9 hours 22 min., with a southern declination of 22.5 degs. ; polar semidiameter 8"3; horizontal parallax 1"0. This planet will be in aphelion on the 14th at 12 hours. Moon. The Moon will enter her first quarter on the 4th at 22 hours 14 min., and will be full on the 12th at 11 hours 22 min. She will enter her last quarter on the 19th at 3 hours 31 min. The Moon will be new on the 26th at 11 hours 43 min. The Moon will be in apogee on the 3rd at 13-4 hours, in perigee on the 15th at 116 hours; she will be again in apogee on the 31st at 107 hours. CORRESPONDENCE. THE FEDERAL CAPITAL OF AUSTRALIA. TO THE EDITORS OF The Surveyor. SIRS, -The choice of the site for the Federal capital has received considerable attention for some time past. The subject has not only stirred the municipal pulse of towns occupying anything like favourable positions, but numbers, with little to advance, are making vigorous efforts to show the Commissioner the supreme advantages contained within the limits of their particular village boundaries; or, at least, in the immediate vicinity. The same prudence and foresight that dictates extreme care in the selection of a site for a capital, destined to become of considerable importance in the world, will, no doubt, further provide that, after its selection, no effort shall be spared to project a city incomparable or unexcelled in design. Incomparable may perhaps seem an extravagant term, until our unique position is considered. We are building the capital of the Australian continent, of an area of about 3,000,000 square miles, almost equal in area to Canada; the site will possibly be unrivalled; and we start at zero with over a century of colonial experience to guide us. Cities and towns have been built, or grown, under all the varying conditions of climate and physical position, and the systems under which they have grown, or been laid out, are quite as varied, ranging from samples of older parts of continental cities to the modern American. We have, therefore, an extensive field to use to the best advantage. Should any of the towns now advancing their claims to the distinction be finally selected, the existing improvements, or design, should be considered altogether too insignificant to militate in any degree against the general design of the city. The question of "aspect " is one that has been touched upon by a contemporary recently, and it may not be out of place to make some reference to the subject. The Sydney Technical Journal for April points out that "For some reason best known to themselves, many surveyors have a singular fancy for arranging their streets in the cardinal directions, and houses with walls in these directions are, as a consequence, wrongly placed, for which surveyors are responsible; the want of shade at noon in summer in streets on the meridian, and the want of sunlight on the south sides of houses in the winter months, in streets rectangular to the former, are a menace to health; and that the proper direction for city streets is north-east." A large number of towns in New South Wales have most of their streets parallel to a line varying from six to ten degrees east of the true meridian and transversely. Numerous instances, however, occur where these directions are not adopted, due probably to the physical conditions, the existence of main surveyed thoroughfares, to topographical features, or other causes; but it may be, I think, conceded that careful consideration was not given as to whether the street directions were such as to admit of houses being built so that their wall space would absorb the greatest amount of winter sunlight, or cast the longest shadows in summer. "Aspect" is undoubtedly a factor that may be made some use of to modify the effects of climate; but the question seems to be whether provision should be made against a fairly moderate winter, or "the fierce glare of the noontide sun," which, by the way, from personal experience, as well as, I think, maximum temperatures, is fiercest some considerable time after noon. With the climate that we in these parts have the privilege of enjoying, that position would be strongly advocated which provided for the maximum amount of summer shade, and which would be gained by using the true meridian. The streets on the meridian would have no noon shade, but would have shadow on each side alternately, whereas the north side of streets at right angles would be comparatively cool the whole day. In grasping the geography of a city, a stranger would much more readily locate himself with the streets directed to, and at right angles with, the meridian, than with the position 45 degrees from it. The site, however, will have its distinctive characteristics to deal with. It will, perhaps, be undesirable to adhere more than generally to the rectangular system, the features probably determining to a large extent the direction of streets. It may be assumed, judging from the method adopted to secure the best position, that not many points will be overlooked in the design when the decision to lay it out has been arrived at. Yours, &c., S. A. STEANE. Pooncara, Darling River, 24th May. AN IMPROVED INSTRUMENT FOR DETERMINATION OF MAGNETIC