rainfall have been followed all over Australia by excessive rains, and in this colony floods did much damage. Immigration almost ceased. The revenue for 1889-'90 was £3,212,000, showing a decrease of £403,000 as compared with the previous year, and the expenditure was £3,696,000, an increase of £198,000. For the succeeding year the revenue was estimated at £3,609,000 and the expenditure at £3,757,000. The deficit the Colonial Treasurer proposed to meet by a tax of a penny in the pound on real and personal property and additional duties of 28. à gallon on spirits and 3d. on beer. These proposals not receiving the support of the Assembly, the ministry resigned and a new one was formed by the leader of the Opposition on Aug. 12, consisting of the following members: Chief Secretary and Attorney-General, Sir S. W. Griffith; Colonial Treasurer, Sir T. McIlwraith; Secretary of Mines and Instruction, W. O. Hodgkinson; Secretary for Railways and Postmaster-General, T. Unmack; Secretary for Public Lands and Agriculture, A. S. Cowley; Minister for Public Works and Colonial Secretary, Horace Tower; Minister without a portfolio, Walter Horatio Wilson.

Although the Premier questioned the right of the signers of an appeal for separation that was transmitted to the English Government to speak for the whole population of Northern Queensland, the Governor, after visiting that part of the colony, reported on April 18, 1890, that the north is loyal and desires to establish a new colony constitutionally, a considerable majority being favorable, and what opposition there was springing from differences of opinion regarding the site of the capital. The Separationists can only appeal directly to the home Government, as they are in a Parliamentary minority, and have no prospect of obtaining a favorable measure from the colonial Legislature. No measure of financial decentralization would prove satisfactory.

South Australia.-The Governor is the Earl of Kintore, who was appointed in December, 1888. The ministry at the beginning of 1890 was composed as follows: Chief Secretary and Premier, J. A. Cockburn; Attorney-General, B. A. Moulden; Treasurer, F. W. Holder; Commissioner of Crown Lands, Thomas Burgoyne; Commissioner of Public Works; J. H. Howe, Minister of Education, J. H. Gordon. New elections for Parliament took place in April, when all the ministers were returned, but a majority was elected that was opposed to the progressive land tax that was the chief feature of the ministerial programme as presented at the opening of the session on June 5. The financial returns for 1889-'90 showed satisfactory elasticity in the revenue, which amounted to £2,478,980, an increase of £176,000. The expenditure was £2,404,179. Railroad earnings showed an increase of £120,000. A railroad has been built from Port Darwin to the new mining district of Pine Creek. Parliament considered a bill for continuing the Transcontinental Railway to the McDonnel range, and measures for encouraging agricultural, pastoral, and mining enterprise in the northern territory. The fiscal scheme of Dr. Cockburn's ministry embraced progressive duties on the value of inheritances and testamentary bequests as well as a progress ive land tax in conjunction with the remission of

the duties on tea, coffee, cocoa, and kerosene and the reduction of that on sugar. On the defeat of the ministry a new one was formed on Aug. 18, composed as follows: Premier and Treasurer, T. Playford; Chief Secretary, J. C. Bray; Attorney-General, R. Homburg; Commissioner of Crown Lands, W. Copley; Commissioner of Public Works, W. B. Rounsevell; Minister of Education, D. Bews.

Western Australia.-Sir William C. F. Robinson has been appointed Governor of Western Australia to succeed Sir Frederick Napier Broome, who, after filling the office to the great satisfaction of the colonists, returned to England in December, 1889. Sir William Robinson, who has twice before been Governor of the colony, was more recently Governor of South Australia, and before the arrival of Lord Hopetoun was acting Governor of Victoria. The people of Western Australia, disappointed at the failure of the enabling bill before the British Parliament in the session of 1889, redoubled their efforts to secure a constitution in 1890. Not only did Sir Frederick Broome leave before the termination of his office in order to urge their case before the Government and Parliament of Great Britain, but S. H. Parker, the leader of the elected members of the Council, and Sir Thomas Cockburn-Campbell, the chairman of committees, were dispatched to England on the same errand. The colonists had no need of a special charter, but were enabled, under the act that separated Victoria from New South Wales and created or confirmed legislative councils in the two colonies, to adopt responsible government and enjoy as full a measure of political independence as any of the selfgoverning colonies, except in one important particular. The title and control of the Crown lands would remain with the Imperial Government. A large section of the British public objected to handing over to a few thousand colonists all that remained of the Crown domain, the patrimony of the British nation, particularly since the tendency has been developed in Australia to accumulate great masses of land in the hands of land kings and speculators. The colonists protested that there was as good reason to intrust them with full control within the colonial boundaries as there was to give the Queenslanders full possession of a territory relatively as great, that they had already for many years past practically managed all the land of the colony without interference in a manner to which no reasonable exception could be taken, and that the best land and the only region suitable for European settlement they would have in any event, the rest being mainly spinifex desert. Their English critics pointed to the way in which they treated the pearl-fishing fleets, in which British capital was invested, charging duties on all their supplies and an export duty of £4 a ton on the shells, on which they took off half the export duty. Seeking to please both sides, the Government, in the bill that was brought in, left the colonists the whole of the southern and temperate part of the colony, while reserving for imperial control the larger section lying north of the 26th parallel of latitude. The bill also provided that the British Parliament might veto any act of the colonial Legislature the effect of which would exclude immigrants. The reserved

