at the same time, and passed through it in parallel lines. They continued visible about forty seconds. A meteorite composed in part of iron, nickel, and sulphur, fell in Turkey on the 20th of May.

The Zodiacal Light.-Prof. Arthur W. Wright, of Yale College, communicates to the American Journal of Science and Arts (May and July, 1874) some interesting researches in regard to the nature of the zodiacal light. The results of the investigation are briefly stated as follows:

1. The zodiacal light is polarized in a plane passing through the sun.

2. The amount of polarization is, with a high degree of probability, as much as 15 per cent., but can hardly be as much as 20 per cent.

3. The spectrum of the light is not perceptibly different from that of sunlight, except in intensity. 4. The light is derived from the sun, and is reflected from solid matter.

5. This solid matter consists of small bodies (meteoroids) revolving about the sun in orbits crowded together toward the ecliptic.

The theory that the zodiacal light is produced by the reflection of the sun's rays from

innumerable asteroids interior to the earth's

orbit, and too small to be separately observed, was proposed by Cassini two hundred years since. Its demonstration, however, was first announced in the memoirs above quoted. Prof. Wright, in a third paper, which was read before the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in August, 1874, gives reasons for regarding the orbits of the reflecting bodies as very eccentric.

The Inner Satellites of Uranus.-The question of priority in the discovery of the inner satellites of Uranus has been recently examined by Prof. Edward S. Holden, of the Washington Observatory. After discussing the original observations, together with those of Lamont, Struve, and Lassell, Mr. Holden concludes that not only Titania and Oberon, but also the inner satellites, Ariel and Umbriel, were really discovered by Sir William Herschel, and that the observations of Lassell in 1847 were but rediscoveries of the same bodies. The justice of this conclusion is called in question by Mr. Lassell, who ably vindicates his own exclusive claim to the original discovery. "From a less distinguished authority," he remarks, "than that of an astronomer writing from the Washington Observatory, the assertion might have passed unnoticed, from a conviction that it would not obtain credence; but Prof. Holden's conclusions will probably be held to have an importance or prestige, which compels me at some length to prove how perfectly erroneous they are. myself claim to be the original and only discoverer of these inner satellites, Ariel and Umbriel, single-handed and unassisted, without coadjutor, rival, or competitor."

I

Among the reasons assigned by Mr. Lassell for concluding that none of the stars noticed by Sir William Herschel in the vicinity of Uranus could have been Ariel and Umbriel, is the

fact that the means at his disposal "did not suffice to reveal to him the existence of these most minute bodies."

Stellar Parallaxes.-Dr. Brunnow, the Astronomer Royal for Ireland, has devoted special attention for several years to the determination of the parallaxes of certain fixed stars. The star known as No. 1,830 of Groombridge's catalogue was supposed, from the fact of its having a large proper motion, to be comparatively near us. The observations of Prof. Brunnow, however, have shown its annual parallax to be only nine-hundredths of a second-a parallax which corresponds to a distance ten times greater than that of Alpha Centauri. From a series, of observations on Sigma Draconis, the same distinguished astronomer obtains a parallax of one-fourth of a second; for No. 3,077 of Bradley's catalogue, seven-hundredths of a second; and for the double star No. 68, Pegasi, five-hundredths of a second. The distance corresponding to the last would not be traveled by light in less than sixty years.

Periods of Binary Stars.—M. Flammarion, of Paris, has redetermined the periods of the following double stars:

The first of these periods, it will be observed, is somewhat greater than that of Saturn, while the last is a little greater than the period of Neptune. M. Flammarion remarks that the large number of observations used in the calculation renders his conclusions entirely trustworthy.

Distribution of the Bright Fixed Stars.-A paper on "The Number and Distribution of the Bright Fixed Stars was read before the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in August, 1874, by Dr. B. A. Gould, Director of the Cordoba Observatory, In this memoir the existence of a zone or great circle of very bright stars, intersecting the Milky-Way at an angle about equal to that between the equator and the ecliptic, is, for the first time, distinctly recognized. Dr. Gould remarks:

It has been generally assumed that the number of visible stars of any given magnitude, whether brighter or fainter, diminishes as their distance from the Milky-Way increases. In the elevated position and pure atmosphere of Cordoba, this nebulous circle is seen with a vividness far surpassing that to which we are accustomed here; and, moreover, most of that portion which lies in the Southern Hemisphere is intrinsically brighter than the northern half; so that its position is far more clearly defined than I have ever seen it elsewhere. And few celesistence of a stream or belt of bright stars, including tial phenomena are more palpable there than the exCanopus, Sirius, and Aldebaran, together with the most brilliant ones in Carina, Puppis, Columba, Canis Major, Orion, etc., and skirting the Milky-Way on Galaxy came into view, it was equally manifest that its preceding side. When the opposite half of the the same is true there also, the bright stars likewise fringing it on the preceding side, and forming a

found by Mr. Burnham to be sextuple. The double star No. 263 of South and Herschel's Catalogue has five very minute stars in the immediate vicinity of the two bright components. The system consists, therefore, of seven known members.

