District, Joseph T. Robinson; Seventh District, W. B. Goodwin. At the September election an amendment to the Constitution providing for the initiative and referendum was adopted by a vote of 91,383 for to 39,080 against. A constitutional amendment to give cotton mills certain exemptions from taxation got 74,132 votes for to 54,485 votes against, but failed for the want of a constitutional majority. OTHER EVENTS. The Arkansas Supreme Court on February 14, 1910, in case of Arkansas Stove Company v. State, held that the Act of February 1st, 1909, "requiring corporations to pay their employes semi-monthly, is not invalid as restricting the right of such employes to contract with such corporations, and that the Act does not deny the equal protection of the law, since all corporations of the class affected are treated alike under like circumstances." STATE OFFICERS: Governor, George W. Donaghey; Lieutenant-Governor, J. T. Robertson; Secretary of State, Earl W. Hodges; Treasurer, John W. Crockett; Auditor and Insurance Commissioner, J. R. Jobe; Attorney-General, Hal L. Norwood; Superintendent of Education, Geo. B. Cook; Commissioner of Agriculture, Fred H. Phillips; Commissioner of Public Lands, R. G. Dye-all Democrats. JUDICIARY: Supreme Court: Chief Justice, Edgar A. McCulloch; Justices, Samuel Frauenthal, C. D Wood, William F. Kirby and Jesse C. Hart; Clerk of the Court, P. D. English-all ARSENIC. The only arsenic produced in the United States in 1909, as in 1908, was that recovered in the form of white arsenic as a byproduct in smelting. During the year white arsenic was saved at three smelters, at Everett, Washington, at Anaconda, Montana, and at Midvale, Utah. The total quantity of arsenic saved by these three smelters during 1909 was 1214 short tons, valued at $52,946. The average price received from the companies ranged from 2.05 to 2.44 cents per pound. The prices around New York averaged three cents per pound. The imports of white arsenic in 1909 amounted to 4036 short tons, valued at $303,728. There were also imported 183,705 pounds of Paris green and London purple valued at $20,370. The imports came from Canada, Europe and Mexico. According to the Engineering and Mining Journal the total production of white arsenic in the United States in 1910 amounted to 1326 tons. The producers continued to be the same as mentioned above. The Mexican mines worked only on the richest flue dusts and by no means up to their full capacity. In Canada there were three producers. See ATOMIC WEIGHTS. ARSENO-BENZOL (dioxydiamidoarsenobenzol; salvarsan; amido-arseno-benzol; "606 "). A new arsenic compound discovered by Ehrlich and Hata and believed to be a specific for syphilis. It was by far the most important contribution to the drug treatment of the disease during the year 1910, and bids fair, according to the most reliable observers, to equal quinine as a benefaction to the human race. Although discovered in 1907, it was not until last year that definite clinical results were announced. The drug owes its popular title "606" to the fact that during several years of experimenting with arsenical compounds, it was the 606th to be tried by the investigators. According to patent specifications, the substance is obtained from nitrophenol arsenic acid, and has the structural chemical formula: NH, OH.C, H. As: As O, H, OH NH2. It is one of the same series of arsenical compounds as atoxyl, advocated by Robert Koch several years ago as a specific for sleeping sickness. Since the recent discovery by Schaudin that syphilis was due to a spirillum, the Spirochete pallida or Treponema pallidum, a new impetus was given to the search for a specific against this scourge of the human race. That such a specific is supplied by Ehrlich's remedy all observers seem agreed. It is claimed that a single dose causes the total disappearance of spirochetes from the tissues within a few days, and that healing of ulcerations and other lesions often begins within twenty-four hours. Parasyphilitic diseases, such as locomotor ataxia, as well as the acute and chronic stages of syphilis, are said to be materially benefited. Relapsing fever, another protozoön disease, due to the spirillum of Obermeier, is also cured, according to Iversen, by the new remedy, all spirilla disappearing from the blood after one injection. Whether or not the cure of either disease is permanent, the future alone will show. At any rate, the discovery was received on the Continent with remarkable enthusiasm, and the results thus far reported border on the marvelous. The drug is not yet on the market nor available for general use in America. Considerable care is necessary in its administration. Severe reaction, temporary blindness, convulsions, and other unpleasant symptoms and a few deaths have attended its use, but whether these were due to the drug itself or to a faulty method of preparing it with impure methyl alcohol, is not yet decided. Ehrlich strongly advises against using the remedy except in patients who are sound except for the spirochete infection. Syphilitic nursing infants are best treated through the mother. The drug does not pass through the milk, but "antibodies" are formed in the mother which are equally effective and much safer. ART. See