territory was intended to receive the overflowing population of India, although that kind of immigration is deemed undesirable by the Australians, and would probably never be suffered after federation is once achieved. The select committee of the House of Commons, to which the bill was referred, pronounced against establishing a Crown colony in the north, or reserving to the Imperial Government power to regulate the disposal of waste lands north of latitude 26°. At present there is a population of 3,000 persons in the whole region, who are not settled, as they follow mining or pastoral pursuits, for which alone the land is adapted, owing to the heat and deficient rainfall. These residents prefer that the land regulations should be vested in the imperial authorities. There is much land available for agriculture in the southwest. About 3,000,000 acres have been transferred, and 4,000,000 acres more are about to be transferred to land companies. Coal has been discovered in large deposits at several points, none of it being bituminous. Western Australia is provided with a railroad, 300 miles long, from Albany, on King George's Sound, to York, Perth, and Fremantle. Other railroads already built made the total mileage 442 in 1889. A new line, partly constructed in 1890, is 295 miles in length. It leads to gold fields discovered near Norcia and to Strawberry Hill, where there are coal, lead, and copper, passing through a country very salubrious and capable of producing cereals and fruits of the temperate and tropical zones. There were 2,970 miles of telegraph. The Western Australian gold fields, of which there are five or six in various parts of the colony, have made slow headway, but it is only recently that machinery has begun working on the quartz ledges. A promising tin field has been discovered in the southern district. It is expected that when responsible government is established immigrants will flock to the colony, and that there will be such rapid strides of material development as took place in Queensland.

Tasmania.-Sir Robert G. C. Hamilton has been Governor since January, 1887. The following were the responsible ministers in 1890: Premier and Chief Secretary, Philip Oakley Fish; Treasurer, Bolton Stafford Bird; Attorney-General, Andrew Inglis Clark; Minister of Lands and Works, Alfred Pillinger. The Treasurer anticipated a surplus of £30,000 in 1889-'90, and one of half that amount in the succeeding year. Like all the colonies, Tasmania is still extending her railroads. Lines 114 miles in length were in process of construction in 1889.

New Zealand.--The Earl of Onslow was appointed Governor in November, 1888. At the beginning of 1890 the following ministers composed the Administration: Premier, Colonial Treasurer, Postmaster-General, Minister of Marine, Commissioner of Stamps, and Commissioner of Trade and Customs, Sir H. A. Atkinson; Attorney-General, Sir Frederick Whitaker; Minister of Native Affairs and Telegraph Commissioner, E. Mitchelson; Colonial Secretary, Minister of Justice, and Minister of Defense, W. R. Russell; Minister of Lands, Agriculture, and Immigration. G. F. Richardson; Minister of Public Works and Mines, T. Fergus; Minister of Education, T. W. Hislop; without portfolio. E. C. J. Stevens. The revenue returns for 1890 show VOL. XXX. 4 A

an improvement on those of the previous year of £200,000, the total receipts being £4,200,000. The increase was due to railways and customs, while the revenue from the property tax fell off. There was a surplus of receipts over expenditures amounting to £116,000. A successful International Exhibition was held in 1890 at Dunedin. Fiji. The Governor of Fiji and High Commissioner for the Western Pacific is Sir John Bates Thurston. In two of the sixteen provinces the administration is conducted by European commissioners, while in the others native chiefs, under the title of Roko Tui, govern in accordance with the laws and customs in force prior to the British annexation of the islands in 1874. The education of the native Fijians is conducted by the Wesleyan missionaries, who taught 41,077 children in 1888, and by the Roman Catholic mission, which had 1,040 pupils in 1885. The European settlers have begun the cultivation of tea, coffee, and cotton. The export of sugar in 1888 was 16,916 tons; of copra, 4,219 tons. Of the total population of 125,000 only 2,500 are whites.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. A dual monarchy in central Europe, composed of the Empire of Austria, otherwise called the Cisleithan Monarchy, and the Kingdom of Hungary, known also as the Transleithan Monarchy or the lands of the Crown of St. Stephen.

