light was brightest at the less refrangible end, and gradually diminished toward the other limit of the bands. The least refrangible of the three bands did not exhibit a similar gradation of brightness. These bands could not be resolved into lines, nor was any light seen beyond the bands toward the violet and the red. The author found this cometic spectrum to agree exactly with a form of the spectrum of carbon which he had observed and measured in 1864. When an induction spark, with Leyden jars intercalated, is taken in a current of olefiant gas, the highly heated vapor of carbon exhibits a spectrum which is somewhat modified from that which may be regarded as typical of carbon. The light is of the same refrangibility, but the separate strong lines are not to be distinguished. The shading, composed of numerous fine lines, which accompanies the lines, appears as an unresolved nebulous light. On June 23d the spectrum of the comet was compared directly in the spectroscope with the spectrum of the induction spark taken in a current of olefiant gas. The three bands of the comet appeared to coincide with the corresponding bands of the spectrum of carbon. In addition to an apparent identity of position, the bands in the two spectra were very similar in their general characters and in their relative brightness. These observations were confirmed on June 25th.

The remarkably close resemblance of the spectrum of the comet to that of the spectrum of carbon necessarily suggests the identity of the substances by which in both cases the light was emitted. The great fixity of carbon seems, indeed, to raise some difficulty in the way of accepting the apparently obvious inference from these prismatic observations. Some comets have approached sufficiently near the sun to acquire a temperature high enough to convert even carbon into vapor. In the case of other comets, the author suggests that the difficulty is one of degree only, for the conditions are not known under which even a gas permanent, at the temperature of the earth, could maintain sufficient heat to emit light. The spectrum shows that the color of this comet was bluish green. Considerable difference of color has been remarked in the parts of some comets. Sir William Herschel described the head of the comet of 1811 to be of a greenish or bluish-green color, while the central point appeared of a ruddy tint. The same colors have been observed in other comets. If carbon be the substance of some comets, this substance, if incandescent in the solid state, or reflecting when in a condition of minute division, the light of the sun, would afford a light which, in comparison with that etmitted by the luminous vapor of carbon, would appear yellowish or approaching to red. The author refers to the bearing of these results on certain cometary phenomena, and on the apparent identity of the orbits of the periodical meteors with those of some comets.

The Colors of Saturn.-Mr. John Browning has sent to the Student a report of his recent observations of the colors of Saturn. Examining the planet at midnight, May 9th, with a 121inch instrument and a power of 100, he found no perceptible color. Under a power of 200 to 450, the ring appeared lemon-yellow; the globe, light cinnamon with darker belts scarcely of the same color; Ball's division, purplechocolate; crape ring, same color; pole of the planet, bright azure. May 14th he took another set of observations. The definition was much better than on the 9th, but the colors were not nearly so vivid as on the former date. The north pole of the globe was neutral gray and darker than any other part of the planet, excepting the broad reddish-brown belt immediately north of the equatorial white belt. No part of the globe was pure white. The author remarks that with a 12-inch silvered glass mirror, and a power of 500, the whole ring system produces the impression that it consists of fine lines. Slight inequalities may sometimes be detected in the belts of the globe; more generally they appear quite regular, like the rim of a wheel in rapid motion.

Mr. Huggins hearing that Mr. Browning was engaged on this subject, sent him notes of some of his own observations of Saturn. Mr. H. says that though he can see the colors of Saturn fairly with powers of 500 or 600, yet he finds a power of, at least, 900 necessary to bring out the contrast of the colors in the fullest manner. He warns inexperienced observers that, in consequence of the small altitudes of Saturn, there are prismatic colors seen on it, produced by our atmosphere. From this cause red is seen along the upper edge of the planet in an inverting telescope, and a strong blue at the lower or north edge of the ring, and at the pole. Some time ago, he had considered the crape ring to be of the color of watch-spring; lately he has regarded it as rather more of a grayish blue. Mr. Browning remarks upon this, that the color of the crape ring will vary greatly with the state of an atmosphere. When there is much mist in the air, the color will incline toward red; when the air is clear, the color will become a purer blue.

The author thinks that the different tints on different portions of the rings may be ascribed to the unequal distribution of the countless multitude of minute satellites of which the rings are supposed to be made up. The presence of an atmosphere may further modify their colors. That the rings have an atmosphere, he regards as pretty certain, from the appearance they present when their edges are turned toward us. At such times, nebulous appendages like clouds have been seen upon them. The surface of the globe of Saturn may have a soil of the color of new red sandstone. This color would certainly be strongly modified by cloud-belts, which exist principally at the equator, but extend to the poles. The poles may consist of masses of ice; but it is difficult

to account for their strong blue color on that hypothesis. Yet the same difficulty would be experienced in the case of Mars, whose poles appear light blue, or light green, to many observers; and the existence of ice on those poles may be considered as proved. The uniformity of the red belts would seem to indicate that the whole of the surface over which they extend must possess the same character. Mr. Browning concludes that, if the color is due to the soil, the seas must be confined to the poles of the planet.

