570 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



and petroleum-bearing. A kind of scum of 

 petroleum may be seen on the edges of 

 the craters of Macaluba. The gases es- 

 caping from them contain from thirty-four 

 to thirty-six per cent of carburetted hy- 

 drogen, with sulphuretted hydrogen and 

 carbonic acid. The soil around Paterno, 

 in which the center of the second eruption 

 is situated, is calcareous, and abounds in 

 springs containing carbonic acid. The wa- 

 ters, infiltrating the soil, raise its temper- 

 ature and form a kind of veined alabaster, 

 which is much esteemed. The eruptions 

 are occasioned by the passage of carburet- 

 ted hydrogen, which is formed by the de- 

 composition of organic matters within the 

 earth, in seeking its way to the surface 

 through beds of clay which have been 

 washed down into the crevices. Mud-vol- 

 canoes of another kind, of which those of 

 New Zealand and Iceland afford examples, 

 are formed by vapors of water proceeding 

 from ordinary volcanoes, and are distin- 

 guished by the high temperature of the 

 mud and the absence of carburetted hy- 

 drogen. 



The Oldest Flowering Plant. MM. G. 



de Saporta and A. F. Marion have been study- 

 ing the genera Williamsonia and Goniolina, 

 the most ancient angiospermous plants of 

 which the fructiferous organs have been 

 preserved. The stem bears at its extremity 

 reproductive apparatus in which two differ- 

 ent modes of structure, indicating a dioecious 

 plant, may be distinguished. A many-leaved 

 involucre, having its bracts so curved as to 

 give it a globular appearance, is observed in 

 every case. The parts of the male involucre 

 are disposed in a single row, connivent, elon- 

 gated, and attenuated at the end. The organ 

 represents a conical axis, the base of which 

 is surrounded with a circular zone marked 

 with radiating stiiae. The outer edge of 

 this zone, when it is exposed, is occupied 

 with a collection of very small compart- 

 ments of irregular hexagonal contour, that 

 seem to represent as many pollen-boxes. 

 This basilar zone corresponded with a ster- 

 ile and persistent portion of the androphore, 

 which in its integrity probably covered the 

 whole conical receptacle with a matted layer 

 of staminal appendages, recalling by their 

 disposition and office the male organs of the 



Typhas. The female organs of the William- 

 sonia are provided with the globose invo- 

 lucre of the male flower, except that the 

 bracts are a little shorter. The organ con- 

 tained within this involucre, which was cer- 

 tainly caducous at maturity, consisted of a 

 receptacle or spadix in the form of a more 

 or less globose solid cushion. The central 

 leaves of the involucre, which remain in 

 place, testify by their thickness to a par- 

 ticularly tough primitive condition. The 

 spadix in the midst of them is covered on 

 its upper part with carpellary compartments, 

 while the fibro-ligneous tissue which com- 

 posed the axis of the receptacle is recog- 

 nizable in the lower part. 



French Exploring Expeditions. Since 



18*74 the French Government has authorized 

 the organization of three hundred and thirty 

 scientific missions, of which one hundred and 

 sixty-eight were to operate in Europe, fifty- 

 four in Africa, forty-eight in Asia, thirty- six 

 in America, and twenty-four in Oceania. 

 Most of these missions are still at work, and 

 generally report to a commission appointed 

 by the Minister of Public Instruction. The 

 " Revue Scientifique " reviews the condition 

 of the most important of the missions, par- 

 ticularly of those which relate especially to 

 geography. M. Lantz is in Madagascar, 

 studying the natural history of the less 

 accessible parts of the island ; M. Pelaf ud 

 is exploring the Mascarene Islands ; M. Mon- 

 tano, Malaysia ; and M. Marche, the Philip- 

 pine Islands. In Africa, M. Matheis is ex- 

 ploring the region between the Niger and 

 the Benoue ; M. Revoil is examining the 

 Somauli country from Cape Guardaf ui to the 

 Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb ; Messrs. Savorgnan 

 de Brazza and Ballay are supplementing 

 Stanley's work on the Congo ; Messrs. Roux, 

 Cagnat, and Gosselin are studying the geog- 

 raphy and archaeology of Tunisia ; M. Gal- 

 lieni has concluded a treaty for the naviga- 

 tion of the Niger to Timbuctoo ; and several 

 expeditions are engaged in the eastern part 

 of the continent. In Asia, M. Haas is pur- 

 suing artistic and historical investigations 

 in Hindostan ; M. Chantre has started from 

 Bagdad to look into the anthropology and 

 zoology of the region of the Caspian Sea 

 and Mount Ararat ; M. Clermont-Ganneau is 

 engaged in archaelogical work in the east of 



