i3 9 6. NEWS OF UNIVERSITIES, ETC. 211 



do not attract attention, and thus no protection is given to strangers or casual 

 visitors, whom it is highly desirable to protect. 



(2) That all birds without exception are of some use in the economy of Nature, 

 and though certain classes may desire the destruction of some birds who interfere 

 with their immediate interests, this destruction will probably result in loss to the 

 community as a whole. 



(3) That if all cannot be protected, the right principle is to make the law general 

 in its terms, and enumerate just those species which are to be outside the pale of 

 protection, not those which are to be within it. 



The Home Secretary has ordered that : — " (1) The Wild Birds Protection Act, 

 1880, shall apply within the administrative county of the parts of Kesteven, 

 Lincolnshire, to the following wild birds, viz. : — Kestrel, merlin, hobby, common 

 buzzard, honey buzzard, swallow, house martin, sand martin, swift, and wryneck, as 

 if those species were included in the schedule to the Act. (2) The taking or 

 destroying of the eggs of the following wild birds is prohibited within the adminis- 

 trative county of the parts of Kesteven, Lincolnshire, viz. : — Goldfinch, kingfisher, 

 nightjar, nightingale, owls (of all species), ruff or reeve, woodpecker, kestrel, merlin, 

 hobby, common buzzard, honey buzzard, swallow, house martin, sand martin, swift, 

 wryneck, teal, and wild ducks (of all species)." 



An expedition of sixteen men, headed by Dr. Cook, has started in two small 

 vessels of 100 tons each for the bay of Erebus and Terror. Six of the men are 

 students of science. 



The Scottish Geographical Magazine for February has a note on the new " Bell " 

 River, more than 500 miles long, discovered last year by Dr. Robert Bell of the 

 Canadian Geological Survey. The drainage-area of the new river is considerably 

 larger than the whole of England. The country is gently undulating with an eleva- 

 tion of 1,000 feet along the watershed, diminishing to 400 feet at 100 miles from the 

 mouth of the river, and then falling rapidly to James Bay. It is covered with 

 forests, the soil is fertile, and the climate fairly good. 



Through the courtesy of Mr. C. E. Fagan, we are enabled to state that the 

 naturalists, Messrs. Austen and Cambridge, on the Siemens telegraph expedition to 

 the Amazon have already begun successful operations, the fact that the " Faraday " 

 was stuck for a whole week on a mud-bank at the west end of Parana de Buyassu 

 in no wise interfering with the aims of the collectors. The chief find at present has 

 been two specimens of Peripatus, belonging apparently to different species. The 

 naturalists decided to stay at Santarem, while the " Faraday " proceeded to Manaos, 

 which place it reached on February 8, all well. 



Professor H. de Lacaze Duthiers informs us that, as in former years, he will 

 conduct an excursion at Banyuls during the Easter vacation, that is, from March 28 

 to April 11. Those joining the party can obtain return tickets from Paris to Banyuls 

 for 46 francs. Among those who will attend are Professors Von Graff, of Graz, 

 Pruvot, of Grenoble, and Yung, of Geneva, and probably some naturalists from 

 Barcelona. The Professor desires to extend through us a cordial invitation to any 

 English naturalists. 



On February 13 a telegram from Irkutsk was received in St. Petersburg, stating 

 that Mr. Kuchnareff, a Siberian trader who acted as agent for Dr. Nansen, had 

 received intelligence that Dr. Nansen had reached the North Pole, where he had 

 found land, and that he was on his way back. The opinions of experts are divided 

 as to the truth of this, and, up to the moment of going to press, no confirmation had 

 been received. 



The hydrographical exploration of the Skagerack has just been begun under the 

 auspices of the Swedish Government and the direction of Professor O. Pettersson. 



A proposal to prohibit vivisection in Zurich has, says the Revue Scicntifique, 

 been rejected by 39,476 votes against 17,297. On the other hand, a motion of 

 the Grand Council to protect animals, except such as are required for scientific 

 purposes, has been accepted by 35,191 votes against 19,551. 



