430 NATURAL SCIENCE [December 



Dr Franz Steindachner superintends the zoological work on board the 

 Austrian ship Pola, which this year continues the scientific exploration of the 

 Red Sea, covering the ground between Jedda and Aden. Researches in physical 

 oceanography will also be carried on. 



Prof. Schauinsfeld, Director of the Bremen Museum, has returned with a 

 large collection from a voyage of fourteen months in the Pacific. He spent some 

 time on the small island of Laysan, and visited among other places the Sandwich 

 Islands, Samoa, New Zealand, and Chatham Island. 



The sum of £500 has recently been granted to the Manchester Museum at the 

 Owens College for the purpose of installing the electric light. We understand 

 that Mr Edward Holt's donation of £2500, lately announced, is to be devoted 

 entirely to the rebuilding of the gymnasium of the College. 



The Geological Circle of the Upper Holloway Centre of the London Society 

 for the Extension of University Teaching will issue a strong programme for 1898. 

 AVe expect great things from a Society with a name of such dimensions, and shall 

 look for the programme with interest. Mr Rudler is the President. 



The Imperial Russian Geographical Society is sending an expedition to 

 Abyssinia, chiefly for the anthropological investigation of the country. The 

 leader of the party is Mr Nicolas Dmitrieff, of Astrakhan, who has had some 

 experience of the country as medical volunteer with the Italian army. 



Messrs Schuchert and White, of the U.S. National Museum, have returned 

 from Lieut. Peary's las Greenland expedition with a collection of Cretaceous 

 and Miocene plants, as well as many Cretaceous invertebrates from the Noursoak 

 peninsula. They seem to think the last word on these plants was said by Heer, 

 which is hardly the view of European palaeobotanists. 



The Jersey Natural Science Association is wisely including in its programme 

 economic questions of general interest. At the October meeting Mr J. Hornell 

 read an important paper on " The Possibilities of Fishery Improvement in Jersey, 

 with Notes on the present state of Marine Pisciculture and Fishery Regulation." 

 It appears in full in the Jersey Weekly Press of October 16. 



One of the results of the terrible famine in India last year shows itself in the 

 increase of deaths from wild animals. The greatest increase was in the North- 

 West Provinces from wolves, and in the Sunderbunds from tigers, and was, no 

 doubt, the result of a more vigorous search for food by the natives in the jungles. 

 Snake-bites, however, decreased considerably, there being only 21,000 deaths in 

 the year. 



An Act was passed at the last meeting of the West Virginia Legislature, 

 establishing a State Geological and Economic Survey in connection with the 

 W. Virginia University, Morgantown. For its expenses a sum of 3000 dollars 

 per annum has been appropriated. Dr Israel C. White is Superintendent, Prof. 

 S. B. Brown is First Assistant Geologist and Curator of the Collections, and 

 Professor J. L. Johnson is Assistant Geologist. 



The Hull Scientific and Field Naturalists' Club opened its winter session by 

 an Exhibition and Conversazione which ran for two nights — namely, November 

 10th and 11th, from 7.30 to 10 p.m. The whole of the exhibits were from the 

 collections of members of the club, and testified to commendable activity in many 

 right directions. The President of the club is Dr J. Hollingworth, and the 

 Secretary is T. Sheppard, 78 Sherburn Street, Hull. The annual subscription is 

 four shillings. 