ARCHITECTURE; MUSIC; PAINTING; SCULPTURE. ARTIFICIAL GEMS. See CHEMISTRY, INDUSTRIAL. OF. ARTILLERY. See MILITARY PROGRESS. ARTS AND LETTERS, AMERICAN ACADEMY A body founded in 1898 by the action of the American Social Science Association, which, at its annual meeting nominated a small group of authors and artists to constitute a national institute of arts and letters. The qualification for membership in this body was to be a notable achievement in art, music or literature, and the membership was limited at first to 150, but afterwards to 250. When the institute had included in its membership a large proportion of the most notable artists and authors of the United States, it declared its purpose of proceeding to an organization of an Academy of ARTS AND LETTERS Arts and Letters, the members of which should be chosen from the members of the institute. Seven members were chosen from the National Institute of Arts and Letters and provision was made for a progressive responsibility in the choice of those to be elected later. The first seven members were selected in 1904 and were William Dean Howells, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Edmund Clarence Stedman, John La Farge, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, John Hay and Edward A. MacDowell. These were empowered immediately to elect eight more members and they chose Henry James, Charles Follen McKim, Henry Adams, Charles Eliot Norton, J. Q. A. Ward, T. R. Lounsbury, Theodore Roosevelt, and Thomas Bailey Aldrich. These fifteen members then proceeded to elect five more, Joseph Jefferson, John S. Sargent, R. W. Gilder, H. H. Furness and John Bigelow. These twenty representatives then elected ten additional, raising the total membership to thirty. The new members chosen were Winslow Homer, Carl Schurz, A. T. Mahan, Joel Chandler Harris, D. C. French, John Burroughs, J. F. Rhodes, E. A. Abbey, Horatio W. Parker and William M. Sloane. The constitution of the Academy declares that its aim is to represent and further the interests of the fine arts and of literature. Fifty is established as the limit of its membership. Elections have taken place at intervals, first to enlarge the membership, and then to fill the vacancies which have been caused by death. The Academy held a meeting of great interest in December, 1910, at the New Theatre in New York City. This was the second public meeting, the first having been held in Washington in 1909. The President, William Dean Howells, in his opening address defined the scope of the institution. One of the most interesting features of the session was a paper on Reminiscences of Alexander Dumas, read by John Bigelow, who shortly before had celebrated his 93d birthday. Mr. William C. Brownell presented the subject of Criticism, and Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler made an address on the subject, The Revolt of the Unfit: Reflections on the Doctrine of Evolution. At the conclusion of the session the gold medal of the National Institute given annually for work of distinction in some field of art or letters was presented to James Ford Rhodes, the historian, by Dr. Henry van Dyke, the President of the Institute. Other speakers were Percy Mackaye, Hamlin Garland, Loredo Taft, Brander Matthews and William M. Sloane. Hamilton W. Mabie read a series of commemorative papers on members of the Academy who had died during the last few years. The living members in 1910 were as follows: 63 ASHANTI Thayer, Elihu Vedder, Andrew Dickson White, Woodrow Wilson, George Edward Woodberry. The deceased members are: Thomas Bailey Aldrich, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, Francis Marion Crawford, Richard Watson Gilder, Daniel Coit Gilman, Edward Everett Hale, Joel Chandler Harris, John Hay, Bronson Howard, Joseph Jefferson, Henry Carey Lea, Edward A. MacDowell, Charles Follen McKim, Donald Grant Mitchell, Charles Eliot Norton, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Carl Schurz, Edmund Clarence Stedman, Mrs. Julia Ward Howe, William Vaughan Moody, John Quincy Adams Ward, Winslow Homer, John La Farge. ASBESTOS. The United States has for years led all other countries in the manufacture of asbestos goods, but the raw asbestos for factories has been almost wholly imported from Canada. According to the United States Geological Survey a change appears to have taken place in this condition, in view of the decided increase in 1909 in the production in the United States of a grade of asbestos which is only comparable to that of 1909. Prior to 1908 all of the asbestos mined in the United States was of the amphibole type, but in 1908 and 1909 the output not only increased four-fold over that of 1907, but the increase was almost wholly in chrysotile asbestos. Apart from the increased production in the United States, the principal feature in 1909 was the combination of interests. A number of chief producers whose mines were located in Canada and largely owned in the United States entered into the formation of The Amalgamated Asbestos Corporation, Limited, and will, it is believed, have a controlling interest in the produc tion and sale of asbestos. The total production in the United States for 1909 was 3085 tons, an increase of more than 200 per cent. over the output of 1908. Practically only two