chestnut trees or floating in a drifting boat among the waterlilies. From these idle and jaded beauties it was pleasant to turn to the subtle graces of Albert Moore's Greek maidens, or Sir Frederick Leighton's delightful out-door studies made in Italy, Spain, Egypt, and Damascus; or Herkomer's large, riant, and almost boisterous water-colour painting, forcible as oil, of “Light, Life, and Melody." Both the Royal Academy and the Grosvenor Gallery had a Winter Exhibition. That of the Royal Academy was of paintings by the old masters, with a rich and varied selection of their drawings. A collection of drawings by the old masters, rivalling that of the Academy, formed the grand feature of the Grosvenor exhibition, together with a series of sketches and studies by Ingres, and a selection of paintings in water-colours. Both were of the highest value, and equally instructive, but obviously it would be out of place to speak further of them here. The exhibition of the Society of British Artists was no better than in past years, and it is not likely to improve till it is thoroughly reorganized. Its improvement every lover of English art would welcome. An institution that would give young artists, and artists who for some reason do not find favour at the Royal Academy, a chance of bringing their productions under the public eye, would be of immense service. Painters increase in number every year, but the Academy walls do not expand, and admission, rejection, and suspension-matters often of life or death to an unknown and struggling man-seem to become yearly more capricious and inscrutable. The two Water Colour Galleries were as pleasant to look round, or lounge in, as ever, but they presented no new feature nor any marked advance. In both galleries landscapes predominated, and many of them were very true and graceful. But elegance rather than strength was the prevalent characteristic. Our water-colour painters have gone on refining until they are on the verge of feebleness, and seem in danger of losing all originality. Is it that they come less than they used into contact with unsophisticated nature? Whatever be the cause, we look in vain round the walls for the variety, freshness, and power we used to see there when Cox, Dewint, Harding, Hunt, Cattermole, Taylor, Burton, Prout, and Copley Fielding, were among the leading contributors, each with a manner all his own. 183 SCIENCE OF THE YEAR 1878-1879. In attempting to give some account of the discoveries in Science that have been made during the year, I am again, as in former years, met by the difficulty of bringing the mass of material which presents itself within the limits of the space at my disposal. Referring to the introduction of the article on the Science of 1877-1878 in last year's "Companion," it will be seen that I could only record a very few of the scientific events which had occurred during that period, and had felt myself compelled to select for mention only those which had an interest for the general public. To the scientific reader perhaps, who expects to find in such an article a complete record of the scientific work of the year, the omission of any mention of researches to which he attaches great importance may seem to be a defect of the highest consequence; but my answer is that the article is not written for such persons. Merely to state the bare fact of a discovery or investigation would be of no service to the general reader; for him there must be, at least, some account of the bearing and scope of the discovery, some sketch of the principles on which it rests, some description of the researches and investigations that have led up to it. Now, to do this in the briefest and scantiest manner for a tithe of the discoveries and events that have excited attention in the scientific world during the past year would far exceed the space allotted to this article. Remembering that it is to the general body of readers that I have to address myself, I must be guided in the selection of scientific events of which to give an account by the consideration of their being capable of being described in a popular manner and in few words. Another difficulty presents itself in the endeavour to introduce some classification into the narrative; some discoveries whose results bring them within the sphere of one branch of science may have been effected by means more properly belonging to another branch. So, also, when its principles or the theory on which it has been worked are alone under consideration, it may be more correctly described as a discovery in physics or chemistry, but when the invention consists rather in applying that discovery, or in working it on an industrial scale, it may be included rather in the section of mechanics or engineering. All the appliances and constructions of the electric telegraph, resting though they do primarily on the researches of the physicists, are now generally classified as coming within the region of the special branch of the profession of the telegraphic engineers. ASTRONOMY. Astronomical science is not quite so rich in events of importance as we had occasion to record last year. Not that astronomers have been less diligent or painstaking, but that the great natural phenomena of the heavens whose occurrence could be predicted have not been so numerous. We have not this year had an eclipse of the sun, nor a transit of any of the inferior planets, and the unlooked-for comets that have made their appearance have been not only telescopic but insignificant from a scientific point of view, and therefore not able to shed any new light on the constitution of comets generally. New Minor Planets.