it. In the case of nickel the effect is always to diminis the magnetization. (To be continued)

1865 (followed by his death in 1866) Respighi was appointed his successor. His earliest papers were on mechanical and optical subjects; but he will be best remembered by his subsequent labours on stellar spectra. on those of the solar corona and protuberances, and on the scintillation of the stars. In 1871 he went on an expedition to Poodocottah, in Hindustan, to observe the total eclipse of December 12 in that year; an account of the observations will be found in the eclipse (41st) volume of the Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society, ct which Respighi was elected an Associate in 1872. He formed from his observations between 1875 and 1881 3 catalogue of 2534 stars in the northern hemisphere from the first to the sixth magnitude, which was published in successive numbers of the Memoirs of the Lincean Academy.

His death took place after a long illness, aggravated by the recent epidemic, on December 10 last, and the Campidoglio Observatory has thus been deprived of its second director, who has so ably and energetically conducted its operations during nearly the last quarter of a century. W. T. LYNN,

NOTES.

ON Saturday evening, at the Royal Institution, Prof. Ma Müller delivered an address to inaugurate the establishment a school for modern Oriental studies by the Imperial Institute in union with University College and King's College, London. The Prince of Wales presided, and among those present were many eminent persons, including some distinguished Orientals Prof. Müller presented with admirable force and clearness the need for a great English school for Oriental studies, and bad much to tell his hearers as to work done in this direction in other countries. His account of the new Berlin seminary of

Oriental languages was particularly interesting. This institution has the following staff of professors and teachers :-One professor of Chinese; two teachers of Chinese, both natives—one for teaching North Chinese, the other South Chinese; one professor of Japanese, assisted by a native teacher; one professor of Arabic, assisted by two native teachers-one for Arabic as spoken in Egypt, the other for Arabic as spoken in Syria; one native teacher of Hindustani and Persian; one native teacher of Turkish; one teacher of Suaheli, an important language spoken

the East Coast of Africa, assisted by a native. Besides these special lectures, those given by the most eminent professors of Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, and Chinese in the Universities of Berlin are open to the students of the Oriental seminary. The number of students amounts at present to 115. Of these, 56 are said to belong to the faculty of law, which must be taken to include all who aspire to any employment in the consular and Colonial services. Fifteen belong to the faculties of philosophy, medicine, and physical science; four to the faculty of theology, who are probably intended for missionary work. Twenty-three are mentioned as engaged in mercantile pursuits, three are technical students, five officers in the army, and nine are returned 25 studying modern Greek and Spanish, languages not generally counted as Oriental, though, no doubt, of great usefulness in the East and in America. Prof. Müller succeeded in conveying a remarkably vivid impression of the fact that England, looking at the subject simply from the point of view of her own material interests, cannot afford to neglect the studies to which so much "ention is devoted elsewhere. "England," he said, " cannot ve an isolated life. She must be able to breathe, to grow, to espand, if she is to live at all. Her productive power is far too Buch for herself, too much even for Europe. She must have a wider field for her unceasing activity, and that field is the East, uh its many races, its many markets, its many languages. To show herself to be forestalled or to be ousted by more eloquent persuasive competitors from those vast fields of commerce wald be simple suicide. Our school, in claiming national support, appeals first of all to the instinct of self-preservation. says to every manufacturing town in England, help us, and, in ing so, help thyself. Whenever the safety and honour of Ingland are at stake we know what enormous sums Parliament willing to vote for army and navy, for fortresses and harbours -sums larger than any other Parliament would venture to name. We want very little for our School of Oriental Languages, but we want at least as much as other countries devote to the same otrect. We want it for the very existence of England; for the tal condition of her existence is her commerce, and the best markets for that commerce lie in the East."

Ox Saturday, February 22, the Physikalisch-ökonomische Ge ellschaft of Konigsberg is to hold its centenary celebration. The proceedings will consist of a Festsitzung at II a.m., a visit the Provinzial-Museum at 1, and a Festessen at 8 p.m. SEVERAL courses of afternoon lectures which promise to be exceptionally interesting will be delivered during the present ason at the Royal Institution. On January 21 Mr. G. J. Romanes, F.R.S., will begin a series of ten lectures, forming The third part of his course on "Before and After Darwin." This series will relate to the post-Darwinian period, and will include a discussion of Weismann's theory of heredity. Prof. Flower, F.R.S., will begin on January 25 a course of three ectures on the natural history of the horse, and of its extinct and existing allies. A course of four lectures on the early developments of the forms of instrumental music will be begun Mr. F. Niecks on March 6.