The two halves of the empire have existed as separate states since 1867, having one dynasty, a common diplomacy, an army and a navy administered in common though each monarchy legislates separately on military affairs, the same coinage, a customs union, and a reciprocal agreement in regard to railroads and other matters of common interest. The Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary is Franz Josef I, born Aug. 18, 1830, who entered on his reign on Dec. 2, 1848. The heir presumptive is his nephew the Archduke Franz, born Dec. 18, 1863, son of the Archduke Carl Ludwig and the Princess Annunciata, daughter of King Ferdinand II of Naples.

The following are the Ministers for Common Affairs: Minister of Foreign Affairs and of the Imperial House for the Whole Monarchy, Count G. Kalnoky, appointed Nov. 21, 1881; Minister of War for the Whole Monarchy, Field-Marshal Baron Ferdinand Bauer, appointed March, 16, 1888; Minister of Finance for the Whole Monarchy, Benjamin de Kalláy, appointed June 4, 1882.

Commerce. The general commerce of the Austro-Hungarian customs union, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, amounted in 1888 to 533,100,000 florins of imports and 725,500,000 florins of exports, compared with 568,600,000 florins of imports and 672,900,000 florins of exports in 1887. The largest imports in 1887 were the following: Cotton, 56,500,000 florins; wool, 42,800,000 florins; coffee, 33,000,000 florins; silk, 19,500,000 florins; leaf tobacco, 18.500.000 florins; hides, skins, and furs, 18,300,000 florins; manufactured tobacco, 16,700,000 florins; woolen yarn, 16,400,000 florins; cotton yarn, 15,200,000 florins; leather, 14,900,000 florins; coal, 14,800000 florins; grain, 12,700,000 florins; silk, manufactures, 12,400,000 florins; woolen manufactures, 12,000,000 florins; colors and tanning materials, 11,200,000 florins; machinery, 11,200,

000 florins; hardware and clocks, 10,700,000 florins; cattle, 10,300,000 florins; books, 10,200,000 florins. The chief exports in 1887 were: Cereals, 73.100,000 florins; timber, 55,100,000 florins; sugar, 44,400,000 florins; hardware, 35,500,000 florins; cattle, 26,100,000 florins; woolen manufactures, 25,100,000 florins; flour, 21,000,000 florins; glass, 20,400,000 florins; coal, 18.600.000 florins; wood manufactures, 15,900,000 florins; wool, 15,200,000 florins; wine, 14,700,000 florins; iron and manufactures of iron, 14,700,000 florins; paper, 12,700,000 florins; minerals, 11,000,000 florins; gloves, 10,900,000 florins; poultry, 10,500,000 florins; feathers, 10,500,000 florins; linen yarn, 10,000,000 florins; leather manufactures, 10,000,000 florins; silk goods, 10,000,000 florins.

The imports of gold and silver in 1887 were 10.600,000 florins, and the exports were 4,900,000 florins.

The special imports of Hungary in 1888 amounted to 465,500,000 florins, of which 388500,000 florins were from Austria; the special exports to 446,400,000 florins, of which 310,300,000 florins went to Austria. The imports from Germany into Hungary amounted to 24,889,000 florins; and the exports to Germany to 49,500,000 florins; the imports from Servia to 15.623,000 florins and the exports to Servia to 6,000,000 florins.

Navigation. The number of vessels entered at the ports of Austria and Hungary during 1877 was 69,594 of 8,066.428 tons; the number cleared was 69,620 of 8,075,565 tons. Of the vessels entered 83 per cent., of those cleared 84 per cent. carried the Austrian flag. At the port of Trieste alone 7,670 vessels of 1,368,706 tons were entered and 7,676 of 1,368,706 tons, cleared in 1888.