The Extended Nebula of Sir John Herschel's General Catalogue. In a paper read by Cleveland Abbe, Esq., before the Philosophical Society of Washington, June 4, 1874, the author, after referring to his previous researches on the distribution of the nebulæ in space, proceeds to inquire whether any definite relation exists between the planes of rotation of the elongated or extremely elliptical nebulous masses. states the problem as follows:

He

We have thus far studied the distribution in space of the centres of the nebula-are there not planes that have a definite relation to these bodies? Among the stars we have the Milky-Way and the orbits of binary stars; among the planets we have their orbits and equators, and the orbits of their satellites; among the nebule we may expect to find analogous planes, whose relations to each other and to those already known cannot but be highly instructive. As yet, we have but very few double nebulæ, nor can we for a long time hope to determine the planes of the orbits of any binary nebulae, if such exist; on the other hand, in regard to the axes of rotation of nebula or the planes of their equators, there is more room for study. It is a plausible hypothesis, that some nebulæ are in rotation about their respective axes, and only in the case of an irregular nebula do we find presumptive evidence of numerous centres of aggregation and rotation; this latter class will not now further claim our attention. Those nebulæ

whose whole mass is rotating about a single axis must appear to us either circular or elliptical, according to our position in relation to that axis; we might then at once assume that every well-defined circular nebula has its axis of rotation directed toward us, and might thus determine the position of the plane of its equator; this, however, would be hazardous, since not only do we thus assume the fact of a rotation, but also assume that the average rotation of all nebula is so rapid that, when viewed from any other direction, they would present a sensibly elliptical outline; moreover, often globular clusters of stars are recorded as circular or globular nebula. I have, therefore, for the present, passed by the circular and the ordinary elliptical nebula, and have confined myself to those described in Herschel's Catalogue as exceedingly or very much extended. In regard to them it may be remarked that, if these nebulae are gaseous and without rotation, we can only explain their apparent shape by supposing them to be endowed with a motion of translation-to be, in fact, wisps, like comets' tails; if, on the other hand, they be in a state of rotation, they must be flat rings or disks, or extended flattened ellipsoids, and we are authorized to consider that the planes of their equators do sensibly pass through the position of the observer; similarly, if the nebulous appearance be due to the presence of lenticular or ring-shaped clouds of asteroids, or of meteoric dust, we shall be able to

make a determination of the plane of the orbits of

these bodies.

Having computed the right ascensions and declinations of the south-poles of the fifty-nine nebule in question, I have also plotted them upon equal surface charts similar to those used by Messrs. Proctor and Waters, on which also have been drawn the limits of the Milky-Way as given by those same gentlemen, according to Heis and Herschel. Owing to the fact that the unresolved nebulæ are, as a rule, far more numerous near the poles of the Milky-Way than elsewhere,

it follows at once that the greater number of the neb ule now under consideration are near these poles, and therefore our poles of rotation, if we may presume to use that term, lie near the Milky-Way itself; but a careful enumeration shows us that in the Northern Hemisphere these poles lie to the southward of the central portion of the Milky Way, while in the Southern Hemisphere the reverse holds good; in fact, there exists a medial plane about which the poles of these nebule cluster, and which is itself inclined to the plane of the Milky-Way at an angle of about 30°, so that if the north-pole of the Milky-Way be in right ascension 12h 45m and declination 30°, the pole of the plane near which the rotation axes of the nebula lie will have about the same right ascension. but a declination of about 60°. Numerically expressed, this latter plane is so situated that of fiftynine nebule twenty-nine have their axes inclined to it by less than 10°, and forty-two have their axes inclined less than 20°.

It is, I conceive, quite desirable that we should, on the one hand, have more accurate determinations of the position-angles of these extended and raylike nebulæ, and that, on the other hand, the reversion spectroscope of Zöllner should be applied to determine whether or not they be really in a state

of rotation.

Mr. Abbe concludes:

It may then in general be stated that, so far as we are able to determine the position of planes of rotation among the nebulæ, they do not show any such tendency to agree with each other as is shown in the orbits and equators of the major planets of the solar system; that, on the contrary, they are inclined at all possible angles to each other, but have this remarkable feature, that their mutual nodes cluster about a point in right ascension 12h. 45m, and north inclination 60°.