THE annual general meeting of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers will be held at 25 Great George Street, Westminster, 0 January 29, 30, and 31. The chair will be taken each evening by the President at 7.30 p.m. The following are the papers:

on the compounding of locomotives burning petroleum refuse in Russia, by Thomas Urquhart; on the burning of colonial coal in the locomotives of the Cape Government railways, by Michael Stephens; on the mechanical appliances employed in the manufacture and storage of oxygen, by Kenneth S. Murray.

THE annual general meeting of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland will take place on Tuesday, the 28th inst., at 8.30 p.m., Dr. John Beddoe, F.R.S., President, in the chair. The following will be the order of business :— Confirmation of the minutes, appointment of scrutineers of the ballot, Treasurer's financial statement, Report of Council for 1889, the Presidential Address, report of scrutineers, and election of Council for 1890.

DURING the last few years anthropological studies have excited a good deal of popular interest, and lately it occurred to the Council of the Anthropological Institute that it might be worth while for them to arrange for the preparation of a series of lectures presenting clearly the results of recent anthropological research. Accordingly a course on the following branches of the subject has been planned physical anthropology; the geotombs, and ornaments; the development of the arts of life; logical history of man; prehistoric and non-historic dwellings, social institutions; anthropometry. The Assistant-Secretary of the Institute is prepared to arrange for the delivery of these lectures at places within convenient distance of London.

THE first volume of Prof. Thorpe's "Dictionary of Applied Chemistry" (Longmans) will be published in a few days. The work will consist of three volumes, and will treat specially of chemistry in its relations to the arts and manufactures. It will be uniform with the new edition of Watts's Dictionary of Chemistry," edited by Muir and Morley.

66

M. GRANEL has been appointed Professor of Botany to the Faculty of Medicine at Montpellier.

ON Monday the Khedive opened the new Museum at Ghizeh, whither the archæological treasures hitherto preserved at Boulak have been transferred.

THE "tercentenary of the invention of the compound microscope" will be celebrated by a Universal Exhibition of Botany and Microscopy, to be held at Antwerp during the present year, under the auspices of M. Ch. de Bosschere, President, M. Ch. Van Geert, Secretary, and Dr. H. Van Heurck, Vice-President. It is proposed to organize an historical exhibition of microscopes, and an exhibition of the instruments of all makers, and of accessory apparatus and photomicrography. At the conferences the following subjects will be discussed and illustrated :-The history of the microscope; the use of the microscope; the projecting microscope and photomicrography; the microscopical structure of plants; the microscopical structure of man and of animals; microbes; the adulteration of food-substances, &c. Communications are to be addressed to M. Ch. de Bosschere, Lierre, Belgium.

WE regret to have to record the death of Mr. Daniel Adamson, well known from his connection with the iron and steel industries.

He died on Monday at the age of 71. Mr. Adamson was President of the Iron and Steel Institute in 1887, and was a member of other mechanical and scientific associations.

DR. F. HAUCK, the eminent algologist, died at Trieste on December 21, 1889, at the early age of forty-four. He was the author of the volume on marine Alge in the new edition of Rabenhorst's "Cryptogamic Flora of Germany."

THE December number of the] American Geologist contains an interesting paper, by William Upham, on the late Prof. Henry Carvill Lewis, who, it will be remembered, died at Manchester on July 21, 1888, a day or two after his arrival in this country from America. He became ill during the voyage,

and it seems that the immediate cause was the contamination of the water supply of Philadelphia, where he had been living, and where about a thousand cases of typhoid fever appeared at nearly the same time. Prof. Lewis was only in his thirty-fifth year. An excellent portrait of him accompanies Mr. Upham's paper.