Railroads.-On Jan. 1, 1889, there were 24,432 kilometres or 15,270 miles of railroads in both halves of the empire, exclusive of 342 miles in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The total capital invested up to 1885 was 3,475,203,000 florins. In 1887 there were carried 70,366,000 passengers and 79,169,000 tons of freight. The Austrian lines in 1889 had a total length of 4,267 kilometres, or 8,917 miles, comprising 3,973 kilometres of state lines, 1,918 kilometres of private lines operated by the state, and 8,376 kilometres worked by companies, including 84 kilometres belonging to the state. In Hungary, there were 8,490 kilometres of state lines, 916 kilometres of companies' lines worked by the state, and 4,732 kilometres owned and worked by companies, making altogether 10,165 kilometres, or 6,353 miles.

The zone tariff system, with reduced passenger rates, introduced on the Hungarian railroads in August, 1889, proved very popular and successful. The number of passengers for the latter half of the year was about 3,000,000 greater than in the corresponding part of the previous year, and the receipts for the year were 9,800,000 florins, against 8,800,000 florins in 1888. With some modifications, the system was introduced on the Austrian railroads in June, 1890. There are 26 zones, as compared with 14 in Hungary. The rates of fare are 1 kreutzer per kilometre, about 1 cent a mile, for thirdclass, 2 kreutzers for second-class, and 3 kreutzers

for first-class passengers on ordinary trains. On express trains they are 50 per cent. higher. Posts and Telegraphs.-The telegraphs in Austria had 24,904 miles of line and 65,469 miles of wire in 1888. The number of dispatches was 9,199,038. In Hungary there were in 1887 11,512 miles of line, with 42,583 miles of wire. The number of messages transmitted in that year was 3,724,370. On the lines of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1,743 miles, with 3,480 miles of wire, 317,234 messages were sent in 1887.

The number of letters sent through the Austrian post-office in 1888 was 480,374,000; of postal cards. 91,217,000; of patterns and circulars, 59,682,000; of newspapers, 93,845,000. The receipts were 27,916,109 florins; expenses, 24,124,327 florins. The Hungarian post-office in 1887 forwarded 126,567,000 letters, 30,758,000 postal cards, 20,460,000 samples and printed inclosures, and 53,500,000 newspapers. In Bosnia and Herzegovina there passed in 1887 through the post-office 4,996,000 letters and postal cards, 190,900 samples and printed matter, and 656,400 newspapers.

Common Finances.-The division of the expenses of the common administration is periodically settled by an agreement or Ausgleich. According to the last arrangement Hungary bears 2 per cent. of the common expenses over and above the common receipts of the customs, and the remainder is divided in the proportion of 70 per cent. for Austria and 30 per cent. for Hungary. A common loan may be raised, and the floating debt, consisting of treasury bills, is a joint obligation. On account of the debt of the empire contracted before 1869 Hungary pays the annual sum of 30,312,920 florins.

The budget estimates for the common affairs of the monarchy for 1890 call for 132,224,339 florins, of which 39,953,850 florins represent the estimated surplus from customs, 2,872,631 florins the receipts of the various ministries, 1,787,957 Hungary's 2 per cent. and 87,609,901 florins the contributions of the two parts of the empire. The estimated expenditures are of the following amounts in florins:

EXPENDITURE FOR

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Army..
Navy

Minister of Finance..
Board of Comptrol...

Total........

113,960,161 15,891,548 182,224,339

The estimated cost of the civil administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 1890 is 9,688,641 florins and the estimated revenue from the provinces is 9,736,150 florins. There is besides the extraordinary estimate of 4,282,000 florins for the cost of the military occupation.

The burden of the general debt falls chiefly on Austria. The total capital in 1889 amounted to 3,199,791,000 florins. Austria's special debt was 1,058,636,000 florins and the special debt of Hungary 1,545,792,000 florins, making the total indebtedness of the dual monarchy 5,804,219,000 florins. The public debt of Austria amounts to 152 florins per head of population, and that of Hungary to 84 florins per head.

The Army. The present military law was adopted in Austria and Hungary in 1889. The age of obligatory service begins at twenty-one. The period of active service in the regular army is three years, at the end of which the soldier is enrolled for seven years in the reserve, then for two years in the Landwehr, and after that for ten years in the Landsturm. Those who are not drafted into the regular army are enrolled for ten years in the Ersatz Reserve or for twelve years in the Landwehr. The Landwehr is separately organized in the two halves of the monarchy and can be mobilized only at the command of the Emperor. From the Ersatz reserve men are drawn for the army and the Landwehr in time of war. All men who are not enrolled in the army, navy, Ersatz reserve, or Landwehr belong to the Landsturm, which can be sent out of its own territory only by special statute. Men can be drafted from the Landsturm to fill gaps in the army or the Landwehr. The annual recruit of the army is 103,100 men-60,389 from Austria and 42,711 from Hungary. There is an annual contingent of 10,000 for the Austrian and 12,500 for the Hungarian Landwehr, and of 2,740 and 2,250 respectively for the Ersatz reserve. The strength of the Austro-Hungarian army in 1889 is exhibited in the following tabular statement:

infantry and 8 of cavalry. Austria-Hungary is so rich in horses that 91,000 cavalry can be placed in the field, of which number 70,000 are counted in the troops of the first line. The subsistence department has as many divisions as there are army corps, and the depot troops consist of 250 battalions, with a number of reserve Landwehr battalions. Tyrol and Dalmatia are specially protected by their territorial establishments, while 210 territorial Landsturm battalions, besides a number of recruiting camps, are distributed in other parts of the country.

The infantry are now armed with the new small-caliber Mannlicher repeating rifle, which has been proved capable of resisting the gas pressure of the smokeless powder. The new powder has been found to increase the pointblank range from 500 yards to twice or three times that distance, rendering it unnecessary for soldiers to readjust their sights during action.

The Navy.-The war navy in 1889 consisted of 2 armored turret ships, 8 casemated battery ships, and 1 plated frigate, making 11 armor-clad line-of-battle ships, 1 ram cruiser, 7 torpedo cruisers, 3 torpedo vessels, 3 avisos, 48 torpedo boats, 2 monitors, 4 training ships, and 39 other vessels, or altogether 118 vessels, carrying 415 guns, besides 312 machine guns. The most powerful

In case of war about 4,000,000 men can be called out to serve in the Landsturm. The number of guns in peace is 856; in war, 2,008. The comprehensive reform of the military system which began with the army law of 1868 and has been completed by the Landsturm law of 1887 and the recruiting law of 1889 enables Austria to hold ready a reserve equal to one fourth of the strength of the active army and to call into the field great masses of troops of the second line. The empire has more than 2,000,000 trained men. The formations that can be called to arms in case of war number about 1,750,000 men, of whom 1,250,000 can be mobilized in the first line and 500,000 in the second line. Besides these the Landsturm is expected to receive an efficient organization, and is likely to have the number of army corps into which it is divided increased by one half, and even then have numerous troops to spare for local and garrison service. The field army is organized in 14 corps d'armée, of 2 divisions each. The army corps consists of 30 battalions, 28 squadrons, and 96 guns, having a total strength of 36,000 foot and 7,000 horse. As many infantry divisions of Landwehr as there are army corps in the regular army can be called to arms in case of war, and besides these there are 7 reserve divisions of

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vessels are the barbette ships "Stephanie" and Kronprinz Rudolf," plated with 9 and 12 inches respectively of steel-faced armor, and carrying the former 2 and the other 3 48-ton guns. They were launched in 1887. The fleetest ship is the ram-cruiser Kaiser Franz," launched in 1889, carrying 8 15-ton guns, and capable of steaming 18 knots. The "Kaiserin Elisabeth," now building at Pola, will have the same speed. The eight sea-going torpedo cruisers recently built are the fastest of their class. The Panther" and "Leopard," built at Elswick, of 1,530 tons displacement, have attained a speed of nearly 19 knots when fully armed and equipped. A third, the "Tiger," built at Trieste, has a displacement of 1,675 tons and engines of 4,000 horse power.

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The Delegations.-The session of the Delegations began at Buda-Pesth on June 4. The budget estimates the ordinary expenditure for 1891 at 119,231,893 florins and the extraordinary at 16,402,339 florins, making a total of 135,634,232 florins. The credits asked for included sums for the purchase of smokeless powder, for the creation of a new regiment of cavalry, and for the reorganization of the fortress artillery. Baron Bauer, the Minister of War, when criticised for adding 2,526 men to the peace establishment and 20,000,000 florins to the military budget so soon

moving toward and the other from us, the K line in the spectrum of the former will be displaced toward the violet, and in the latter in the direction of the red, thus causing the line on the plate to be seen double. Of course, in part of their orbital revolutions (at their conjunctions) the two stars will be moving laterally and the line will appear single, but at elongations when moving toward or from us will be seen double. It is this which causes the periodical doubling of the lines, and proves that, though telescopically single, the star is spectrophotographically double.