Results of Spectroscopic Observations.—1. Dr. Huggins's observations of different nebulæ have shown conclusively that these bodies are not moving with the same velocity as some of the fixed stars. 2. The observations of Mr. Lockyer have added zinc and aluminium to the list of known solar metals. 3. The researches of Secchi and Rutherfurd have shown that there are three classes of stars: the spectra of the first giving only hydrogen lines very thick. includes Sirius. and metallic lines exceedingly thin. This class

The spectra of the second class (which includes our sun) differ only in degree from those of the first; having medium brightness and many lines. The third class is distinguished by banded spectra, indicating the existence of compounds.

The Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society.-At the annual meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society on the 13th of February, 1874, their gold medal was awarded by the Council to Prof. Simon Newcomb, of the Washington Observatory, for his researches on the orbits of Neptune and Uranus, and other contributions to mathematical astronomy. The president, Prof. Cayley, in his address before the Society explaining the grounds of the Council's decision, reviewed in brief the principal works of Prof. Newcomb, particularly those on the orbits of the two outer planets. He concludes as follows:

In what precedes I have endeavored to give you an account of Prof. Newcomb's writings: they exhibit all of them a combination, on the one hand,

of mathematical skill and power, and on the other Land of good hard work-devoted to the furtherance of astronomical science. The "Memoir on the Lunar Theory" contains the successful development of a highly-original idea, and cannot but be regarded as a great step in advance in the method of the variation of the elements and in theoretical dynamics generally; the two sets of planetary tables are works of immense labor, embodying results only attainable by the exercise of such labor under the guidance of profound mathematical skill-and which are needs in the present state of astronomy. I trust that, imperfectly as my task is accomplished, I shall have satisfied you that we have done well in the award of our medal.

The President then, delivering the medal to the foreign secretary, addressed him in the following terms:

MR. HUGGINS: I request that you will have the goodness to transmit to Prof. Newcomb this medal, as an expression of the opinion of the Society of the excellence and importance of what he has accomplished; and to assure him at the same time of our best wishes for his health and happiness, and for the long and successful continuation of his career as a worker in our science.

The Planetary Researches of Leverrier.-The Comptes Rendus of December 21, 1874, contains an interesting account of Leverrier's researches on the theories of the eight principal planets, Mercury, Venus, the Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. When these investigations were commenced, more than thirty years since, none of the tables intended to represent the planetary motions accorded rigorously with the observations. To discover the unknown causes of these systematic errors was the principal object of Leverrier's researches. His theory of Uranus was published in 1846, and led to the discovery of Neptune. This work has been recently revised and extended, and the final results were communicated to the Academy of Sciences on the 15th of November, 1874. The theory of Neptune was given in December; those of Jupiter and Saturn had been previously presented.

In the case of Mercury M. Leverrier has shown that all the anomalies are included under a simple law, and that it "is sufficient to increase the motion of perihelion by thirty-one seconds in the century, to bring every thing into order. The displacement of the perihelion thus acquires in the planetary theories an exceptional importance. It is the surest index, when it has to be increased, of the existence of cosmic matter as yet unknown, and circulating, like other bodies, round the sun. The consequence is very clear. There exists in the neighborhood of Mercury, doubtless between the planet and the sun, a matter as yet unknown. Does it consist in one or more small planets, or in more minute asteroids, or even in cosmic dust? The theory tells us nothing on this point. On numerous occasions trustworthy observers have declared that they have witnessed the passage of a small planet over the sun, but nothing has been established on the subject."

M. Leverrier continues: "The discussion of the observations of the sun led us at once to an important result connected with the great question which agitates at this moment the scientific world, a result which surprised us ourselves, so great was the false confidence inspired by the determination of the parallax of the sun deduced by the Director of the Berlin Observatory from the transits of Venus in 1761 and 1769. I arrived at the conclusion that the parallax of the sun, then estimated at 8. "57, should be increased by the twenty-fifth part of its value.

"Soon afterward the comparison of the theory of Venus with the observations led to the same result, the necessity of augmenting by the parallax of the sun.

"Again, the theory of Mars led in its turn to an equally precise conclusion. It was established that it was impossible to satisfy the totality of the observations of Mars except by increasing the motion of its perihelion by about one-eighth.

"This was the reproduction of the same fact as for Mercury, and the consequence to be derived was the same, viz., that the planet Mars must be subjected to the action of a quantity of matter as yet neglected, and which had to be estimated at about one-eighth of the mass of the earth.

"But then two hypotheses were possible: either the hitherto neglected matter resided in the totality of the ring of the small planets, or else it had to be added to the earth itself. In the second case, and as a consequence, the parallax of the sun had to be increased by about one twenty-fourth part of its received value; that is to say, we are led to the result already obtained from the theories of the sun and Venus.

"Jupiter and Saturn have given rise to a theoretical work, the extent of which has been considerable, on account of the very large mutual perturbations of the two planets. The comparison of the theory of Jupiter with the observations has presented, after suitable modifications of the elements, a complete accordance."