AT the meeting of the University Experimental Science Association, Dublin, on December 13, Mr. J. Joly read a paper on a resonance method of measuring the constant of gravitation. A simple pendulum of small mass is hung in a tall glass tube, rendered vacuous. In close proximity two massive pendulums, one at either side, are maintained in a state of vibration for any desired period of time. The times of vibration of all these pendulums are alike. The observations consist in observing the

amplitude, or the increase of amplitude, of the central pendulum, after a known number of vibrations executed by the exterior pendulums. Several modifications, carrying out the same principle, were suggested. It is proposed to test the method in the vaults of the physical laboratory.

THE Central Meteorological Observatory of Mexico, which is situated at 7489 feet above the sea, has published a summary of meteorological results for each month of twelve years ending 1888 (excepting January and February 1877). The coldest month is January, the mean temperature of which is 54°, and the warmest month is April, the mean temperature of which is 64°. The absolute maximum in the shade was 89°, and the minimum 28°9. The wettest month is August, in which the mean rainfall is 5'4 inches, and the driest month is February, with an average of 0'4 inch. The greatest fall at one time was 25 inches. The prevalent direction of the wind is north-west.

THE Essex County Chronicle of January 10 says that on Tuesday, the 7th inst., two slight shocks of earthquake were noticed at Chelmsford. The first occurred at 12. 30, when a low rumbling sound like thunder in the distance was heard, accompanied by a vibration of the ground and a rattling of the windows. The shock was observed in several parts of the town. The more pronounced shock was, however, at 1.25 p.m., when the rumbling, moaning sound was intensified, there being a heavy throbbing in the air like the pulsation of an engine. At many houses there was a violent shaking of the windows, and two cases are reported of things trembling on the tables. Some men working for Mr. Norrington heard the sound, took it to be the rumble of a heavy waggon, and went out to see it. Nothing was in sight. Several people recognized the shock as being similar to the forerunner of the 1884 earthquake, and rushed out of their houses. Mr. Arthur E. Brown, writing to us from Brentwood, says that the shocks were noticed there. They were attributed by the people in his house to the firing of guns at Woolwich. They rattled the doors violently.

A CORRESPONDENT writes that during the thunderstorm which prevailed over the greater part of Scotland early on Monday morning, January 6, a slight shock of earthquake was felt in a district of Perthshire. This," he says, "is somewhat similar to what took place at Argyll on the evening of July 15 last year, and might lead one to suppose that atmospheric influence has something to do with the production of seismic disturbances.”

AT a meeting of the Royal Botanic Society on Saturday, attention was called to a specimen of the double cocoanut, or cocoa de mer, now known to come from the Seychelles. For some hundreds of years these nuts have been occasionally found washed up by the sea, and their extraordinary appearance, large size, and mysterious origin have given rise to many stories of miraculous virtue in the cure of diseases. Some are even said to have been sold for their weight in gold. This specimen belonged to General Gordon, and was given by him to General Gerald Graham, by whom it has been presented to the Society.

THE Transactions of the Congres pour l'Utilisation des Es fluviales, held last summer in Paris, have just been issued. The volume contains a great number of engravings.

A BOOK on the Congo State, by E. Dupont, the Director t the Natural History Museum of Brussels, has just been publiste He presents the scientific results of his travels, devoting especial attention to geological questions.

MESSRS. GEORGE PHILIP AND SON have published th second issue of their valuable "Educational Annual." The work has been enlarged, revised, and to some extent re arranged; and it ought to be of great service to all who are for any reason especially interested in educational institutions.

MESSRS. PERKEN, SON, AND RAYMENT have produced : projecting optical lantern, which is likely to be of considerable service. When enlargements are required, a condenser 10 inch diameter is available; but when a magic-lanter entertainment is to be provided, a condenser of 4-inch diameter can be substituted. The apparatus consists of a mahogany body lantern with a long bellows-camera adjusted by the patent quick-action rack and pinion, and lighted by the refulg three-wick lamp.

ON January 21, and the three following evenings, Dr. Ł Symes Thomson will deliver, at Gresham College, a course of lectures on influenza or epidemic catarrh. In the first lecture he will present a historical sketch of the subject. The remaining lectures will be on influenza as it affects the lower animals the causes and consequences of influenza, and diagnosis an management.