States, Vermont and Georgia, furnished asbestos to commerce during 1909, both with increased production. Georgia furnished the amphibole and Vermont the more valuable chrysotile type, and a small quantity was reported from Idaho and Wyoming. The value of the imports of asbestos in 1909 was $1,233,659 of which $993,278 was for unmanufactured asbestos and $240,381 for manufactured asbestos. The greater portion of the amount imported was from Canada, but a small amount was imported from Germany, United Kingdom, Russia and Italy. FOREIGN PRODUCTION. There were produced in Canada in 1909 63,349 short tons valued at $2,284,587. In addition there were produced 23,951 tons of asbestic valued at $17,188. There were ten companies working in the asbestos district of Canada, with 19 quarries and mills, employing in the summer season over 3000 persons. Russia is becoming an important producer of asbestos, but owing to difficulties of mining and transportation in the Urals, where the mines occur, only the better grades reach the general markets. The production was about 15,000 short tons in 1909. Edwin Austin Abbey, Charles Francis Adams, Henry Adams, John Bigelow, Edwin Howland Blashfield, William Crary Brownell, John Burroughs, George Washington Cable, George Whitfield Chadwick, William Merritt Chase, Kenyon Cox, Henry van Dyke, Daniel Chester French, Horace Howard Furness, Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve, Arthur Twining Hadley, Thomas Hastings, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, William Dean Howells, Henry James, Robert Underwood Johnson, Henry Cabot Lodge, Thomas Raynesford Lounsbury, Hamilton Wright Mabie, Alfred Thayer Mahan, Brander Matthews, John Muir, Thomas Nelson Page, Horatio William Parker, James Ford Rhodes, Theodore Roosevelt, John Singer Sargent, William Milligan Sloane, and Ceylon. Francis Hopkinson Smith, Abbott Handerson The production of asbestos in South Africa showed an increase in 1909. It amounted to about 2000 tons. Deposits of asbestos are reported to have been found in Australia. A small quantity is mined in Japan, France, Italy, Corsica, Greece, Turkey, ASHANTI. See GOLD COAST. ASHBURNER, WALTER. See LITERATURE, were considerably strengthened at the limb, the ENGLISH AND AMERICAN. intensification being probably a temperature ASHDOWN, Mrs. C. H. See LITERATURE, effect. Comparison of laboratory spectra with ENGLISH AND AMERICAN. ASHOKAN RESERVOIR. See AQUEDUCTS. ASIA. See ANTHROPOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY. ASIA MINOR, EXCAVATIONS IN. See 'ARCHEOLOGY. ASQUITH, HERBERT HENRY. See GREAT BRITAIN. ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, AMERICAN. See ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, BRITISH. See ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES AND EXPERIMENT STATIONS. See AGRICULTURE EXPERIMENT STATIONS. ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES. See UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES. ASSUR, EXCAVATIONS AT. See ARCHEOLOGY. ASTEROIDS. See ASTRONOMY. ASTOR LIBRARY. See NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY. ASTRONOMY. The year 1910 will be memorable as the year of Halley's Comet and the Daylight Comet. The expectations of the general public, however, were hardly realized in the case of the former. The photographic exploration of the heavens proceeded with customary vigor, but was not rewarded with so many or such important discoveries as have marked the past few years. The falling off in the number of new minor planets announced was especially noticeable. Among the more striking discoveries of the year were three new stars, Nova Sagittarii No. 2, Nora Aræ, and Nora Lacertæ. The results of the observations on Mars during the opposition of 1909 were made known, and indicated that some remarkable changes had taken place in the configuration of the planet's sur face, but the question as to whether the canals are objective or subjective phenomena is still unsettled. The CONFERENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR SOLAR RESEARCH, which was held at Mount Wilson, California, on August 31 and September 1 and 2, was an event of great importance. Among the most important business transacted by the Conference was the establishment of a system of secondary standards of wave-length; a resolution to include the whole field of astrophysics within the scope of the Union's activity was also adopted. THE SUN. In 1907, Halm published the results of his spectrographic determination of the period of rotation of the sun, and called attention to certain irregularities in the displacement of the spectrum lines at the sun's limb. Some of the lines were found to have suffered a displacement which was independent of that due to the rotation. Professor W. S. Adams, who has been investigating this phenomenon for several years, published the results of his observations with the Mount Wilson 30foot spectrograph used in connection with the great tower telescope. He found that the lines of scandium, titanium and vanadium were less displaced than those of iron and nickel, and that the lines of elements of very high atomic weight, such as lanthanum and cerium, showed very small displacements The lines showing small displacements were in general those