The Color of the Moon and Stars.-Different observers had made different reports upon the amount of color visible in the moon during the same lunar eclipse. These discrepancies suggested to Mr. John Browning an inquiry into the causes of them. In his own observations of a lunar eclipse in which coppery or blue tints had been generally seen, he had failed to detect either of those colors. The explanation he found to be this: that he had used a telescope of larger diameter than the telescopes employed by most observers. The observers who had instruments of only three or four inches aperture spoke of the color as being less than usual, but very noticeable; those who had telescopes of seven or eight inches aperture saw very little color; and observers with telescopes of 10 inches aperture, or a 12-inch. silvered glass speculum, could not detect any color at all. Mr. Browning thus concludes a paper upon the subject, presented by him to the Royal Astronomical Society:

It is true that I failed equally in detecting color with a four-inch object-glass, but I account for this by supposing that the sensitiveness of my eye to faintcolored light had been injured by the glare of the moon in the large aperture. Experimenting in connection with this subject, I have noticed that the chocolate color of the so-called belts of Jupiter is much more perceptible with 6 inches aperture than with 12 inches. Again, a small star in the cluster in Perseus appears of an indigo-blue with 8 inches, Prussianblue with 10 inches, and royal-blue with 124 inches of aperture. It follows from this that colors estimated by comparison with the ingenious chromatic scale of Admiral Smyth, in which each color is represented of four different degrees of intensity, will not possess any relative value unless taken in connection with the aperture employed when the color was estimated. Were due allowance made for this disturbing influence of variation of aperture, I think many discrepancies between the colors attributed to double stars by different observers might probably be reconciled.

On the Fall of Rain as affected by the Moon. -Mr. Pliny Earl Chase has contributed to the proceedings of the American Philosophical Society a paper on this subject. His attention was specially called to it by an article by Mr. George Dines in the Proceedings of the Meteorological Society No. 36, which presented a summary of observations of rain which fell during each day of the moon's age, through a period, with few interruptions, of over forty years. Upon those data the author based the "decided opinion that the fall of rain is in no way influenced by the changes of the moon or the moon's age." Mr. Chase, however, upon a careful examination of

the same tables, deduces the conclusion-that, notwithstanding the complete veiling of all the disturbances which may be due to the moon's variable distance and declination, there was a marked tendency to increase at quadrature and to decrease at syzygy, both in the amount of rain and in the number of rainy days. This tendency, which becomes evident even in the majority of the five years' groupings, is uniformly shown in all the groups of ten years, twenty years, and forty years, as well as in the number of rainy days and in the number of heavy rains during the entire period.

Mr. Chase gives the following forty years' aggregates (1825 to 1864 inclusive) at Surrey, the place of observations referred to by Mr. Dines, and at the Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia:

Week of new moon..

Surrey. Philadelphia.

which is in opposition to the popular belief on the subject.

The Melbourne Telescope.-This great instrument, manufactured by Mr. Grubb, of Dublin, has been examined and favorably reported on by a committee of the Royal Society, composed of Earl Rosse, Dr. Robinson, and Mr. Warren De la Rue. The telescope is of the reflecting order. The reflector is of metal-a fact which calls down the criticisms of those astronomers who believe the new silvered glass mirrors of Foucault to be much preferable. The former, it is claimed, reflect less light, are much heav ier, and, when their polish is lost, do not admit of reparation, except at a great expense, as the repolishing is nothing short of refiguring, which is a costly and delicate operation. Resilvering a glass mirror costs little, and does not demand unusual skill. The point of suspension of the Melbourne telescope is near the mirror, on account of its immense weight; in front of this point the telescope stretches forward to about 30 ft. of open lattice-work, made of bands of elastic steel. It is thought that heavy winds must produce considerable motion in so long an instrument. scope is on Cassegrain's plan, with the eye-piece, as in the Gregorians, at the bottom, and very convenient for use. The adjusting appara

and

The tele

in savings-banks numbered 17,576; the amount deposited was £707,815. The public debt at the end of 1866 was £6,418,030. The agricultural statistics record 24,629 occupiers of land in 1866, with 7,448,200 acres. The cultivation of the land was increasing, 452,850 acres being under tillage in 1866, against 381,400 acres in 1865. In no year was there so large a wheat crop as in 1866, the produce being 2,226,027 bushels. Cotton was no longer cultivated in New South Wales, but the cultivation of sugar had increased. The live-stock returns show a large increase in the number of sheep, but a decrease in horses, cattle, and pigs. The quantity of wool sent out of the colony in 1866 was 86,980,685 lbs., which was the largest quantity ever shipped.