THE additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the past week include four Leopard Tortoises (Testudo pardadi three Well-marked Tortoises (Homopus signatus), a Rafns Snake (Ablabes rufulus), six Gray's Frogs (Rana_grayi) from South Africa, presented by the Rev. G. H. R. Fisk, C.M.Z.S., two Spur-winged Geese (Plectropterus gambensis) from West Africa, presented by Mr. C. B. Mitford; six Red-bellied Wax bills (Estrelda rubriventris), five Crimson-eared Wax bills (Estrelda phenicotis), seven Grenadier Waxbills (Uraginta grantinus, 6 8 1 ), three Paradise Whydah Birds (I Weaver Birds (Euplectes - from paradisea), three Benguela, West Africa, presented by Mr. T. W. Bacon; 1 Bluish Finch (Spermophila cærulescens &) from Brazil, presented by Mrs. Mayne; a Green Turtle (Chelone viridis) from the West Indies, presented by Mrs. Harris; a Chattering Lory (Lorius garrulus) from Moluccas, presented by Captain Bason P. and O. s.s. Bombay; three Yellow-winged Sugar Finis (Carea cyanea), two Yellow-fronted Tanagers (Euphonia fr frons) from South America, deposited; four Tufted Umores (Scopus umbretta) from Africa, a Geoffroy's Terrapin (Hydrati hilarii) from the Argentine Republic, purchased; a Koala (Fhascolarctus cinereus) from Australia, two Indian Cobras (Naia tripudians), an Indian Python (Python molurus) from India, received in exchange.

Remarks.

(1) This is described in Herschel's general catalogue as "a remarkable object, very large, round, with tail, much brighter in the middle.' The spectrum has not yet been recorded, but it promises to be one of great interest, as the nebula is apparently one of the cometic ones. The meteoritic hypothesis suggests that these are produced by a condensed swarm moving at a high velocity through a sheet of meteorites at rest, or a swarm almost at rest surrounded by a moving sheet. In the former case the colision region would be behind the swarm, and would be spread out like a comet's tail, the angle of the fan and length of "tail" depending upon the velocity of the moving swarm. Observations for variations of spectrum between nucleus and tail will albe valuable.

12 This is a typical example of stars of Group II. ins similar to those suggested for 20 Leporis, U. A., are required.

Observalast week,

(3) Konkoly classes this with stars of the solar type. The usual diferential observations, as to whether the star belongs to Group Il. or to Group V., are required.

14 In Gothard's list of star spectra this is described as Group IV The usual observations are suggested.

(3) Duner describes the spectrum of this star as Group VI., Lat his description is not complete. The characters of the dinerent bands, especially of Band 6, require further observato. It may be remarked in connection with these stars of mal magnitude, that the observations are by no means so difficalt as in the case of small stars with spectra consisting of fine e. The bands are broad and generally dark, so that the continuous spectrum is broken up into zones.

16 This variable has a period of 167 days, and ranges in sagnitude from about 8 at maximum to 13 at minimum. The perum is of the Group II. type, and, as in other variables of the same group, bright lines may appear at maximum. Dunér tates that the bands are very wide and dark, but he does not are what bands are present. Maximum on January 18.

(7) The spectrum of this variable has not yet been recorded, but the colour indicates that it is probably either Group II. or Grup VI. The period is 228 days, and the range from 7 at maumam to 10 at minimum. The maximum will occur on January 18. A. FOWLER.

THE TEMPERATURE OF THE MOON.-Prof. Langley, by rans of the bolometer, made some measurements of the heat

different parts of the eclipsed moon on the night of Sepember 23, 1885 (Phil. Mag., January, 1890). These measureseats were made in connection with a much more extended ady an the temperature of our satellite. The following parcars are given:-The diameter of the lunar image was 283 millimetres, and of this only a limited portion (o os of the hole fell upon the bolometer. As the penumbra came on, diminution of heat was marked, being measured by the tolometer even before the eye had detected any appearance of hadow. The heat continued to diminish rapidly with the progress of the immersion in the penumbra. At one hour before the middle of the total eclipse, the deflection in the umbra was divisions. Fifty minutes after the middle of the eclipse, it and diminished to approximately 13 divisions, this being less

