May 25, 1876] 



NA TURE 



79 



following successful competitors, viz. : — In physical geography, 

 gold medal, John Wilkie, Liverpool College ; bronze medal, 

 Walter New, Dulwich College ; and in political geo^jraphy, gold 

 medal, Thomas Knox, Ilaileybury College ; bronze medal, 

 W. M. H. Milner, Marlborough College. The President then 

 delivered the annual address on the progress of geography, in the 

 course of which he announced that he had received a com- 

 munication from the Chancellor of the Exchequer that morning, 

 that, considering the very great importance of the discoveries of 

 Lieut, Cameron, her Majesty's Government had decided to share 

 the expenses of the Expedition. A sum of 3,000/. will be handed 

 over to the Royal Geographical Society on that account. 



There is at present being erected in the Paris Observatory 

 Gardens a house for the Bishofsheim transit instrument, which 

 has been admirably constructed by Eichens. The house pos- 

 sesses many peculiarities, and was designed by M. Leverrier for 

 the better insuring of equality of temperature. The roof can be 

 removed on horizontal rails, and the walls are so perforated that 

 there is a continual circulation of air in all parts. The frame of 

 the house may be said to be pneumatic, as it has been constructed 

 on a system analogous to that of the bones of birds. It is sure to 

 work admirably. 



The Woodwardian Museum at Cambridge has this week 

 received an important accession in the rich collection of fossils 

 presented by the veteran geologist, Mr. J. W. Walton, of Bath. 

 In many respects, this collection, little known and studied by 

 palaeontologists, corresponds for the Southern Jurassic rocks to 

 that of Mr. Leckenby, already at Cambridge, for the contem- 

 poraneous Yorkshire beds ; but in addition, the general series of 

 fossils is very interesting. Mr, Walton's Cambrian fossils con- 

 stitute one of the finest existing assemblages from these rocks. 

 Mr. Keeping, who has superintended the transfer to Cambridge, 

 estimates the number of specimens at a hundred thousand ; the 

 entire weight is nearly two tons and a half Thus the oppor- 

 tunities for palseontological investigation, at Cambridge already 

 very great, are largely increased. 



Biological students at Cambridge, and many others, will 

 regret the approaching departure of Dr. Martin, Fellow and 

 Lecturer of Christ's College, who has accepted the Professorship 

 of Natural History in the University of Baltimore. Dr. Martin 

 has attained the highest honours both at London and at Cam- 

 bridge in a wide range of subjects. He has been largely asso- 

 ciated with biological instruction at University College, London, 

 and at South Kensington, while his connection with Dr, Michael 

 Foster in the development of biology at Cambridge has been of 

 great value. His co-operation with Prof. Huxley in the pro- 

 duction of the very successful ' ' Course of Practical Instruction 

 in Elementary Biology," is well krown. Some compensation 

 for Dr, Martin's loss at Cambridge may be found in the thought 

 that biology in the United States will gain by the presence of a 

 man so well versed in European methods, and especially ia the 

 systems of instruction worked out by Prof, Huxley, Dr. Foster, 

 and others in England, 



From the daily Weather Maps issued from Hamburg by the 

 German Seewarte, which embrace the whole of Europe, except 

 the extreme south and the extreme north, we observe a very 

 remarkable distribution of the atmospheric pressure for some 

 weeks back. Barometers have been constantly low in southern 

 or eastern regions, and high in the west and north, resulting in a 

 persistent prevalence of northerly and easterly winds over nearly 

 the whole of the continent. The maps suggest that this state of 

 things has probably extended far to north-westwards, and in 

 accordance with this supposition letters from Iceland inform us 

 that the Greenland and Spitzbergen ice descended, in the 

 beginning of this month, on the north coast of that island to a 

 very serious extent, filling the sea as far as the eye could reach. 



In this connection, the observations made by the Arctic Expedi- 

 tion will have a peculiar meteorological value. 



M, HouzEAU has been appointed Director of the Royal 

 Observatory of Brussels, 



The results of the daily photographs taken by M. Janssen at 

 his observatory at Montmartre are rather interesting. In 

 February a number of spots were visible and photographed ; 

 this number was gradually reduced to two groups, each consisting 

 of two large spots, which were vi.-ible on March 13. By March 

 18 only two spots were visible, the two others having disappeared 

 owing to the rotation of the sun. The two last disappeared by 

 March 25, and from that time up to May 20 not a single spot 

 was recorded, the solar disc appearing quite homogeneous. Such 

 a phenomenon is very rare, indeed, although we are nearing the 

 minimum. The photographs taken by Janssen are 20 centimetres 

 diameter on a collodion film, when the sky is clear. Under un- 

 favourable circumstances, the diameter is reduced to 10 centi- 

 metres. M; Janssen takes his photographs irrespective of the 

 presence of clouds. He uses his celebrated revolver, and 

 operates before ten o'clock in the morning. He is using not 

 only the instruments taken to Japan for the last Transit, but the 

 very canvas, with the canvas rotating domes. No doubt the 

 Minister for Public Instruction will give him very shortly the 

 means of building a permanent observatory, which is to be 

 styled the Paris Physical Observatory. M. Janssen is also asking 

 the means to build a large refractor worth 200,000 francs. 



The Nord- Deutsche Allgemeitte ZeUimg states that the German 

 Imperial Government proposes to establish a Meteorological 

 Institution, the meteorological department being up to the 

 present moment merely a part of the statistical office. 



At a recent meeting of the Birmingham Natural History 

 Society, the meteoiite which recently fell in Shropshire, and to 

 which we referred at the time, was exhibited and described. The 

 following resolution was very properly passed unanimously by 

 the Society :— "That in the opinion of this meeting the meteorite 

 exhibited should become the property of the nation, in order 

 that it may be submitted to the fullest scientific investigation at 

 the hands of the most competent authorities." The above reso- 

 lution was passed in consequence of an application made to the 

 finder of the meteorite en behalf of the Duke of Cleveland, 



V Explorateur of May 18 contains an account of the principal 

 indigenous tribes of Eastern Siberia, taken from a recently- 

 published work of M, Octave Sachot, "La Siberie OrientaJe 

 et I'Amerique Russe. Le Pole Nord et ses Habitants," The 

 information contained in the work seems to be mainly derived 

 from the voluminous notes of an American engineer who 

 sojourned for three years in the region in question, 



M, Th, Maureau, an assistant in the Meteorological Service 

 at the Paris Observatory, has been promoted, at the request of 

 M, Leverrier, to the position of "Physicien-adjoiut," by M, 

 Waddington. Although a young man, he has rendered im- 

 portant service in the provisional department of practical 

 meteorology, 



Mr. a, Sutherland, writing from Invergordon, Ross-shire, 



May 13, states : — For the last fortnight almost daily iridescent 

 halos, of more or less completeness, have been noticed round the 

 sun, towards evening. Those on the 5th and loth were very bril- 

 liant. The former consisted of a rainbow-coloured circle reaching 

 almost from the zenith to the horizon, and continued for two 

 hours. The halo visible on the loth was an almost complete 

 example of the phenomenon, consisting of, when observed at 

 6.30 P.M., two iridescent circles (22° and 46°) with tangent arc 

 and mock-stms. The inner circle of 22° showed more especially 

 the red rays on its concavity, except at the parhelia, where it was 



