.8,, NOTES AND COMMENTS. 651 



More Newspaper Science. 



It is curious to remark how slowly scientific discoveries pene- 

 trate the minds of those who are supposed to relate them for the 

 benefit of general readers. The author of an article on the Austra- 

 lian marsupial mole [Notoyyctes typhlops) in the Saturday Review of 

 October 15 refers to the animal as if it were still only vaguely known, 

 observes that there is still no information as to its size, and con- 

 cludes by expressing the hope that before long we may have " better 

 accounts, and possibly a specimen or two, of this singular animal." 

 Considering that Notoryctes was the principal form of life discussed 

 at least at two meetings of the Zoological Society of London 

 last Session, while detailed reports on the anatomy and affinities of 

 the animal have already appeared, the Review is somewhat out of date. 

 We may also observe that Professor Stirling has deposited speci- 

 mens of Notoryctes in the British Museum, the Museum of the Royal 

 College of Surgeons of England, and the Museum of Comparative 

 Anatomy at Cambridge, where they are accessible to all naturalists. 

 Typical specimens in the British Museum have also been exhibited 

 for some time in the public galleries. 



Ethnologists may expect some valuable and interesting observa- 

 tions in Dr. Flinders Petrie's forthcoming work on Medum, the 

 oldest dated site in Egypt. Dr. Petrie has been excavating round 

 the Pyramid of Medum (Haram-el-Kaddab), the tomb of Senefru, 

 the first king of the fourth dynasty, and has unearthed the temple 

 of the pyramid, still roofed and perfect. We learn from the Daily 

 Chronicle that, as regards the inscriptions, the most interesting are 

 undoubtedly some graffiti on the walls, one of which certainly goes 

 back to the sixth dynasty (b.c. 3300 — 3100), and which reads, " Thrice 

 beautiful is the name of King Senefru," The first painted texts are 

 of the period of Thothmes III. (b.c 1600), and it is conjectured that 

 shortly after b.c 1500 the temple became buried in the sands, thus 

 escaping the destructive hands of later builders. 



The Rev. B. J. Harker (Gilnow Park, Bolton) and Mr. Thomas 

 Harker (Grassington, Yorkshire) appeal for contributions to a fund 

 now being collected for the exploration of the tumuli and ancient 

 earthworks at Grassington. Preliminary excavations have yielded 

 numerous human remains, urns, ornaments, and implements, in part 

 referred by Professor Boyd Dawkins to the Bronze Age ; and it is 

 expected that more systematic work will lead to results of great 

 value. 



The " Queen's Ostrich," about which we have read so much in 

 the papers, has arrived at the Zoological Gardens in London. It is 