which those of the sun indicated that the relative displacements were caused by pressure, a conclusion which was recently confirmed independently by Perot. Dr. Nordmann, revising his earlier calculations of the intrinsic brightness of the sun, found for its value 100,500 decimal candles per square centimetre, or only one-third of the value previously found by him. A total eclipse of the sun took place on May 9. Although Tasmania was the only country passed over by the line of totality, and the conditions for viewing the eclipse were very unfavorable on account of the low altitude of the sun at the instant of totality, Mr. Frank McClean fitted out an expedition for the purpose of observing the eclipse. The expedition, however, was a total failure owing to the unfavorable weather, which completely prevented the observers from seeing the sun. Very little activity of the solar disc was recorded during the year, the sunspot cycle having apparently settled definitely towards its minimum. However, one large group of spots, the length of which was about one-seventh of the solar diameter, or 120,000 miles, was developed during the latter half of February, but did not persist very long. At one time the group was easily visible to the naked eye. Several groups of moderate size were also observed about the middle of May. Dr. Frederick Slocum, of the Yerkes Observatory, recorded the appearance of two remarkable prominences on the sun's limb in March and April. The first, which was first seen on March 4, was remarkable from the fact that it lasted until April 28, a period of about fifty-five days. Its height varied between 8000 miles and 50,000 miles. The other prominence was first noticed on March 24 and lasted about 24 hours only; but, during its brief existence, it appears to have been the seat of unexampled activity. When first photographed, it had a height of about 30,000 miles, and rapidly grew until it reached a height of over 200,000 miles, when the whole mass became detached and floated away, leaving no trace. JUPITER. Attention in was directed the YEAR BOOK for 1909 to Professor Lowell's confirmation of Mr. Scriven Bolton's discovery of a network of wisp-like lacings connecting the north and south equatorial belts. In June, 1910, Professor Lowell announced that similiar networks had been observed at his observatory at Flagstaff, Arizona, between all the belts of the planet. Mr. Scriven Bolton recorded the recurrence of the acceleration of the Red Spot due to the rapid passage of the Great South Tropical Dark Area past the Spot. He also called attention to a new formation on the surface of the planet in the shape of an oblique belt stretching across the whole zone between the S. Temperate and the S. S. Temperate belts. MARS. The favorable conditions obtaining during the opposition of this planet during 1909 led to a number of important observations and discoveries. The observers, however, are still divided into two camps-those who consider the canals as purely objective phenomena, due possibly to the agency of intelligent beings, and those who look upon them as largely subjective, ASTRONOMY and due to the physiological merging of alignments of spots into apparently continuous lines on the planet's surface. One striking phenomenon, viz., the apparent veiling of the surface of the planet, was noticed by all observers during the earlier part of the opposition. As the result of this veiling, many of the details of the surface could not be distinguished during the summer months. It was suggested by M. Antoniadi, of the Juvisy observatory, that the indistinctness of the mark ings was caused by the interposition of very light cirrus clouds of yellow color in the atmosphere of the planet. As it seems to be generally conceded that some aqueous vapor is present in the Martian atmosphere, Antoniadi's suggestion would appear to be warranted. Professor Lowell recorded the occurrence of the first snowfall of the Martian Antarctic region on November 17, 1909, or nearly two months after the summer solstice. Several new canals, notably two lying to the east of the Syrtis Major, were also discovered by him, and their occurrence was later confirmed by several European observers. An interesting theory as to the origin of the various features of the surface of Mars was published by Krebs in the Astronomische Nach richten. He suggested that the various new features discovered in 1909 were due to volcanic action, and that the network of canals was analogous to the network of seismic and volcanic tectonic lines of the earth's surface. NEW STARS. Three new stars were discovered this year. Two of these, Nova Sagittarii No. 2 and Nora Ara, were found by Mrs. Fleming on plates taken at Arequipa during the early part of the year. Nora Aræ increased in brilliancy from the twelfth to the sixth magnitude between March 19 and April 4. Its brightness then began to decline, and about the end of the year it was only of the tenth magnitude. The third new star, Nora Lacertæ, was discovered by the Rev. T. E. Espin, of Walsingham, England, a few days before the end of the year. When it first appeared, it was possible to observe it with the naked eye, but it soon began to lose in brilliancy. COMETS. The periodic comets due to return in 1910 were