I per cent. of the heat from a similar portion of the unclipsed moon. The rise of the temperature after the passage cf the umbra was apparently nearly as rapid as the previous fall. The most important conclusion drawn by Prof. Langley from las researches is that the mean temperature of the sunlit lunar al is most probably not greatly above zero Centigrade. ON THE ORBIT OF STRUVE 228.-The Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, December 1889, contains a te, communicated by Mr. J. E. Gore, on this binary star. Recent measures show that, since Struve discovered the star in 1829, it has described about 120° of its apparent orbit. ollowing provisional elements have been computed :

The

i = 70° 59' According to this orbit, the distance between the components will gradually increase during the next few years up to a maximum of about o' 55, and then diminish again as the companion approaches the periastron. The minimum distance will not be

reached until the position angle is 180° (after the periastron passage), when the components will probably be separated by less than o" 2. The binary lies a little preceding 62 Andromeda, the position for 1890'0 being approximately

R. A. 2h. 6m. 59s., Decl. + 46° 58'4.

The magnitudes of the components are about 6'7 and 7'6. ORBIT OF SWIFT'S COMET (V. 1880).-The orbit of this comet has been computed, by Gibbs's vector method, by Messrs. W. Beebe and A. W. Phillips (Astr. Journ., Nos. 207, 208). This method is found to possess advantages over those of Gauss and Oppolzer. Below are given elements which have been computed from eight observations ranging from October 25, 1880, to January 7, 1881, and compared with these are the elements computed from three observations by Gibbs's method. Both are referred to the ecliptic and mean equinox of 1880'o:Eight observations.

Three observations.

0

i = 5 22 2'03 8 = 106 13 19′17

8 = 296 52 2'09 log e 9.8146985 log a = 0'4873065

T= 1880 Nov. 7.782810 Periodic time = 1965 88 days.

ON THE VARIABILITY OF R VULPECULE.-Schönfeld, from a discussion of the observations from 1859 to 1874, found that a uniform period left systematic deviations outstanding which exceeded seven or eight times the uncertainty of the single maxima, but that a quadratic term, corresponding to a shortening of o'12 days from epoch to epoch, brought them within the range of the probable errors. The divergence from observation, however, soon began, and rapidly widened, until in 1885 it amounted to 106 5 days. Mr. Chandler (Astr. Journ., No. 208) gives a table showing the maxima and minima observed since 1807, with the deviations from the elements of his catalogue. It is seen that, whereas the difference between the observed and the calculated maxima and minima, using Schönfeld's elements, are very considerable, the elements given by the author differed from those observed only in a very slight degree.

ON THE ROTATION OF MERCURY.-Nearly a century has elapsed since Schröter published his first observation of the physical aspect of Mercury, and assigned to the planet a period of rotation; but it has been left to that perspicacious observer, Signor Schiaparelli, to demonstrate the fact by a series of remarkable observations given by him in Astronomische Nachrichten, No. 2944. The observations extend from 1882 to the end of last year. As many as 150 drawings have been made of the markings upon the planet with respect to the best positions for observation. It is noted that one of the finest drawings was made on August 11, 1882, when Mercury was only 3° 2' from the sun's limb. The markings that are visible on Mercury when observed at the same hour on consecutive days are identical in their aspect, and this being so, three hypotheses have been propounded (Astr. Nach., 2479) regarding the rotation of the planet, viz. :

That (1) the time of rotation is about 24 hours.

(2) The planet makes two or more rotations in the same interval.

(3) The time of rotation is so slow as to be inappreciable when observing the markings during a few days.

Schröter decided in favour of the first hypothesis, and Bessel, from a discussion of this observer's data, determined the time of

rotation to be 24h. om. 52'975. Schiaparelli's observations support the last of these hypotheses, and are opposed to the rotation period determined by Schröter.

Following a series of dark markings, shown in the figure which accompanies the article, it was found that

Mercury revolves round the sun in the same manner that the moon revolves round the earth, always presenting to it the same hemisphere; hence, since the planet's periodic time is 87.9693 days, this must be the time of rotation on its axis.

The dark markings observed appear extremely faint, and are not easily recognized. On good occasions the colour may be seen to be reddish-brown, and always differs from the general colour of the planet's disk, which is a bright rose changing to copper.

This most interesting and important communication from Milan Observatory must be read in detail in order that it may be appreciated.