It has long been known that the waves of light at the violet end of the spectrum are more numerous and shorter, and more refrangible, than those at the red end. It follows, therefore, that if a luminous body is approaching us more waves will be crowded into a given space, and they will be shorter than if it is at rest, and all the lines in its spectrum will be slightly moved toward the violet; while, on the contrary, if it be moving from us, the waves will be longer and fewer, and the lines will be displaced toward the red. An ingenious application of this principle to determine the period of the sun's rotation, has been often and successfully tried, confirmatory of the assumed correctness of the period assigned by observation of his spots. The two poles of the sun, by virtue of the sun's rotation, have no motion whatever toward or from the earth, and therefore the lines in the polar spectra ought not to show any displacement, and do not. If the spectroscope be pointed to the east limb of the sun which is approaching us, all the lines (save, of course, the air lines) will be displaced toward the violet end of the spectrum. If it be turned toward the west limb, which by rotation is moving from the earth, all the solar lines from that region will show displacement toward the red.

Prof. James E. Keeler, of the Lick Observatory, has determined the rate of motion of several planetary nebula in our line of sight. The brightest nebular line, the origin of which is unknown, was used for comparison. Of the ten examined, two are approaching the earth, 172 and 310, and two receding 16-8 and 384 miles a second respectively. These deductions are considered by astronomers of great importance. His paper is published in No. 11 of the publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Orbit of Algol.-Astronomers have long entertained the opinion that the variation in the brightness of Algol is due to periodic transits of a dark companion across, or partly across, the face of the bright star as seen from the earth. Prof. Vogel, of the Potsdam Observatory, Prussia, acting on the suggestion of Prof. Pickering, who thought its orbit might be determined by photo-spectroscopic observation, made six photographs of the spectrum of Algol, three before minimum periods and three after, there being an interval of several months between them. The three taken before minimum show the lines decidedly displaced toward the red end of the spectrum, while the others are moved in the direction of the violet. From careful measurements of the plates he makes the motion and recession of the star to be about equal, amounting to about 27 miles a second. Assuming circular orbits in a

plane parallel to our line of sight and a central transit, he derives the following elements for the system: Diameter of Algol, 1,074,100 miles; diameter of its companion, 840,000 miles; distance of centers, 3,269,000 miles; velocity of Algol per second, 27 miles; velocity of its companion per second, 56 miles; translation of Algol system toward sun per second, 25 miles; mass of Algol sun =1=§; mass of its companion sun =1=4.

Dark Stars.-From what has been said, the following three conclusions are deducible: (a) If a bright star give a system of lines neither double nor hazy, though showing periodic spectral displacement, it is manifest that it is a double, with one component bright and the other dark, the former producing the spectrum and the latter causing it alternately to approach and recede from the earth by the revolution of each around the center of gravity of the system, in a plane that passes through the earth or, at least. not perpendicular to the line of sight. (6) Should a star be periodically displaced and also darkened, it shows that the dark companion star transits the bright one, and it would be classed as a variable like Algol and many others of that type. (c) If a line from the spectrum of a star be periodically doubled, it follows that both components are bright and produce the same spectrum. Prof. Vogel does not regard the companion of Algol as absolutely dark, though from want of intrinsic brightness it is incapable of producing a spectrum which, were its albedo of that of Algol, it would do.

Alpha Virginis (Spica) appears as a photospectrographic. variable of short period, the companion being a dark star or, at least, one too faint to form a visible spectrum. Therefore, the only inference of its duplicity is the periodic variation of brilliancy and the movement of the lines in the spectrum of the bright star only, instead of opposite separations of the lines in each star, as in the case of Zeta Ursæ, etc. The period of Spica is about four days, with an orbital velocity of 56 miles a second.

Benefactions.-Miss C. W. Bruce, of New York, who recently gave $50,000 to Harvard College Observatory for the purchase and maintenance of a photographic telescope, has given $6,000 additional for the promotion of original astronomical research, placing it in the hands of Prof. Pickering for disbursement, who is to bestow it, in sums not exceeding $500, upon such applicants, individuals or institutions, as have met certain required conditions. The late Prof. Elias Loomis bequeathed more than $300,000 in trust to Yale University, which, at the death of his two sons, will be conveyed to that institution.

Prizes and Honors.-The Janssen prize was bestowed by the French Academy upon Norman Lockyer. The Donohoe comet medal No. 1 was awarded to William R. Brooks, for the discovery of comet I 1890. The Council of the Royal Astronomical Society of England awarded no medal in 1889. The last official documents signed by Dom Pedro, ex-Emperor of Brazil, were those conferring on Admiral Mouchez and M. M. Janssen and Perrotin the grade of officer of the Order of the Rose of Brazil, and on M. M. Frassenet and the brothers Henry knighthood of the same order.