Tempel II, D'Arrest's, Swift's (1895 II), Brooks's (1889 V), and Faye's. The discovery of Halley's Comet, which was due to pass through perihelion this year, was noticed in the YEAR BOOK for 1909. Of the above comets all but Tempel's and Swift's were reported. Comet Tempel II, with a period of 5.28 years, was first observed at Milan in July, 1873. It was seen again in 1878, 1894, 1899 and 1904, its last perihelion passage having occurred on November 10, 1904. It should therefore have been seen in February of this year, but failed to re appear. Swift's Comet (1895 II), with a period of 7.06 years, was also due at perihelion at the beginning of the year, but, owing to its being unfavorably placed for observation, it was not detected. D'Arrest's Comet, first discovered in 1851, was seen in 1857, 1870, 1877, 1890, and 1897, but, on account of its unfavorable position, was not found in 1903. Its period is 6.67 years. This year it was first detected by M. Gonnessiat at Algiers on August 26. It appeared as a feeble nebulosity with a slight central condensation of the fourteenth magnitude. Brooks's Comet (1889 V), with a period of 7.1 years, was discovered by Messrs. Aitken and Wilson at Mount Hamilton on September 28. Its magnitude was 13. According to an ephemeris published by Dr. Bauschinger, it was nearest to the earth about the beginning of August, but it will not pass through perihelion until January 8, 1911. This comet is of special interest owing to its having once thrown off four fragments some of which became brighter than the parent body. At the time of its last perihelion passage on December 6, 1903, it was single. Faye's Comet, originally discovered in November, 1843, made its last perihelion passage on March 19, 1896. Although it had been observed at all of its previous reappearances, it was not seen in 1903. Its period is 7.44 years. Its orbital eccentricity is exceptionally small, and its perihelion distance is great, being about 1.7 times the mean distance of the earth from the sun. It is also remarkable as having been the first comet whose period was determined directly by calculation instead of by comparison with the records of its earlier apparitions. When first observed by Cerulli at Teramo on November 8, it was a body of about the tenth magnitude and had a faint condensation. Its perihelion passage took place on September 15. The above comets are designated 1910c, 1910d, 1910e, respectively. Two new comets were discovered: First, 1910a. When first discovered by three railway officials at Kopje, Orange Free State, in the early morning of January 16, this comet already had a head five minutes in diameter, and a welldeveloped tail, fan-shaped in appearance and about one degree in length. It was distinctly visible to the naked eye. It increased rapidly in brightness until it became as bright as Mercury and could easily be seen when within 4 degrees of the sun. It passed through perihelion on January 17. In a few days it became a brilliant object in the evening sky, but it very soon decreased rapidly in brightness. Owing to a mistake in the telephonic message by which its discovery was announced at Johannesburg, it was at first known as Drake's Comet, It is remarkable that on several previous occasions the reappearance of Halley's Comet has been marked by the apparition of another bright comet. 1910a is known as the Daylight Comet, also as the Worrsell-Innes Comet, after two astronomers who made the first announcement of its position. 1910b, a comet of the eleventh magnitude, was discovered by the Rev. Joel H. Metcalf at Taunton (Mass.) on August 9. It presented no remarkable features, declining rapidly in brightness after discovery. On February 20, the announcement of the discovery of a new comet, almost coinciding in position with Halley's Comet, was made by M. Pidoux of the Geneva Observatory. No confirmation of the report could be obtained from any other observatory, and the announcement was attributed to some curious mistake on the part of M. Pidoux. During its short life this comet was known as 1910b, the designation afterwards assigned to Metcalf's comet. Daniel's Comet (1909e), which was at first supposed to belong to the family of comets associated with the planet Uranus was shown on closer observation to belong to the Jovian family of short period comets. HALLEY'S COMET. As already recorded in years-during which the comet has returned the YEAR BOOK for 1909, Halley's comet was regularly to the sky, it is highly probable first detected photographically by Wolf at that the nucleus contains a large amount of Heidelberg on September 11, 1909, almost ex- solid matter, for only a solid could lose the actly in the position predicted by the English amount of matter which must have been poured astronomers, Cowell and Crommelin. It was forth by the head of the comet during that time. not until more than a month later that it was The solid matter must, however, be in comparaobserved visually. tively small masses, for otherwise it would have been visible while crossing the sun's disc. The past apparitions of the comet have been so often associated with events of world-wide importance, and on several occasions it has been such a brilliant object in the heavens, that popular interest became greatly