Recent Changes in the Form and Position of Nebula.-The Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society for December, 1874, contains a letter from R. J. Ellery, Esq., Director of the Melbourne Observatory, in which he states that he is engaged in a systematic series of observations of Sir John Herschel's figured nebula. Many of these objects appear to have greatly changed since Herschel's drawings were made at the Cape of Good Hope, between 1834 and 1838. These changes are found, according to the observer, not only in the form and character of the nebulæ, but also in their position with respect to the adjacent fixed stars as figured by Herschel. Whether such transformations are real, or merely apparent, can only be decided by further observations.

Not included in the figures given above for the population of the several colonies are the natives, whose number is rapidly decreasing. In Victoria they numbered about 5,000 when the colony was first settled; in 1851, their number was reported as 2,693; in 1863, as 1,908; in 1873, as 859-516 males and 343 females. In South Australia they numbered, in 1871, 3,369; in Tasmania, one; in Queensland, 2,235. The natives of New Zealand, or Maories, consist of 18 tribes, numbering about 36,359. By the census of 1864, they numbered 55,970-31,667 males, 24,303 females. They are represented in the Legislature of New Zealand by four members. The colonial "Blue-Book," issued in 1874, contains a dispatch from the Governor of New Zealand, Sir J. Ferguson, addressed to the Earl of Carnarvon, in which the author states that of late there had been decided indications of a desire on the part of the "Hauhau" party among the Maories to put an end to their estrangement from the Government, and that they and their people may share in the advantages which the loyal tribes enjoy. A loyal chief of the Waikato has twice waited upon the Governor and declared his belief in the willingness of the separated tribes to come under subjection, provided they are permitted to manage their own affairs under their own chiefs; upon which basis they would be ready to permit communications through their districts, and provide for the surrender of criminals. It remained to be seen whether the "Hau-hau" chiefs are really disposed to surrender their independence, a step which would be distasteful to many of their followers. The Governor goes on to say: "With the exception of the danger of incursions of some turbulent members across the boundary, against which due precautions are taken, there is no disturbing element in connection with the native population. Europeans are constantly becoming more intermixed with them, and they are more habituated to, and dependent upon, the comforts of European products, and the money derived by the sale or lease of their land. There is, however, much cause for regret in the demoralizing influences which invariably accompany the influx of Europeans. Few natives of any class can resist the temptation to drink habitually and to excess while they have the means of indulging in it. There are chiefs who

set an example of sobriety or total abstinence, but it cannot be doubted that the frequent excess in ardent and often bad spirits by both sexes, and their inordinate use of tobacco from a very early age, are prominent causes of the rapid and almost general diminution of the numbers of this fine and capable race, which is presented alike by the paucity of the births and the mortality among the children, rather than among the infants. At the same time there is reason to hope that a remnant will be saved, and that the considerable number of children receiving instruction upon the English system in our schools may raise up a certain number so educated as to resist the temptations which have proved fatal to so many. The full capacity both of Maories and half-castes to acquire and employ all branches of knowledge induces the belief that there will long survive in New Zealand representatives of the Maori race." The Governor adds: "I wish that some systematic effort were made to fit the children of chiefs, by higher education, for their proper work among their people, and even for taking a part in the future government and business of the country. In spite of the comparative failure of some former attempts, I hope, through private association, if not by the action of the Government, to set on foot some definite organization for this purpose.'

The colonies, being independent of each other, each colony has its own educational system. That of New South Wales consists of primary schools, the grammar-school, and the university. The former exist all over the colony. The grammar-school is intended partly as a preparatory step to the university. It has ten teachers, 237 pupils, and several scholarships of the yearly value of £20, open to all pupils below twelve. Th University of Sydney employs five tutors to forty-five students. The course of instruction is somewhat similar to that of English colleges. Affiliated with it are two colleges, St. Paul's, Anglican, one tutor and five students; and St. John's, Roman Catholic, two teachers to one and nine to the other. In connection with it there are also several public and "In Memoriam" scholarships of the annual value of £50, which are awarded to successful candidates. The University is presided over by a chancellor, the government being in the hands of a senate. The total number of schools, in 1872, was reported as 1,464, with 106,691 pupils. Of these schools, 878 were under the Council of Education; the number of denominational schools, under the board, was 223, of which 104 belong to the Church of England, 86 to the Roman Catholics, 18 to the Presbyterians, 14 to the Wesleyans, and one to the Jews. The Government, in 1871, contributed to the support of the educational institutions £143,198, and £56,019 was received in the shape of fees and voluntary contributions.

In Victoria, the number of day-schools, including state schools, private educational establishments, colleges, and grammar-schools, was