MERIDIAN. TO THE EDITORS OF The Surveyor. GENTLEMEN,-Having read Mr. E. M. Waraker's paper in your last issue, I would like to be allowed to compliment him on his ingenuity in devising a method of overcoming a difficulty which most surveyors have encountered. So long as the unscientific and wholly indefensible custom of referring some of our surveys to the magnetic meridian is adhered to in the various colonies, the inaccuracies inseparable from the use of the magnetized needle will be a constant source of trouble to the surveyor. It is just to state that Mr. Waraker has overcome one of the difficulties for us, for which he deserves our sincere thanks. Mr. Waraker's paper is like the school-girl's letter, in that the chief item of interest is in the postscript. The first method described of adjusting the needle to the line of collimation in azimuth, involves too many movements of the instrument, to say nothing of the attachment of so easily injured a peice of mechanism as the compass-box, as illustrated. But when Mr. Waraker proposed to attach his revolving compass-box to the telescope of our ordinary theodolites, he solved the difficulty with a minimum of expense and with no inconvenient attachment to an instrument already difficult to carry through thick scrub or over rough ground. As a piece of mechanism, the arrangement of the ends of the compass-box is worth noting. The possibility of any error of centering by the instrument marker is provided against, by making the centre of the axis of the box the index mark for the needle. I think we are each of us personally indebted to Mr. Waraker for his clever contrivance. The pity is that such things are needed, but we must hope for the time when the compass-box, like the old link chain, will be no more a part of a surveyor's kit. Yours faithfully, G. H. HALLIGAN. TH LINNEAN SOCIETY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. HE Ordinary Monthly Meeting of the Society was held at the Linnean Hall, THE FOLLOWING PAPERS WERE READ: (1) Australian Pselaphido. By A. Raffray. (Communicated by A. M. Lea.) (2) Australian Psyllida. Part i. By Walter W. Froggatt, F.L.S. (3) On some new Species of Eucalyptus. By R. T. Baker, F.L.S., Curator, Technological Museum, Sydney. Five species of Eucalypts are described as new, two from the Coast Range, and three from the Interior. (4) A new Bacillus Pathogenic to Fish. By R. Greig Smith, M.Sc., Macleay Bacteriologist. NOTES AND EXHIBITS. Mr. Stead exhibited preparations of a pelagic crustacean Galathea sp. (from 1 to 2 in in length), collected by Captain W. Waller, of the s.s. "Westralia," between south-eastern Australia and New Zealand; the animals are known to shipping-masters as "Whale-food;" and at times myriads of them cover so large an expanse of water as to impart to it a uniform red tinge. Also a very handsome and almost perfect living specimen of the Murrumbidgee Crayfish, (Astacopsis serratus, Shaw), and drew attention to the fact that when this animal is disturbed suddenly it emits a curious hissing sound, resembling somewhat that made by a snake. And two photographs taken at Ben Buckler, Bondi, which showed in a remarkable manner the effect produced by atmospheric erosion, aided by the vibration set up by the waves, on cliffs of the Hawkesbury Sandstone. The disintegration of the cliffs is also considerably helped by the basaltic dykes which here and there intersect the rock, and which, upon decomposing, isolate large sections. Mr. Baker exhibited herbarium specimens and samples of the essential oils and timber of the Eucalypts described in his paper. Mr. Froggatt showed an extensive series of Psyllide, and of their lerpstructures in illustration of his paper. Mr. Palmer described a case of hydatids in a Black-tailed Wallaby (M. walabatus, Desm.), which died in captivity after a few days' illness. On dissection the chest cavity was found to contain several hundred loose pellucid cysts varying in size from that of a pea to that of a duck's egg, irrespective of a number imbedded in the lobes of the lungs. Mr. Greig Smith exhibited a selection of cultures and micro-photographs in illustration of his paper. Mr. Whitelegge, on behalf of the Rev. W. W. Watts, contributed a Note on some collections of Mosses recently reported upon by Dr. Brotherus and Dr. Warnstorf, resulting in additions to the Moss-flora of the Colony of twelve new species, and four not previously recorded. Mr. Hedley exhibited on behalf of Dr. T. H. May a series of photographs of aboriginal carvings in stone at Bingera, near Bundaberg, Queensland. Mr. Fred. Turner exhibited the fruit, with drawings, of the true Cydonia chinensis, Thouin, the Chinese Quince, a new product for Australia. The fruit was egg-shapped, measuring a little more than six inches in length and fourteen inches in circumference at the widest part; and was grown by Mr. J. A. Murdoch, Wahroonga, North Sydney. The tree is only four years old and about four feet high, and this year it produced twelve fruit each of the size of that exhibited. its native country, China, it is said to produce fruit as large as a child's head. In SAML. E. LEES, PRINTER AND STATIONER, 81 CLARENCE STREET. |