aroused in anticipation of the present reappearance. Observations of the spectrum of the comet showed the presence of cyanogen in the tail, so that when it was announced that the comet would probably transit across the sun's disc on May 18 and that it would approach so close to the earth that the latter would probably be enveloped by the tail, a good deal of fear on the part of the more ignorant was excited, and many curious devices for escaping the deadly cyanogen gas were reported. A series of photographs of the comet taken about May 23 by Professor Lowell showed the presence of four knot-like formations in the tail which were probably due to separate outbursts of energy. Measurements from plates taken at different times showed that these knots were moving away from the head at the rate of 13.6, 17.2, 19.7 and 29.7 miles per second respectively, showing that the velocities of the particles as they receded were being accelerated. The following list gives the recorder returns of Halley's comet, with the dates of perihelion passage as computed by Cowell and Crommelin: B. C. 240 May 15 A. D. 912 July 20 163 May 20 During January, photographs taken at the Lick Observatory showed the presence of a tail about a degree in length. At the beginning of February, there was a very fine sharp nucleus A. D. of stellar form and the tail formed a narrow 989 Oct. 9 1066 Mar. 27 1145 Apr. 6 1222 Sept. 10 1301 Oct. 22 218 Apr. 6 1378 Nov. 8 295 Apr. 7 1456 June 8 373 Nov. 17 1531 Aug. 25 451 July 3 1607 Oct. 26 It is worthy of note that the period of revolution just completed was the shortest of record. COMETS' TAILS. The well-known fact that, in the neighborhood of perihelion, the tail of a comet is directed away from the sun led Kepler, almost three hundred years ago, to the idea that the tail was due to a pressure exerted by the sun's rays upon the vapors given out by the head of the comet. Additional weight was given later to the idea by Fitzgerald who sought to explain the repulsive effect by Maxwell's lightpressure. In so doing, he considered that the gaseous molecules behaved in respect to light waves like absolutely black spheres of considerable size. It was shown by Schwarzschild, however, that for small spheres diffraction would become significant, and he calculated the effect of the pressure of light on small perfectly reflecting spheres. The general problem was solved sharply-defined cone. A little later, probably owing to a sudden burst of activity, the tail consisted of several fine streamers radiating from the head. By the middle of February, the comet had increased in brightness to such an extent that it could be distinguished with the naked eye. During the latter part of March and the first two weeks of April, it was so near the sun as viewed from the earth that it was invisible. When it became visible again, it was situated in the morning sky. It passed through perihelion on April 19, at which time the head appeared about as bright as a star of the second magnitude. As the date of its transit across the sun's disc approached, the comet increased in brightness, and the tail lengthened until on May 13 it stretched through an are of forty degrees. In spite of the most elaborate preparations for the observation of the transit, the head of the comet could not be detected as it passed over the sun's disc. On May 19, it was confidently expected that the comet would be seen in the evening sky, but Professor Barnard reported that he saw the tail shortly before sunrise. Stretching through an arc of more than 100 degrees, it presented a glorious spectacle. It was not until May 20 that the comet appeared in the west, and it was then so diminished in size and splendor that it proved to be a great disappointment to the many who had waited until by Debye, so that it became possible to submit then to see it. The weight of evidence is in favor of supposing that the tail was so greatly curved that its passage past the earth was delayed by from 40 to 60 hours. As by that time the earth was some four million miles south of the plane of the comet's orbit, it is extremely probable that the tail did not envelop the earth at all, or at least only in its outer portion. After May 20 the comet lingered in the sky for a few weeks as a naked-eye object, but it soon became too faint to be distinguished except with the aid of a telescope. The attempt to connect the comet with terrestrial phenomena occuring during its transit failed. See article on METEOROLOGY. Considering the long period-some 2000 the effect of light-pressure on cosmical dust, first suggested by Arrhenius, to accurate quantitative measurement. This was done by the American physicists, Nichols and Hull, in masterly experiments. From its spectroscopic behavior, however, it is evident that the matter in a comet's tail does not consist of small solid particles, but of separate fluorescing gaseous molecules, which must be treated as resonators with selective absorption. By a series of very ingenious and delicate experiments, which he described in the Astrophysical Journal, Lebedew succeeded in showing that a translatory force is exerted by a beam of light upon a gas, and that it is directly proportional to the amount of incident energy and to the coefficient of absorp |