The most populous of the Australian colonies is Victoria, which had, at the close of the year 1867, 659,887 inhabitants (against 643,912 in 1866). The arrivals in the colony in 1867 amounted to 27,242, of whom 19,904 were from the neighboring colonies, and 6,522 from the United Kingdom. The numbers of Chinese who left the colony were 1,709, while the arrivals were only 317. The estimated population on the various gold-fields of the colony, at the end of the year, is returned at 271,115, of whom 63,053 were miners. Of these, 47,377 were Europeans, and 15,676 Chinese. 33,407 Europeans, and 15,629 Chinese, were at work as alluvial miners, and 13,970 Europeans, and only 47 Chinese, as quartz miners. There are 62 corporate towns and boroughs in Victoria, with a gross population of 326,216; 71,833 dwellings; 70,969 rate-payers; £20,394,918 value of ratable property. The aboriginal population is estimated at 1,908 persons. The number of electors on the rolls of the Legislative Council is 11,602. The number who voted at the triennial election in 1866, in the districts that were contested, was 2,329, or 63.1 of those who were entitled to vote. There are 115,842 electors on the rolls for the Assembly. In the districts contested at the general election of 1868, there were 63,275 who voted, being a percentage of 61.59 of the whole.

The approximate tables of the RegistrarGeneral's agricultural statistics for the year, ended the 31st of March, 1868, show that the present number of holdings in the colony, exceeding one acre in extent, is 25,214. The extent of purchased freehold land in occupation is 5,472,205 acres; and of rented land, 1,148,726 acres; crown lands rented for other than pastoral purposes, 1,326,524 acres; total area in occupation, 7,947,455 acres; extent reserved, 6,970,106 acres; under tillage, 634,270 acres.

As Victoria is the largest, Western Australia is the smallest of the Australian colonies. It has the distinction of thus being the only Australian colony free from debt; having cleared itself of its debt in 1866. The public expenditure, in 1866, nearly £85,000, was well kept within the revenue, notwithstanding a

considerable outlay on roads and bridges. The Colonial Blue-book, laid before Parliament, shows that Western Australia is in a condition to meet the cessation of transportation, with a reasonable hope that the sources of wealth opening up in various ways may, with care, prevent the stagnation which was apprehended. There is a steady annual increase in the amount of land under cultivation, and also in the tonnage entered and cleared at the ports. A supply of free labor will now be of vast importance to this colony. Nearly two-thirds of its 22,000 people are males, and the demand for female servants keeps increasing, because, as the Governor reports, those who come are "quickly absorbed by marriage." He is able to state that the settlement on the northwest coast is progressing steadily. Considerable attention is attracted to it from all parts of Australia; the country appears to be admirably adapted for stock of all kinds; and now that the necessary staff of officers are on the spot, and a town has been established, the Governor considers that there is every reason to believe that its progress will be rapid and satisfactory.

South Australia is a colony which has been liable to periodical depression, but equally open to times of great prosperity. The population, on December 31, 1867, was 89,991 males, 82,889 females; total, 172,880. Number of persons enjoying the electoral franchise, 41,657, of whom 14,330 were voters for the Legislative Council, and 27,327 for the House of Assembly. Up to 31st December, 1867, 3,568,742 acres of land had been purchased from the crown, while 2,177,941 acres were held by freeholders. The quantity of land enclosed was 4,812,276 acres, while the land under cultivation amounted to 810,734 acres; and the land enclosed, but not cultivated, to 3,991,542 acres. The general revenue of South Australia for the year 1867, amounted to £716,294 13s. 6d., against £949,774 2s. 4d., in 1866, and £1,089,128 14s. 4d. in 1865. Total imports of South Australia, £2,506,394 5s., exports, £3,164,622, of which £2,776,045 was the produce of the colony, giving a net excess of exports over imports, of £658,227 15s.

The population of Queensland, in 1866, was 96,172. Public revenue, £593,000; expenditure, £594,000; public debt, £2,150,000. The imports were valued at £2,470,000, and the exports at £1,370,000.

The official report on Tasmania, for 1867, presents few encouraging features. In almost every direction, the same law of decadence is found to have been in operation as in the preceding years. The Government statist says, however, that, since he began to write his re view (which is dated July 20, 1868), there was more ground for encouragement, as regards the future of Tasmania, than had appeared for sev eral years. The estimated population of Tasmania at the end of 1867 was 98,455. The return of the aborigines in the establishment at Oyster Cove shows that one man and two women were the sole remains of the original

possessors of this island. The immigration and emigration returns show an actual loss to the population of 466 souls. The deaths in 1867 numbered 1,413, being in the proportion of 14.4 per 1,000 of population. The births registered during the year were 2,971, or 166 more than in 1866. The value of the imports in 1867 was £856,348, that of the exports was £790,494, the former exceeding the latter by £65,854. Compared with the results of the preceding year, there was a decrease of £25,759 on the imports, and of £44,112 on the exports; indeed, the exports had not been so limited since 1851. The number of vessels which entered inward was 598, and shows a decrease of 7 per cent.; the tonnage was 97,390, and shows a decrease of 94 per cent. as compared with the results of 1866. The number of vessels cleared outward was 631, of 102,754 tons in the aggregate. The revenue in 1867 was £272,953, being an increase, on that of 1866, of £27,531. The expenditure last year was £255,552, or £13,191 more than in 1866.