— Of these heavenly bodies eleven only have been discovered since the end of last year, as against nearly twice that number discovered during the same period of the preceding twelve months. The list given at page 177 of the "Companion to the British Almanac " for 1879 brought the total number of planetoids discovered up to the 30th September, 1879, to 192, but owing to want of information at the time of going to press, several mistakes occurred in that list. No. 190, there stated to have been discovered by Professor Watson on the 22nd September, 1878, was subsequently found to be identical with the planetoid No. 94, discovered by the same astronomer in September, 1867, and named by him Aurora. Owing to this error, the succeeding discovery of Dr. Peters, of Clinton Observatory, takes the number 190, the credit of finding the last four minor planets discovered in 1879 being due to the same successful observer. The total number discovered to the end of last year is therefore reduced to 191. Below is given a tabular list of all the planetoids discovered in 1879 (including also a corrected list of the last four of 1878), with the names of the observers and the names of the bodies themselves, so far as they can be ascertained at present : The planetoid No. 182 given on last year's list as first observed by Herr Palisa, has since received the name of Elsbeth, and No. 187, by M. Coggia, the name of Lamberta. Great difficulty is experienced in keeping an accurate account of these heavenly bodies and in checking the determination of their orbits. Of those recently discovered many have never been seen again; thus Dike, which M. Borelly first observed in 1868, and Medusa, first seen by M. Perrotin in 1875, remain virtually to be re-discovered. The most distant of the group of minor planets, Hilda, was first observed by Herr Palisa in 1875, and has been unsuccessfully looked for in 1879 near its calculated position of opposition. At its aphelion point Hilda approaches closely to the orbit of Jupiter, so that considerable perturbations in its orbit, due to the attraction of that planet, were highly probable. The determination of these perturbations, which its re-discovery in the present year would have rendered feasible, would have been a subject of great interest and importance. Comets of the Year.-Three comets were expected to make their appearance in the course of the year 1879. The first of these was first observed by Brorsen in February, 1846, at Kiel, and has a period of about 5 years. It was seen again in 1857, 1868, and 1873, and was first observed in the present year on the 14th January by Herr Tempel, Director of the Observatory of Arcetri at Florence. In England it was first detected by Major Tupman on the 29th March. It was generally observed that the light of the comet on its return this year was less intense than before; but perhaps the most interesting phenomenon which it presented is the change which appears to have taken place in its molecular condition since its former visit in 1868. On the latter occasion, when examined by Dr. Huggins with a spectroscope, the comet gave a spectrum differing considerably from that of other comets. So far as comets generally have been studied with the spectroscope, they, with a few marked exceptions, give a spectrum possessing great uniformity of character, agreeing closely with that obtained from the hydrocarbons at ordinary pressures. One of the well known exceptions to this general rule, however, was Brorsen's comet in 1868; it then gave a spectrum agreeing also with that from the hydrocarbons, but from the hydrocarbons in a different state of tension. Now, on its return this year, Professor C. A. Young--and he is corroborated by Mr. W. H. M. Christie, of Greenwich Observatory-finds that the spectrum is the same as that given generally by other comets. The second comet whose return was looked for during this year was that originally discovered by Herr Tempel at Marseilles, in April of 1867, and again first observed by its original discoverer on its next return in 1873. Strange to say, the same indefatigable observer has the credit of being the first to detect it on the 24th April of the present year. Between 1867 and 1873 the known part of the comet would bring it into close proximity to the planet Jupiter, the consequence being considerable perturbations in the elements of its orbit. When Dr. Tempel re-observed it on the present occasion he found it in a position closely agreeing with the one determined by the calculations based on the elements of its motion as observed in 1873; he describes it as faint and diffused with a granulated appearance about the centre, and 2' in diameter. The appearance of the third comet expected this year has been looked for with intense interest and eagerness, which finds a complete justification in the comet's extraordinary history. Biela's comet-the comet in question-was first observed in 1772, and returned with tolerable regularity at intervals of 63 years, and up to 1846 it generally presented the same appearance-an ill-defined irregular mass rather more luminous at its nucleus than at its borders. Astronomical observations in the lastmentioned year were interrupted both in England and America by a long-continued spell of cloudy weather, and when at last they could be renewed the comet was seen to have split into two; there were two distinct nuclei separated by an interval which, so far as could be judged by the observations on that occasion as well as on the occasion of the comet's re-appearance, seemed to be permanent. At its next appearance, which happened true to calculation in 1852, the separation of the comet was again observed, but in 1859, when it should have returned, it escaped observation altogether. In this circumstance taken alone there was nothing very extraordinary in 1839 the comet had also not been detected, but that did not prevent its being again observed |