The colony of New Zealand had, in December, 1867, according to the official census, 218,637 inhabitants, exclusive of the military and their families, and the aboriginal natives; an absolute increase, as compared with 1864, amounting to 46,479, or 26.99 per cent. Of this population (1867), the Northern Island (comprising the provinces of Auckland, Taranaki, Wellington, and Hawke's Bay) had 45,189 males, and 34,724 females, making a total of 79,913, or 36.55 per cent. on the population of the colony; and the Middle Island (comprising the province of Nelson, Marlborough, Canterbury, Otago, and Southland) 86,697 males, and 51,843 females, making a total of 138,540, or 63.37 per cent. on the whole population. The addition of 184 (or .08 per cent.) for the Chatham Islands will bring out the general total as above. The population of the chief town in every province is as follows: Auckland, 11,153. New Plymouth, 2,180. Wellington, 7,460. Napier, 1,827. Nelson, 5,652. Picton, 465. Christchurch, 6,647. Lyttleton, 2,510. Dunedin, 12,776. Invercargill, 2,006. The military and their families numbered, officers and men, 918; male children, 175; women and female children, 362; making a total of 1,455. This number, added to the population shown by the census, gives a total of 220,192; viz., 133,102 males, and 86,990 females. Although the numbers of the aboriginal native population are not ascertained by the census of the colony, the Registrar-General is enabled, by returns supplied from the native secretary's office, to introduce an approximate estimate of them. As respects the provinces of Canterbury, Otago, and Southland, an enumeration, described as a 66 census," was taken in the early part of the year, which shows for those provinces a total of 1,433. For the North Island, with the province of Nelson, and the prisoners at the Chatham Islands, the numbers stated are 37,107. These numbers, however, are only

given as approximate, and in one or two instances are represented as probably under-estimated. Taking the figures as they appear however, they show an (estimated) native population of 38,540 in the colony. This number added to the population shown by the census, and the military and their families, would make the aggregate number of the inhabitants of New Zealand 258,632. The total quantity of land fenced-which, in 1858, was 235,561 acres; in 1861, 409,763 acres; and in 1864, 1,072,383 acres had increased in 1867 to 3,454,535 acres; and the total quantity under crop-which, in 1858, was 141,007 acres; in 1861, 226,219 acres; and in 1864, 382,655 acres-had increased in 1867 to 676,867 acres. The aggregate numbers of live-stock of all kinds (excepting poultry)which in 1858 were 1,728,093; in 1861, 3,038,557; and in 1864, 5,310,062-had increased in 1867 to 8,924,489.

New Zealand was again the scene of a bloody outbreak of the natives, who massacred a considerable number of the white settlers, and offered a desperate resistance to the Government troops sent against them. According to the advices received up to the close of January, 1869, the outbreak was not yet fully quelled.

In the first months of the year, Prince Alfred, the second son of Queen Victoria, visited several of the colonies. His visit was celebrated by great official festivities, but was cut short by an attempt upon his life, made by a Fenian. As he received a serious wound, it was deemed best that he should at once return to England.

AUSTRIA. Emperor, Francis Joseph I., born August 18, 1830; succeeded his uncle, Ferdinand I. (as King of Hungary and Bohemia, called Ferdinand V.), on December 2, 1848. Heir-apparent, Archduke Rudolph, born August 21, 1858. Since 1867, the empire, in point of administration, is divided into two parts, the chief frontier of which is the river Leitha, whence the one (the western) half is called the cis-Leithan, and the other (eastern) the trans-Leithan portion of the empire. The former is also commonly designated by the name of Austria proper, and the latter by the name of Hungary. The whole Austrian monarchy is now officially called the Austro-Hungarian empire, or Austro-Hungarian monarchy. In the following article we treat of the affairs belonging to the Austrian monarchy as a whole, and those belonging to Austria proper, or the cis-Leithan provinces, reserving the affairs of the trans-Leithan provinces for the article HUNGARY.

The area of the Austrian empire, according to the latest official statements, amounts to 240381 square miles, and the population, in 1867, to 35,553,000 inhabitants. An official census was taken in 1868, but its results have not yet been published. The previous census was of 1857, which showed the population of the provinces now constituting Austria (Lombardy and Venetia have since been lost) to amount to 32,530,000. By adding the yearly excess